As an amateur guitarist recording various types of music I became disenchanted with my computer as a recording device. After looking at various options the Boss Micro-BR was chosen for recording as it seemed to do everything I wanted.

In the box there is just the Micro, the 130 page Owner’s Manual and two batteries. No USB cable is supplied but it is a standard MINI B type. When plugged into a computer the Micro is shown as a hard drive with two folders, one for MP3 and WAV files and one for the Data and Micro song files.

The first step by step instructions in the manual show how to load and play the included song, there is plenty of good quality volume.

The Play, Stop, Forward, Reverse buttons quickly jump to any part of a Song (each separate performance is called a Song). Recording involves creating a ‘song’ choosing an input, (Guitar, Mic etc) setting the input level, setting any effects etc., and pressing ‘record‘. The monitored sound is as the playback will be, but you can still change individual recorded tracks to your liking.

The on screen information is cryptic so it is essential that the instructions be followed when first using the device. Once tasks have been accomplished things become obvious. Confusingly (for me at least) to mix tracks is called ‘Bounce’ but it is easy to do once you find it in the instructions!

There are some rather nice touches, a button marked A<>B, pressed at a point in a song then pressed a few seconds later repeats that portion of the song in a loop. This can be slowed down to 25% of the original speed whilst keeping the original notes.

Playing back a stereo track you can eliminate the centre sound to leave just the backing. I tried this on a Shadows track and the lead guitar virtually vanished with just a trace echo of the original. This could then be used as a backing track.

Using 8 ‘virtual’ tracks per main track you can switch between these whilst playing back a song, giving instant comparisons. Made a mistake? Using A<>B mark a point before the mistake and again after, play along with the song and the unit will pick up your playing at the insert point and record over the mistake - I couldn‘t hear the join.

Only a few of the huge range controls, effects, rhythms etc, have so far been tried, but results have been impressive. Reverb is very good, the whole thing is very versatile and there is nothing that I have tried to do that cannot be done, with one exception, don’t try to use a heavy coiled guitar cable with such a small lightweight recorder!

As with any digital equipment battery life is terrible, a power supply is recommended.

FANBLOODYTASTIC.
for any budding slashes out there this is the best training tool i have seen. im not going to discuss all the tech stuff because, well i dont know it, but one thing i do know is that i can pop an mp3 file on pick out the lead section with the loop fascility, slow it down and hey presto im playing november rain in no time.
the only disadvantage ive found is that after playing with it for long periods of time it makes my fingers bleed!

Yes, I can confirm all positive reactions, easy to use - makes me excited....Perfect for travelling...

Yes, I can confirm all positive reactions, easy to use - makes me excited....Perfect for travelling...

Throw out your tape recorder- this is a revolution in recording. I am stunned that something the size of a pocket calculator has an entire studio squeezed into it. Nothing short of miraculous. You can even Master your track.....insane.

I bought this as a Christmas present for myself . I'm not a "teckie" and just wanted something I could use easily . WhenI got it I read the instructions and thought " Oh gawd " . As I persevered I couldn't believe what you can do with something so small !! What they have packed into this little machine is incredible , a drum machine , 4 tracks ( with 8 virtual tracks on each track ) , you can slow the track down without changing pitch , load your own mp3's to play along with . It really is awesome !! I haven't really got to use it to it's full potential yet but even so I'm impressed . The main point is it is easy to use which is what sold me .

Always in my pocket! Have put the old tape 4 -track in the skip! Recommended!

