Should I Buy a BOSS Micro BR-80 Digital Recorder?

Having owned the BOSS BR-8, BR-600, BR-800, and the original Micro BR, is the BOSS Micro BR-80 worth buying?

The Death of Digital Recorders?

Digital recorders like the BOSS BR series and the Tascam Portastudios are a thing of the past, right? Everyone’s moved over to DAWs and computer-based recording, haven’t they?

Well, I have, specifically an iPad with Garageband. For mixing it’s better as you have the full toolset of automation, fading, and a larger, clearer screen to do it with. For sharing it’s better because you have an internet connection. For effects it’s better, as there’s more of them, with greater tweakability, You also have a wealth of virtual instruments at your fingertips to fool around with, using your actual fingertips in the case of the iPad.

So it’s a lot of fun in other words, and there are more options and power. So why am I even entertaining the idea of going back to the BOSS BR series?

The BOSS Micro BR BR-80 is made for the Guitarist / Singer-Songwriter.

Well, having all that flexibility and power comes at a cost. Try to please everyone and you please no one, right? And the BOSS BR series has never attempted that, rather it’s focused on providing Guitarists / Singer-Songwriters like me the specific tools they need to produce great-sounding music as quickly as possible. GarageBand has no auto-punch in loop recording, no COSM Guitar / Vocal FX, and no Guitar-to-Bass wizardry. The iPad has no direct input for a Guitar or Mic and as a result, is a pain to set up. All things that BOSS has been providing for decades.

In a nutshell. I’m hankering for the BOSS BR series again because it was easier, faster, and more fun to produce inspiring music. Inspiring is an interesting concept here as, for many reasons, DAWs, whatever their flavour, kill the mood. They put up too many barriers and give you too many options. What I want is to plug in a mic or guitar directly into a unit, and for that same unit to produce the tones I need, latency-free. That unit also needs to be able to lay down drum tracks and allow editing/mastering.

The BOSS BR Series has always done all of the above, and I don’t think I can be bothered connecting my iPad to my Presonus iOne and my iOne to a power outlet again, as well as having to set up mics and headphones. It’s just too much of a faff for 30 minutes of recording time and are the end results worth it?

No. I want a dedicated one-stop solution again.

Why the BOSS Micro BR-80?

I moved away from the BOSS BR-800 because the drums were too limited so it couldn’t function as a Dawless unit. I’d say that it was also a little too large and cumbersome for the task at hand (I only need a single input, not four). I believed that to be the end of the road for myself and BOSS for making music, but right under my nose, they upgraded the old Micro BR with better drums, onboard mics, a vastly superior UI, and beefed up core tones. Do I really care about the lack of fading tracks? Virtual Instruments? Advanced editing?

To be honest, I did before, that’s why I binned my old BOSS Micro BR, but could now be the time to focus on music again instead of getting distracted by the unnecessary niceties?

The iPad with Garageband is clever and fun. But it’s clever and fun in a tech way, not a musical way. The guitar amp and vocal fx are just not as good or as quick to get a good tone out of. It’s just not as user-friendly, most of the time hindering rather than helping the process. I love how it feels like BOSS has focused this product on me. Who needs 10 different drummers, scores of drumkits, loops, and cheesy-sounding synths?

The proof is in the pudding.

I remember a time when I could knock out three songs in a week. Recorded, from start to finish. Nowadays. I’m lucky to do one a year. Sure, circumstances have changed, I have a family, and I have less time, but I think another factor is that, when inspiration strikes, It’s hampered by wires, setting up, menus, and the technical side of things, rather than plugging in and playing like I used to do with a BOSS BR. I used to enjoy the process, but now I kind of dread it. Sorry to ever doubt you BOSS, You never really put a foot wrong.

So I’m curious. I think I might have to jump back into the BOSS BR Series with the BOSS Micro BR-80, and I think so should you!