compare VF80 to MR-8

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smellofsaffron

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hello,

i just got a Fostex VF80- but I am thinking of sending it back in and getting a MR-8 because i don't think i wana buy a digital soundcard with S/PDIF anymore. And since my buget is 0$ that could be another reason. How much better is the VF80 compared to the MR-8? like what are the main differences?-
What do you all like about the MR-8 and what are some good features...
and does anyone know where i could find out more info on the MR-8- i looked on the fostex site but is there anyplace with more info than what they have?
like reviews.. or i just want reviews form you people too!

thank you so much for your time!

.andrew.

www.themarlettewither.com
 
you dont need a special sound card when getting files from the mr8 to your PC. You just need a open USB slot.
 
sorry i'll explain better- i have a VF-80? and i'm thinking of sending it back.. and Then getting the MR-8? and you need a sound card for the VF-80 or digital cd-recorder(because mine doesn't have the cd-r/cd-rw drive.) that's why?
did i clear that up?
thanks for your reply!

.andrew.
 
Ok, here is where I get accused of over simplifying things, but to me, the MR 8 is about fun. If what I want to do is just work out parts for a song, I don't even have to hook up a mic, there's one built in. It's small, so I can just sit on my bed and and record, And when I want to take the files over to the computer, all I have to do is pop out the card and stick it into the card reader.
For what I record (acoustic music, esp. ukulele), the MR 8 is perfect. Of course, you need to look at what you want to get out of it, and make sure it fits your needs. Rememeber, there is no real EQ, and the built in effects are, to be honest, a little less than spectacular. And, if you just have the Compact Flash Card that comes with it, you need to be able to move files back and forth from your computer easily, so you can keep some space on the card.
But, like I've said many times before, I love this machine, it's like it was made just for me.
 
well
I'll be using it to record my band- we are a three piece but would like to add lots of different sounds and things- and we have an old mixer we will use for drums and what not-
would this be suitable?
and how far does 128mb go?
how long could we record with all 8 tracks?
oh and also is there mastering effects.. or no?
thanks

.andrew.
 
One cannot say one is better than the other. It's a question of which is best for your recording needs.

As it is, the stock CF card will only record about 3 minutes/track of eight track recording at 44.1 kz sampling rate. Of course if you only record 2 tracks at a time, and then transfer to computer you can boost the time to 12 minutes per track. Then you have to perform the undo/delete function to record more and you have nothing to synch the new signal with. So figure on spending the extra $$ for a 256MB Cf card or better, a 512MB card.

The FX on the MR-8 are negligible, but then the FX on the VF-80 are not much better. (I say this as a proud VF-80 owner.)

Basically, the bottom line is, get the machine you will get the most enjoyment out of and which will fuel the creative fires.
 
It sounds like to me, if you have a computer that will suffice, the only way you will be limited with the MR-8 is the amount of things you can record simultaneously. Of course, that will not matter if you are going to use the mixer to have everything mixed before it goes into the MR-8. I won't go into everything else (unless you want me to), but I will say that the way I use the MR-8 in conjunction with my PC and n-track makes the fact that the MR-8's effects are so-so and the card only stores approx. 24 track minutes a non-issue. I use the effects in n-track along with a couple of great free ones that I added. When the card gets close to being full I just dump it on my PC. When I get ready to mixdown I open all the tracks with n-track and they are all perfectly syncronized. I never thought it could be this easy.
 
thank you so much for your replys and help with this-

but question.- would i even need the mr-8?
oh wait.. i would need a digital sound card to record digitally right? would it still be worth it to get the MR-8 ( as my computer is not that good but i think it could handle n-track or other programs- so i don't even think my motherboard could handle a digital good sound card and i don't have money to buy a new computer )

now second question- how much would the 512mb flash card be? prices anyone??

oh and my dad has Pro Audio 9 by cakewalk at his school that he never uses.. could i use this with the MR-8 or is the N-track program easy to use with the MR-8?
thanks for the help!
sorry i'm such a newbie-

thanks again

.andrew.

www.themarlettewither.com
 
Just letting you know that I am getting great results from recording my drums with just 2 mics. I have a mixer and more mics that i will try to use on my next song, but as of now Im just micing the bass drum then placing a marshall condenser mic about 7 feet in front of the kit(about 6 feet high). This machine really has no limitaions with a seperate mixer. And the computer is just icing on the cake....check out my tune a few topics down..."then end"

b
 
yes you can use cakewalk, but i know for a fact that n-track is an amazing program. as for the price of a 512 you are looking at about 110 bucks, however with a computer you dont really need it. Just record as many tracks as the standard card will hold, transfer them to the computer, erase these tracks from the mr-8 (be sure to leave one as a reference track), and repeat the process as much as needed.

this machine is amazing, I strongly recomend it.

b
 
Get the MR8, it was made for interfacing with the pc. You shouldn't need a bigger CF card if you are putting your tracks into the computer. Just record the track in the MR8 and then transfer it to the pc for editing and mixing.
You do not need to get a soundcard to get good results. Also, If you use n-track then you wont have to get a better computer. It runs on very slow machines and does an excellent job. Just remember to be careful with the amount of plugins you are using.
Cakewalk can be a problem in slower machines and may not work very well with your soundcard. I know I had problems with it. I bought n-track and everything is going really well.
 
