Just ordered VF-160CD, now questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter jeff0633
  • Start date Start date
J

jeff0633

Member
Howdy.

I just ordered a new VF-16 CD. Now, I have a few questions. Can I write individual tracks to a cd as a wav file and then put them on the computer for editing in Cool edit?

Can a few of you comment on the built in effects? What about the compressor? What do they mean when they say Track compressors? Does each track have it's own compressor, or is it a single compressor that all tracks are run through.

Any more info about this machine would be appreciated.

Jeff
 
New Owners of Fostex VF160CDR

Jeff: I also ordered, for the second time, the VF160CDR from Musician's Supply as a "scratch and dent" or otherwise known as a "blemished item" for the sum of $699.00. The reason for the 'second time' is because the first time, they sent me a defective unit. I would not have known that had I not plugged the unit in when it arrived with nothing connected to it (just to see it display) and the led peak light on channel "B" came on and stayed on. So I e-mailed Fostex and told them and they got back with me in less then 24 hours and told me it was defective, and channel "B" was dead. So I sent it back, and was about to order a portastudio cassette, when I saw another "blem" became available, and should arrive here tommorrow. I have never owned a digital unit before, and realize that there is a "learning curve" to it all, so any information on quick set up for "simo" use and other tips from current owners would be greatly appreciated. I need to throughly check out all the functions to be sure I don't get screwed with a "defective unit." Let me know when you get yours, Jeff.
 
Congratulations to you both for a smart choice. There's plenty of info of how to use your VF160 to the max already on this forum. So please read the previous posts carefully dealing with VF160 or VF16 and you'll have much of the info you need already before you get your hands on your machines.
 
Yes you can write individual tracks as wav files.

The effects are less than stellar (pretty digital and artificial sounding) but if you really do some tweaking and experimenting with the presets, you can get a pretty good, usable sound.

The compressor really only works when used very judicously. I really don't like to use it for anything other than a limiter. It works like this: You can have it set up for EITHER tracks 13 and 14 or tracks 15 and 16. The master channel has it's own "independent" compressor. Also, you cannot use EQ or effects on the compressed tracks which can be worked around by just bussing the tracks if you can get them set how you want them.

Overall, despite a couple of shortcomings (for most of which there are work arounds via outboard gear, etc) this is a good, solid, cheap, great sounding, quiet machine. Good luck.
 
theletterq said:
Yes you can write individual tracks as wav files.

The effects are less than stellar (pretty digital and artificial sounding) but if you really do some tweaking and experimenting with the presets, you can get a pretty good, usable sound.

That's good. I will get an outboard effects unit as soon as I can. Maybe the Behringer Virtualizer. I also use a J-station, so I could use that for effects in a pinch.




The compressor really only works when used very judicously. I really don't like to use it for anything other than a limiter. It works like this: You can have it set up for EITHER tracks 13 and 14 or tracks 15 and 16.

So you can record it compressed, and then move those tracks to other tracks, freeing up the compressor for the next tracks? I also have an RNC compressor, so I am sure i will be using that mostly.


The master channel has it's own "independent" compressor. Also, you cannot use EQ or effects on the compressed tracks which can be worked around by just bussing the tracks if you can get them set how you want them.

Overall, despite a couple of shortcomings (for most of which there are work arounds via outboard gear, etc) this is a good, solid, cheap, great sounding, quiet machine. Good luck.
Click to expand...
 
Re: New Owners of Fostex VF160CDR

Hi. Wish I would have known about that price. I got mine for $799.00, new and sealed in the box.

We need to stay in touch with each other so that we can experiment with our new machines. I have a Mackie 1202 VLZ pro. I plan on adding another one so that I will have 8 decent mic pres for 8 tracks at once. That should be plenty for recording any band, so I'm not even going to worry about getting the adat interface for 16 tracks at once.

