Added: 3 years ago
From: SonicOrbStudios
Views: 51,633
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:

All Comments (247)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Hi,

    Can you record two tracks simultaneously?

    ie: Guitar and vocal played at the same time, but recorded seperately on two tracks.

    guitar on one, vocal on the other.

    Cheers

    Gary

  • @SONGSTICKS Yes, just record to two mono tracks armed at the same time.

  • @SonicOrbStudios

    EXCELLENT.. i'M WATCHING ONE ON EBAY

    cHEERS

  • i recorded a guitar track on this and a bass track over it but the bass is on the right side and i cant figure out how to pan the bass part to both ears, do you know how?

  • @AustinBrady97 If you record with an instrument input, you will be able to pan the track L or R before recording. If you record one input of a stereo input, it will be L channel by default. Either way, panning AFTER recording is VERY limited within this device. You're better off recording at center using any input(s) from the start.

  • You get a box?!?!? AWESOME!!!!

  • dude. you need to back light your self, also dvcam or mini dv, has the worst colour sampling, that's why you get the crunchy alpha mask.

    k

  • @kpopRC 1) I had a back light on set and turned on. 2) I was using MiniDV. 3) This miniDV cam was an old as hell cheap Sony Handycam which hardly did well in good lighting. 4) I keyed this with just Premiere Pro CS3. 5) I hardly knew how to key when this was shot.

    I agree this is not a good key or quality video however the content is what counts and the number of views here backs that up. I do FAR better work now with my new cameras and software. Check out my more recent keys on green screen.

  • @SonicOrbStudios ps. thanks for your review.. great information.

  • @kpopRC Also, I've worked with professional MiniDV cams such as the Canon XL1 and XL2 and both do great at keying. Sure they are not as good as something like a Panasonic 615 but hey...it is what it is.

  • @SonicOrbStudios mini dv will always suck. . minidv is not a pro format. never was. trust me play with a 4:4:4 or a 4:4:0 sampling source.... you can key liquids. colour information is not grouped and compressed, which is what you see on the edges of your key. minidv is a TERRIBLE format. same with HDV. stay away from those. even when shooting with new dslr's the source needs to be transcoded, to be properly colour corrected or key'd.

  • @kpopRC While I fully agree with you on the formats and such, I was simply commenting on what I was working with on this particular video.

    I'm currently working with a Vixia HF S100 which compresses as well but does far better. Soon I'll be buying a Canon XF305 which offers 4:2:2 CS.

  • Hey; I just got an old model of:"Fostex digital miltitracker DMT8 " and would like to manipulate on it ; so if you can give me advices how to use it professionally !

    I will appreciate it .

  • not bein a yt douche but i worked at radiocrack for 5 years and according to the diagram on the back of the unit the dc in is center POS. again, just my inner RS dork coming out. otherwise sweet review. got one myself and i dig it like a grave. peace

  • why dyou keep saying frostex??? its FOSTEX

  • @krankerkris I know, see the annotations

  • i have my xlr microphone plugged in but it wont work ? everything else does byt not my xlr mix ? please help need to get this song recorded for my fianl gcse piece xxxxxx

  • @skywardism Yes I would say this is a plausible solution to what you need to get done.

  • can you import what youve recorded onto FL studio and have them show up as separate tracks?

  • @hitlerlovedjews11 Yes, but only as long as as you don't bump/mix down the separate tracks to 5/6 and/or 7/8. Just record, save your project, and plug the CF card into any card reader plugged into a computer.

  • @SonicOrbStudios k thanks, much appreciated

  • Comment removed

  • i have my files converted to WAV files and on track 7/8, but when i plug it into my computer it says: device not recognized. is there a driver i need to install for my PC to be able to download the files?

  • @CaNtBeSaVeDxXx "device not recognized" is a common thing I get on my desktop with my external USB card reader. Unplugging for 3-5 minutes usually fixes it. Yes the Fostex website should have a driver.

  • @SonicOrbStudios thank you :) ive looked for a driver but im unsure of which one [there are many download links] to get.

  • @CaNtBeSaVeDxXx Also see my latest video on the Fostex which I made last night. The update may fix this issue for you.

