Fostex X15 "I found it in Grandmas drawers"

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FrankieRage

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I bought this off a bloke in 1985 and have used it to play cassettes on ever since. It is a 4 track cassette mini-portastudio type machine.

I am going to do some recording with it...

Anybody else got one? :)
 
You can still get the Owners Manual and the Service Manual under"support" on the fostexusa.com site
 
I never had the X-15, but my first 4-track (best Christmas present ever) was a Fostex X-26. I wore that thing out! So I've always got a soft spot for Fostex now. :)
 
I just retired mine...

in the middle of 2008 and went digital (Tascam DP 02). My deck still works fine (just got tired of the tape noise). I still use to record ideas, but for multi tracking, I'm now using the Tascam. It's a great little deck!
 
I remeber it had air hoses that allowed you to punch in and punch out while playing...I had one in 1985.
 
Hi and thanks for the replies. I hope to gravitate to digital soon on portastudio type kit or PC.

I am finding PC painful though, so we'll see...

Also, not much in the way of funds available at the moment! :D

Fx
 
Frankie Rage said:
Hi and thanks for the replies. I hope to gravitate to digital soon on portastudio type kit or PC.

I am finding PC painful though, so we'll see...

Also, not much in the way of funds available at the moment! :D

Fx
Click to expand...

Don't go to digital! It's a pandora's box of upgrades, endless editing, and other time-consuming/inspiration-sucking issues! Stay analog and concentrate on the music (not what the hippest new tremolo plug-in is)!

:)
 
I'm sure I'll hear it for this one, but....

I agree with Famous Beagle that computer DAW is an inspiration sucking complex of screens, menu's and plug ins. I'm talking about a digital multitrack unit (sans computer). It works VERY similarily to my old Fostex X-15, just without the tape noise. The newer units (as of the last couple of years) are fully self contained and work very well AND you don't need to worry about computers or software, or interfaces, or firewires, or...
 
I have the MR16 - my second attack at digital recording.(MiniDisk was the first)
The MR acts very like a 16 track tape machine and can be used as such. The extra editing options are there but can be fiddly to use. The most useful editing feature (in my view) is the "clipboard" where tracks or sections of tracks can be lifted and re-inserted at different locations with respect to time. So you can lift a whole track and copy it with a few milliseconds delay on an empty track so creating a chorus effect with the original track.
Along with the inbuilt Equalisation (poor on the MR16) echo, reverb, delay and the Mastering options, the MR is a versatile and fairly easy to use machine. I also like the Aux Out ports that allow any track (usually a raw recording) to be output, passed through one of the effects systems and re-recorded onto an empty track. So plenty of scope for post production.
 
Terfyn said:
I have the MR16 - my second attack at digital recording.(MiniDisk was the first)
The MR acts very like a 16 track tape machine and can be used as such. The extra editing options are there but can be fiddly to use. The most useful editing feature (in my view) is the "clipboard" where tracks or sections of tracks can be lifted and re-inserted at different locations with respect to time. So you can lift a whole track and copy it with a few milliseconds delay on an empty track so creating a chorus effect with the original track.
Along with the inbuilt Equalisation (poor on the MR16) echo, reverb, delay and the Mastering options, the MR is a versatile and fairly easy to use machine. I also like the Aux Out ports that allow any track (usually a raw recording) to be output, passed through one of the effects systems and re-recorded onto an empty track. So plenty of scope for post production.
Click to expand...
I destroyed an MR-8 by accidently plugging it in to a 220v outlet... :(

Up til then, I recorded on it and used the USB out to export my tracks to pc for mixing. Best of both worlds for me. Analog-style recording with digital mixing.

I am in the hunt for a new SIAB (studio in the box) multitracker, and I am leaning more toward something with better pre amps than the Fostex has. I have a Yamaha MG10/2 mixer that I was using for a pre amp, but I'd still rather have a good pre going in.
 
my x15 is in the bottom of a file cabinet drawer. got it new, i did a lot of recording with it. but couldn't shut off the dolby and all recordings have very little midrandge and no treble at all, but also used sm57 for everything w no external pre. i think it still works i havent checked in a long time
 
Rokket said:
I destroyed an MR-8 by accidently plugging it in to a 220v outlet... :(

Up til then, I recorded on it and used the USB out to export my tracks to pc for mixing. Best of both worlds for me. Analog-style recording with digital mixing.

I am in the hunt for a new SIAB (studio in the box) multitracker, and I am leaning more toward something with better pre amps than the Fostex has. I have a Yamaha MG10/2 mixer that I was using for a pre amp, but I'd still rather have a good pre going in.
Click to expand...

Just FYI, I'd been using a Yamaha AW16G for quite a while before going to my current 8-track RTR setup, and I found it fairly easy to use. I did have to crack the manual for sure in the beginning, but I was soon able to get around it well, and the onboard effects, dynamics processing, and EQ were useable. It had an onboard CD recorder too. You may want to check them out; you can get them for around $200 used now.
 
FrankieRage said:
I bought this off a bloke in 1985 and have used it to play cassettes on ever since. It is a 4 track cassette mini-portastudio type machine.

I am going to do some recording with it...

Anybody else got one? :)
Click to expand...

Funny! I've got my old Fostex X-15 still. I bought it in 1985 also, used. It was a workhorse for my brother and I for many years. It still works.

We put it through the paces in 2004 to remix all of the old rehearsal and live performance master tapes we could find to hard drive. Had a blast doing it! We had a rock trio band most of the years, with myself on drumset and my bro on guitar. He tracked bass parts when we were without a player. We mostly laid stuff down live and at home. We had and still have many laughs over all of the experimental recording techniques in trying to arrive at a decent drum mix or guitar and vocal parts without too much "noise". Was happy to see digital recording made available!

Sometimes I wonder if all of the toys and gadgetry don't get in the way of today's musicians. Long live real live bands!

One of our instrumental pieces from about 20 years ago. This track was recorded in an open living room with probably one mic recording the drumset and a direct in bass. Guitar was laid down over that. The tune was really just an experiment in playing an odd-time that we wrote down and then learned to play on our respective instruments. It was a challenge, but all complete in about 3 days from paper to recording. Its definitely the memory that I like much more than the quality of the playing or the recording. :D

Thanks for the post Frankie! I had just thought about my X-15 last night and happened to have posted about it.
 
As the gtrist for jd2020's piece, I have to say, that werkin on that song on the fostex was a great learning experience...

There was a few times that we taxed the crap out of that machine...

I think the most tracks we ever did on one tune was about 30...and it still sounded nice...
 
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