Boss BR600 Digital Multitrack Recorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have had this recorder now for almost 3 months and I am blown away by the capabilities of this unit.
Expect This:
1) Small
2) Light weight
3) Excellent sound quality
4) Easy to operate basic features
5) Can back up songs to computer (and reload them back into unit)
6) Programmable drums (you can string together patterns into a "song" or tap in your own patterns)
7) Nice amp modeling (lots of "stomp box" settings and Bass guitar simulations so you can play bass with a regular guitar..and it sounds believable)
8) Nice effects (reverb, chorus, delay, comp. limit, etc.) that you can program to some extent
9) Has a line in so you can use an external mixer if you want
10) Onboard stereo Mic is astonishlingly clear and sensitive (you can record live gigs with nothing plugged in)
11) Seperate rhythm track fader so you don't waste a track for drums
12) 64 virtual tracks so you can have different 8 different performances on say Track 1 (but you can only play select and play one at a time...but cool for alternate versions of a song)
13) Cut and paste performance data on the same track or between tracks
14) Punch in/out recording so you can zero in and re-record over "bad sections"
15) Pitch correction that actually will correct your off key singing (not the best quality but ok)
16) Excellent tool for the singer/songwriter to "flesh out" ideas into a digital quality recording
Don't Expect This:
1) No way to sync with external sequencer (no SMPTE or MTC)
2) Can only record two "things" at a time (guitar/mic, 2 mics, or 2 guitars) unless you use external mixer
3) Easy access to features (with a single small LED display you are stuck with "menu trees")
4) The batteries to last long. I put new batteries in and got the "low battery" message only after 1 hour of use. I use AC all the time so not a big deal to me.
5) The 125 Meg card to hold more than about a single fullup 8 track song (get the 1Gig card immediately...only about $30)
6) To have 8 independent tracks. You have 4 mono tracks and 2 stereo tracks so it is really a cross between a 6 track and 8 track recorder...depending on how you look at it.
7) Export your whole song in .WAV or .AIFF format (only individual mono/stereo tracks can be exported so do all your tracks is sort of time consuming...but it can be done)
8) Great microphone performance (the preamp is a little weak...at least for the dynamic cardioid that I use
Given all the above I still give it 5 stars and here is why:
1) Form Factor (small and lightweight)
2) Sound quality
3) Ease of use (to lay down multiple tracks quickly)
4) Onboard rhythm (hundreds of patterns (intros, verses, fills, and ends) that you can string together.
5) Onboard amp modeling (and especially the bass simulation....don't have to buy a bass guitar)
6) Cost....incredible amount of features/quality for $350. I had a studio in LA 15 years ago and this unit is the equivalent of over $5000 worth of gear (8 track cassette deck, effects boxes, bass guitar, guitar amp, and drum machine). I can't believe how all this stuff is now part of something the size/weight of a magazine.
7) Easy backup of data on computer so you can have a downloadable "library" of songs and download them seperately when you want to work on them.
The only feature I wish this thing had was a way to sync up with a DAW sequencer. But you can always export your tracks out as WAV or AIFF files and import them into your DAW.
But for me, I just want something that is always ready to go if I get an idea for a song and I don't want to have to boot up a computer or play with a bunch of cords and gear. I just turn this thing on with nothing attached, grab my acoustic guitar, and sing/play thru the built in Mics to "get the idea down". Then I go back later and "do it right".
My two tips are:
1) Get the 1Gig card as the 125Meg card is just too small for real work
2) And "if" you are unhappy with the Mic sound, run your Mic into a preamp and feed the signal into the unit thru the line in. When I did this my vocals became "alive". The guitar in has plenty of "oomphf".