I must add after your comment about your computer that there are limitations according to how bad (old) your computer is. N-track would not run on my old computer. I think that the processor speed is not that big of a deal unless it is really slow. I think it depends on RAM (my old computer only had 64mb RAM and would not run n-track). Before you make your decision give us your computer specs.
 
You're right on that one Gospel. The ram is a big issue. 128 is really the minimun he needs to run the program successfully. However, ram is cheap and it shouldn't be a problem to put in more.
By the way, I remember in an earlier post you mentioned that you got a Dell computer with a flat screen for $499. I am thinking of doing the same myself. Are you happy with your setup, and did the price include the flat screen monitor?
 
morindae said:
You're right on that one Gospel. The ram is a big issue. 128 is really the minimun he needs to run the program successfully. However, ram is cheap and it shouldn't be a problem to put in more.
By the way, I remember in an earlier post you mentioned that you got a Dell computer with a flat screen for $499. I am thinking of doing the same myself. Are you happy with your setup, and did the price include the flat screen monitor?
Click to expand...

I got mine at the dell outlet. Go on dell.com and you will see the outlet tab at the top (if they haven't changed the site?). You have to keep checking back. They must update the site daily. One day I went on and there was nothing like I was looking for. Just keep checking. I'm not up on monitors so I will explain it this way. The monitor is not one of the thin ones. It is flat screened instead of a slightly curved screen like most TVs. The way I got both for that price is when you buy just the computer you get an online coupon for $50-$100 off any other dell product. So I went and shopped at the dell outlet for a monitor and used the coupon toward the purchase. I am very satisfied.

Forgot one thing. Unless you want to do something real big go for one of the faster celeron processors. They are much cheaper than the P4s. Like you said RAM is where it is at. I got 256mb DDR
 
It's interesting that you got the Celeron. In one of the threads in the n-track forum, Slackmaster was saying the same thing, that the Celeron does a good job. I never know what the truth is when it comes to processors, there are a lot of 'experts' that swear Pentium chips are the only way to go when it comes to recording. However, I'm being swayed into considering something else.
By the way, how many tracks and plugins are you running on your new system?
 
morindae said:
It's interesting that you got the Celeron. In one of the threads in the n-track forum, Slackmaster was saying the same thing, that the Celeron does a good job. I never know what the truth is when it comes to processors, there are a lot of 'experts' that swear Pentium chips are the only way to go when it comes to recording. However, I'm being swayed into considering something else.
By the way, how many tracks and plugins are you running on your new system?
Click to expand...

The celeron is cheaper and does a great job for what I do. Although I don't know a whole lot about recording directly on a PC, I think that is where the pentiums do a better job. As of now the most tracks that I've had on a song is 4 with at least one effect on each track and two effects on the master channel. With this setup the highest I've seen the cpu usage is 17-20%.
 
Thanks for the info Gospel. I think I'm definitely going to have to keep an eye on the dell outlet site. :)
 
hey thank you everyone for you advice and help-
I'm sending the VF-80 back and getting the MR-8- So i think that will work out for me better.
so is n-track an easy program to use? i'm going to download the trial version and work with it but any tips and hints and what not about n-track and/or recording with the mr-8 and my computer?
thanks all!!

.andrew.

www.themarlettewither.com
 
N-track is a great deal for the money, it's really easy to use and will work well on a slow computer. I am using it with a P2 350 Mhz processor, and 128 MB of ram. So far no problems apart from the obvious limitation I can expect from such a slow computer. You will find that it works really well with the MR8, I'm sure that Fostex designed it mainly to be used in conjunction with a computer. Although it will do the job as a stand alone recorder, it isn't as good as the VF80 in that department. Most of us here are using n-track, so if you have any questions when you get up and running, we're here to help you. Oh one more thing, if you have windows 98 on your computer, then get a card reader (about $20) to transfer the files to the PC. Good luck.
 
n-track helps

The n-track forum on this site is very helpful - any questions you have are pretty much speedily answered by those folks. It's like having a whole tech support team for free.
 
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