importing vf16 to p.c.

[raven46]

man this fostex forum is really dead...

i kinda feel stupid asking this but its been bugging me,

is there a way to import each individual track from the vf16 to p.c. using software i.e. cubase and cakewalk so you can get a better mix down by using the softwares gates,comp and efx's

i have a jaz drive but the thing never works

what ive been doing is getting the mix as close as i can on the vf16 putting my mp3 player which has a line in function into the headphone input press record on the mp3 player and press play on the vf16,(this is recorded in wav but i have mp3 convert software) then i load the song on my p.c. save it to my documents open up soundforge 8 and edit the overall sound with EQ's,envelope and some reverb mabey do a bit of fade in and out or even reverse a bit of a track and it sounds pretty damn good but sometimes not as balanced as id like which means going back to the vf 16 and trying to get the mix tighter

i bought reason 3.0 because i tought i would be able to do it in that (plus reason drum kit 2) and i came close i made a rex file of my song in recycle and loaded it up in the rex player but it was just the same thing i could edit the over all sound but do nothing to the balance of the tracks i just ordered cubase sx3 i dont know if it will do what im talking about here but it looks like a great prog

what id like to be able to do is just load the whole song to the p.c. and to be able to adjust volume,pan,FX's and so on, on each individual tack and get the mix as tight as possible, i think what i need is a midi controller mixing desk or just a new recorder thats capable of doing this or mabey it is and i just hav'nt figured it out yet

any ideas/help.......

[BentRabbit]

Get a Jaz drive that works




Seriously,

That's what I use to transfer all tracks from my VF16 to my computer.

Then I can use whichever software app I choose (currently in love with Sonar 4) for mix... Each track is saved as an individual wav file and you just import directly into your program.

You DO need a Jaz drive on the computer as well, or a SCSI port to carry one drive between the 'puter and VF16.

[raven46]

hey bentrabbit,

is that the only way what about midi or spdif

i dont know whats up with my jaz drive its a 2gb and it never really worked i would be half way through saving a song to the drive and some error msg would come up on the vf16 i cant remember now but i'll pull out the drive and cheak it tomorrow

i got a jaz card/scsi port with the drive for the p.c. so i'll be using the one drive between the vf16 and the p.c.

i was talking to a guy in fostex england a while back coz i had a problem with the vf16 caused by me when i was using the jaz for the first time and he said the zip(250) drives were a lot better thats what they always used, i wish the thing was working coz my hard drive is nearlyfull and i'd like to back up my song and upgrade the vf16

[raven46]

ive pulled out the drive and i went to pg86 in the manual

saving/loading data using SCSI

formatting a back up disc seemed to work ok

i moved on to page 87 saving data to a scsi disk
and this is where the problen starts

i press set up, then save pgm select scsi then fdms3
following the instructions through to point 4
this is the msg that comes up

disk format scsi current format unformat
hit rec+yes or no

if i hit rec+yes nothing happens
if i hit no it sat insert disk and spits out the disk

i have 5 discs, 3 2gb and 2 1gb
tried it on them all but only got as far as the same place

what are my doing wrong!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[treymonfauntre]

i just transferred them via adat, i know people will rant about jitter and crap but it worked fine for me

[raven46]

i dont have any way of doing it by adat

i have an audiophile 2496 card which has spdif and midi
and i have ableton live,soundforge 8,reason 3.0,recycle,rebirth,rewire
and cubase sx3 on the way after that i hope to get cakewalk sonar 6...

i tried messing around with the spdif and i could get what tracks i have
on the vf to play through the p.c. but could'nt figure out who to record
them

i think i have all i need to be able to do it apart from adat but i just dont
have a clue how to fucking do it

and to make it worse i reckon i'm the only person in the country with a vf16
i asked on a couple on an irish forum and got no reply..................

i'm seriously thinking of flogging the vf and getting something that can
transfer to p.c. with less hassel

[carelessorc]

If you're serious about this, get a couple of Zip drives; one SCSI for the VF and one for the PC. Jaz drives are known to give problems with the VF.
By the way if you want to transfer tracks to PC you don't want the disk formatted in FDMS3 you want it formatted in FAT16 - which the VF can't do (you do it on a PC).
To transfer tracks to a PC you need the VF to save them as WAV files.
When you go to 'Save pgm' are offered the option of WAV? If not, you probably need to update your operating system. (You'll need a Zip drive for that too!)

It does work - I did it for ages. A trade-in for a 160 with built-in CD burner is another idea (the 160 is operationally identical to the 16).