  • @SonicOrbStudios thanks man

  • Can this be used to record while in live performance. If so can the effects be used while you record while playing live??? Thanks ~joe~

  • @JCMIMPERSONATOR yes the effects can be used real time and you can record a full band with this but you are limited to only being able to record up to 2 inputs at one time so that's the same as only being able to use two mics for a full band....

    This was more for small ideas and bedroom projects, It's not really built for live bands and such.

  • it should be known

  • 6 people dont know there music lol

  • I just finished recording a demo, converted it to a WAV file and successfully uploaded it to my PC. However, the volume of the song is now MUCH lower than what I was hearing through my headphones and the MR8. My headphone volume was only up to the halfway point on the unit, but the master volume was very high - not quite at "Max," though. Any suggestions??

  • @Genimation I think I remember only having the headphone knob around 9 or 10 o' clock when I had this unit. So that said, I think your preamps were too low the whole record time and therefore the final mix is low.

    If I still had this product I would do a few tutorials on how to operate it and show proper levels and such but I sold it a while after doing this video review.

  • @SonicOrbStudios I have a question...how does this sound? I really like the unit, as far as I can tell from your review here but wonder what it records like? Is it similar to an ADAT for instance? I love the simplicity of adats and think both vocals and drums sound great with them...how does this unit compare to an adat or d88?

  • @1shnookste It's an ok starting unit and great for idea tracking on the fly however don't expect anything outstanding in terms of quality from this unit. If you really want quality, you'll have to spend money...products like the Alesis ADAT HD24 paired with a digital mixer will blow this little product out of the water without question.

  • Not the HD version.

  • Do you need to hook it up to a computer program(Like Protools or Fruityloops) in order for it to record?

  • @Akbree17 no, this is a stand alone unit. An "Audio interface" is a type of product that needs to be used with a computer as it simply boosts and signals and converts them to digital.

  • Hi i also bought the fostex mr8 and i tried recording and when i was finished recording i pressed play and rewind and play again and i dont hear the song i recorded am i doing something wronge?

  • @Akbree17 be sure to go over the manual to be sure you are using the thing correctly and that things are wired and turned up to proper levels. Also if that all seems correct you can put the CF card into a computer and see if it's actually recording the media to the card and that you can hear it on there.

    There are a lot of steps to go though to record and play back on this device, messing up just one could kill the whole process.

  • i dont understand! i use this and record a song then i rewind it and i dont get any sound from what i recorded. and i dont know how to hear it. there is no playback whatsoever.

  • @TheLikeItOrNotMusic have you spent some timeto rad the manual so you are sure you're using it correctly?

  • @TheLikeItOrNotMusic I know rite im getting the same problem once you finally get your fostex together let me know so you can tell me what you did.

  • The difference between this and the MR-8 seems to be the knob.. USB Host seems to be different, I guess that means you can connect it to an external USB drive. But you'd want to use SD cards with it anyhow, as solid state memory is faster than hard drives, The effects suck, my Yamaha Natural sound effects box I got from a thrift place for 15 dollars is so much better. BTW with modern music being compressed out the wazoo who really cares about noise.. I can't detect noise on my MR8..

  • Hi Dave - I got one of these. I never used one before. So I hooked up an acoustic and tried to see if I had a level, which I had and could hear through my headphones. I pressed record and the appropriate tracks. Then I could not find what I had recorded afterwards. Any help at all would be appreciated.

  • @bellton Arm a track to record two, hit record on the unit to go into monitor/ready mode and adjust your preamp levels as well as be sure the master and track faders are up. Then hit play and record and record your part. Hit stop, rewind to the beginning and hitting play should play back what you recorded.

  • @SonicOrbStudios

    Thanks. I'll give this a shot. see how i get on,

  • so how can i put vst on it? such as autotune? please help me im lost!

  • @OfficialVictorTV No this unit will not support VSTs. I'm not sure even the highest end units will support that. If you want those type of features you'll need to work with an audio interface and computer to record, not a multi-track recorder.

  • @OfficialVictorTV aww man! i just bought it off this guy for no reason! well any ways how do you import the tracks? do you have a tutorial on that? it would be helpfull! well thank u so much!

  • @OfficialVictorTV Well sorry to be harsh but it was a stupid move to buy this for "no reason". Researching before buying any gear will help you save money and is almost always a safe step to take.

    There is no easy way to import audio into this unit, it was designed around recording tracks into it in real time. I don't know of a way to put audio on the flash card and have it show up in a project on the recorder.