I love this unit. It does everything a singer/songwriter who wants to quickly sketch out ideas could want. And if you want to do some quality recording it will do that too.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Boss BR600 Digital Multitrack Recorder

BR-600 Overview8 Tracks & BeyondThe BR-600 provides eight simultaneous playback tracks, but there's more than meets the eye. Each of the eight tracks also contains eight V-Tracks (virtual tracks), which gives musicians quick access to 64 tracks of recorded material. They can record dozens of takes, and choose their favorites for mixdown.BOSS FXTracks can be manipulated with the powerful effects built into the BR-600. Derived from BOSS high-end recorders, these quality algorithms can give even the dullest tracks maximum impact - mistakes can be fixed, mixes can be mastered. Included in the effects suite: COSM guitar and bass amp models plus chorus, delay, reverb, and EQ for every channel. Pitch correction is provided as well.Drum Machine OnboardThe BR-600 has a high-quality drum machine built in. Perfect backing tracks can be assembled from the nearly 300 drum/percussion patterns built in, or beats can be programmed from the velocity-sensitive pads. Rock, pop, blues, country, R&B, Latin, and more - kick-start a song from the many styles provided.Field RecordingWherever musicians go, the ultra-portable BR-600 is ready to record. It can operate on six AA batteries (or AC). Quality stereo microphones are built in for point-and-capture recording on the spot. Whether for recording band rehearsals, gigs, or capturing ambient sounds, the BR-600 is all musicians need to get the job done with no hassle.CompactFlashThe BR-600 records its CD-quality digital audio direct to the included Compact Flash card, the international standard for reliable, portable storage, and even comes with a custom carrying bag and XLR-to-1/4" mic adapter.

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Zoom R16 Multitrack Recorder Controller and Audio Interface Multitrack SD Recorder Controller and Interface Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This thing is awesome.
But let's start with the bad, before we get to the good. The Bad:
- The preamp quality is not that great. I want to be careful not to over-state this too much: they are certainly not BAD preamps, and they are certainly competitive with other preamps that can be bought eight at a whack for $300, but they are not fast-response, high-headroom, ultra-clean studio preamps. They are more like the preamps on a decent portastudio (duh). They have a bit of a tendency to flab out on DI bass tracks, and can turn a bit crunchy/hashy at the top with difficult program material such as cymbals or detailed condensers. Backing off the input gain and recording at lower levels helps but does not completely solve these issues. And ribbon mics are pretty much right out: there's just not enough clean gain to drive low-output mics while preserving sound quality. But they are perfectly adequate for midrangey, high-output dynamic live mics, such as Shure SM57s and 58s, and considering the price point and what you're buying, they are actually quite capable: VASTLY better than the 1/8" mic/line input on a typical consumer soundcard, and comparable with a typical budget/prosumer mixer or live console.
- Phantom power on only two channels. I imagine this is a limitation of using USB/battery power, and it's frankly kind of amazing that they can deliver 48V at all. But it is still a limitation. If you want to use this box for full-blown studio recording, for this reason and the above, you'll probably want to have some outboard preamps or a mixing console or some such (soundcraft makes some inexpensive mixers with pretty good preamps).
- Zero midi anything. I'm not sure if this is a "bad", so much as just something to be aware of. Inclusion of a simple GM synth or drum machine, or even the ability to record MIDI would have expanded the usefulness of this box, but also would have added a lot of complexity to the little menu-based LCD interface. Overall I think it was a better decision to leave it out, and keep the device easier to use, but it's worth being aware of: if you want to record midi instruments with this box, you will be recording the output as audio.
- Usability/latency problems as a computer audio interface. I found this box to be unsatisfying as a laptop audio interface using early 2010 drivers. USB audio interfaces can be iffy compared with firewire or PCI, and this was no exception. I experienced intermittent problems with crackly audio, dropouts and skips, and had to frequently adjust latency settings and/or restart the hardware. Such problems were intermittent, but even occasional meltdowns can make such a device almost unusable. It's easier to simply record standalone to the Zoom R16 and then dump the files into computer via USB for editing and mixing in your favorite DAW software. Bear in mind that every computer is a bit different, so YMMV, and future firmware or driver updates may help the situation. But for now I cannot recommend it as a primary multitrack audio interface for computer-based recording (although I certainly recommend it as a portable multitrack recorder that can integrate with a computer setup).
So much for the bad. The good:
- IT RUNS ON FRIGGEN BATTERIES. If you are new to recoding, it may not be clear what a revolutionary thing this is, to have a complete recording that you can leave on the coffee table or stick in a backpack and take a full project from recording, through mixing, with effects, and run the whole thing on six AA batteries. Battery-powered recorders are obviously not new, but this box is genuinely a full-capable recording studio that achieve the magic 8 simultaneous inputs, with effects and mixing. And battery life is actually quite good. The more tracks and more processing and effects you're using, the faster they deplete, but even at full load you're changing batteries maybe every two hours, more than enough time to re-charge a spare set of rechargeables.
- SD storage. Using SD cards as the storage medium means cheap and easy storage, but even better, no fans, no motors, no whirring/clicking hard disk... this box is *silent*. It also means that it records like tape: there is no saving, no file-management... just hit record or play, turn power on and off whenever you want-- no worries, and no inspiration-killing hassle.
