All user reviews for the Boss BR-8 Digital Recording Studio

Bought it a year ago from Zzounds.com for 699.00 and free shipping. Moved up from a Yamaha MT4X, which was a trouble-free, rich-sounding unit. But I wanted the convenience of digital and I liked the idea of using a simplified machine: no busses, no extra routing. It has a ton of FX; I put away the stomp boxes that cluttered the floor. And, very importantly, a recording on the BR-8 will go directly to CD.



The elusive Instant Gratification. It allows me to make great-sounding recordings immediately. I'm a solo guitarist with bass, drum and keyboard machine and mic. That's it. But I can easily make multi-layered compositions that make people say "wow." I've also used it to record bands. While the BR-8 only allows you to use 2 mics unless you use a submixer, this was a deal designed to quickly produce a CD for grant applications, contests and job auditions. The bands have been happy. Among my FX likes: compressor, EQ, slow attack, tremolo and doublin.' General likes: ease of mixing to stand-alone CD burner, portability, speed with which you can put together a production.



The 100mb zip disk limitation is a factor. Basically you can get a 5-minute opus on one disk. But there are workarounds to extend your mileage in the digital realm. So far the zip disk size limitation has been a minor consideration. Plus, I've minimized the retail price of zip disks ($6 - $10) by using a box of used ones I purchased on ebay (about $4 ea).



At one year it has been entirely trouble-free. Knobs and sliders and controls seem of high quality. I use it several times a week. I bought an SKB hard case (about $100 but I believe worth it for care of digital machinery) for taking it to rehearsal rooms, concerts and on holiday. The rig is reasonably compact.

The trump here is ease of use. There's a ton of potential in one small and relatively inexpensive box. Some people may quickly see the need for more inputs, more hard disk storage, that sort of thing. But the BR-8 fits a particular niche. I write a chronicle of my ups and downs with the unit called the BR-8 Page. Please read it at http://br8page.editthispage.com



This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased the Boss BR-8 digital recorder as a kind of present to myself after plugging away throughout the summer taking on multiple jobs in addition to my day time work.After seeing the Boss BR-8 advertised in Guitar Player for several months I decided to take a nice long ride with the House of Guitars as my destination.I purchased the unit for $700.00 with about several thousand dollars in features tucked inside.



Imagine being able to summon forth various Classic amp sounds at the push of a button or twist of a knob? Imagine being able to plug in an acoustic/electric and create tracks kept clean in the digital domain? Imagine building your original by layering tracks in sync within 30 minutes of plugging in the BR-8. The BR-8 is the hottest studio to roll down the tracks for guitarists since the invention of the World Wide Web.You're talking some serious and very user-friendly song-writing tools here!All these jams and ideas now have the BB-8 to become an audible scratchpad thanks to BOSS.



I find very little to gripe about with the BR-8! Obviously,quite a bit of thought and feedback are reflected in the unit's layout and approach.



The BR-8 is very solid and the quality of construction as well as the internal patches and sounds are downright amazing.When I was kneehigh to a guitar pick,the stuff embodied in this digital recorder was merely the stuff of dreams when I was a kid learning to strum.



Bottom Line? If you are into writing songs and would like to get an idea what all the parts in your head sound like in a short period of time with a minor learning curve,invest in the BR-8!


This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Complement the advice of PM:

there is a connector noon on the BR-8, only MIDI OUT ... shame!
Okay for ease of use, when the sound, it's demo, in fact, but due to compression ... but it's very correct! for the price!

Of course, nothing to do with a Roland VS. I now have a VS 1680 Roland, there's a world of difference in sound with no cons in terms of ease of untilisation. In addition, there's no drum on the VS, just a metronome, too bad.

UTILIZATION

Okay for ease of use, very easy

SOUNDS

When the sound, it's demo, in fact, but due to compression ... but it's very correct! for the price!

Of course, nothing to do with a Roland VS. I now have a VS 1680 Roland, there's a world of difference in sound with no cons in terms of ease of untilisation. In addition, there's no drum on the VS, just a metronome, too bad.