I am tore between two recorders. I almost decided on the new Zoom 1266 without CD. It is $749.00, and I could have gotten someone down to 700, and then I could have added the USB card for it for a 100, and that would have let me transfer tracks to the PC like that, and you can record 6 tracks at once with it, and it has built in drums and bass, 24 bit, 20 gig drive. But, the tracks that I heard done on the VF-16 and VF-160 sounded better for some reason. They sound full, and huge. Why would a 16 bit recorder sound better to me than all the 24 bit recorders I hear out there? Did I make the right choice?

Hear was some of my thinking. Though the zoom is 24 bit, has drums and bass, and great effects, I can add a nice effects unit to the Fostex for not much money, and I can easily stick a bigger drive in it, can't I? Would it hold a 40 gig drive? if so, I could add a bigger drive, then the adat and another 8 channel board along with two Mackie 1202's, and I would have a full 16 track at once recorder with 40 gigs of space and a nice effects uni, plus a burner in it and also be able to transfer everything to the computer for mastering. So, i think the Fostex gives me more options for the future, cause i can add to it with outboard stuff, and have a pretty nice 16 tracks full studio. I also need to pick up 4 SM57's to add to my two Marshall 603's that I have. I also have a SP C-1 mic as well for vocals. My first objective is to be able to record an entire band at once using 8 tracks. So I need tghree sets of thisngs to do that. Four SM57's along with the 603 small condensers, one for a guitar amp, and one for a bass. And I also have an SM58 for a scratch vocal. I also need a decent effects unit, and another 1202 VLZ pro. That will get me started. I also have the Alesis active studio monitors. This would be a nice mobil setup, so I know what I need to do.

Anyway, lets help each other out on our new machines.

Jeff
 
Before getting any new mixers take a look at the products like the Presonus DigiMax LT. For $799 you'll get 8 quality preamps that can take mic or line level signals and you can connect it to VF with a single TOSlink cable.

You're damn right about the Fostex giving you more options for the future. IMHO the VF160 is the only recorder giving you options as the others give you restrictions. Don't worry about the fact that VF is only 16 bit because internally it's 32 bit as all the others. You did the right thing as you bought performance and features not hype and bells and whistles. There's thousands of great records made with 16 bit technology in the last 20 years and we're talking about home recording here.
 
I am in the process of selecting a digital recorder myself. I hear the fostex units are made very sturdy. Plus, for not much more money than an some 8 tracks I could buy the vf-160. Are they pretty intuitive?


edit:what is Musician's Supply website? that's a great price!
 
Check it out, American Musical Supply has open-boxed, NO CD versions of the VF160 for $649! http://www.americanmusical.com/item.asp?UID=2003010315040763&item=NFS+FOSVF160X - I bought one last night. Of course, I'd love to have the cd, as exporting wav files to zip drive or whatever is going to be a pain... But, I couldn't pass up the price, and I've seen the cd drives on ebay for $129. Just HAD to get my hands on it, for that price!

Does anybody care to comment on the mic pres on this thing? For my application, I'm a couple channels short on outboard pres and will end up having to use xlr transformers on the first few channels (maybe, say, some sm57's on toms). Until I get a few more quality preamp channels, is the built-in stuff even useable? Any better or worse than maybe a cheap little Behringer mixer or something?
 
The pre's are pretty quiet...nothing more, nothing less. I go straight in with drums and achieve satisfactory results.
 
Are you doing the same thing I'm thinking, using dynamics with xlr transformers on the first 6 channels? There's enough gain, there? Just checking.
 
Well I do what everyone tells you not to do which is just using a simple XLR - 1/4 cable. Yes there is a little noise and loss of fidelity here and there but for my current situation, it works and I don't plan on doing this forever. I can always edit any stray noise out of silent parts, etc. I haven't had any problems at all with enough head room on the drums.

Also, I've started getting out of my "live" micing mindset and have really started realizing how much of my sound comes from the overheads. I'll soon have a good preamp on those and will probably end up forgoing tom mics all together which will leave me with kick and snare on another pre. Then, I'm pretty much set.

