MR-8 Digital Multitracker Any good?

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jskillz89

jskillz89

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Hey im woundering if the MR-8 Digital Multitracker is any good ... cuz ive seen some other post where people are saying that they had problems with it and that they have to turn the gain up so high to get a good signal ... im new to this im not shure if i should buy this or not but if some one could help me out and im looking to buy the sm 57 mic with it im woundering if it will make make vocals sound good the two of them to gether im looking for some people who have the MR-8 Digital Multitracker and know about it..im getting this because im on a 400 dollar buget to get a little studio going im just trying to get my vocals sounding good and recorderd and i also have a cd burner on my computer and a copie of cool edit pro .. thank you - Justin this is the MR-8 Digital Multitracker

http://www.fostex.com/images/products/digital/mr8slant.jpg
 
mr8

Hi mate
I think it is pretty good. i did have all sorts of problems at first,
mainly because im so stupid i think.
Im still stuck working"within" the box cos i dont know how to get it onto the pc and do the editing and stuff.
The so called"effects" on the MR8 are absolutely dreadful though.
If you want your distorted guitars to sound as if you are using a fuzz box with an almost dead battery you might like it.
The reverb is ok,,delay is rubbish imho.
It IS very easy to use though,even for me.
I kinda wish i had saved a bit more money for something with a hard disc and more capacity though.
the 128md CF card supplied is barely sufficient so i MUST upgrade as soon as i can find a bigger card that definitely will work.id imagine it seems like a bit of a toy to the serious recordin experts on here, but i think its not a bad thing for the price.
i hope i havent put you off. Hope that helps a wee bit!
Cheers,,
JimmyD
 
mr-8 any good

it is kind of hard to answer that kind of question without knowing exactly what you are going to do with it.

but, i have been using mine for a while now and here are what i consider the pro's and con's

pro.

Can be battery operated for remote recording
uncompressed digital audio
very easy to operate
good editing features
easy interface to computer, or external devices (s/pdif)

con
if useing the 128mb card, you have 3 minutes of recording time (assuming you fill up all 8 tracks) in regular mode. you can get bigger cards, btw


So, if you are looking for something to record no more than TWO tracks at one time(play back 8), and be able to import wave files into the computer, it will serve your purpose very well.

btw, i use both condenser and dynamic mikes with mine, and yes you do have to add some gain with the pre amp for the dynamic mike. but hey, you will have to on a mixer or anything else you go strait into also. so......

how i use mine

i record in a stereo drum track from a drum module. then i go put in (all myself playing) rythm guitar, bass guitar, lead vocals, etc.

when i get it mixed and mastered, i output to a cd-r optically for a master recording. and just to be safe, i also make an analog copy onto vhs.

so, would i recommend this as a starting point

absolutely. you will learn a great deal about recording with this machine and be able to use the knowledge in future endeavours.
 
mr 8

i love mine, you will need a preamp or small mixer($60.00) in order to solve the gain prolblem,and yes you will need a bigger card,other than that, i use n-trac on pc with mr 8 its way easier then recording through soundcard and dealing with lag time and all
 
ur in the right place, click on the headings "views" to sort the hightest views and you'll get about 1/2 of them on the MR-8, then click on the "replies" heading, you'll also get 1/2 of em on mr8. A lof of info here on it.

I like it. But not for production work, kind of limited. but for my songwriting demos, it's great. I use Extended mode, which is 22 khz sampling vs. 44.1 khz CD quality. I can't tell the diff and even extended sounds great to me and my lack of studio qulaity monitors, and better than anything I ever had on tape.

It does have it's list of problems, but it's still worth it to many people here. a lot in each column of pros and cons.
 
I had the MR-8 for a week, and found it to be inadequate. Not enough storage at all. I would strongly recommend saving an extra hundred dollars and buying the VF-80. It's a much superior unit. Also, I've used the Shure SM57 for vocals. It's okay, but again, I recommend saving another $100 for a Behringer B-1 condensor. It'll give you a much clearer sound, if vocals are your thing. A pop filter is a must as well, not only does it smooth out consonants, it provides a point of reference for where you should be singing.
 
I like the MR-8 because it is very easy to use. Myself being a newbie in Home Recording. Madmy first song within a couple of hours. After doing that I found out what I needed to add to it.

I have a Behringer Mixer that I run with a ZOOM effects unit and a stand alone component TDK CD Burner(that I already had). I've been a musician for a number of years and am used to working with sequencers and work stations.

The MR-8 seems to work like some sequencers I have used so if you don't have at least a 258MB card you will have to really watch your time. My 512MB card has only just arrived today so I haven't used it yet.

Anyways with the 128MB card I found that you need to, for example if your vocal work stops for a 22 measure guitar ride then you need to cut off the track and not run it during the ride. I know that alot of people know this already, but it was new to me.

Well, I have not used the bouncing feature as of yet but will in the furue. Right now I use 16 tracks off of my workstation mix it down and then record it into the MR-8 using the stereo inputs into tracks 5/6 and then I use mono tracks 1 thru 4 for vocal work.

See ya,
Ben
 
The MR8 is a good unit and produces very good sound. Very easy to use and the Wave Manager software makes using a PC for the mixdown process very easy.

You might want to get a larger memory card to expand your recoroing capacity.

Ed
 
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