VF160, VF80, MR-8 question

[gatorhaus]

I own an MR8 and it does not fit my needs I was thinking about getting a VF80, but the button thing is making me very leery.

Does the VF160, have the same issues, or are these different altogether?

Man it sucks about the button issues, because the fostex recorders are the best priced equipment.

larry

 

[billisa]

I own an MR8 and it does not fit my needs I was thinking about getting a VF80, but the button thing is making me very leery.Does the VF160, have the same issues, or are these different altogether?

In reality, I don't really think the VF80 has major button issues... The assembly that holds the REC/PLAY/STOP/REW/FF buttons perhaps could use a tad more support in the chassis, but in over a year of coming on this site, button "issues" on the VF80 have been extremely rare. Having owned one (now a VF160 owner), it seems to me that the buttons don't need much pressure to activate them in the first place. So pushing one through would require some consistently hard pressure. Although, a little more support would add more solidity to a machine that overal feels more solid than anything else out there in it's price class. The VF80 is a great machine, capable of excellent recordings.

The VF80/160 are in the same "family" and they aren't much like the MR8. The VF160 has more support directly under it's REC/PLAY button assembly. But even here, I just use enough pressure to get the job done. Of course I do this with all my gear anyway.

In terms of overall build quality, data security, stability of the operating system, and ease of use, I think the VF series is excellent. These machine save and optimise the harddrive as you go. So even in the event of a system freeze, you don't lose data. This is a very big plus because ALL systems will lock up on occasion, but while I've commonly heard of people losing data on other products, I've never heard of people losing a night's work on a VF machine. Obviously in the event of a full-on hard drive crash, this would not be the case. Even here, Fostex's use standard 3.5" major manufacturer hard drives, easily changeable or upgradeable for larger capacity.

My VF160 is running on the version 1.15 software. It runs beautifully. Version 2.01 was released a few months ago, adding a few features I didn't need, but I believe if you try to open a new program after already recording on an existing one, the system will sometimes freeze and you may have to restart the machine. Fostex has just been released ver 2.02 which I would assume addresses that issue.

Anyway, after more than a year of using the VF's, I am a VERY happy customer. I moved up to the VF160 simply for the ability to record more tracks at once, and in total (16)...

 

[dave in toledo]

buattons

i think billisa is right, the mr 8 construction doesnt seem to be in the same class as its bigger cousins.....

 

[mrx]

Part of the MR-8 issue could be the unfortunate need to hit the record button in conjuction with 'yes' in order to confirm certain operations. It can be an awkward reach, resulting in too much pressure on the REC button.

(On the flip side, I've dragged the thing around town in a cheap, old, laptop computer case and never had anything break or fall off...)

(I saw the VF-160 and was amazed how small it is - the picture makes it look like a huge peice of furniture.)

 

[gatorhaus]

VF160

OK, I broke down and ordered a VF160 today from MF. I decided that would be easier than trying to fight for one off Ebay. Plus free shipping. I also wanted the 2 year warranty. I don't buy that gold protection crap they offer. If it doesn't break in two years then, its probably not going to break in three.

I'll let you know how it goes after I play with when it comes in. Thanks for the replies.

Yeah I was looking at the VF780, but decided to get the VF160, so I wouldn't outgrow as soon.

larry

 

[a12stringer]

Aside from the possibility of a design defect in the MR8, I have been wondering if some of the problem may be from people who purchase one come from a background where their only recording experience has been analog and just don't realize that those little chiclet buttons don't require the same pressure as those clunky old cassette deck keys.

 

[billisa]

Re: VF160

OK, I broke down and ordered a VF160 today from MF...
larry

Smart buy.

A few tips: See what software version is loaded. If it's 1.15 I'd leave it as is.

Also, when you go from step to step, make note of the HardDrive access light and don't press a button for the next step until it stops flashing. The ONLY time my machine has ever frozen is when I've not allowed a process underway to complete (usually an extra second). Because most things take only a second to accomplish (except for big copy/paste edits) you can be fooled into thinking things are instantaneous.

Great, well thought out machine. Come here for more tips, if you need to.

 

[billisa]

I have been wondering if some of the problem may be from people who purchase one come from a background where their only recording experience has been analog and just don't realize that those little chiclet buttons don't require the same pressure as those clunky old cassette deck keys.

Weird, but I was thinking the exact same thing...

 

[a12stringer]

Billisa
Great minds think alike. ROFLOL.
But the fact that your post was #666 for you just plain weirds me out.

Ordered a bass guitar from MF today so I could add some depth to my recordings. I think my 12-string has an amazing amount of bottom end for a 12-string. I haven't played any bass for 20 years now but I figure it's like riding a bicycle, right?

 

[Axe4Yahweh]

Re: VF160

OK, I broke down and ordered a VF160 today from MF. I decided that would be easier than trying to fight for one off Ebay. Plus free shipping. I also wanted the 2 year warranty. I don't buy that gold protection crap they offer. If it doesn't break in two years then, its probably not going to break in three.

I'll let you know how it goes after I play with when it comes in. Thanks for the replies.

