MR-8 or VF80

P

PikeInTheWeeds

New member
Hello all...I have read almost every post in here regarding the Fostex Mr-8 and the VF80...I am in the market for one or the other...We have a 4 pc jam band and are looking for a unit to put the rehearsal ideas on, AS WELL AS-creating our own "professional" sounding CD...I am the drummer and will be doing the p.c. editing,if need be, as well as the CDR burning on my home p.c...(I have always wanted to dabble in the recording field) I am worried though,,that the MR-8 will not do the job...May it be it's, less- than-"sturdy" integrity or just the scary low price to purchase one...Mind you I am aware of the limited quality we can obtain on a $450.00 budget...I would be able to afford a VF80 without the CD1A CDR...But,,,How troublesome is it to tranfer a mix from a CDR-less VF80 to a p.c.??? Is there a list of Fostex approved S/PDIF devices also??? Allpersonal opinions are extremely welcomed and appreciated...Thank you...
 
Some of the more experienced hands need to jump in and correct me if I'm wrong, but in order to transfer tracks from the VF-80 to a PC without a built-in CD burner, you will have to have some type of interface that allows you to transfer track via S/PDIF link as the VF-80 does not, as of this writing, have a USB port. This of course means spending more $$.
If you just want a unit for recording the tracks, but then plan to transfer each track to a PC for eventual mixdown/mastering, then the MR-8 would probably be the better bet.
There are other considerations as well: How many tracks do you plan to record at once? If you need to record more than two at a time, neither the MR-8 or the VF-80 will work for you.
 
It depends on how you plan to record. Do you plan to record "live" in the studio or do you plan to "layer" tracks? If you are planning to record "live" in the studio, then the question will be, How many mics will you be using. That will determine what size mixer you need to use.
 
And what about the "layer" option??? I am totally new to this..I have read many articles,,but it's just not making too much sense to me..
 
mr8

I can only speak for myself and the the mr8. I am new to this whole thing, but have found the mr8 to be great. I purchased it for $279. got the Behringer euro 1002 for $59. And use Audacity (FREE) to mix on the computer. I also purchased a 512k cf card, but because of Audacity I probably really did not need it. Quality is great and I am really happy with it.. I do home demos alone, but also recorded my band in a live situation. It is very easy to use and send files to computer, mix, and burn.

Good luck!
 
The MR8 will do full 16bit CD quality recordings. Just don't jab at the buttons.

Layering means recording onto 2 tracks, then going back, recording on 2 more tracks, then 2 more, etc., 8 in total.

If you want you can mixdown 1-8 down to 2 (stereo), then add more "layers"...

The VF80 will do great recordings and fine masters onto CD. For $599. you can get the VF80CDR, and I'd consider it because a lot of times we say we can't go beyond a certain $$ amount, then winding up doing so because we didn't get all we really needed.

Still, with a PC for editing, the MR8 can do a wonderful job.
 
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