HELP ! Im stuck already,,,waaagghhh!

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Monsterpop

Monsterpop

New member
Hi guys and gals.
I got an MR8 today. First thing i noticed was that the much proclaimed amp settings are awful.
Being a novice,,i eventually managed to fill up tracks 1 and 2 with drums,,,3 and 4 with guitars,,then i HAD to record stereo bass to 5 and 6. I had been deleting un needed bits as i went along,,but there is now no way to bounce 1-6 onto 7 and 8?
Is that right? Its a 3 and a half minute song,,,but thats me stuck?
HELP ! Do i really have to go and buy a 512 Flash card to be able to finish a song at a time?
I spent an hour tonight,,lookin at the manual,,shakin my head,,then lookin back at the MR8!
I REALLY want to get into this thing,,,cos ive been using a Tascam 488 to cassette machine for years now,,,,,and that was a chore every time too. I thought it was meant to be EASY! The stuoid manual doesnt help,,written as it is in pigeon english!
PLEASE help a newbie folks!
 
Monsterpop,
Welcome, and let me first say that the amp sims were much Disavowed in this forum.
I believe if I were in your shoes, I'd first save all my tracks to the computer. I would then erase 5/6 on the mr8. I would then bounce 1-4 to 5/6. then erase 1-4. All the while mind you to delete unused. Put your bass back in 1/2. Then bounce 1-6 to 7/8.......But I've never tried it. I think you'll have to rename the bass tracks to whatever tracks you're moving them to on the mr8.
At least if something goes wrong, you saved all your tracks.


bd
 
Help

Hi BdBuck! Thanks for replying mate.
I dont want this lack of memory thing to spoil the MR8 for me, but i still cant believe that it doesnt come ready to at least allow us to record one normal length song using at LEAST the 8 tracks there.
Do you know if i can just pop the CF card into the Swifty USB Cardport that i use for uploading my digi camera pics?
If so,,then i will try what you suggested mate.
As i say,i am a novice to digital recording. Althought it is GREAT ,,not having to pan stuff the other way so it doesnt record onto all the new tracks etc,,like i had to with the cassette 8 track.Just plugging in and recording is GREAT,,,but its a real pain in the arse havin to keep deleting unused etc.
I felt SO frustrated last night,,WANTING to keep recording but couldnt. Its also very annoying when yo are in the middle of recording a track,to have it run out of space! ARRGGHH!
Does that mean i will ALWAYS have to quit at about 6 tracks and dump it onto the pc,,,,make a cd of it,,,then put it back on?
Could you suggest a bigger CF card i can buy?
I couldnt be bothered with all that every time.
It kinda defeats the purpose of havin it all in the one wee red box if you have to keep dumpin stuff.
By the way,,,,,sorry to ask SO many questions at the one time.
Im MAD keen to get recording the noises in my head,,but very frustrated by the process im having to follow.
Thank you for your time!
 
Monsterpop,
I am a new user also, but I think from what you are saying you can record more on the card by recording tracks, bouncing them down to 7/8, delete the original track and then do delete unused. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. I recorded 6 tracks of a 3:25 song and after doing this and delete unused still had 3 minutes left.
 
If I am using just the MR-8 alone (which I rarely do now without using club tracks with my PC) then I would say that being conservative with your time is the best thing to do in other words..., I bounce 1-3 to 5 and 6, delete 1-3 and record more, then bounce everything to 7 and 8. The real frustration comes in when you have wonderful tracks and you do not have enough room to bounce them. I try to never have more than 3 tracks on the thing at once or else I run out of room for punch in's etc. Also remember that you need more room to convert 7 and 8 to a stereo wave file.


