BR-800 digital recorder from BOSS

Field recording sessions are fun, but there’s a pretty large gap between the low and high ends of the gear. You either get a handheld stereo recorder, or have to haul a mess of interfaces and preamps with your laptop. But this multi-track recorder from BOSS fills in that gap nicely with a very versatile and flexible recording platform.

You can record up to 4 track simultaneously, and have up to 8 for playback, plus a dedicated stereo drum track. There’ a slew of effects processing, a drum machine, and a pair of on-board condenser microphones to allow you to record at a moment’s notice. Power comes from 6 AA batteries. The touch sensors give the device a very streamlined look as well.

Once you’re past tracking, and onto the mixing stage, you can use the BR-800 as a control surface for your DAW. Or a USB interface, so you can utilize the onboard effects. And if you don’t have a Digital Audio Workstation, Cakewalk SONAR 8.5 LE comes included.

An interesting twist is that it records directly onto an SD card, making getting your files around that much easier. Maximum supported size is 32 GB.

We’ll be getting a review as soon as they’re available. And when they are, they’ll run at $525.00.