So what can you get for £150 as a portable recorder these days. Nothing really unless you add another £50. Oh yeah, and then what do you get? Some big, clunky thing that you need to carry in a rucksack along with all your cables, mics and a gigantic manual to keep you right. Well, that used to be true.
I bought a Boss Micro BR and it is really pretty unbelievable what it does. I swear, I don't work for them - this is a genuine, independent review - I'm just blown away by this recorder. This thing is absolutely incredible at this price. It includes, a 4 x track recorder, hundreds of built-in drum loops and a comprehensive effects section, including a mastering sweet (yes, compression, limiting, etc). All tracks recorded in the multi-track system can be individually exported as either mp3s of wav files (up to 16/44).
And then you can plug the thing into your computer and drag files into or out of the machine! While you're at it you can load up your mp3 collection and use the machine as a substitute for your roving mp3 player.
Oh, and more! You can record directly into the machine from an external mic, or the in-built mic (which is really pretty good). Again these files can be compressed mp3s or basic wav files at 16/44.
So what else, for goodness sake. Well you can load mp3s and slow them down (no change of pitch) so you can learn to play along. The machine is a guitar tuner too! I mean, how do they do this at this price. I reckon millions of people will try this thing.
If there are downsides these are that there is no mute for individual tracks you have recorded (although I haven't quite sussed this out yet and there may be a way). Also battery use is pretty tough - get yourself an adaptor for use at home and use rechargeable batteries to roam.
This is an excellent substitute for your old mini-disk recorder (these are on the way out anyway). The record quality for acoustic instruments is great and even with the in-built mic the quality of location-recording, such as street noise, crowds, etc, is really excellent. I don't usually write in to forums about stuff, but this is totally inspiring. Highly recommended!
John Cradden

I bought this unit a few days ago as I wanted to have a mini portable recorder. There was much I could not seem to find out about it from the docs I found online, so I thought I would make a note of some of my observations in case they are of help (I am keeping track of a few notes on this and some feature requests at blog.colartz.com).

Is it cool? Yes I think this is a neat unit. It is about the size of 2 packs of cards side by side, and very light. Initially a bit tricky to get your head around the button controls. Some nice sound FX and drumbeats making this a useful and versatile battery powered tool for mobile music making.

Compatible SD Cards: There is very little info on what is compatible, and so you are left wondering whether or not a card you might buy will work in it or not. Well, I tried one of the Veho 1GB 133x Hi Speed Secure Digital Cards in it and it seems to work fine. I also tried a Veho 2GB Ultra Fast 133x Secure Digital Card in it, and that also seems to work OK. Interesting, as the documentation gives no clue that this might be possible.

Will it work with a 2GB SD card : Seemingly yes, see note above .

Can you record a line in or external mic signal to one track at the same time as a guitar to another track: Sadly no, not that I can see. This should be something that the unit allows, as you can record line / ext input in stereo (i.e. to 2 tracks at the same time)

Can you set a count in time e.g. 2 bars before the recording starts: Not that I can see although you can punch in. This would a useful feature, though.

Can you load up the SD card with WAV loops and use these in your mix: Sadly no - it stores the recorded audio data in some special consolidated track data .DAT format. Although it seems to be possible to convert (import) individual WAV files to the V-track data format on the device, it would be so much better if it used/saved (even only if as an option) to WAV files directly - meaning you could also easily copy your recordings on/off the device without first exporting them. IMHO this is quite a limitation.

Can the SD card be read/written to from an SD card reader: Yes. It was not clear from the docs as to whether the SD Card was strangely formatted and the ONLY way to get to the data on the card was via a USB / PC connection. Because you can read the SD card in a card reader (well I can), then it is possible to use that instead of USB cable connection.

Can you edit the drum patterns: Not that I can see.

This is still a cool unit and I am looking forward to exploring it more.

I received my Micro-BR last Thursday 28/12/06 and when I saw the manual I thought OH No but soon found you dont need to be a techno wiz to follow it. I have in a few short sessions got the various functions mastered. The MP3 player is so easy to copy onto the memory card,just drop the track you want into the MP3 folder on your computer and as soon as you connect a USB lead(not supplied) it uploads it to the Micro-BR then off you go,plug in the guitar and a Mic and you are away.
Recording your own songs is a doddle then mix them done with the Effects and Rhythm and with around 100 Effects and 290+ Rhythm it will keep you amused for hours.
Only downside is you will need to go out and get a mains adapter straight away or it will cost you a fortune in batteries and it states use Boss PSA adapters which are around £25 so order one with the Micro. I also purchased a 2GB memory card as you soon fill up the 128mb one supplied.
This Micro-BR is awesome and well worth the money.
Have fun (you sure will)

Ron Stevens