If you want to see breakthrough music technology, AES and Winter NAMM are the places to be. But occasionally, an amazing new gadget sneaks in at the Summer NAMM show.

Last July, Summer NAMM was in my hometown of Austin, and I was slogging through the aisles, disappointed that none of my favorite software companies were there. After navigating rows and rows of guitars and amps, I was just about to head out when, lo and behold, I saw it: my new love, the Boss Micro BR. A portable multitrack studio that fits in the palm of your hand.

I watched mesmerized as the demonstrator chained a few drum beats into an arrangement, plugged in his electric guitar, chose a cool effect, played a rhythm part, recorded a lead guitar with a new effect on another track, and then created a mixdown of his performance as both WAV and MP3 files. Then he showed the MP3 player built into the Micro BR and how that worked. I was impressed.

The Micro BR wasn't being released for another month, but I ordered one ($229 street) and forgot about it until it arrived just before Christmas. Here's what I've discovered.

At 5 3/8 x 3 1/4 x 7/8 inches, the Boss Micro BR puts multitrack recording and an MP3 player in the palm of your hand.

I've admitted to being a gear and software addict. My addiction began with portable gadgets—from micro cassettes, handheld sequencers, video games, metronomes, and tuners to battery-powered speakers, I have quite the pile of antiquated toys in my studio closet. But I'm sure my new Micro BR won't be banished to the misfit toy closet for many years.

The Out-of-the-Box Test

My first impression taking the Micro BR out of the box was amazement. It's as thin as an iPod and just a wee bit bigger. When the power is off, the mirrored front is just plain sexy (and it came in handy while applying mascara). I plugged in two AA batteries and noticed the included Secure Digital memory card inside the battery compartment. This 128MB card will record 64 minutes total in high-resolution mode. With a 1GB card—the largest size the Micro BR supports—you can record up to 8 hours and 22 minutes. Note that those numbers refer to a single (mono) track in compressed mode. Record an uncompressed stereo WAV file and you'll get about 94 minutes out of a 1GB card.

Turning the power on, I saw the bright LCD display. I immediately started pressing buttons and exploring to see what I could figure out before digging into the manual. The main features are all accessible from the front. The main buttons you use are <, >, +, –, and, of course, Exit.

I've collected a mountain of music gadgets over the years, but I think the Micro BR will have staying power. (Photo: Ryan Chahanovich.)

I noticed the USB port and decided to hook it up to my PowerBook to see what happened. The LCD read "USB Connecting," then "USB Idling," and then the Micro BR mounted like a hard drive on my computer desktop. I opened it and noticed two folders, one called "Roland" and one called "MP3." There was a demo MP3 file inside the MP3 folder called "Big Dance," so I decided to copy a few of my own MP3 files into the folder as well. Then I disconnected the Micro BR from my laptop, pressed the MP3 button in the bottom left corner, and used the + and – buttons to scroll through my MP3 files and play them. (The Micro BR plays MP3s with bit rates from 64–320kbps as well as 44.1kHz WAV files.) It was simple and intuitive.

Next to the time display, the LCD said "100%." I scrolled over to the number, changed it, and noticed that the Micro BR changed the tempo of my MP3 file without changing its pitch. The settings range from 25% (quarter speed) to 200% (double speed), although the sound degrades pretty badly when you start getting slower than about 85%. Boss intended this feature to help guitar players learn parts by slowing down the song. It would be fine for that, but the garbled sound quality would grate on my nerves after a while.

Another interesting feature in MP3 mode is looped playback. On the front panel is an "A/B" button. Pressing the button once creates the loop start point and pressing it a second time creates the end point. Playback loops between those points until you press the "A/B' button again to clear the loop.