MR-8 Potential tracks underrated?

  • Thread starter Thread starter a12stringer
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PeteHalo said:

Now tell me this, why did you folks go for MR8 instead the VF80?
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Here are my reasons:

I do not have a S/P DIF interface for my PC. SO you think I would be able to buy the Vf-80 right? Well it lists for 499.00 on MF WITHOUT the CD DRIVE, so then I would have to spend another 300.00 for the optional CDRW drive making my total up to over 800.00! Or I would have to buy a nicer sound card for my pc with an optical input. For that money perhaps I would save a little longer for the VF-160 but then again I do not need 16 tracks myself. Yet at the same time I saw the potential of the MR-8 with its USB connection and wav file x-fer, I would be able to record my songs with as many tracks as I want with the help of my PC and some DAW software. But lets say I do not want to use the PC, no problem I just bounce a few tracks and master using the MR-8. Either way the songs are going to PC so that I can burn them on CD anyways.

The MR-8 is the BEST VALUE IMHO with the MOST POTENTIAL to grow into something better.


SO in summary , I bought a device that would allow me to make the most of the equipment that I already have.


clif
 
...and most of us are doing this with the included 128MB card. One user spoke with Fostex and they indicated that they are addressing the card availability issue. Working with a PC, I can't see ever hitting the wall with a 512MB card.
 
clifchamb said:
The MR-8 is the BEST VALUE IMHO with the MOST POTENTIAL to grow into something better.
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Unbelievable crap. This is the most exaggerated thing I've heard so far. The only thing to grow with MR8 is the size of the CF card and that's pretty expensive compared to the HD prices. I just bought a 60GB drive for 110 EUR (for my computer) that would give VF16 total of 12 hours of recording time on 16 tracks (= 192 track hours or 11520 track minutes) and at that price you can get 2 128MB CF cards giving you 48 track minutes. That's 4 hours on Vf16 for every minute on MR8. You can't even record a 3 piece band live with it while I can record a big band with my VF16. Even if you had 4 of them you couldn't do the things I do with my Vf16. Even the mobility of MR8 is highly questionable as you can't even record two songs on a 128 MB card without having your computer around to save those tracks to while I can take my VF16 out of town for a weekend to record my friends band at his place and dump the tracks to computer when I get back.
 
Re: Re: In the interest of setting the record straight II !

Bigsnake00 said:
Yeah this is true...that seems to be a main draw back against these machinces...i was just stating that if you want really really good recordings you are going to need an external eq...with a vf16 your best option is an outboard but with the mr-8 you can fix it in the computer.....it all evens out. haha ok its more like an fm radio
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The Vf16 is by far the best companoin to a computer DAW. Using the adat interface you have 4 individual stereo tracks coming from computer to VF that you can mix with the signals coming in from the 8 analog inputs of VF and monitor the whole mix from VF's line outs or monitor outs. VF can be integrated to computer DAW on a totally new, higher and more creative level.
 
PeteHalo said:
...that would give VF16 total of 12 hours of recording time on 16 tracks...
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Good point - I have to record a twelve hour drum solo this weekend and was kind of worried the MR-8 might not be able to handle it.
 
Re: Re: Re: In the interest of setting the record straight II !

PeteHalo said:
The Vf16 is by far the best companoin to a computer DAW. ......... VF can be integrated to computer DAW on a totally new, higher and more creative level.
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Now THAT is exaggerated pretentiousness Pete.


clif
 
This whole thread has tended to degenerate somewhat from my initial post. The initial message was to simply offer a perspective to other MR8 users which might expand the potential of their existing equipment, especially if they do not have access to a computer with double digit GB capacity and the software necessary to make full use of the .wav transfer capacity. I was not expecting to run into the snobbery displayed by PeteHalo.
I don't know what his personal situation is--but most of the home recordists I know who are looking at the MR-8 tend to be blue collar whose entire budget for a home recording setup might be $1000.00 which has to include monitoring equipment, microphones, patch cables, case to put theequipment in when not in use. Things like that. We live on a budget. For us, the
MR8 represents a chance to fulfill our dream of multitrack recording at home without breaking the bank.
PeteHalo suggests, and I quote, "Just save up for the VF160." At the going price for the VF160CDR, that represents our entire budget, no monitoring equipment, no microphones, nothing else.
It also means that the dream has to be deferred--till when? Pete, you may be eloquent and you may be highly intelligent. But you are seriously lacking in fundamental human virtues such as kindness, humility, and courtesy.

