What is the boss micro br?
It's a digital recorder that belongs to a new generation of small portable multitrack recorders (fit in the pocket) useful for recording guitars, vocals and other instruments, listening and studying music, multi-effects processing, tuning, rhythm machine and data storage. It's especially indicated to the guitarist but I find it extremely versatile. Read on.
Who is it for?
It is for musicians that want to record quick sketches, people that hate to record in front of a computer, people that want to record their band rehearsal and work on it at home, the student who wants to learn songs quickly, practice music theory or train tempo, the people who like to capture sounds outdoors for movies and experiences, the reporter who records interviews, etc... It has three different input types that make it usable to everyone: 1/4 Guitar jack in, 1/8 stereo jack Line in and a Built-in Mic.
how does it sound?
I think it sounds very good for such a small device. I recorded some samples, so judge for yourself. I tried to record as best as I could, must say I'm no expert at recording (or playing...).
The gear I used to record all of the samples was: a Fender Squire Stratocaster (it needs an intonation reset!), jack cable, Philips headphones (these
All the sounds, effects, mastering and conversion to MP3 were done on MICRO BR, nothing was edited on PC.
Sound Samples:
Electric Guitar on Guitar IN with onboard Drums (Save as...) - Onboard Drums were programmed by me.
Acoustic Guitar and Mandolim captured with homemade Electrect Microphone (Save as...) - Mic connected to LINE IN. Read more about these mics, here.
For more sound samples scroll down and keep reading.
How does it look like?
For high resolution photos showing all details, click here.
Where can I find it with the lowest price?
What I do when I want to buy something is to compare all the store prices and reviews possible in an effort of collecting the most information I can get on the subject, getting a better deal in the end and avoiding an impulse buy. Here is a list of webpages from stores that have price information and some reviews, I suggest you check them all for discounts.
In the USA I recommend ZZounds (product page) and Sameday Music (product page). In Europe, Thomann (product page). For the rest of the world, Amazon (product page)
Recorder
This is where the machine shines, it has the same features as a four-track recorder like those Tascam but with far more quality and ease of use. You can record up to two tracks simultaneously (one stereo or two mono) and edit them using cut, copy and paste, regulating the volume, panning and applying effects.
The recorder supports four tracks to be played at the same time 
(four mono or two stereo) but in each of those tracks you can switch between eight other tracks. Imagine that you record a guitar solo, think that could do better only are not sure, you would then record in the same track but on another virtual track and compare the two results. So, this means that overall it is able to store 4 original tracks * 8 virtual tracks = 32 tracks for song. But it only plays four at a time and record two at a time.
The recorder has three types of recording inputs, one 1/2 Jack "guitar" input, one line Input for keyboards and microphones and one built-in microphone.
The Guitar Input - As the name implies is useful to guitar (and bass), but it can also record numerous other sources that use the ½ Jack, like keyboards, some microphones, etc… The Guitar In only records in mono.
Line Input – It’s useful for keyboards, mixers, mp3 players or external plug-in microphones, which you can do it yourself (see here) and sound very good.This input records in Stereo or Mono. It is a great feature as it enables more uses of the recorder.
Built-In Microphone – It’s useful for vocals and acoustic instruments. It only records in mono but sounds good.
Phones Output - Can connect to headphones or speakers, has a volume regulator.
Note that the it is only possible to record two different sources at the same time with the Guitar In and the Built-in mic. Meaning that you can plug a guitar on Guitar In and sing to the Built-in mic and if you want it will record the two sources on different tracks. But keep in mind that you cannot do that with other combination, for example Guitar In and Line In or Line In and the Built-In microphone.
Note that there is a possibility to record two independent sources in different tracks using a Stereo Microphone connected to LINE IN.
Sound Samples:
Acoustic Guitar with Onboard Microphone (Save as...) - The riff is from Queens Of The Stone Age.
mp3 Player
It has MP3 support so you can listen to MP3 files downloaded from your PC. Also, the unit can convert and master a song to MP3 in the box. It can also record directly in MP3 from any source. This would enable for example transfering a MP3 song from your friend's Ipod to MICRO BR using a 1/8 Male Jack to 1/8 Male Jack cable.
drum machine
There are about 293 drum patterns wich can be ordered to form a drum sequence and 9 different drumkits to choose from.