  • @OfficialVictorTV ya i know but i bought all this studio stuff for $600 and it came with it

  • is this an interface?

  • @OfficialVictorTV no its not an interface, it's a multi track recorder...interfaces are things like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro or Fast Track MKII

  • can u hook it up 2 a computer

  • @225lilreese You can move the tracks you've recorded or the full mix to a computer and process it further however you can't stream the inputs live to the computer like a recording audio interface.

  • I have just bought one of these, very impressed so far. A peculiarity is that the outputs are 2 1/4 inch jack sockets where most machines have 2 phono (RCA) sockets. If like me you want to mixdown straight to the computer you need a connector which is 2 1/4 inch jack plugs to a 3.5 mm jack plug, which wasn't that easy to find.

  • @divadcrab12 a dual 1/4" to stereo mini jack Y-cable is actually quite common. Musicians friend and other sites have plenty of them in stock.

    Glad you are enjoying this MTR.

  • @divadcrab12 so you can use this as a mixdown to my computer per lets say acid pro? sort of like a poor mans interface?

  • @TheFallenillusion not really..you can record and mix it all down on the recorder and in the end, send the final result to the computer for minor tweaking but all the tracks will be combined at that point.

    I like to think of an interface as a device that takes inputs and sends them to the computer to be recorded in real time...with the MTR you can't use it to do this...everything is sent to the computer though the USB transfer or card reader AFTER the song is mixed and recorded.

  • @SonicOrbStudios oh well. thats the way i have been using it. its a bummer but it does not take away the fact that this product is great! thanks for the reply

  • @TheFallenillusion It's up to each individual to do what they're most comfortable with. I like to record my keyboard, guitar & vocal tracks (up to 8 though I tend not to need all 8), then connect the Fostex MR8 to the computer soundcard line-in and use a program (I use Audacity) to convert to WAV files then to MP3. Alternatively you can use the MR8 to convert to WAV files, then use the USB port to take it over to the computer.

  • @divadcrab12 rerecording the playback only lowers quality...its better to plug in the flash card to the computer and transfer the original wave files rater than record with with Audacity.....less ADA conversion steps.

  • Anything that gets me away from the Microsoft slavery by having to update the system every time I turn off m computer, everything that is not Microsoft laptop is good in my book. Thank you.

  • @dvamateur windows updates monthly, not daily. If you dont want to deal with updates and viruses but still enjoy the unlimited setup of recording to computers, go buy a Mac.

  • @SonicOrbStudios I have a Mac, albeit Mac mini with Logic installed, which is obviously not a perfect combination. I can't even play a piano patch without the computer chocking immediately. Oh well, I don't have money for the Mac Pro, and neither I like the looks or size of it. Yeah, I am superficial. If something looks good on an outside, I'll use it. Otherwise, I lose interest instantly.

  • @dvamateur yea the Mac minis were never really designed to work with this type of load. The new ones can do a lot more but are hyped up $200 more which is crazy IMO. I never could get myself to pay $2,000 for a mac pro where a $1,000 desktop PC could do just as good. In fact, my desktop does just about everything and has only cost me around $600 at this point.

    I still prefer the user interface on the PC side but have worked with Macs in the past.

  • i purchased this exact machine in 2007 and the internal microphone worked great, so my dad got jealous of my using it all the time so he just bought himself one for fathers day in 2010, we both noticed the new one came with a 1 Gigabyte compact flash card and the internal microphone did not work as well as the old one i had, also the power cable was a bit different but otherwise, i found having 2 of them you can use any of the effects you want on each individual track, Its a good machine.

  • do you think there is any digital recorder such as a roland or somthing that is as good as using a interface .

  • @l1ftedink Tascam and Boss make a few better units but still, when you're in the $300 price range, you're not going to get any great results.

    The TASCAM DP-008 I think is a better choice in this price range as it records to SD cards which are cheaper and you can find them in larger sizes.

  • would it be better too record through an interface or this with me being a rapper/singer because im looking for quality(clear vocals,clearly hear what im staying) . the only thing is my computer is kinda noisey and i dont have a booth and pro tools is hrd to use for me . i have alot of lyrics and beats im just trynna record .