That said, I did some refiguring and discovered if one is mixing and mastering directly to either an analog recorder or a stand-alone cd-recorder, one can actually manage 16 tracks using the bounce-down capabilities. The process would be:

Step
# 1: Record tracks 1-4
# 2: Bounce down to 5/6
# 3: Erase 1-4 and record to them
# 4: Bounce down 1-6 to 7/8
# 5: Erase 1-6 and record to 1-4
# 6: Bounce down 1-4 to 5/6
# 7: Erase 1-4 and record to them
# 8: mix and master to cd or analog recorder.
 
Well said a12stringer!, I recently purchased the MR8 for alot of the reasons everyone else stated here...I also have a Roland VS840ex and I've been thinking of buying a Yamaha aw16g.

I'm using the mr8 for simple projects ala sketchpad....but i'm just starting to toy with the idea of using n-track to slice and dice. (just downloaded the trial)

The computer based stuff is all greek to me so I have some challenges ahead.

Pete, it's great that you love your unit....but it's apples and oranges. If you would like to offer a friendly opinion thats one thing, but to insist that we are making a mistake by enjoying our inexpensive units is another!!

You don't know exactly how we will be using the MR8...If it works for us within our budget and allows us to accumulate other equipment...then we are HAPPY! You need to go be happy with your equpment and let as take your opinion into consideration and make our own decisicions as to whats best for US!
 
Markophonic - Good luck with n-Track. It's the best 45 bucks I ever spent, and it looks like the author has already released a new version since I downloaded three weeks ago!

The n-Track forum on this board is good, and they have a thriving community on the fasoft site.

For less than $350, n-Track and the MR-8 are a great combination.
 
Hi a12stringer,

I want to point out that the MR-8 actually gives you UNLIMITED number of tracks, what you end up giving up is flexibility of what you have recorded.

I proceed as you described. But once you bounced down to tracks 7 & 8, you can move them back to tracks 1 & 2. Now you record to 3 & 4, bounce 1-4 again to 5 & 6 (or 7 & 8, the same principal applies), and keep repeating until all your tracks are recorded.

You maintain stereo separation by doing this. The flexibility you lose is due to having mixed the tracks down, and all the relative volumes and stereo panning are now fixed.

If you want even better control and you have software on your computer to do mixing, you can record up to 8 tracks on your MR-8, move them all up to your computer. Then you erase some tracks from the MR-8, leaving enough to allow you to record additional track in-sync with the song, record more tracks and move them off to the computer again. You end up with unlimited number of tracks, and on the computer you have every musical layer individually that you can manipulate to construct your song.

I used the first principle to make a song. It has 2 tracks for stereo drum tracks, 1 layer of vocals (just a snippet), 1 layer of bass, and 6 layers of guitar: for a total of 10 sound layers completely done on the MR-8. It is not professional sounding seeing that I'm not that good of a player, and I did the whole thing in about 7 hours, but here it is:



DC
 
digitcallous,
your input is exactly what makes a bulletin board like this exiting and fun--you brought a perspective which others on the thread have hinted at but not stated explicitly.
At the same time, there is a slight difference-- the application I offered is mainly for the one who will be mixing/mastering directly to an analog (cassette tape) or a digital (stand-alone cd) recorder--as I will be. Using software like n-track and a computer is a bit different and of course there the limits are your software and hard-drive space. Since my PC is a notebook with a free hard drive capacity of only about 2.5 GB, that application will not work as well.

As for your work not being "professional sounding," I don't think you need to apologize. We're all still exploring, learning, and (hopefully) having fun in the process. And even the greats like George Martin and Snuff Garrett had to start somewhere.
 
a12stringer,

I must not be understanding what you mean exactly in your usage model.

I was trying to point out that as long as one is willing to use bouncing down as a technique on the MR-8, you can record unlimited number of tracks on it, without ever involving your computer (until you want to burn a CD, that is). What the user has to remember is that tracks 7 & 8 (and 5 & 6) can be moved to other positions. If he does that then 5&6 or 7&8 are now free for further mix down. If he moved 7 & 8 back to 5 & 6, he actually now has tracks 1-4 again free to record again, with 7 & 8 available for mixdown of all 6 tracks. And that can be repeated ad infinitum.

If I'm still confused about what you are trying to explain, can you try again. I'm dense sometimes.

