MR-8 to PC for SoundForge and on to AcidLoops 4.0

[MethenyFan]

I'm new to the forum here, so I apologize if this is a redundant question...

I haven't been active for a while... but tax return has been kind; I'm upgrading some gear (guitar, guitar snyth) and trying to get back into songwriting and home recording.

My current painful way to do home recording is to record tracks on at a time on my MR-8, bounce them to 7/8, convert them to .wav, transfer the .wav to my PC, touch up the files using Soundforge Studio 6, bring them in to AcidLoops... repeat this process for all the parts, and then do the mixing and mastering from the PC. I'm open to any commentary on whether this is a good or bad way to go, or to hear any experiences people who have tried this set of hardware/software have had.

Anyhow, I have had issues with not being able to handle even modest size tracks this way... I think I ran out of memory on a .wav conversion with a file that was just over 3min long.

Suspecting this was about the 128MB limit, I just ordered a Hagiwara Z-series 512MB card. I understand this is a confirmed card and saw other posts saying people have had good experience with this...

So, with 512MB... how long a single track should I expect to be able to handle? I guess I will have my original source tracks (2 for stereo), the bounced tracks on 7/8, and the stereo .wav... I guess that adds up to six tracks, so 16 minutes (from p16 of my users manual)... is that an unrealistic expectation?

Also, are there any CF cards that are confirmed to work that are larger than 512? If 16 minutes is where I end up, I doubt I'll run into that ceiling... but it's always good to know what the limits are...

Thanks in advance for your useful input.

 

[Rokket]

Best idea: Don't bounce the tracks to 7/8. You lose so much control over editing that way. Transfer the individual tracks to pc and mix them in soundforge that way. Also, to clear up memory, if you are happy with the track and don't plan to "undo" it, you can go into the menu and delete the unused tracks. The MR-8 actually records two tracks so that you can use the undo/redo feature. If you are happy with the track, just delete the unused and you will get some recording time back.
A 512 card will give you a little over 90 minutes recording time. If you bounce your tracks to 7/8, you delete the other tracks to free them up to record more. Then go in and delete the unused tracks again. It's a pain in the ass, but it keeps your memory clear. But like I said, you don't want to bounce them to 7/8 and then transfer them to pc. You can transfer the individual tracks as .wav files to pc using the Wave Manager program on the Fostex website. It makes it easy and fast to move the tracks from the MR-8 to the pc.
Hope this was helpful....

 

[dave in toledo]

as rokkett suggested

will also free u space on your card, i can do a whole song with the stock card, do trac 1-3 go to pc, use go by and keep going..

 

[cellardweller]

I thought v1.20 made it no longer necessary to "delete unused"???
Did you guys not upgrade for some reason, or am I missing something (probably the latter)....

 

[dave in toledo]

delete unused

i believe that function can be automated.......delete unused...... but not automatic.....