It may help to look at the Users Forum on Fostexusa.com under "support". I have replied to a number of enquiries on that site.
First I think the Manual is c**p (and I have said so) but, once you get the basics, the MR16 is a good machine.
I suggest you read the manual but ignore, at this stage, all the bits about parts and editing parts, also, at this stage, ignore the bits on equalisation. Let all these options come in later.
The MR16 is a 16 track recorder. Eight of these tracks are mono and allow you to record your instruments or voice. All the tracks run at the same time so you can play back recordings on some tracks while laying down new recordings on other tracks. For example:- record drums on Track 1, then rewind and record bass on Track 2 while the drums on Track 1 are being played back, then record vocal on Track 3 while playing back 1 & 2 etc.etc. This is "Overdubbing".
When you have all the "raw" recordings, you "Bounce" them down to one of the Stereo Pair (9/10 for example). You can then use Tracks 1-8 for more parts of your Song.
The final act in this Bouncing process is to Bounce to Tracks 15/16. From 15/16 you create a .wav file in the 2 Mix folder, this is the file that you "burn" to your CD as one track on that CD.
All the above is carried out in a "Song". A Song holds the Tracks of the instrumental and vocal that make up your recording and (in the 2 Mix folder) the final file to burn to your CD. So a Song makes up one track on your CD.
That is the basic use of the MR16. The recorder expects that you will ALWAYS reduce your many tracks of instrumental, vocal etc. to a Left and Right Stereo Pair
(one for each ear!!!) so the Bounce process lets you mix all the recorded tracks to the Left and Right Stereo Buss. You use the PAN control above each Track to position the recording in the stereo field (between the two speakers or your headphone pots) so, for example, drums and vocal in the centre, guitar to the left and bass to the right.
You have four Inputs A-D, these are allocated, in strict left to right order, to the four tracks that you have selected using the Rec Select buttons. You will find that you will always use A, A & B for a stereo input and, finally A,B,C,D for group recording. This means that, if you are a solo artist, you will always be plugging and unplugging Input A. (I play a stereo keyboard so, in my case, A & B)
I hope this starts you off OK. You will probably find the User Forum a good place to read up on more advanced options and to ask further questions.
