How about the MSR-16 recorder

[jeemai]

Hey Friends,
I'm new to the list and looking into
purchasing an MSR-16 analog reel-to-reel
recorder and was wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with this
machine. I'm real picky about a nice, fat,
warm sound for my Hammond B-3 and other
instruments / vocals recorded in my home
studio. Could this be the dream machine for
me? Are there any pitfalls I should be aware
of? Chronic problems? Hidden expenses? Any
tips, tricks or special techniques? I was
wanting to bump up to 16-trak recording but
stay in the analog realm and produce high
quality, low-noise recordings. The music is
Blues, Reggae and funky Jazz. Anything you
can offer would be most appreciated!
Thanks!
J E E M A I

[kristian]

used both the fostex B16 and E16 which are very similar and was VERY happy with the results, im planning on buying an MSR-16 this summer when i move back to the US.

[gilwe]

Which sounds / perform better out of the two ?

[Han]

In general, the Fostex machines are electronically superior to the Tascam machines, but the Tascam's are mechanically superior.
I.a.w, they're built like a tank and very reliable.

IMO, parts are easier to find for the Tascam and cheaper.

Search this forum, there's been quite some Fostex/Tascam discussion.

[Tapehead]

I have an MSR 16 and it's a very nice machine. The sound quality is excellent and it's a very well engineered, solid workhorse.

[schulteboy]

I will aslo endorse the msr-16. I found one a few years ago and I am very happy with it. At that time I was moving up from a Fostex R-8 (1/4 inch 8track). I have no experience recording a Hammond, but the MSR-16 works well with guitars and drums. I must admit that I usually seek a more bluesy, raunchy, "live" sound so I can't speak on the machine's performance in, for example, a "cool jazz" application. Basically, I think that you will appreciate the warm, deep sound of this tape machine and you will be glad that you didn't decide to find some digital/computer solution.

[gilwe]

Do you feel the R8 sounded better ?

[Tapehead]

As I mentioned earlier I have an MSR 16 and I also have an old Fostex A-8 which is a precursor to the R-8. The A-8 is basically the same except you can only record up to four channels at a time (even though it's an 8-track).

This may be a surprise but the Fostex sounds just as good to me as the MSR 16 though the MSR 16 is a vastly superior machine in terms of flexibility, features and engineering. The Fostex broke down quite a bit...quite a dinky machine but as I said the sound is very good.

One important sonic feature is the noise reduction system supplied with the unit. The Fostex has Dolby C and the Tascam DBX. That can be a very critical part of your decision though not many people mention that. (One feature of the MSR 16 is you can use an external NR system if you want and defeat the internal one.)

[Han]

The Dolby C on a Fostex B16 can be bypassed, so yuo can use an exterial NR unit.

I have a MSR24S with dolby S which is superior sounding to DBX.

The Fostex G series has Dolby S as well and it was the late Stephen Paul who said that the G series were better sounding than the MSR series.

Actually the Fostex G24S sounds better than some two inch machines.

But I wouldn't trade a Fostex for my Tascam, which I've bought new in 1992 and it has never let me down, not for a split second.

A very good sounding and reliable machine!

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

I run 2 MSR-16's synched with a Midiizer. Every one is right. They are workhorses. Solid in everyway. Love the sound to, especially with acoustic guitars.

fitZ

[gilwe]

It sounds like for Fostex rules as regards to the sound quality, as Han mentioned (the G24S sounds better than some 2" machines....) but as far as I see the Fostex G machines are supposed to be unreliable and not as steady mechaniacally and electronically as the E's and MSR's...

[Han]

Remember, a G24S has more tapewidth than a G16S.
Half inch 16 vs one inch 24.

It was the late Stephen Paul who had a post at RO about the Fostex G series in which he said something like: don't ever make the mistake to think that the G series don't sound better than anything alike, because they're electronically superior to any other machine. He may have said this with other words and you can believe me, Stephen knew a lot about the subject.

I still have an old B16 on which I recorded a classic album before I bought a Tascam MSR24S.
The Tascam is an extremely reliable machine.

[gilwe]

It was the late Stephen Paul who had a post at RO about the Fostex G series in which he said something like: don't ever make the mistake to think that the G series don't sound better than anything alike, because they're electronically superior to any other machine. He may have said this with other words and you can believe me, Stephen knew a lot about the subject.

Han, I made some recording on the Fostex G16S I have here for test. I have to say that my Fostex M80 sounds a dozen time better. Also I cannot see how the G is "electronically superior" to any other machine in the market - this particular G16S is 12 years old and visually VERY well kept, almost no tear / wear at all. But it is the most problematic machine I came across so far - the motor is weak (sometimes it will not rewind/forward unless you give it some manual help), some meter leds are always ON although no signal is coming in or out, when recording the input signal shown on meters is very low compared to what's going into it, the overall sound is (as I said) far to be as good as on my M80, and it looks like the rotation is not stable enough (i.e. sound pitch changes during play - up and down - very subtle though).

[Han]

In order to sound good, any analog machine must be in very good condition and aligned to the tape you are using.

It may be there's something wrong there.

I've worked with a G24S that sounded absolutely awesome.

[franksguitar]

Originally Posted by Tapehead

As I mentioned earlier I have an MSR 16 and I also have an old Fostex A-8 which is a precursor to the R-8. The A-8 is basically the same except you can only record up to four channels at a time (even though it's an 8-track).

This may be a surprise but the Fostex sounds just as good to me as the MSR 16 though the MSR 16 is a vastly superior machine in terms of flexibility, features and engineering. The Fostex broke down quite a bit...quite a dinky machine but as I said the sound is very good.

One important sonic feature is the noise reduction system supplied with the unit. The Fostex has Dolby C and the Tascam DBX. That can be a very critical part of your decision though not many people mention that. (One feature of the MSR 16 is you can use an external NR system if you want and defeat the internal one.)

I also have an A8 and just purchased a mint condition low hours MSR16 w/remote, I also have a Korg D1600 and a Tascam DPO1FX I run optically to a Marantz Mastering Deck. I'm planning on buying a Mac with a firewire interface with a Motu with 24 analog inputs to convert Tape to Pro Tools and begin to offer a service to convert analog tape to wav files on DVD

[witzendoz]

Hi,

I still have a MSR16S (dolby S version) since new and the machine is great. I had some problems with the dolby cards (capacitors going out of spec) but this is now solved.

The MSR16 has DBX noise reduction which is not as transparent as the Dolby S but is fine. I had a TSR8 with dbx and that was also a great machine.

There is also quite a few MSR16 machines floating around so there are also spare parts available, I bought a whole MSR16S for spares.

The pit falls are how well the machine has been looked after, how many hours work has it done, how are the heads, etc, all the normal things for any tape machine.

Cheers
Alan.