Tried out MR-8 for the first time today

[Ricklh]

Did some recording today- just fooling around with mic and acoustic guitar/vocals and, man, I love this thing!! I've gotta learn all it's functions- so far, I just know how to lay down basic tracks but this little box is very impressive, especially for my minimalist needs. The sound quality on play back is great. One observation and question- when I power the unit up, the "Hall" delay button is lit up. Is this just some minor quirk not to worry about? Has any other owners noticed anything like this on their MR-8? Of course, I simply turn it off and everything functions normally, but this effect being on automatically should not be a default. Man, I can't wait to learn the ropes on this puppy!! One other question- I'll eventually get a USB cable to transfer the audio to my computer but until then, I wanna hook it into my stereo receiver for playing back and mixing down to cassette deck. Are cables easy to find that have 1/4" jacks to RCA phono jacks?

[dyuob]

Welcome! As for cables, Radio shack has them, as do most music stores. And yes, the hall reverb seems to be the default setting when the machine is turned on.
As for mixing down, have you ever considered using a Hi-Fi stereo VCR instead of a casette deck?, It has better frequency response and dynamic range as well. Plus, the tapes are very cheap, 2 hours for a couple of bucks.
Just a thought....
Anyways, hope you have a lot of fun with your MR 8, they're really amazing.

[a12stringer]

Another alternative for mixing down/mastering, if you are not using a PC and have the extra $$, get a stand-alone CD-DA recorder and use the S/PDIF optical out. That way you stay in digital domain.
If the stand-alone does not require DA-certified discs, you can still use blank data CDs.

[bdbdbuck]

Welcome Rick,
Hope you spend many hours enjoying your machine like most of the rest of us.
My verb comes on by default as well. Nothing to worry about.
Don't forget to post a tune! Although I haven't yet.

bd

[clifchamb]

Welcome to the gang. Glad to hear that you are enjoying the MR-8!

clif

[Ricklh]

Thanks to your helpful and enthusiastic replies, folks. A couple of other quick questions and I'll try not to bug yall too much until I get some more hands-on experience.

1. The setting the book talks about: "pre-roll/post-roll" settings- what is the purpose of this? Just to give you a few more seconds before the loop comes in or something? The manual tells how to set this feature up but I'm not really clear on when or exactly why I would use that.

2. The hall/reverb/delay settings, if I understand the book correctly, are to be used only when mixing down and not during the recording of basic tracks? In other words, if I wanted to use some reverb to hear as I'm recording my vocal - the effect is really not designed for that?

Thanks again, guys, and I'll be checking in daily to get some pointers from the posts here. (It's quite obvious the manual was written in some other country where the author's English wasn't the greatest!)

[MusicMan91]

I am planning on getting one of these, but I do have a question. http://www.zzounds.com/love.music?p=...=1618172316652 It says there that it is only compatible with USB 1.0, I believe my iMac uses USB 2.0, and I am very sure that the iMac allows 1.0 and 2.0, I believe the 2.0 to be reversible, so why would they post it is only compatible with 1.0. I don't want to buy it and then get mad that it isn't compatible with what I have.

[clifchamb]

Originally posted by Ricklh



2. The hall/reverb/delay settings, if I understand the book correctly, are to be used only when mixing down and not during the recording of basic tracks? In other words, if I wanted to use some reverb to hear as I'm recording my vocal - the effect is really not designed for that?

Oh I can answer this one! The effects are designed to be used for either recording/bouncing or mastering, so you have a lot of versitility to them. You can also use the "mastering effects" when you are recording tracks or bouncing tracks. Hope this helps!

Wish I could help you with the pre/post roll stuff but I never use them.


clif

[clifchamb]

Originally posted by MusicMan91
I am planning on getting one of these, but I do have a question. http://www.zzounds.com/love.music?p=...=1618172316652 It says there that it is only compatible with USB 1.0, I believe my iMac uses USB 2.0, and I am very sure that the iMac allows 1.0 and 2.0, I believe the 2.0 to be reversible, so why would they post it is only compatible with 1.0. I don't want to buy it and then get mad that it isn't compatible with what I have.

Actually it says in the manual that the USB CANNOT be used with Macintosh (iMac right?) But you may be able to use a card reader instead. Not sure about that one.



clif

[sahhas]

i can 2nd the use of having the digital out
of the mr8 go to a stand alone cd recorder.
i have a phillips cdr775 and it works very well
w/ the mr8. sound is good/clean and it's pretty
easy to do. i filled up an 80 min. disc pretty
quick. working on disc #2 of stuff.

[MusicMan91]

What Card Reader would you recommend? I have been searching for one, but I want to make sure it is compatible to my iMac OSX. Any ideas and/or links??

[Sarnadle_Vector]

Here's a good reader (3-in 1)

http://www.memoryx.net/dacombousb.html

[bdbdbuck]

I've seen posts where guys (or gals) have picked up good card readers for like $13. I don't know about the quality, but you could almost buy two of em like that.

bd

[stuckinthe80s]

I just bought a Sony CD recorder. It's awesome for mixing with the optical input. It has two cd componets for high speed dubbing from CD to CD. You can also plug in your mult-tracker into the input jack for mix-down. I came accross this forum because my 17 year old Fostex cassette 4 track finally took a dump and I am only able to use it as a "power amp mixer". I wanted to see what everyone was saying about the new Fostex recorders. Here's a funny story for you:

I had some CD music tracks that I put in another CD player, ran it through the broken 4 track as well as my digital delay and recorded the music and my vocals right onto the CD-R in the Sony! It actually turned out so good, a local radio station has been playing it. It just cracks me up when I hear it and know how I recorded that song!!! Been looking at the Fostex MR-8 and thinking of breaking down and buying a new multi-tracker. Most of the complaints I'm hearing is the lack of storage and the effects being cheesy.