Thanks to Tim (of miniMixa fame) for this excellent review. I've been wondering about getting one of these to replace my Zoom PS04. Not sure now though.
Maybe I should wait until they've ironed out some of the issues with it, especially the file format.
6 comments:
Don't let Tim Cole's review put you off - this is a great bit of kit. I bought one as a replacement for my elderly Yamaha MT2X 4-track.
Apart from the manual, which is truly awful, and the fact that the power supply, USB cable and anything else you may need costs extra (why can't the digital music industry learn from the digital camera industry and just put everything in the damn box!), the sound from this little 4-track is amazing.
I only discovered the guitar effects as an afterthought (I saw the video of the Boss demo at NAMM) but WOW they are so cool!
Reading the comments on Tim Cole's blog in conjunction with the "infinite number of monkeys" manual (!) I very quickly learned how to make a decent multi-track recording, bounce it down to a stereo V-track and export it as a wav or mp3.
OK, if you just wanted a drum machine it would be a bad choice, but if you want a truly portable 4-track recorder/guitar effects unit with a crisp clear digital audio quality then the Micro BR is amazing at the price.
I have one, it has nice sound, until you burn it to a cd, then it sounds okay. Great for the low price. It has some flaws I have found. Well when you click to start recording, the buttons are metal, and actually make a click sound that can be heard in the recording afterwards which sucks, It does not have enough bass guitar effects, the drum beats suck, I only use them as a metronome to get my rhythm down. The main thing that bothers me about the unit is that it sounds so good thru the headphones, then you burn it, and it flattens out. The onboard mic is okay, picks up my breathing, and does not have enough vocal effects. Like say for instance you wanted to sound like darth vader, forget it. unless you want to spend endless time editing the patch. Takes adaptors to hook up to your amp. No outboard speaker, must use headphones. Not user friendly, but becomes somewhat easy after you put together about 4 songs. Its really not that great of a machine, but if you want to just get some basic song ideas down, its pretty cool. You could make a cd with this, but dont expect to not hear clicks from the buttons in your final recordings. My advice would be get the expensive 24 track you always wanted and skip this if you are serioius in anyway shape or form about your music.
http://www.xfmuploaded.co.uk/typel
check out my site, I created everything you hear with the Micro Br. Rhythm, lead guitar, drums, bass. I really pushed the limits of this recorder. Edited patches, and constant tweaks. If you have any questions about the Micro BR, just give me a hoot. I think its an okay recorder. Its not a 100k studio, but I didnt have to pay $150 hour either.
You have to have a little talent to sound good, you can buy a
3ooo.oo gibson les paul guitar and if you cant play it. i found the boss micro br to be extremely good and very easy to use .
Zoom H2 Review by Spencer Perry of Saybrook
Recently I had the opportunity to demo and review the Zoom H2 courtesy of X-TREMEGEEK.com. www.x-tremegeek.com When I first unpackaged the zoom h2, I found that it was a very well packaged device; everything was well organized and neatly laid out. It even had tons of information about it on the box. The recorder though looked a little too plain. Samson’s website says, “The H2 is the only portable recorder with 4 mic capsules on-board for 360° recording. With 4 mic capsules in a W-X/Y configuration, the audio is decoded instantly, bringing these four signals together for unparalleled stereo imaging. But the H2 doesn't stop there. For maximum flexibility, you can record from the front of the H2 in a 90° pickup pattern or the rear of the H2 in a 120° pickup pattern at up to 96 kHz/24-bit resolution as a WAV file, or as an MP3 file at bitrates up to 320 kbps. Additionally, you can record in a 360° pickup pattern at up to 48kHz/24-bit resolution which will allow you to convert your recordings to 5.1 Surround.”
I read the simple recording guide and found that the controls were quite easy, press record once to put into record mode. Adjust the sensitivity with the [MIC GAIN] switch. Press record once more to start recording, and one more time to stop recording. To play back I plugged in my headphones, and simply pressed play/pause button. My younger brother and I tested it out on a new song he had been writing, and for $199 the sound quality was great.
I used it also to record solo drum tracks. If the guitar/ piano player in my band has a new song he can record his part with the zoom h2, and pass the music file to me so I can practice the song without him being there. It also records unmiced vocals quite well, I apologize that I have not yet had the opportunity to test it on vocals through a pa system. The Zoom H2 has 2 file structures wav and mp3.
The Zoom H2 has great mounting capabilities. Right out of the box we could mount The Zoom H2 on its own stand, a handle that allows you to connect to a mic stand, or a camera tripod using a standard camera mount, which I chose to use for convenience. I think that the Zoom H2 would make an excellent holiday gift. Tell all of your friends. For samples visit http://www.myspace.com/saybrook123.
Product details and purchase information:
http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=22118
Zoom H2 Review by Spencer Perry of Saybrook
Recently I had the opportunity to demo and review the Zoom H2 courtesy of X-TREMEGEEK.com. www.x-tremegeek.com When I first unpackaged the zoom h2, I found that it was a very well packaged device; everything was well organized and neatly laid out. It even had tons of information about it on the box. The recorder though looked a little too plain. Samson’s website says, “The H2 is the only portable recorder with 4 mic capsules on-board for 360° recording. With 4 mic capsules in a W-X/Y configuration, the audio is decoded instantly, bringing these four signals together for unparalleled stereo imaging. But the H2 doesn't stop there. For maximum flexibility, you can record from the front of the H2 in a 90° pickup pattern or the rear of the H2 in a 120° pickup pattern at up to 96 kHz/24-bit resolution as a WAV file, or as an MP3 file at bitrates up to 320 kbps. Additionally, you can record in a 360° pickup pattern at up to 48kHz/24-bit resolution which will allow you to convert your recordings to 5.1 Surround.”
I read the simple recording guide and found that the controls were quite easy, press record once to put into record mode. Adjust the sensitivity with the [MIC GAIN] switch. Press record once more to start recording, and one more time to stop recording. To play back I plugged in my headphones, and simply pressed play/pause button. My younger brother and I tested it out on a new song he had been writing, and for $199 the sound quality was great.
I used it also to record solo drum tracks. If the guitar/ piano player in my band has a new song he can record his part with the zoom h2, and pass the music file to me so I can practice the song without him being there. It also records unmiced vocals quite well, I apologize that I have not yet had the opportunity to test it on vocals through a pa system. The Zoom H2 has 2 file structures wav and mp3.
The Zoom H2 has great mounting capabilities. Right out of the box we could mount The Zoom H2 on its own stand, a handle that allows you to connect to a mic stand, or a camera tripod using a standard camera mount, which I chose to use for convenience. I think that the Zoom H2 would make an excellent holiday gift. Tell all of your friends. For samples visit http://www.myspace.com/saybrook123.
Product details and purchase information:
http://www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=22118
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