DC
 
digicallous,
I re-read your first response and goofed entirely. You are quite correct. By bouncing down and using the copy and paste functions one could theoretically record an infinite number of tracks, without ever transferring to a computer file.

Eventually, one has to say, "Enough" to the recording process and let the finished "product" stand or fall as it is at that point.
It is simply a matter of when has one realized his or her vision for the piece of music in question, whether it is a jug band version of "Smoke on the Water," a heavy metal workup of "The Riddle Song," or a big band arrangement of "No More Mister Nice Guy"--wait a minute, Pat Boone already did the last one.
 
a12stringer,

I'm glad it is all straight. Excuse me for repeating myself, but I just wanted to point out how to use the MR-8 as fully as possible. By the way, I did not just learned this stuff, I've had a cassette 4-track for over 20 years. It was critical to figure out way to do this multi-tracking stuff when you are using one of those machines because you have so few tracks, and moving to the computer (at least back when I was using it a lot) cannot even be done back then.

Love to hear your recording results, I just hope you are not thinking of doing a remake of Pat Boone's "No more mister nice guy." ;-)

DC
 
markophonic said:
I recently purchased the MR8 for alot of the reasons everyone else stated here...I also have a Roland VS840ex and I've been thinking of buying a Yamaha aw16g.

Pete, it's great that you love your unit....but it's apples and oranges. If you would like to offer a friendly opinion thats one thing, but to insist that we are making a mistake by enjoying our inexpensive units is another!!
Click to expand...

So you're saying that it's better to have 3 recorders each for different purpose than one that you can use for all your current recording needs and many of those in the future. Unfortunately most of us don't have that luxury. You're concerned about money yet in the previous paragraph you're ready to throw it away at any direction imaginable. Wouldn't it be time to sit down and think what you really want and need and buy a machine that can cover all the bases. Buying the AW16G and use it with n-Track seems to be yet another step on the path of badly chosen gear. But at least you're consistent in what you do.
 
digicallous,
No, I probably won't do any remake of "No More Mr. Nice Guy."
Actually, I'm working on some jugband arrangements of stuff I've written over the past thirty years. I'm strictly a hobbyist and an amateur in the truest sense of the word.

I was not intending any slight by the comment about having to start somewhere. The difficulty in this type of forum is we all come to the "table" with different levels of experience. Those of us with less experience are looking to the more experienced for helpful advice/perspective. And the anonymity prevents certainty in knowing who is sharing from experience and who is just blowing smoke.

All I can say for myself is that I hope where I have been wrong and had it pointed out to me I can be courteous and humble enough to accept the correction and move on. I don't need to be right--I just need to be able to learn.
 
a12stringer,

>>I'm strictly a hobbyist and an amateur in the truest sense of the word.

That describes me perfectly too. I was a teenager when the Beatles hit, and have been hacking away at guitar pretty much ever since (notice that I picked a 60's song to remake).

>>I was not intending any slight by the comment about having to start somewhere.

I did not take it that way at all. Although I may have more working knowledge about multi-tracks, there are a lot of aspects of producing music that I'm a total novice. And I certainly don't play as well as the majority of people I know.

>>I don't need to be right--I just need to be able to learn.

I absolutely agree. I have asked a whole bunch of questions on these discussion boards and have learned a lot from all the people kind enough to share what they know.

Believe me you will have a lot of fun with the MR-8! For me, I just wish I can play better so my recordings sound better.

DC
 
digitcallous,
Amen and Amen!

I wonder how a uke would sound on my version of "Nowhere Man."
 
a12stringer said:
digitcallous,
Amen and Amen!

I wonder how a uke would sound on my version of "Nowhere Man."
Click to expand...
Ever hear Tiny Tim's version on the Beatles Christmas 1968 record?
If you want to hear it, just email me, (dyuob@yahoo.com) i'll send you an mp3. I'm a huge ukulele fanatic, do you play as well? And do you realize you're just up the road a bit from me? I'm down here in the Ozarks! I'm working on a very odd version of Well respected man at the moment, it's getting odder by the day....
 
a12stringer & dyuob,

Sorry, I'm not brave enough to volunteer to listen to Tiny Tim. But I will volunteer to listen to your versions of Nowhere Man and Well Respected Man (the Kink's version, I presume) any time you are ready.

A few months ago I was fiddling with the Kink's song Sunny Afternoon (complete with the bass walk-down played on an acoustic) and singing along, and my 8-year old daughter got a kick out of it. It's fun to see that she actually enjoyed it.

DC
 
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