[raven46]

ok where can i download whatever i need
to dos format my disc with fat16

i remember bentrabbit saying something
about fat16 a couple months back but
i did'nt have a clue then and still dont now,
thats when i got into recording and computers
there is so much shit to learn and get through
and spend money on, i really did think it would
be easier to get things up and running not talkin
about writing or mixin just the general set up of
your basic recording equiptment, i suppose it would
be easier if i was'nt so damn computer illiterate

i cant wait to get this shit sorted, so much time
wasted fuck actin with computers and software
when sweet music could be made, oh well has to be done

[Kramer]

Jaz drives are pieces of shit. Obsolete. I went through 2 that I bought off of e-bay within 2 months. I finally bought a Plextor 12/10/32S CD Burner for $150 dollars. Hooks into the SCSI port of the VF 16 and it works great.

[carelessorc]

Plextor is fine if you can get one, but if you need to upgrqade the op system from an early verison, you will still need the Zip drive (or a SCSI HD).

Orc

[raven46]

ok but how do i formatting my jaz disc with fat16

[Frisco Bob]

Originally Posted by raven46

ok but how do i formatting my jaz disc with fat16

Hook the Jazz drive up to your computer via the SCSI port. Put the disk in the drive and right click on the drive. Select format from the drop down menu and select fat 16 as the file format.
I have two VF16s and three Jazz Drives. I swap between the VF in the rehearsal room and the one at home so I can add guitars or vocals at home. I have had very little trouble (one Jazz drive went bad) in about four years I mix all my stuff using Vegas... now Acid Pro and I master using Sound Forge.
Here are some examples:

http://www.dumbblindluck.com/photo.html

[Kramer]

Originally Posted by carelessorc

Plextor is fine if you can get one, but if you need to upgrqade the op system from an early verison, you will still need the Zip drive (or a SCSI HD).

Orc

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-CENT-Plextor-P...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Plextor-Plexwrit...QQcmdZViewItem

[raven46]

when i went to format the disc it gave me the option
of fat,fat32 and nfts or something like that, since fat16
was not there i picked fat and it formatted (took about 25mins)

i remember someone sayn not no format it to fat32,
so did i pick the right option?,

i did'nt have time to cheak it out to see if it
would save any of my tracks on the vf16 had
to go to work, i will give it a go tomorrow,

frisco bob i enjoyed those tracks you posted
especially the track dumb blind luck, the guitarist
jim neal has a cool style, very interesting and i liked
bob forrest's vocal real cool reminded me of lou reed

anyone else got track posted that they done on the vf16

[BentRabbit]

To get your files to the computer do not select fdms3...

That is Fostex's own file system and why you continue losing your cartridges...

Just select WAV and each track will be a separate wav file...

Since you will be mixing on the puter, you don't need to save any of the VF16 program settings to tape, which is what the fdms3 backup essentially does for you.

As was mentioned, Plextor CDRW is an option also, but I practically gave mine away because of all the troubles I was having with it... Sometimes I could get files to the VF16 but not out of and to the computer... Other times the reverse... Sometimes it worked no problem...

For $10 each I got a JAZ drive for the VF16 and a JAZ drive for the 'puter and have been using them with zero issues for the past 18 months or so...

Jaz works for me and the CDRW was a PITA...

As always tho... Other folks' mileage may vary...

[raven46]

yeah, my jaz is actually ok i just was'nt using it right
it cost me about 30euro with the scsi cable, 3 disc's
and the scsi card for the computer so that was'nt too bad
cost more to post it than it did for the drive

i have my eye on another thats on ebay also
(if i can sort this one out)

so dose it not matter if i did not select fat16 when
i was formatting the disc, i selected fat coz the
options for formatting it gave me were fat, fat16 and nfts

just had a look at the manual, saving to wav... says that
the disc has to be dos formatted with fat16...........

[carelessorc]

Raven, FAT is the same as FAT16.

Orc

[raven46]

happy days

got the disc formatted hooked it up to the vf
and saved the tracks (wav) to the disc

played them back on the p.c. all tracks saved
indivdually but i dont have any software yet
to start mixing them propper,

i have acid pro 6 and cubase sx3 on the way

nice one for all yer help

[carelessorc]

Originally Posted by raven46

man this fostex forum is really dead...

.......

We maybe dead, but we ain't gonna lie down - oh no!

Happy tracking

Orc

[Frisco Bob]

Originally Posted by raven46

happy days

got the disc formatted hooked it up to the vf
and saved the tracks (wav) to the disc

played them back on the p.c. all tracks saved
indivdually but i dont have any software yet
to start mixing them propper,

i have acid pro 6 and cubase sx3 on the way

nice one for all yer help

Upgrade to Acid 7 and you will have a fully functioning multitracker.
You will also be pleased to find that your virtual tracks are just as good as the actual tracks for mixing on the computer.