  • @l1ftedink TBH its a good starting product to get ideas down but really isn't high end quality. I personally would go with an interface.

    my comp is noisy too but the 990 doesn't pick it up too bad. You can try to record on the other side of the room as well.

    If you don't like ProTools, (I don't either) Try Reaper, Sonar, Cubase, or Adobe Audition. I like sonar the most but audition is a great choice too IMO.

    Look into M-Audio recording interfaces, the Fast Track MKII is nice.

  • does it have sound effects/editing for vocals or do i have to upload it to my computer and do that with a software. also can i uplaod beats onto it from my computer or some how ? last are the vocals cystal clear im using a MXL 990 mic how is the quality?thankyou from replying

  • @l1ftedink everything including effects is built into this unit. MTRs are built to be used without a computer although this one offers a few basic features that can be used with a computer, one being that you can transfer the final product to the computer via the USB port or using a Compact Flash card.

    Overall its a great recorder but it really has it's limits. I still enjoy using an audio interface to record direct to my computer.

    Quality is ok with this unit but not the best...

  • what do you mean by 8 track like you can only mix 8 things ?

  • @l1ftedink think of it like 8 tape players. You can record one thing on each track and adjust their levels on their own in the end.

    With this unit you can record onto 2 tracks at the same time and are also able to "bump" the audio from all of the tracks to tracks 5/6 or 7/8 which gives you more room to record to the first few tracks. The only downside is once you bump you can't adjust the individual levels of those first tracks.

  • i get a box and a manual!!!!! oh boy

  • Thanks for posting. This was very helpful. My only recommendation is it would have been nice to hear a recording example. You know, so we can hear the quality/end result. What can that thing really do?

  • I have a question. Can you plug in a flashdrive directly into it and put anything you recorded on the flashdrive? or do you have to put it onto a computer and then onto a flashdrive?

  • @humpmastajoe16 You will need to use a computer as you need some type of interface to get the song from the CF card to the final destination.

    When you plug into the computer the Fostex will look like an external drive source.

  • fostex dude, not "frostex" i can't stand this guy

  • Good, in depth review. Well done. I have ordered one of these and can't wait! One comment. The background music you had going just bothered me to no end. It's too loud and unnecessary and just plain annoying. My 2 cents.

  • @WhiteLakeDan Thanks

    yea this was my first tutorial of many so yea it's far from perfect.

    I usually like to have backing music though as it draws away from the room noises.

  • What I like about these machines is the ease of use...you set one up in your studio, and you can turn it on and record in seconds.

    Focus on writing a song, not which one of 500 guitar effects you want.

    This is the kind of machine a musician like Jack White would use; simple and easy. If you're someone like Moby, this isn't your machine!

    Wonderful machines, and cool review!

  • @InuvikPhil Thanks

    yea I got this unit originally to place next to the drums. I would end up playing and coming out with a great solo out of nowhere so I was able to capture those with this recorder.

  • Hi man,

    with the fostex MR8 MKII, how can you put music from the pc on your mix panel?

  • @aaron1994m This is something that isn't in the manual and I have no idea how to do it. Sometimes it isn't possible with some of these low priced MTRs.

  • @aaron1994m a double-sided jack cable works just fine. insert 1 side n2 ur pc's headphone slot, and the other n ur mic/line input of ur mr-8. adjust ur volume and ur good 2 go. they wont come in separate tracks though.

  • @RRRGGGSSS999

    Well that's your opinion and yea, it's not going to sound like the pro studio gear because it is one of those low cost items.

  • @RRRGGGSSS999

    It could be a bad compact flash card, try another. If not, return it for another. Mine worked fine and I know a lot of people use this product without any issue.

  • is there a way i can plug this in to my mac and use it with GarageBand?

  • yes, just plug the CF card into your computer and you'll see each recorded track in the folder, just import those WAV files into the audio program of choice.

  • I know you can take WAV files off the card and mix later on the computer but dont know of any way to ge tthe recorder to see the audio you may import into the card.

  • @SonicOrbStudios You said you got tired of it's limits. Can you elaborate on what those limits were? I was looking at one of these simply as a mixdown/ master unit to get my songs to the computer (I record analog up to that point). I liked the idea of recording onto it and having the ease of moving the song directly to the computer via a flash drive or compact. I guess I'm split between this and the TASCAM DP-008. I just don't know how the Tascam would handle that sort of thing.

