Boss Review: BR-864

History:

Purchase: I bought the unit in Germany for 500 Euros, this included (a non original Boss power supply).

What I Like About This Boss BR-864: The portablility and the ease of use I like best, also the sound quality is very good. I take theunit everywhere I want and can even run it for a long time on batteries. Because of its portability and easy of use it promotes what it is all about ; your creativity making music.

What I Do NOT Like About The Boss BR-864: The biggest shock is that you don't have software to convert the recordings on your PC, you have to convert your tracks on the unit itself to .wav or .aif format before you can export it to the PC. The conversion on the unit takes a lot off room on the Compact Memory card so the included 128 Compact Flash doesn't get you very far. It is super frustrating that after your recording you find out that you can't convert it because your Compact Flash card is full. It is strange because the BR-8 and the BR-532; which are older machines do have the software to convert on the PC. I contacted Roland; they have no plans providing the software. The internal microfone is also noit very good; using a good external microfone ( I use a Shure SM58) works very well and is recommended. Also; one can only plug one guitar in and one microphone; I would have liked extra inputs.

Boss BR-864 Quality Rating: The Boss-Br864 feels pretty solid (better than the Fostex). The knobs and functionality are similar from the ofther (bigger) Boss multitrack recorders so when you upgrade the learning curve you have with this unit transfers easilly.

Review Summary: Overall; for guitarists / song writers like myself a recommendation; unit which you have years of recording learning and flexibility. The lack of software conversion is a big minus; recommend to get the 1 GB Compact Flash.

Rating of this Boss product: 4

This Boss BR-864 Recording Gear Review Submitted By: cpaauw

Review Date: 2004-02-29