BR-8 vs. VS-840

[yannman]

Hello all,

I am a newbie in this digital recording world. I have the option of buying:

1) A used VS-840 in good shape for about $800

2) A new Boss BR-8 for about $700

Both seem to have similar features. The VS-840 seems to be easier to upgrade (e.g. to the EX version) and has a placeholder for a SCSI port. The BR-8 seems easier to use and has both a built-in tuner and a drum machine...

Any recommendations? I know which one I am leaning towards - but I just want to get a second (or third) opinion.

Thanks,

Yannman

[BrettB]

hi,

Although I'm not an expert, I would defentely go for the Roland one. The greatest disadvantage of the Boss Br-8 is the Zip Drive. If you use the full 8 tracks, you can hardly record 4 minutes. And buying new Zip's every day isn't that cheap either.

With the BR-8 you can also only record 2 tracks at the same time,

The Roland is indeed a little harder to use, but once you get the hang of it, it will be more effective I think. Check as many opinions as possible

Greetings!

Brett

[virtual.ray]

Roland finally "released" the VS-890 in the U.S. at S-NAMM (it's been out in a few other countries for a while).What this means to you is that if you can be a little bit patient and start looking around,you will probably start seeing 880Ex's going for not much more than the figures you mentioned.It will be a steeper learning curve than the 2 machines you mentioned,but it will allow you to record uncompressed audio and later on you can get the CD burner for backup and to burn your own CD's.Cheers!

[Otter]

I own the 840ex and I would get the 840 over the br-8 anyday.

I bought my 840ex new for $799

[yannman]

May I ask you where you purchased it?

[bahead]

You can order it online at http://www.8thstreet.com for $799.

[Julia]

Hi, Yannman...just offering my opinion in response to your question. I too am currently looking at digital recording units, and have been researching a wide variety including the BR-8 and some of the Roland units.

In my opinion, you are looking at paying WAY too much for a simple 840, used. Even the brand new 840EX's sell for less than $800. You're getting ripped off if you pay $800 for a used simple 840.

Best to you...good luck with your choices.

Julia

[Burton]

I second the recommendation for an 880ex. You'll get frustrated fast with the 250meg zip drive on the 840, and even faster with the severely limiting 100meg disks of the BR-8.

The 840 also has two permanently linked stereo tracks, unlike the 880 which has 8 discrete tracks for recording. As stated above, with the 890's release, 880 prices should be dropping to under $1,000.