  • @TheGallantGentry For me, the main limit was amount of tracks...sure you can bounce and combine after you reach 8 but then you are stuck with those combined levels. This unit and the Tascam are just about the same but I still enjoy working with a computer and audio interface as there are more things I can do as well as work on large screens.

  • Is there a way to import wave files on to the unit?

  • I was able to export tracks from the card to the computer but never tried importing. I don't know if it will work and even if it does, how will the unit tell which track this audio should be on?

    These lower end products were made to record audio on their own, not really take in audio from the card that was not put there by the recorder itself.

  • How can I get the best distortion sound with MR8 MKII? I've used my MR8 MKII very little because the distortion sound I get when recording my guitar via unbal/guitar SUCKS. The clean sounds are ok though. I've tried connecting through amps and distortion pedals but it doesn't really help. It sounds worse than played with the WORST amps EVER. I always add some bass to tracks via Audacity to make it sound even a bit better. I feel like I wasted my money, or then I just suck using it.

  • If you don't want to run your instruments though the unbalanced inputs, I suggest picking up a DI box to convert to the XLR inputs.

    I agree the FX on board are not outstanding but I have had great luck recording my analog and digital pedals with this unit. Its not plug and play technology. You have to know many things about audio and editing it in order to get good sounding recordings.

  • Ok, thanks. Can you suggest me any specific DI boxes since I know nothing about them. And the shop assistants always try to fool me.

  • Yea, search "Live Wire Solutions SPDI Passive Direct Box with Attenuation Pad " at MusiciansFriend's website and you'll get to a very nice $30 DI box that I use in my studio from time to time. They basically take in an instrument like a Guitar, allow you to run a line to the amp, and give you a balanced XLR out to run long distances to the interface/console. The Ground lift switch sometimes cuts out noise, set it to whatever sounds better. This passive box will not need phantom power to work.

  • Seems cool, I'll go check that one out. Thanks!

  • Do you know if the original Fostex MR8 has phantom power because when i plug in my mic and set everything up it does record any sound? is there anything special that you have to do?

  • I'm not sure if the original has Phantom power although you can go though the on screen settings to see for yourself.

    If not, get an external preamp with phantom power. I suggest either the Studio Projects VTB1 or the PreSonus TubePre. I like the VTB1 although it's a little higher in price at some stores.

  • That sucks. I don't think it does have a preamp because when i go under menu>system i don't see an option to turn it on or off. How much are those preamps that you mentioned? I think I might just buy their new Fostex Mr16.

  • All these units have a preamp, its just some may not have phantom power which is for condenser mics only. Dynamic mics will work without them. Anyways, the two preamps I mentioned are between $100 and $140. If you are on a tight budget, the ART Tube MP goes for $30 and is an ok preamp...a little noisy though but probably similar to the ones on the Fostex.

  • One last thing, only condenser mics need phantom power so if you are using a dynamic mic it should work without changing the on screen settings.

  • Yeah it does you have to scroll through the menu settings and turn the phantom power on.

  • Thanks, I wasnt sure if the MR8 had phantom, I do know the MR8 MKII has it though. I do wish it was on a switch rather than in the on screen settings though.

  • so can u like buy a rap beat and then put that rap beat in to that recroder and then rap to it or u can't do that i need to know that by young21able

  • Sure.

    To get the original beat into the Fostex unit you'll probably have to send it to the line inputs and record it in real time as I'm not sure this unit will see the audio properly if you just stick it onto the memory card.

  • Dave- thanks for the detailed review. Yours is the only one on YouTube. I'm debating between buying this and a Boss BR-600. Any thoughts? Are you still using the MR-8, and has it given you any trouble? Thanks!

  • Thanks for the comment!

    I sold my Fostex at about week 4 of use as I finally got up to it's limits and so I went all out on just using the computer even for ideas...

    I only had issues while tracking my drum module into it, it would give me some glitches randomly but other than that it was a fairly good unit.

    I think the two units have their pros and cons, you get XLR inputs on one, a drum machine on another. The choice is yours in the end.

  • If you can play the songs you might be able to record them to another recording device. That's probably your best bet for now. You should be able to format the card properly afterwards. You may lose everything if you try to format it first.

  • Usually it will ask to format the card when you put in a new card however it should NOT be doing it every time you turn the unit on. I would call Fostex to see what they suggest.