They are all in 4/4 time signature and they are not editable. Meaning that it's not possible to create your own patterns.
They can be useful to practice in tempo or to record sketches and to create a demo song has I think they sound pretty good. The drum track is independent from the other four tracks it has it's own reverb and volume but not panning.
Overall they sound pretty good and are inspiring to play with.
Sound Samples:
Drum sequence using onboard Drum patterns (Save as...) - Using the "Hard" kit.
multi-effects processor
The unit uses the COSM modelling effects processor also used on Roland Cube amps. There are 99 effects presets with ALL the guitar (and some bass) clichés and 99 user presets for your own effects.
The effects are clearly directed to the guitar player, greeting the user with lots of presets of distortions but also some clean, and some wicked sounds with infinite delay.
You can use this as Multi-Effects Processor except without the “stomping” by connecting the output to an amp with a mini-jack to jack cable.
The effects are very customizable, you can change virtually anything, even the "distance of the mic to the amp" in amp simulation. I'm finding new variables for the effects modelling all the time.
It also features presets for the Vocals, Drums, Acoustic instruments and Mastering.
The effects quality is very good, all the effects sound very professional and have very low noise. The presets have all the sounds you will probably ever need.
Sound Samples:
Electric Guitar with Clean Effects (Save as...) - Clean, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Delay. And yes, the guitar is out of tune.
Electric Guitar with Distortion Effects (Save as...) - Various Distortion presets choosen randomly.
music Studying tool
It is also possible to use the unit has a studying tool.
It has a feature of slowing down MP3 songs without changing pitch so that it is easier to “catch” notes by ear.
Also has a center cancel tool to remove vocals so that the other instruments are easily heard.
Sound Samples:
Center Cancel tool (Save as...) - "Canceling" Thom Yorke's voice on "2+2=5". Great song.
Time Slower feature (Save as...) - Slowing down Mr. Van Halen on Eruption.
tuner
It has a good and accurate tuner that allows to change the A440 frequency which can be useful for playing with other people. Can tune any instrument from any source, the guitar in, line in and built-in mic.
metronome
Also features a Metronome with various time signatures, like 3/4, 4/4, 5/4 from 25 BPM to 250 BPM. It's also possible to arrange different metronome tempos and play them in a sequence.
pen
It stores data in a SD card up to 1GB and can also use it as a data storage in times of need though it wasn't designed to do it.
USB connection
It features a USB connection to transfer MP3/WAV songs or the individual tracks in the BOSS proprietary format (which can be then converted to WAV, see here) for further edition on audio editing tools or multitrack software. It's also possible to import MP3/WAV files to the unit. The unit is recognized has a USB drive.
Conclusion
I have the unit for almost a year now and overall I think the unit is very versatile and reliable, a great tool for quick sketches and with some work can also produce great sounding demos.
It can be used for quiet acoustic recordings or loud rock band rehearsal and in my opinion is specially indicated to all the electric guitarrists out there as it's very easy to just plug in the guitar in the dedicated guitar input, choose an effect and rock out. And it's just as easy to come up with a rock song and work on with, using your own method of composition.
It is also a good learning tool, specially for ear and tempo training, very important things.
On the downside there are a few issues, like the power consumption, it really drains your batteries away. I recommend using rechargable batteries as it is much better to your wallet and to the world. With two 2500 maH batteries you can expect 2,5 hours of continuous work.
Other downsides include: the tempo is hard to save, the editing tools are complicated, the reverb is reasonable, the output volume isn't very loud and it only supports 1GB cards.
One thing that I like but most people think it's annoying is that one can own it for months and still keep finding some new functions and menus. I think it was a good deal, I choosed it instead of the other recorders from ZOOM and other brands because it is more versatile and cheaper.
Want to learn more or hear more?
If you're interested in learning more you can register in the forum and start asking questions, there is a section for getting started. Also there is a "post your work" section in which members share their music and experiences so be sure to check it out too.
You should also read different reviews to be exposed to more opinions about this recorder and compare it with others.
The following pages have more reviews: Zzounds reviews, Tim Cole review, O' Reilly review, Harmony Central reviews, Amazon reviews, Musicians friend reviews, SameDay music reviews, and Music 123 reviews.