Fostex R8 reel to reel- Please help!!!

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analog aaron

Swami King of Poppers
I have a Fostex R8 reel to reel recorder. I am in desperate need of one of the main drive belts. I've contacted Fostex and they say the belt is discontinued. I've searched high and low since and no luck. The belt is about as big around as a coffee can, yellowish in color, has teeth and has the word "BANDO" printed in green on it..... Can anyone point me in the right direction? Also, I have since purchased another R8 from ebay. Is there any possibe way to somehow link the two machines for 16 tracks? The idea is to (on one machine) record my drums with 6 mics using 6 tracks, then mix down to track 7 and 8 for stereo drums. Then use the other machine for the rest of the instrumentation and blend the 2. Any ideas!! Thanks guys,
Aaron
 
Have you tried contacting Bando? They maybe able to fix you up.
 
analog aaron said:
Also, I have since purchased another R8 from ebay. Is there any possibe way to somehow link the two machines for 16 tracks?
Click to expand...
I'm still trying to make this happen with my TSR-8s. Basically, you'll need at least one synchroniser unit that can interface with the R8 and control it. The original TimeLine Lynx might be able to (the E16 is a supported transport, so if the R8 has the same physical interface it should just be a matter of making the right cable).

Remember that you need a timecode on track 8 - and (at least on my A8) it hates it if you try to record on track 7 afterwards so you'll end up with 12 tracks not 16. (The 1/2" Tascams have enough guard space to allow recording on track 7 if you don't go overboard so I'm hoping for 14 tracks).
 
analog aaron said:
Is there any possibe way to somehow link the two machines for 16 tracks? The idea is to (on one machine) record my drums with 6 mics using 6 tracks, then mix down to track 7 and 8 for stereo drums. Then use the other machine for the rest of the instrumentation and blend the 2. Any ideas!! Thanks guys,
Aaron
Click to expand...

If you're able to link both machines together, there really is no point to making a mix of the drums on tracks 7 and 8, as it adds another generation.

However, if you're set on doing it that way, with two similar machines you could mix your 6 (or even 8) drum tracks to tracks 1 and 2 of the second machine, which would only have one bounce and leave you with 6 tracks on the second machine. No syncronizer would be required for this method, and it would prevent you from having to do two bounces in order to get the same results on a single machine.

-MD
 
For the main drive belt you might could use a belt from a VCR. There seems to be a lot of different sizes in VCR belts, being there have been so many makes and models out over the years. If there's a Fry's electronics near you, I'd check out their belts. Also, I have seen belts made locally by rubber and bearing companies. Sometimes they have the right size rubber in rolls or sheets and can cut them out on the spot. Worth a shot anyway.
 
Forgot about the teeth... that may be a problem. sorry :)
 
Thanks MD

Thanks MD,
I didn't think about that.... That IS a GREAT idea! The only thing I DID think about after the post was having track 6 Bleed over a little on to track 7. I was told you should never bounce to neighboring tracks. But I didn't know if that would even matter because they are all drum tracks anyways... Thanks again. As far as the belt goes, I've been using (for playback only, so far I haven't tried recording with that on yet) a rubber oil gasket (it has no teeth) and it seems to somewhat work for playback, but when I fast foward or rewind it slips a little because it doesn't have teeth.
Aaron
 
You have just listed the reason why I sold my R8, no Fostex parts.
Measure it out and specify that it's a used belt so what they send you should be smaller. Try this: http://www.vintage-electronics.cc/ Bob seems like a really nice fellow.
The R8 sounds incredible sonically, but mechanically it's a time bomb. It's a shame, 8 tracks at 15 IPS and built in Dolby...
 
Thanks guys!

Thanks Guys! You've been more than helpful.... I'm very glad I joined this site!
A.A.
 
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