used Boss BR800 vs basic usb interface (for a newcomer)

[CC86]

So I bought an SM57 along with an ART TubeMP several years ago to play around with but I never really did much with them and I'd like to finally start using them.

I have a friend who is looking to get rid of his old BR-800 because he has recently upgraded to the 12 track CD burning version and he's looking to get 150$ for it. It is an older one (probably somewhere between 5 and 7 years old) but I will assume that with updated drivers/firmware that it will be as good as new one? Also will my ART preamp still be useful if I go with this? I'm guessing it must be a bit better than whatever is built-in to the workstation...but I don't know if the machine will allow me to turn off or bypass the on-board preamps?

I've also been looking into cheap (under 200$) usb interfaces to pair up with what I already have and go the computer route with audacity or something. This is what I was mostly looking to use but when he told me about his boss machine this weekend I wondered if it might be too good of a deal to pass up seeing as a new one goes for 450$ here.


I guess I'm wondering what I should go with in your opinion, given that I already own those 2 things? I'd hate to waste any learning time by spending countless hours learning to use this machine to just eventually decide to ditch it and go the computer route in the long run.


thanks for any input/advice/opinions

 

[xbxrxixtx]

I google searched br800 and the sweetwater page says that it is also an interface. Because you have an older model it may not have that, but if it does I would go with it. If it does not also function as an interface then I would go with the standalone interface. It's all opinion really though.

As far as your preamp you shouldn't have any problem using it with the boss.

If you don't want to spend time learning how to use the boss machine then don't. Getting an interface and learning to use it will probably be better for you down the road because even if you upgrade it will still essentially be the same thing, just better or bigger than what you start with. If you want to get into more analog stuff later then maybe it would be better to have the boss mixer just to get used to having physical faders and all of that. Again though, its really all preference.

 

[mjbphotos]

The Boss BR800 has not been around that long - the previous version was the BR600. If you are at least moderately comfortable with the principals of recording, then go for an AI and DAW. Small stand-alone recorders are great learning tools but, depending on what you want to record, they are limited. I used my BR600 for 2+ years, but now I am using Reaper, I will never look back.