That is why I use the MR-8 as pretty much a wave file interface to get tracks to my PC.


clif
 
Monsterpop, the reality of using the MR8 with the stock 128 card is that you have to go to the pc if you want to have complete flexibility with your recordings. Buying a bigger CF card is the solution to your problem if you want to stay within the 'wee red box.' I recommend you check some of the threads on this board and the Fostex website for the approved list of card manufacturers should you decide to spring for a bigger card. Some of the guys here have bought bigger cards already and have some excellent advice, which will save you a lot of grief. Also, your CF card reader should work if you decide to move your tracks to the pc.
If you get yourself a good multitracking program like N-Tracks you wont need to get a bigger card. You can then edit and master on the pc after recording tracks in the MR8. N-Tracks is about $45 (approx 30 quid) and well worth the money. I predict that once you get into the groove of using the MR8 you will want more editing capabilities such as EQ, compression, and better reverb. This can be gotten very easily using the pc, and software that can perform this can often be found on the web for free. Good luck with your recordings.
 
hi folks.Thanks for the replys again. It seems then that i thought i was buying the answer to all my recording woes,within reason,,but all ive done is given myself a whole new set of woes.
it looks like i will HAVE to buy a bigger card then,cos i have NO IDEA how to edit and do all that stuff on my pc im afraid. I realy am a novice at this. Jeez,,i cant even get the pc to recognise the Swift Cardport USB with the card in it. I dont even know what to do with it if it decides to let me either. Thanks for wishin me luck Morindae,,i WILL need it. And i need MORE room to convert it to a wav file too?Aw christ,im regreting this more with every sentence.
 
Hi gospel,,and all in fact,,
i know thats what to do,,,
but theres no room left to bounce the 6 tracks onto 7 and 8.
Thats the problem im afraid. i dunno where all the time goes to.
Why couldnt they just get rid of those really shite guitar amps sounds,and lets not kid ourselves,,they ARE shite ,,,
and let us have a bit more time.
How does it sound if i use the extended time setting thingy,on my next attempt? If i ever get to finish this one that is.

Finally,,what can i do to get the stupid USB thing to upload the tracks to the pc? And then what? Jeez,,,i HaTe bein a dumbo !
What should it open up in/as?
 
Thats why I bought the Fostex VF80, I figured after paying 300 for the mr8, 150 for a bigger card and 150 for a decent pre amp, I could get the VF80 for the same price and get a 20 gig hard drive, decent effects, and a CDR burner built in.... although the effects wern't an issue, I use my Boss VF-1, which kicks ass...
Anyway I hope you figure out your mr8..
peace....


:)
 
The VF80 is obviously an excellent machine. However, I bought the MR8 because it allowed me to record away from the computer. I can now get the best of a stand alone machine and also enjoy the advantages of editing in the pc. It's much cheaper to buy a good quality compressor plugin than an external unit. This holds true for all other kinds of signal processing. I can get much more bang for my buck in the long run recording this way than being stuck with what a stand alone recorder offers. That being said, I'm not trying to start a debate. We all endured the Pete Halo threads, and at the end of the day, each of us have different needs. If you have enough money, a good stand alone recorder can be had that will last you for years and you will never have to use the pc. I bought the MR8 because I didn't want to have to buy a soundcard, which I figured would cost me about $500 to get myself a decent one. The MR8 was therefore a good comprimise. I actually think that Fostex created it to be used in this way, and not just as a cheaper version of the VF80.
Monsterpop, be patient and take it one step at at time. Try to figure out how to get the tracks onto the pc and then download a demo version of N-tracks or any other program out there that you think may suit you. There is a learning curve with all this new digital stuff, it's the price we pay for getting so much technology at such a low price. I know you just want to press the recording button and lay down some great music, but there is some learning to be done before you can get to that point. That is why this forum exists. We are all learning, and this forum is a great place to share our problems, and the solutions to those problems. Read the posts in this thread again that explain how to bounce the tracks. Expore it fully as a stand alone recorder and then when you have the time and patience, figure out how to save your stuff on the pc. Once you get over that hurdle, check out some software. It's a lot easier than you think. Be patient, this is a cool little machine, it just needs a little time to get used to it.
 
Monsterpop said:
hi folks.Thanks for the replys again. It seems then that i thought i was buying the answer to all my recording woes,within reason,,but all ive done is given myself a whole new set of woes.
it looks like i will HAVE to buy a bigger card then,cos i have NO IDEA how to edit and do all that stuff on my pc im afraid. I realy am a novice at this. Jeez,,i cant even get the pc to recognise the Swift Cardport USB with the card in it. I dont even know what to do with it if it decides to let me either. Thanks for wishin me luck Morindae,,i WILL need it. And i need MORE room to convert it to a wav file too?Aw christ,im regreting this more with every sentence.
Click to expand...

