[Harp-L] Portable digital recorders

["Fred & Sylvia" <fsstov@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am trying to decide on a portable digital recorder for practice, lessons,
jams, conventions, etc.  Harp-L has had a lot of good info lately, and it
seems like the Zoom H4 and Boss Micro BR are the leading candidates in my
mind.  Wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom between these two.

An early contender, M-Audio MicroTrak, looked good and is high end, but
requires an external mic and is pricey.  The Mobiblu seems to fall short on
having a lousy mic and cannot set recording levels, although the price is
right and it does have an FM tuner (which I would like to have, although
I'll probably have to go with a separate iPod-clone for that).

The Zoom seems to have a good built in stereo mic, but is maybe not rugged
(if I remember R. Hunter's comments correctly).  The Boss may require an
external mic for decent sound, but haven't heard any reports on it's
internal mic vs. the Zoom.  Then there's the matter of sampling format (not
so important, as long as it's got 44.1/16 minimum), battery life (more
important), storage, etc.  

Both Zoom and Boss are "studios" (not really what I need - effects, drum
tracks, etc I can get elsewhere) with "virtual" 4-track recording (also not
so important).

I could do the archive thing, print out the posts, and then get the specs
side-by-side to compare, but figured it was worth a post to see if there was
something I was missing in the H4 vs. Micro BR debate as of today.  Maybe
someone has both and could comment?  Or has one and could add a comment?
One last factor:
Boss $229 (at Elderly)
Zoom $139
Boss are normally high quality products and may be worth the price
differential, but if the Zoom built-in mics save me from getting an external
on top of this, it may be worth the chance.

Thanks for any advice you can give, and for being just, you know, harp-l.

Fred S