Coupla questions...VF80

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hotpotato

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I have searched through old messages so forgive me if these have been asked before....

I'm used to an old four track and have always monitored on my hi-fi using the stereo outs. Can i do this on the VF 80? I personally don't like using headphones.

What sort of sound can you get by using a guitar direct? Just wondering if i can ditch my Fender tube amp and get my hands on a VF80 a little sooner. ( I also have a little TFpro Pre amp with eq and compression to further beef the signal.)

Reckon i could ditch the amp?
 
amp

i love to mic my instruments, then run them through the pa system into a recorder, going direct to the recorder works, just not a very good signal.

im not sure if you need powered speakers with that unit or not.
 
hotpotato said:
I have searched through old messages so forgive me if these have been asked before....

I'm used to an old four track and have always monitored on my hi-fi using the stereo outs. Can i do this on the VF 80? I personally don't like using headphones.

What sort of sound can you get by using a guitar direct? Just wondering if i can ditch my Fender tube amp and get my hands on a VF80 a little sooner. ( I also have a little TFpro Pre amp with eq and compression to further beef the signal.)
Click to expand...


Yes, you can use stereo outs via 1/4 inch plugs on the VF80. My son gets great sound direct into the VF80. The VF80 is very versatile. However, there are those who think that the amp simulations on the VF80 leave a bit to be desired... So, I wouldn't sell your tube amp because it's unique sound may be just that, unique. Even so, you can get wonderful sound straight into the VF80.
 
Dont ditch the tube amp! The presets in the VF80 are pretty average however, you will have to budget for a microphone as well if you intend to record your amp.

Perhaps, if you do sell the amp, you could budget for a cheaper modelling unit like the Behringer V-Amp.

t
 
Thanks

I've always used my stereo's Aux imputs. These are not 1/4" Jack. I assume you can get a suitable lead from any electrics store?

Think i'll keep the amp until i've checked out the VF80 for myself. Fortunately i have a couple of mics, SM 57 and ADK a-51. As far as i can tell the VF80 with burner should be my last purchase for a while which is a good job as i'm stripped!

Another question- How easy is it to make multiple copies of the same master if you have the CD burner.

I mean in terms of time and wear and tear.

Cheers
 
hotpotato said:
Thanks

Another question- How easy is it to make multiple copies of the same master if you have the CD burner. I mean in terms of time and wear and tear. Cheers
Click to expand...

If your VF80 has the latest software version installed (V1.05), then after burning a master, the unit will prompt you on screen if you want to burn another: "yes?" "no?" You just put a new CDR in and push the "yes" button... and you get a new copy.

A few things... The Plextor burner on the VF80 has a VERY low error rate, and it seems to take more time to burn a song than some 64X unit you might see on some PC's. The difference? On my PC burner, clicks and skips are not uncommon on the finished product. But in 50 or so disks burned on my VF80 since February, I have NEVER had one come out less than perfect. So, in terms of raw speed, the onboard CDRW isn't out front, but in terms of quality, it's great. It's also a laptop type unit, which means you snap the CD on the spindle while supporting the tray with your other hand.

Also, with digital, it's easy to assume that all operations are instantaneous -- edits, cut&pastes, etc. They are not. Make sure you let the VF80 tell you when it's finished an operation. Usually we're talking a few seconds, but even so it's good to let the machine do its work. This is particularly true with the burn process. It takes the machine up to a minute as it sets up to do an actual burn. This is normal.

Lastly, on things like edits, punch in/out, cut and paste, track bouncing, again, my VF80 has accomplished these things without ANY residual noise, artifacts, clicks, pops or whatever. I'm sure tha VF80 isn't the only one that does this, but in checking other machines websites, it's amazing and informative how often people write in about system crashes, Hard Disk reformatting, lost data... On the VF80, it saves as you go, so unless it's in the middle of an operation, you can just turn it off and you're work is saved, just like in the days of analogue tape recorders!
 
Cheers Billisa

Am i right in thinking that you don't actually master to CD whilst mixing (the way you would with cassette). I understand that (depending on the way you work) tracks 1-6 may be bounced down onto 7 & 8 leaving 1-6 free for individual song componants. When you master 1-8 for the final mix, it is just saved as a file right? Meaning you only have to do the final mix once and then burn away?

I realize i'm starting to sound very thick at this stage but having never used digital you're all gonna have to get used to that:))

Can any hard disk memory be saved to CD-R? For instance, if a track was half finished, could it be saved and reloaded. I'm possibly gonna be living in a burglery hot spot and would hate to see a load of unfinished songs go with the unit.

I've had a quote of £585 for the unit with CD-R from my local dealer. Anyone found better on-line (UK)?
 
hotpotato said:
Cheers Billisa

Am i right in thinking that you don't actually master to CD whilst mixing (the way you would with cassette). I understand that (depending on the way you work) tracks 1-6 may be bounced down onto 7 & 8 leaving 1-6 free for individual song componants. When you master 1-8 for the final mix, it is just saved as a file right? Meaning you only have to do the final mix once and then burn away?

I realize i'm starting to sound very thick at this stage but having never used digital you're all gonna have to get used to that:))

Can any hard disk memory be saved to CD-R? For instance, if a track was half finished, could it be saved and reloaded. I'm possibly gonna be living in a burglery hot spot and would hate to see a load of unfinished songs go with the unit.

I've had a quote of £585 for the unit with CD-R from my local dealer. Anyone found better on-line (UK)?
Click to expand...

Hi Hot,

Let me do my best here, perhaps to be corrected... You bounce down 1-6 to tracks 7/8 and THEN you master from those tracks onto 1 and 2 which are then saved by the VF80 as a separate "MST" program.

You can also bounce 1-6 to 7/8 and move 7/8 to another pair, thus enabling further recording on more tracks, leading up to another bounce... If you plan on having an accumulation of more than 6 tracks then you have to bounce to 7/8, then move 7/8 to another pair because in the final mixdown/bounce, whatever might be on 7/8 would be erased, not mixed in. In some ways, the VF80 is more like a 6 track recorder in that you need to keep 7/8 free for the final bounce. You don't ever have 1-8 as a final bounce -- it's 1-6 down to 7/8. Because we're in a digital medium this shouldn't raise quality issues because there's no multiplying tape hiss, etc... Although if there was significant equipment (amp, mike, etc.) background noise on tracks, this would be cumulatively added. I don't know if this is significant, since I've never attempted that many bounces.

As far as I know, any program can be backed-up to CD, in two different formats -- FMDS-3 (Fostex proprietary format) and also WAV. I don't believe you can backup the entire HD in one shot on one disc, but you could save all final mastered programs/songs on one disk as two-track songs. Backup saves all 8 tracks, plus whatever settings have been saved by the user. The music CD only saves the final two track stereo after mastering.

There's may be some things I've missed, but I believe this is basically correct. Hope this helps.

Bill Keane
 
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