Considering VF-160EX vs. Zoom 1266/1608

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davesisk

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Hey guys:

I'm seriously considering the VF-160EX...seems like that's a lot of meat for the price. Probably the biggest competitor I'm also considering is the Zoom MRS-1608 (roughly the same price, similar recording capabilities, but different bells and whistles).

I'm looking to do recording at home pretty much (although I like the portability of possible taking it somewhere to record something live). I'm a bassist and drummer, have Yamaha electronic drums, good bass preamp, will grab a friend to do guitar parts, probably instrumentals.

My time is short, so I'm looking for something that works in a very intuitive manner, similar to the Yamaha MD8 that I have now. I plan to sell the Yamaha and a Roland VS-840EX that I also have. (I just found the Roland to be a pain to use...it's been sitting there idle for a couple of years.) The yamaha is really easy to use, and works pretty much like a analog deck and board.

These will both produce workable quality recordings, but I want something that will 1) sound better than either, 2) is easier to work with (from recording tracks to mixdown to burning the finished CD) than the Roland (always hated the user interface) and the Yamaha (requires outboard effects, seperate stereo mixdown device, etc). I used to own a Fostex analog 8-track reel to reel, and I was very happy with it's quality, so that plus the ridiculously low pricing kind of steers me toward the VF-160EX. However, the Zoom also caught my eye. Although I'm open to backing this up on the computer, I'd like to be able to produce a completely finished CD on the multi-track itself. That said, I might import the music into 2-track CoolEdit on the PC and do some things to it, so I'd like that capability as well, but I primarily will be mixing and mastering on the multi-track.

Any advice?

TIA,
Dave
 
Hi Dave!

I've got a VF-160 and it works fine for me. Not sure what else to say really. I could link one of my tunes that I recorded with it but I've gotta keep that stuff in the Mp3 clinic. All I can say is the Fostex is working fine for me and I thrash on it pretty hard. (Abusive user) It's built like a tank too!



Feel free to ask any specific questions about the unit and I'll do my best to help.
 
Thanks for the post. From every opinion I've heard, I think I can pretty much assume that any of the all-in-one multi-tracks in the price range I'll looking are going to have about the same sound quality, so it boils down to features (ones that will be most useful to me) and useability (that's the subjective part). So, the best question I think I can ask here is: how intuitive is the VF-160EX? Like the Roland VS840EX I currently have, will I have to reach for the manual every single time I need to do something? Or (like the Yamaha MD8) is it intuitive enough that once you've done it a few times, it sticks?

Just out of curiosity, I've found a VF-16 used locally. What's the differences between the VF-16, VF-160, and VF-160EX?

Also, I gather the VF-160EX has some amp modeling stuff built in (do the earlier two?). How good does this sound? Are they all specific to guitar, or are there any good bass models?

Thanks for any insight!
Dave
 
dave - just an idea , and if you bear with me i would suggest an alternative solution that ive set friends up with. maybe you dont want a computer solution but i use an amd athlon pc with powertracks software from pgmusic.com.
the software is 29 bucks and does 48 tracks. you record and mix with it and burn your cd. the key is a good sound card eg: a a delta series sound card.
the editing flexibility is superb with this approach.
if you think i'm lying talk to the users on the powertracks forum
at pgmusic. its a 800 dollar solution approx all included if you shop wisely.
but you would still need to add mics and a mixer of some sort of course.
just an idea. but maybe its not for you.
 
davesisk said:
Also, I gather the VF-160EX has some amp modeling stuff built in (do the earlier two?). How good does this sound? Are they all specific to guitar, or are there any good bass models?

Thanks for any insight!
Dave
Click to expand...

The VF160 is a great all-in-one solution. Very stable, never loses data, very transparent preamps, capable of great sounding CD's right out of the box. I don't think the VF160EX has any amp modelling... It's essentially the same as the prior 160, but for the addition of a silver front plate, no SCSI port, but a CDRW that is now standard on all units. The burners on the VF's are excellent.

As to intuitive, I rarely ever have to pull out the manual (not wonderfully written). But in a lot of ways, the VF160 behaves like a tape machine. Saves/optimizes as you go, so at the end of a session, you just switch it off. When you come back it boots up to the last program you were working on. On rare occasion I've been able to make mine freeze by pushing buttons too fast (not waiting an extra second or two on some operations), but in a year and a half I've NEVER lost data. Along with music CD's, you can also burn backups in 2 different formats (FDMS3, Fostex proprietary) or (WAV).

The new ZOOM does seem like a nice machine, though I don't see as many support forums for it. Even so, you get a lot of features for the price, including a drum machine. Personally, I prefer to keep things like that separate, but that's just me.

Lastly, if you get the Fostex, also get the 8051 punch in/out pedal. Works like a charm. I do tons of editing on the VF. Never a click, pop, or whatever...

My sense is the user interface on the VF160 is one of the easiest. You may have to spend some time getting into it initially, but you should be recording very quickly.
 
Thanks for the post. There's actually a pretty active Zoom MRS group on Yahoo, and there seems to be many knowledgeable users there. That said, I haven't heard good things about Zoom's support.

The built-in drum machine and bass section are probably things that I'll rarely use, to be honest. I may program a sophisticated click track using the built-in DM, but I doubt I'd ever use the bass section (the primary thing I'll be recording is bass guitar!) Plus, I have Yamaha DTX drums (brain has sequencer), plus an Alesis SR16 drum machine and a Boss something or other (the rhythm machine...can't recall it's name, it's old, but still sounds good).

Your words about the user interface on the VF160EX carry a lot of weight, so I'm going to continue to ask questions. I really appreciate everyone's comments and opinions!

Thx,
Dave
 
davesisk said:
Your words about the user interface on the VF160EX carry a lot of weight, so I'm going to continue to ask questions. I really appreciate everyone's comments and opinions!

Thx,
Dave
Click to expand...

Hey Dave, check out vf16.com There is a link to a Quick start guide on Direct Recording that is the exact same procedure as used on the VF160ex. I use the Direct recording method (where the signal going into a certain input will be directly sent to corresponding tracks). Looking at the guide will give you a sense of how simple the user interface is.

I will say the VF160 manual makes certain things sound more complicated than they actually are. The VF16 site also has a link to cut/move/paste under the FAQ section. I printed this out and taped it to my owner's manual binder. It's very easy, but the manual wasn't as clear.

If you do indeed get the Fostex and have any difficulty, post here, or give me a ring and if I'm available, I'll help.
 
The VF160 is easy to use and sounds great. You can do EVERY step of the recording process with it. The automated mixing is really nice.
The sound quality is good enough to make CDs to sell at gigs or on a website.
I have yet to hear any complaints about the quality. A band I recorded a few songs with just got a job offer(which they had to turn down as it was on the drummers wedding aniversary) from the CD we made. I will be getting with them next month to record the rest of thier CD.
I cannot stress the suggestion billisa made enough:
get the 8051 punch in/out pedal
get the 8051 punch in/out pedal
get the 8051 punch in/out pedal
 
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