Zoom MRS-1608 or Boss BR1600 - any advice please!

S

Spaniel

New member
Hello all,

This is my first post and I'm sorry, but I'm going to try to shamelessly leech off of your knowledge and experience. Who knows, maybe in 50 years time I will be able to return the favor, but at the moment all this talk of compressors, pre-amps and such like is just scaring me!

I am totally new to home recording, in fact I haven't even started yet. I am about to invest in a multi-track studio and I have been trying to find out which is the best one to go for.

I have decided to go for either the Zoom MRS-1608 or the Boss BR1600, mainly because they are the ones readily available here (I live in Japan).

They both seem really good, and to be honest I think they both have far more capability than I actually need at the moment, but in the future, who knows...

At the moment I am thinking that the Zoom one is the one for me for the following reasons:

1. I had a look at them both in the store and the zoom one looked easier to use. I really do know nothing (although I'm hoping to change that).

2. The Zoom one looks like it has a better drum machine. I need a drum machine. I live in a Japanese rabbit-hutch apartment. Real drums are not an option!

3. The Zoom one is only 2/3 of the price of the boss, but it seems to be almost identical in terms of its fundamental capabilties.

Does anyone use either of these? Has anyone tried both? Do I sound ridiculous? I really don't know. All I know is that I'm going to shell out for one soon because I MUST CREATE MUSIC!!

By the way (i guess it may be relevant), I'm planning to use the recorder to record (initially at any rate..) music which could be classified as ermm... "extreme metal". I hope that doesn't prejudice any of you against giving me the time of day...

Thanks for reading!

Spaniel
 
First off, making "extreme metal" in a Japanese apartment = TOTALLY AWESOME. Maybe you can get Merzbow to come up and do some guest work!

Anyway, my comment isn't all that substantive, but if price is not a determining factor, I would point you towards the Boss just on general principle. It's been a while since i got anything new from them, but Zoom in general makes shoddy, low-quality stuff that won't last very long. This could no longer be the case, or this particular peice could be an exception, but when it comes to your central recording deck, you probably want to go as high-quality as possible. As for the drum machine, you're probably better off getting a separate one anyway. I don't know about Japan, but here in the U.S. good used units can be had for about $100.

So, for what that's worth. ROCK OUT!
 
Thanks for the reply Sleep. Always glad to listen to the opinion of someone who knows about Merzbow.

I think your point may be a valid one. Superficially at any rate, the Boss unit seems much more solid and better made. Also, I've always used Boss pedals etc. and found them to be good and durable, whereas Zoom is a brand I'd never even heard of until recently when I started thinking about buying a recorder.

Price is not the major determining factor, but when its such a big difference (the equivalent of about $750 vs. about $1100 for the Boss) it is something I have to think about.

I hear what your are saying about the drum machine, but the thing is I was really surprised by how good the Zoom one sounded when I was playing around with it in the store, and it looked really easy to use compared to the Boss one.

I just don't know!!!

Spaniel
 
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