  • FOSTEX not  F-R-OSTEX

  • Already noted and posted in the popup annotation....

  • can you hook your guitar amp into it so you have those effects not only the recorded effects?

  • If the amp has a record out like the Micro Cube by Roland, Yes. Don't run a speaker output to it though or it will fry both the amp and recorder.

  • can you transfer the audio tracks through a usb connector?

  • I'm sure I've gone over this in one of my comments but yea you can take the CF card out and put it in a card reader to transfer each track of audio to another sequencer program such as Reaper to mix and master.

  • hey could anyone recomend some cheep but good quality mics? im kinda on a budjet and i don't want to have to pay alot for expensive good quality mics if i can get inexpensive good quality mics (yeah i no i sound cheep)

  • Behringer makes the XM8500 dynamic mics. I have tried one about a few weeks ago and was very happy with the sound quality although you will still get much better sound with a Shure SM58 which is very affordable at $100.

  • cool thaks!

  • The 1" jack inputs can do simultaneous recording right?

  • Hi! many thanks for this review ! :)

    Would you recommend this product to record a full band (guitar, bass, drums, vocal and keyboard) ? We would use one track to each instrument.

    Let's say we only want to record our songs JUST to hear the whole idea, without using a computer (we want a portable, low-budget unit).

  • It's not ideal to record a full band but will work and is good for idea storage.

    If you think you can track your drums with 2 mics then you should be fine with this unit. If you feel you will need more inputs for drum mics, Fostex makes a model up from this with 4 mic inputs which can be recorded all at once.

  • is it easy to transfer tracks to computer in order to burn disks and upload to internet?

  • yes and it's all easily explained in the manual.

  • Hi i love the review but i had one more question, can you record on lets say track 3 and 4 then push all that to track 1 so that you can record on track 3 and 4 again then push all that to track one again so that you can record a whole band. and record drums with more than just 2 mics ( just having to record multipule times).

  • You can't bump tracks from the higher numbers to the lower however you can bump tracks 1-6 to 7/8 so that you are then able to record more to track 1-6.

    Recording drums with 2 mics is hard and may not sound great but you can do it...if you have 4 mics, go with the Fostex MR-8HD which has an internal hard drive and 4 inputs which you can record to all at once.

  • o ok, but ya were just using it to get a rough cut of what it would sound like. One more question, can you do it twice? like record on thracks 1-4 then bump it up to 7/8 then record again on 1-4 and bump all that to 7/8 on top of everything thats also on there?

  • Yes you can bump the tracks as many times as needed.

  • hey man, when you said combine tracks, did you really mean you can put tracks together if your out of tracks or something else? please answer!

  • yea when you fill up all the tracks you can mix them all down to the 5/6 stereo track to fit more recordings on the 1-4 tracks. Note however that after you mix down to one track, you can NOT adjust volume levels of each of those original tracks.

  • And it has NO digital output (to send to a CD recorder, etc.), as did its predecessor, the MR8. Unbelievable! I returned mine as soon as I discovered this omission. A digital recorder without a digital output!

  • For such a low budget recorder I would not expect any digital outputs, nor do I feel they are really needed. When I think digital recorder, I think of taking in analog audio and converting it to digital like most MTRs would. CD recorders are higher end equipment and therefore a higher end MTR should be used.

    I clearly went over the inputs and outputs in this video as do all websites which sell this product so you should have known the digital output was not included before buying.

  • k thanks man

  • How many Instruments can you play simultaneously?

  • You can record 2 mono sources, or 1 stereo source at a time. Playback is unlimited as you can play 8 tracks and bump/mix down to free up even more tracks.

  • dude i am lookin for somethin that can record all the track at once.

    i mean

    mic. rythm guitar, lead guitar, bass n drums

    can any one help me in findin one???

  • For a large one take track you will want to stay away from multi-track recorder units like the one in this video.

    I suggest a firewire interface such as the PreSonus FP10 or new FireStudio Project.

    These two units allow you to input 8 mics or instruments and route them to their own separate tracks on the computer. All data flows down a single firewire cable.

  • thanks man,,,

    but i m havin a bit problem with some money at the moment. is there somethin similar to presonus fp10 or ....?

    cuz i only got $400.

  • The FP10 goes for $400 new if you can find it in stores. I got mine for even less as a B-Stock.

