Fostex VF 16 and Cakewalk

E

Emmanuel

New member
Fostex VF 160 and Cakewalk

Hello

I searched but couldn't get a straigt answer.

I have cake walk 9.0 and a fostex vf 160. Can I burn tracks 1-16 or 1-8 individually(no mixdown just the raw tracks) on to a cd and add them to cakewalk and still get then induividually?

If not is there another way I can do this.

And if so can someone please point me the right page in the manual or explain.


Thanks

Emmanuel
 
Last edited:
If you have the CD burner you can you can save the program as WAV files (one file per 'raw' track), which can then be imported into Cakewalk. IMHO this is teh best way to move tracks to PC (you can move all 24 tracks if you want).

Under steup menu choose SAVE PGM, then choose IDE, then choose WAV.
If you are not offered the WAV choice it may mean that you have to update your operating system version.

Orc
 
Hello


Thanks

That dosen't sound like much fun.

What kind of interface (computer hardware) would anyone recommend to get tracks across easier from the VF-160. Can the optical connections be used for this if so what would I need and how is this done. Or even if anyone could recommed a better way to get the indivudual raw tracks on to my pc I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Emmanuel
 
Is it really that much of a pain in the ass to get the tracks off it and to pc? I guess it was intended for mixing onboard, huh? I was going to upgrade to it from the MR-8, but I guess I better take a hard look at this.
 
It is easy to get the tracks off, as easy as burning a CD then moving it over to the PC. What's hard about that? And you get a backup copy into the bargain.

IMHO the lightpipe method is more complicated, especially if you've got more than 8 tracks (and if you've got 8 or less you don't need a 160). With the CD method you can transfer 24 tracks (16 + 8 virtual).

Orc
 
I agree... Just back up as WAV to your CD and viola! You now have all your tracks stored individually to do with as you please...

Works pretty slick.

:)
 
Hello

Thanks for the help. I will give the cd methond a shot. So just so I get this right. What I want to do is make a sepreate mixdown (.wav) of each track and the take each track and burn it on a cd and I am done right. Thanks I was just looking for a faster methond but the cd methond should work.

Thanks

Emmanuel
 
Now I'm confused!
I think you want to take your tracks (1 to 24) and transfer them to Cakewalk, as separate tracks so that, for example, the guitar is still on its own track, the bass on its own, and the didgeridoo on its own track. Is this what you mean? If it IS then yes you can use SAVE PGM to save all the tracks to CD as WAVs. And you can do all 24 tracks on one CD (assuming your song is not too long).

You need to choose (from Setup) SavePGM/IDE/BkUp/WAV
important: make sure you choose BkUp (backup) NOT CD-DA

I'm confused because the word 'mixdown' (used in your last post) usually means what you get when you mix tracks together to make a finished song - but I don't think that's what you want in this case (is it?)

Orc
 
You nailed it orc

That is exactlly what I want to do. So if I use the SavePGM/IDE/BkUp/WAV I get the individual raw tracks. Sorry I confused you and I appriciate all the help you have given me.

Thanks

Now I just need to get started and learn some of cakewalks functionallity.

Again thanks

Emmanuel
 
neat

hi, i just joined this community in the hope i could get some help on a very (if not identical) situation. I too want to take my individual 'raw' tracks from my VF-16 and transfer them individually to my laptop in order to mix (individually meaning they are all still in time with each other and with their own seperate track on Cubase.)

However, i have an old VF-16 that doesn't have the built-in cd burner. Can anyone help? I understand recording straight to the laptop would eliminate this problem, but there are far too many pro's and con's for both (i don't have a great soundcard on the laptop for a start) and would love to still use my trusty black box for all my recording.. it's the mixing ive completely given up on, so if anyone can help me out, i would be very grateful! Thanks.
 
You can transfer tracks in a number of ways:
Either Get an external burner (works same as internal one)
Or Get a Zip or Jaz drive cheap of ebay
Or Get an ADAT card for the laptop. You can transfer 8 tracks at a time.
(You could do 2 tracks at a time with SPDIF but it's too slow, I think)

Let us know which one you wanna try, if any!

Orc
 
thanks for your reply! I guess getting an external cd burner would be the best idea. I have a zip drive, but no idea how it would work (especially at the transferring back to the laptop part.) A cd would, of course, be far less fuss.

Its a good thing my music rocks, cos im a complete doofus when it comes to this sort of thing :)
 
When I used Zip drives I had a second USB drive for my PC. Worked a treat. I used 250 Mb disks, and most songs fit on one or two disks.

Orc
 
sorry for going on, but is there not a way to use the optical connection from the vf16 to my laptop for a wav transfer/dump sort of thing? I'd look into it, but i'm away from home visiting friends. I can't wait to get back to try it out.
 
Yes you can use the optical connector. You can use it for either 8-track transfer over ADAT or 2-track transfer over S/PDIF. The VF can output either ADAT or SPDIF.
You would need something on your laptop to connect to:
either an ADAT or SPDIF connector (PCMCIA card?).

Some people use the ADAT method - anybody?

Orc
 
Emmanuel said:
You nailed it orc

That is exactlly what I want to do. So if I use the SavePGM/IDE/BkUp/WAV I get the individual raw tracks. Sorry I confused you and I appriciate all the help you have given me.

Thanks

Now I just need to get started and learn some of cakewalks functionallity.

Again thanks

Emmanuel
Click to expand...
So it's not exactly as easy as the MR-8 (more hardware, less software involved). With the MR-8, it's go into USB mode, open the Wave Manager on your pc, select the tracks to transfer, and that's it. You have to set up Wave Manager to put them where you want them when it's installed. Other than that, it's nothing.
No CD involved...
 
Rokket Fair point, and that's a distinct advantage of the MR8, hopefully the next generation of VFs will have USB connectivity, but even then you'll probably have to make the WAV save to a dedicated part of the hard drive first (as with Korg and Tascam I think), because the PC can't see the Fostex formatted drive.
Actually burning to CD is no big hassle, and you get a backup copy of your tunes.

Orc
 
carelessorc said:
Rokket Fair point, and that's a distinct advantage of the MR8, hopefully the next generation of VFs will have USB connectivity, but even then you'll probably have to make the WAV save to a dedicated part of the hard drive first (as with Korg and Tascam I think), because the PC can't see the Fostex formatted drive.
Actually burning to CD is no big hassle, and you get a backup copy of your tunes.

Orc
Click to expand...
I seem to recall some complaining by members here about browsing the menus quite a bit to get it to the point of either "mastering" in the unit or burning the CD. It seems like a lot. I know the next generation MR-8 is coming out soon: MR-8-HD, which has a 40GB harddrive, 4 XLR inputs and 5 1/4" (3 mono and one stereo input). If they can improve the VF like that, and add in USB, it would be a better deal. I don't know about the VF pre amps, but the MR-8's are pretty sorry...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top