- Ease of use is really good. Text- and menu-based LCD windows can be a nightmare to deal with, as anyone who was recording in the early days of digital knows. But if you're familiar with multi-track recording generally, this device is easy to use right out of the box. Reading the (pretty good) manual is not required to start recording and mixing, but it does reveal a LOT of deep functionality. If you are new to recording, this is a pretty easy way to get started: it doesn't have the graphical point-and-click simplicity of a computer-based interface, but it also skips over all the issues of latencies, drivers, file-management, and various computer-related headaches. The R16's true 8-input recording and 16-track playback allow it to skip/simplify internal routing, bussing, etc, making it very straightforward to use: every physical channel is a track, and there is a bank up/down key to determine whether you're working with tracks 1-8, or 9-16. Couldn't be simpler. Each channel has a play/mute/record toggle button with a color-changing LED to tell you what state it's in, and the transport controls work just like a tape machine. The menus for effects, project selection, track swapping, etc are all straightforward and well-thought-out, with clearly-labelled buttons for each menu. Connections are extremely simple and obvious. Each channel has a gain/trim control and a mix fader with a 4-LED meter that automatically switches from record level to playback level depending on the track status, and channels with switchable input status use separate physical switches to flip between phantom power on/off, built-in vs external mics, or instrument/mic inputs. Easy peasy, with no obscure or hidden settings or parameters to drive you nuts.
- The built-in mics are an outstanding feature. They are your basic electret omni mics, which means they are quiet, accurate, and have good dynamic response with both low- and high-volume material. Just flip the switch and set them to record and you can track all your rehearsals, live shows, living-room practice, whatever. You can make full multitrack demos using just this box and a pair of headphones.
- Built-in effects are comprehensive, quite good, and very well-thought out. The presets are very usefully-constructed for a box of this type, designed to minimize menu-based tweaking. The main "default" effects configuration is set up for semi-automatic per-channel eq/compression, a master reverb/delay with per-track send, and a full suite of guitar and bass effects on the hi-Z "guitar channel". Digging into the menus further allows you to assign any effect to any track, to change whether insert effects are "hard-coded" onto the incoming audio, or just applied as a bus effect (for example, if you wanted to hear the effect during tracking and playback, but keep the underlying audio "clean" for later processing in a computer DAW or whatever). There are also a host of nifty extras including preamp modellers, guitar and bass amp emulators, wah/modulation/etc "special effects", acoustic guitar and bass simulators, and so on. Not 10 years ago, this box would have been worth the price as a single-channel multi-effects processor alone. Some of the settings are a little weird, and I'd much rather do a full mixdown using hardware processors or computer plugins than using menu-based text inputs, but the effects are all real-time, and you can hear your changes as you make them, so it's certainly possible to do a full record with this box alone, and effects quality is comparable to other digital hardware processors.
- Overall sound quality is quite good. Even factoring in the preamp reservations above, 15 years ago you could have spent 10 or 15 thousand dollars EASILY and still not had the sound quality and capability of this little box (plus you would have needed 20 electrical outlets and a room to store it all in, not to mention hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of racks and cables). It probably won't replace your RME interface or Apogee converters, and it certainly won't replace a collection of API and Telefunken mic preamps, and you'll probably want to hang onto to your UAD card if you have one, but good luck sticking all that in a laptop bag and taking it to the beach.
This plus something like a Tivoli Audio iSongBook (or even a pair of headphones) makes a complete, battery-powered multitrack studio that fits in a backpack or laptop bag, with room left over to hold spare batteries plus a couple of mic cables and SM57s, if you want them. Laptop-based mobile DAWs have always seemed like an awesome idea, but in practice things like boot times, dongles, limited mobile interface options, mixing and control via mousepad, short battery life, self-noise, computer-related reliability and stability issues, etc have always tended to keep it a good "idea" as opposed to a truly mobile "on your lap" studio. This is perfect and easy to take on the road, record in the tour bus, in the rehearsal space, in the hotel room, at a picnic table, a house party, wherever.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Zoom R16 Multitrack Recorder Controller and Audio Interface Multitrack SD Recorder Controller and Interface

Zoom has revolutionized digital recording again with the first digital recorder with 16-track playback and 8-track simultaneous recording that utilizes Secure Digital (SD) memory. The new R16 recorder is three production tools in one incredibly versatile device. It's a digital multi-track recorder, an audio interface and a control surface, providing you with all the tools necessary to create studio-quality recordings anywhere.

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