This too shall soon pass... WHat kind of computer are you using? and what operating system? You can also get club tracks from musician's friend (thefriend.com) for 10.00 US, it is only 8 tracks but it is soooo easy to use, the instruction book is only 40 pages!



clif
 
Help etc,,,,,,,,

Hi folks.
Again,,thanks for the replys. I know i should be patient,i just want to get on with it,ye know? Im sue you were all the same when you got one.I got the USB thingy to upload the 6 tracks i have onto Windows Media Player(i think)and made a cd of them.
There are more than 6 files though,is that normal,,or has it kept a lot of messed up takes an dthats why i ran out of time?
I alos wondered if i can use the program"E JAY"(www.ejay.com) that i have for the ediing stuff?(eventually,of course)It claims to ofer all sorts of possibilites on the box. Its a complete program,which i bought on sale for£1.99! SEEMED lke a good idea at the time,but its just been lying around cos i as too dumb to use it,,AND i dont have a plug in and play facility on this pc.
Im using Windows ME and its 256 mb,with an 850 mhx processor.
Im gonna have another go at the MR8 tonight,,,cos im buggered if im lettin it beat me!
 
HOORAY!

Woohoo! I finished my first track! YAAAY!
I take all it back,well,,,a wee bit of it anyway. I initially had recorded 6 tracks,,including the stereo bass track .I binned that.
Moved 1-4 onto 5 and 6. Redid the bass on 1.
Lead vocal on 2,,,
Harmony on 3. Other harmony and guitar solo on 4.
Still had 4.06 left over.And that was that.
Its Sounding really good too.
I just moved 5/6 to 7/8,,and im going to dig out the old mono synth tomorrow and have a wee go on that. Hehehe!
I cant play keyboards mind,,but its a laugh trying to do wee riffs and things when you have no idea what your doin i think!
I used the"normal" mastering thing,,,
i think the POWERFUL one is ridiculous.TOO loud and compressed sounding. The BRIGHT one is just TOO bright fo rmy ears.
I used the stereo outs onto my MD recorder.
I dont quite understand the uploading to the pc thing yet. Hopefully being on here will help me get my head around that one. Is there anywhere to upload the track to get a bit of feedback? I will probably stick it on my wee page at www.mp3.com/monsterpop ,,eventually.
Though it takes them ages to "ok" new stuff ive noticed!
Still,,,,i have to get it FROM the MD to the pc first.
Dang!
 
Hey Monsterpop, it's good to see you are making progress. Just to let you know, I almost returned the machine because of my frustration, so I really understand how you feel. Take it one step at a time and you will be soon be feeling that all this equipment is an extension of you. keep on pluggin away.
 
Hooray etc,,,,,

Hi all. Thanks again for your comments.
I THINK im sussin it out,,a bit at a time.Its such a luxury to NOT have to pan stuff AWAY so it doesnt get recorded etc,,,like it was on the cassette8 track though,,so im lovin that.
I will check out that site too. And get a listen to some of you folks' stuff too. Do i have to d/load songs,,or can i listen there?
No matter,,i shall have a look.
I even had enough space left on the "finished"song to put on a bit of stereo acoustic at some parts.Even though i am SO shite at acoustic!
Excellent!
Cheers people!
 
It depends on the artist's page in particular,...

because there are configurable options on who can download what. On my page, I have an all-public-everything option on my songs, so you may stream Lofi [dialup], stream Hifi [broadband], or download,... and you don't even have to be a registered NWR member. Other people's pages may lockout downloads from anyone other than registered NWR members.

It's simple, it's easy, and it's free. What else could you want? NWR is the premier "best" place to showcase your tunes, and you heard it here first.
 
HOORAY

Thanks for that info.
All i have to do now is get a lead long enough to go from the MD to the pc. I still dont know why it seems to record the stuff distorted when i do that though.
Hope it works now.
Thanks for everyones help!
Off to do a festival gig in Dusseldorf this weekend,,,
so i hope i dont forget how to work the MR8 by the time i get back!
tata for now,,,,er,,,til i get stuck again!
 
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