    Aside from that interface, you need mics and cables...stands too which add up quick.

    TBH, you're going to have a real hard time finding anything to fit your needs for $400...I would set a budget of double that.

    Why are you trying to track every instrument in one take? You would be able to save money by using a smaller interface and tracking one instrument at a time. Then mix them all on the comp

  • i think thats a great idea.

    actually we r havin some live shows in college, so i just wanted to capture the whole thin.

    its all good though.

    anyway thnks for ur suggestion

  • normally colleges have a recording class or two, you may want to find if they can help capture the band for you. If not, I can suggest getting a small single recorder such as the Zoom H2. This unit will record fairly well and runs about $180

  • tascam 24 88 neo

  • You said "center pin negative" but on the video it seems to be the opposite. The center is the positive pole.

  • Yea I probably made a typo on the script, it happens every now and then. Either way it's not a huge mistake.

  • thanks for the review and all the answers in the comments.

    we're getting this to record a demo, i think it'll get the job done. we already have a mixer n sonar 6, a number of mics, adapters, cables, all that jazz. i just think this'll make it much easier than what we currently have to do [which involves a lot of equipment moving and a bit of an imagination to rig everything just right]

    we may not get a pro sound but i think we'll accomplish what we're looking for.

    thanks.

  • TBH, if you already have a computer and sonar and all the mics/cables I would highly suggest staying away from this low end MTR. Reason being is for just $400 you can find a PreSonus FP10 to track 8 inputs at once and keep them all separate in the software. I just got the FP10 and love it and will have a review out soon.

  • well a lot of our problem lies in having to move so much of our equipment each time. including the whole computer n all. it'd be great if we could have a permanent recording area but at the moment it's just not possible. i know i took a bit of a sacrifice here but i still think it'll be enough for what we need atm.

    i will have to look into that fp10 though once we have the space to commit to a permanent little home studio. right now we need something sorta mobile.

    thanks though.

  • I just bought this Fostex MR8HD 8 trk Hard Disk recorder w/40gig .. was curious if this is any good? Im still beginning and only intend to use it for recording acoustic guitar and vocals..

  • It's an OK unit for ideas but anything beyond than I would buy an interface if you had a good interface to use with a nice computer as there are less limited. The hard drive based recorders have more storage but at the same time they have the same hardware as the compact flash units so audio quality will still be the same. If you want to capture acoustics, I suggest getting the MXL 990/991 mic set and using those. That will be an improvement on one step of the audio chain.

  • anything is better than what i had.. I would run direct into my pc and used some mixer i found on the interweb...sorry i''m new, but what do you mean by interface?

  • An audio interface is like a high end sound card made for audio recording. They offer many more features than your standard computer sound card and most of them are external mount units meaning they connect via firewire or USB. The PreSonus FireStudio Mobile is an example of an audio interface.

    See my other videos such as "UG Video 1 - Rework" for more info on interfaces and computer based recording.

  • Aight.. Thanks for the quick feedback!

  • does this work with Vista 64-bit?

  • Check the Fostex website to see if Vista 64 bit drivers are available.  If they are not, try syncing the device with USB anyways as it may see it as an external drive. If that fails you can simply use a card reader to plug the CF card into the computer and transfer the fails though that.

  • Can you upload an instrumental on, lets say, track 1 and have that play that back while recording vocals?

  • yea as I answered many times in other comments on this video you can have other tracks play back as you record a new one.

  • Wow, what a really speedy response!

    I'm not sure what you mean, but I may have a friend that does!

    Many thanks

    J

  • Thanks for a useful review. I've put our recorded tracks on 7/8 and done the WAV conversion. I now want to e-mail the 2 mix to a friend who has Sonic 6 but I cannot attach the file. Any suggestions please?

    Thanks

  • You could try a different host as email normally limits attachments to 20mb. Dropbox is a good thing to sync computers but rapidshare is another one I use to post to the public.

  • How do you convert a song to wav so that you can put it onto your computer? Everytime I try to do it, it only converts track 7/8. And also what is the largest capcity compact flash card it can hold?

  • You have to bounce to track 7/8 then do a conversion of track 7/8 to wave. At that point you can either send the .WAV file to your computer or put the compact flash card into a reader and put it onto your desktop/laptop and either upload or work with it from there.