Good luck...
 
Hey,
I was just wondering, are standalone hard-disk recorders like the Fostex, Roland (VS), and Yamaha (AW) products useful for if you want to mix synth sequences with audio tracks?
How would you go about it? Would you sync a synth/sequencer to a drum machine/click track, to keep the sequences in time?

I studied audio at the SAE and we only used computers running Protools so I haven't had any experience with standalone units.

What made you guys get a standalone unit instead of a computer setup? It's probably just a matter of what you want to record, etc., but i've always just assumed that computer recording setups would be far more powerful, and easier to use.
 
For me, it's strictly for portability - e.g., track drums with it in a decent room, bring the tracks home to my computer system to overdub everything else. Yes, I would absolutely think that a computer recording setup would be far more powerful, and easier to use - but these units are pretty slick for, say, a mobile rig.
 
Mip said:
What made you guys get a standalone unit instead of a computer setup? It's probably just a matter of what you want to record, etc., but i've always just assumed that computer recording setups would be far more powerful, and easier to use.
Click to expand...

When I bought my Fostex VF16 in fall '01 I had a crappy 200MHz CPU and equally crappy Soundblaster and I thought I'd be better off with a standalone. As I had no previous experience of standalones at that time I had a pretty hard time to decide between the VF, an Akai DPS12i and some Roland unit and the main reason I went for the Fostex was the fact that it used the cheap 3.5" ide HD instead of the much more expensive (at that time) 2.5" laptop drive the others use.

Afterwards I've been pleased with my decision but not because of the 3.5" HD but the ADAT interface that I had no use for at that time. Then I got a new computer and a Terratec EWS88D card in order to be able to hook the VF up to computer thru the ADAT interface and that was the moment I realized the real potential of this computer/VF combo. I use the VF16 for the basic tracking and then I transfer the tracks over to computer thru lightpipe for editing and final mixdow in n-Track. Even if I need to overdub a part directly in n-Track I can use the VF16 as a recording mixer and track to computer using Fostex's Adat mixer mode without having first to track on VF and then do the transfer. Going for the VF16 in the first place has enabled me to utilize the best features of both worlds at a very reasonable price. The portability of standalone and the editing and mixing capabilities of a computer DAW is a combination that's pretty hard to beat. Now it's all up to the guy sitting behind the desk.

Talking about ease of use, a week ago I lended my Fostex to a 16-year-old kid who has since then recorder 3 songs with his friends and tomorrow he's returning it and we're going to transfer the tracks to my computer and do the final mixdown of his songs and burn a CD. When he picked it up I gave him a quick rundown of the basic tracking procedures for about half an hour and now he's already tracking like a pro.
 
It really depends on your computer - what most people won't tell you (until it's too late...) is that computer recording can be "inconsistent". If you get the drop outs resolved, then ultimately your money is best spent on the finest A/D converters you can buy.

Integrated units resolve the "drop out" issue by tuning the hardware to the OS - in other words, you won't lose a great take when your email take priority over your DAW.

Regardless, there is no substitute for editing on a computer. Check out all your options - the Fostex MR-8 is $299 and lets you record CD quality audio and seamlessly share with a PC. Many find that ability to affordably extend your DAW's reach to make for a compelling combination.
 
If your looking forward to recording real drums, using condenser mics or do tracking more that USB cable's length away from your computer then I advise you to stay away from the MR8. Unless you're ready to spend hundreds of dollars for memory cards you're pretty much tied to the computer and for the price of MR8 you could get an multichannel soundcard for your computer instead.
 
Pete wrote "...or do tracking more that USB cable's length away from your computer..."

It's fine to be a VF-16 fan, but giving false information helps no one. The MR-8 makes a great addition to a computer based system because it's so convenient, portable, and easy to use that you'll be more willing to carry it with you (everyday I'm tempted to bring it to work with me...). Also, the price makes sense as an addition to a larger system.

Of course if you need to record a fully mic'd drum kit...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top