Yeah I was looking at the VF780, but decided to get the VF160, so I wouldn't outgrow as soon.

larry

Larry;

Smart buy on the VF160. I've had mine for over a year now with absolutely no issues.

It's a freakin tank but, as a few have said here, those buttons don't even need alot of pressure. I've seen people literally punch the buttons on their gear and that's rediculous.

CR ><>

 

[Dave52]

Good Choice..!

Guys, I know I'm coming in a bit late here, but I wanted to add a thumbs up for the VF160. I've had mine just under 2 years now and it is a solid bit of kit. I've had absolutely no problems what so ever, I love it...!


Dave
www.daveware.co.uk

 

[gatorhaus]

Thanks All,

Yeah it should be in tomorrow or thursday.

OOOOOOO, new gear rush, hehehe

Larry

BTW. how's the preamps on this thing, I'm sure their a ton better than the MR8

 

[billisa]

Thanks All,

Yeah it should be in tomorrow or thursday.

OOOOOOO, new gear rush, hehehe

Larry

BTW. how's the preamps on this thing, I'm sure their a ton better than the MR8

I think the pre's are very transparent. The trim get's a little touchy (adds much more gain, very quickly) when you get to the last 25% of its adjustment, though most times I never have to boost anything that high.

I also use Studio Projects VTB1 external pre's... I've yet to do an A/B comparison, but I can say the differences between the two are very subtle at best.

 

[brickboo]

CD burner?

Do you guys all have the CD burner?
If you don't, is it a hassle to get the songs into your computer to burn CDs.
Thanks much,


Boo Hargis

 

[gatorhaus]

Boo,

Yes, mine is coming with the burner installed. I was reading the manual online. It does not seem straight forward from just reading, I probably need the VF160 in front of me though. Whats everyones thoughts on the manual. or is the unit pretty straight forward to operate.

larry

 

[billisa]

Boo,

Yes, mine is coming with the burner installed. I was reading the manual online. It does not seem straight forward from just reading, I probably need the VF160 in front of me though. Whats everyones thoughts on the manual. or is the unit pretty straight forward to operate.

larry

In most cases the unit is dead simple to operate. The manual makes it seem much more complicated than it actually is. There is a site vf16.com that has two quick start guides on direct recording and buss recording. Download them, and have them laminated. Also, in the FAQ's, there's a section as to doing a copy/move/paste. It's much better explained than in the manual...

The manual gets much better after you use the unit. In a short while you'll see the VF160 is extremely intuitive.

If you have trouble doing a successful burn, come back here and someone can walk you through it.

 

[gatorhaus]

It came, the disk is still formatting, man that takes a while. It does seem pretty simple when I was playing with the demo song. I was setting up a new song and it started formatting I guess this is part of the process. Skimmed through the manual. I didn't realize it had so many effects on the unit. Are these pretty good. At first glance I was wondering can you assign different effects to different channels. It would make sense so, but I haven't tried yet.

I let my brother borrow my MR8, probably indefintely, lol, he was pretty psyched.

larry

 

[gatorhaus]

I guess I didn't need to reformat, I was still figuring out the menu. . I got to play with it, recorded some direct bass and guitar. Sound greats. The preamps are clean. Yeah I see what you mean billisa about that last 25% on the trim knob, boy does it jump. But even with a bass or guitar I don't think I even turned the trim up 1/2 way.

The effects just two, right? Eff1 and Eff2 and you can't assign different ones to different tracks. You just have two. You can only adjust the send amount to each one from a specific track. Just like a regular mixing board. The effects do sound pretty good. I was very pleased with the few minutes I messed with it. Decent reverbs. The Chourus and Flangers sound good also.

I like how the click comes in on track 16 and you can adjust the volume level with the fader. Very cool. Doesn't kill your ears in the headphones.

The only negative so far! I wish it had an external phantom power switch

Other than that, If you have a great sounding source to record. This machine will record it clean.

Thanks for everyone's input, I am very pleased with my purchase.

larry

 

[billisa]

The effects just two, right? Eff1 and Eff2 and you can't assign different ones to different tracks. You just have two. You can only adjust the send amount to each one from a specific track. larry

Larry

If you want to use more effects, you can mixdown selected tracks with their effects assigned, then exchange them back where they were, then put more effects on... Sounds like you're already getting around the machine.

One great feature is the scene store and recall. You hit STORE, highlight the S01 option, hit yes. Then later, when you open up that program, hit RECALL (you may need to go in the setup menus to activate fader recall). Then hit FADERS button. The screen will show you where each fader should be to return to the levels you set, plus all effects are automatically set to where you saved 'em. This is great for tweaking a mix. There's also a scene map scenario where as you mixdown, the machine will adjust levels on the fly, as you've told it to on the scene map.

There's a ton of great stuff on this recorder. Have a great time.

 

[Dave52]

Cool...!

Larry,

I'm enjoying your time of discovery, it's taken me back to how excited I was when the VF160 arrived at my door...! It really is a great machine, you're gonna have a lot of fun.

Dave
www.daveware.co.uk