OVERALL OPINION

3 years but I am separated for VS 1680

Numriques 8 tracks with 64 virtual tracks (8 per track)
It can only record two tracks simultaneously and read 8 sr both well!

100MB ZIP Disk Recording: with the maximum quality you can register in about 6min shielding the 8pistes (12min so on and so 4pistes 48/50 min on a track)
But even with the maximum quality there is an audio compression to take up less space (such as MP3)

Between a guitar / bass, a microphone input, a line between stro (BAR / SynthCD ...)
Midi Out Only (Please Guime74)
Line output for the speakers.
I do not know sil is an input / output numrique ...

2 multi effects Intgr:
One in between: to color the sound you will record and it will record the sound and the effects it has applied, it is quite comprehensive: virtual guitar amp / bass / Acoustics, presets for synths, BAR c course changed at will with the quality Roland / Boss).
Another in "insert" to color the sound that was recorded and can be changed. The latter effect is much less multi complete the 1st and there is an EQ + 1 only other time (reverb / chorus / delay and 2 or 3 other things).

There are a few presets with mtronome DIFFERENT styles, ideal for rhythm playing and more fun than just mtronome!

In short, a multi-pens for guitarists / bassists home studio, o the fact that you can only record two tracks both, so you have to buy it knowingly!

UTILIZATION

The manual is complete and trs trs clear with lots of tips and tricks, cool when beginners trs recording
It is very simple to use: in some hours I had comments dj store!
You turn it on, you scratch your branches, you choose your track and you press "record" and went cest! FAN-IN-TIN
Hard to do more simple then, it was soon cern while unlike computer music ...

What I prfr (compared to the Roland VS 840 for example) is the prsence of 9 faders, one for each track + one master fader so IDAL to mix.
As against the screen is small which makes the edition (cut / copy / dplacer tracks) tedious, but it is the default for all machines. When comparing a 17 inch screen

-2 For the size of the screen!

SOUNDS

It sounds malpour not a model
Audio compression tends to sound more acute lgrement from my point of view ... or ear plutt
So let's be clear: cest for models only do the price! (And my notes)

OVERALL OPINION

I used about 2 years before selling it when the PC was jai
Trs qualitprix good value, I compared on paper and reading tests in diffrent magazines.
Purchased at Star Music promo 4890frs this award nine standard lpoque cest!
Ideal for models at home when you're a guitarist and / or bass player and we recorded BAR / synths
The battery or group with the possibility of two tracks that nSave both its a fair bit bad because its format allows DTRE easy transport.

Pros: qualitprix Report, 9 faders, ease of use
Ngatifs points: Price of Zip (35th 3), the long edition because of the size of the screen and personally I would have put more effects (amount and simultaneously using ) in the multi purpose "insert" that is lightweight compared to 1r multi purpose. But they can be judged that the first silent enough when it is better to have a dry recording and add effects just did ensuiteils linverse

I would do this election if I dont computer, a first multi-fate models for a guitarist / bassist EST lpoque really not bad. Quaujourdhui I think technology has a lot lon volumes and a better for the same price range.

PM

(Originally written by made in spain/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

The BR-8 is a digital 8-track recorder that saves audio onto ZIP disks.
It allows you to synchronize a drum machine to your song, for example, thanks to the Midi output.
It can record only two tracks simultaneously.
It has no XLR inputs! Sigh...

UTILIZATION

Very easy to use!
The overall design is very simple.
The manual is very good.

SOUNDS

When it comes to sound... It's quite good but surely not the best.
The effects are cool and plenty! (for guitar/bass/vocals/aux).

OVERALL OPINION

As of lately, I rarely use the BR-8.
At the time I bought it, it was a good deal for its price.

Pros:

- 8 tracks (each track with 8 additional virtual tracks)
- Programmable rhythm guide
- Midi output
- Optical output

Cons:

- Audio data compression
- No XLR inputs
(5/11/2008)
My BR-8 is about to end up in the trash can! It can only read 1 out of 5 Zip disks!!! ... when I actually manage to get it working! Be sure to give it a good inspection if you want to buy it secondhand!