Boss BR Micro vs. M-Audio Black Box

[quiksilver]

I'm thinking about getting one of these little units for portable headphone practice. I want to be able to learn tunes and jam to drums/backing tracks. Anyone have any experience with either one, or know where I can find demos of them, other than the videos on the manufacturers' web sites (which I've already viewed)?

VHI/Fair Warning is my ideal tone. Zakk sounds good, too. I like the tone of my Tech 21 Trademark 10, and the Soldano sound on my Pod XT Live.

In my experience, most of these types of units do not focus on heavy rock tones. I have previously had a Korg Pandora PX4, which I thought was cool, but it didn't have enough gain for me (seemed more focused on light gain sounds). I also had a Boss BR700CD, but I didn't keep it long enough to figure it out. I also had a Fender G-DEC, which was a blast, but again, didn't have the high gain tones that I need in my daily diet.

The BR Micro videos on the Boss site do nothing for me, though it seemed that the demo presenter was into different sounds than me.

The video of Roger Linn playing the Black Box had a better tone (Recto), but then he started noodling around with arpeggiators, which do not interest me. Plus, that video was old, and I understand that the Black Box Reloaded has much better high gain sounds.

[bloodandtears]

ask armin.. he has one..

http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/index.php?sid=45c3a5243859b0f7d211efaf26c708d2

[quiksilver]

Thanks!

[charvelguy]

I own the black box, but I have not really explored the thing wholeheartedly enough to say I can get a great this or that sound out of it yet. The thing that really is rather annoying is how they dial in the sounds and the sub menu's. The arppegiators are rather cool and annoying at the same time but just in stock form, I found it difficult to just have control enough to get a good dry no effects type guitar sound. The mix features are a tweak I'm unfamilar with, and as much as I wanted to have a dry sound it seemed you couldn't just turn an effect off but rather had to turn the effect down all the way for it to be ineffective.

If you want a decent recto type tone.. I suggest giving the J-station a spin.

Those new Digitech RP modelers look like they are worth a spin too.

[quiksilver]

Thanks, I just checked out some of the DigiTech samples, and some sounded pretty decent. You're right about the Recto tone on the J-Station, too. I remember when I used to live near a Guitar Center (near the Cities, actually, in your neck of the woods), and I loved jamming on the Recto preset. (Normally, I'm into Marshall tones, but that model was great).