MR8 recording time

B

brickboo

New member
If I record my keyboard in stereo then sing in stereo and then record a sax background in mono then a harmony sax part in mono Will I have enough time for 1 choruse and a repeat at the bridge in a standard tune? Please email me at brickboo2@yahoo.com I'm trying to make a decision between a Fostex MR8 and a Zoom MRS4.
Your help is appreciated.
Boo Hargis
 
I think you'd be MUCH better off with the MR-8! First off, the Zoom only comes with a 32MB card, whereas the Fostex comes with a $128! Plus, Zoom makes you BUY the power supply for another $20 or so, whereas Fostex includes one with the MR-8. Those two hidden costs more than make up for the price difference right there. And when you add all the extra tracks you get with the MR-8, you'd have a much easier time recording all the different things you mentioned. With the Zoom you'd have to keep transferring to a PC (can you even do that?? I don't think it has a USB connection; I guess you'd have to buy a card-reader...another hidden expense!).

In addition, the Zoom unit doesn't have XRL inputs. So I guess you'd either have to buy one of those little transformers in order to use a mic (which aren't as cheap as you'd think), meaning you'll lose sound quality/introduce noise, or you'd have to buy a mixer too. Again...more costs!

AND, the Zoom only records at 32 kHz, whereas the Fostex is true 16-bit 44.1kHz recording! I'd stay away from the Zoom unit for that reason alone!

Go with the MR-8. Musicians Friend has them in stock again too! I actually got mine as a "scratch and dent" item, for only $240. Brand new it's $299, with free shipping.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...32017494294/search/g=rec/detail/base_id/84791
 
Re: mr 8

dave in toledo said:
much better machine, you can always buy a bigger card also
Click to expand...

But if you're planning on spending $300 on the MR-8 and then $150 on a 512mb card, you might as well spend another $50 on top of that to get the VF-80, with the built-in 20GB hard drive, phantom power, better effects, etc. etc. Sigh...if only money grew on trees ;)
 
yeah but that vf80 doesn't connect to the pc. And i prefer mixing on my pc. So i guess it all comes down to preference.
 
Yes but

But you need to spend another $100 for the USB hook up and what about the adapter? Does that come with the unit?

Plus how many minutes can I record on 7 tracks. I may not need a bigger card. Hurry I want to order a unit soon.
Thanks for your help,
Boo
 
According to the MR8 manual (and personal experience) the 128M card has 25 track-minutes of capacity. So if you record 7 full length tracks (each track starting at time 00:00 and ending at the end of the song), you can record a song of a little over 3 minutes long. But that is only if you always clean up your unused tracks.

Any partial track (e.g. if you have a guitar break lasting from 1:00 to 1:15) will take up less track minutes. You mention a chorus, typically that would be shorter. Depends on your tracks you may squeeze in a 4 minute song with 7 tracks.

DC
 
in other words

In other words I want to record the whole tune then repeat at the bridge and out.
Maybe on a faster tempo repeat the whole song twice. So I should be able to do this?

If so, why are so many people running out of time. Are they trying to do more then 3 minute tunes. I'll admit I'm getting old but from Sinatra to today most everything I hear on the radio is 2 and a half to 3 minute tunes.

Could someone explain this to me why so many complain about wanting more then three minutes. It seems if you try to put too many parts to a tune it gets too cluttered up and too busy. No?
Boo
 
Re: in other words

brickboo said:
In other words I want to record the whole tune then repeat at the bridge and out.
Maybe on a faster tempo repeat the whole song twice. So I should be able to do this?

If so, why are so many people running out of time. Are they trying to do more then 3 minute tunes. I'll admit I'm getting old but from Sinatra to today most everything I hear on the radio is 2 and a half to 3 minute tunes.

Could someone explain this to me why so many complain about wanting more then three minutes. It seems if you try to put too many parts to a tune it gets too cluttered up and too busy. No?
Boo
Click to expand...

It is not so much that we want to record long songs, it is just that when you are hacking away at the MR-8 (i.e doing multiple takes to get a part right or bouncing mixing or mastering tracks) your MR-8 will run out of memory real fast!

Even setting up an auto punch in/out takes up memory. My biggest reccomendation is to either buy a 512MB card or use the PC in conjuntion with your mR-8 to x-fer tracks and mix them on you PC using software.

I use the latter method and LOVE working with the MR-8. If cannot do either, you may want to go for the VF-80 etc intstead.

clif
 
A lot of the complaints about not enough time are from those who weren't using the "delete unused".
Once you remember to do that the 128 card does a pretty good job.
I don't know how you got that a usb hookup cost $100, I bought a cable for less than $20. No adaptor needed.


bd
 
No No bd

I was talking about the USB interface needed for the VF80 and the Zoom 1044. They want you to get the CD burner also then you're at $750- $800. Or you can pay $80-$100 for the USB interface with those two units.

I bet they pay someone a million bucks a year to figure all of this out for them. They think they're so smart but I know something they don't know .They could make a bunch just turning their business into a used car lot.
 
OIC......It does seem like they could incorporate all the goodies in all of their machines doesn't it.



bd
 
Re: in other words

brickboo said:
Could someone explain this to me why so many complain about wanting more then three minutes. It seems if you try to put too many parts to a tune it gets too cluttered up and too busy. No?
Boo
Click to expand...

It's not so much that people are recording lots of 3+ minute songs, but rather the main complaint typically seems to be that with a 128mb card you can really only work on one song at a time. Think about what happens if you suddenly get inspired by a new little riff you worked out while messing around, but you're currently working on another song on your MR-8...sometimes you don't have the memory to spare! That's when you'd want to have some extra memory to work with, so you don't have to keep transfering to your PC, etc.
 
Tom LeBlanc

Tom ,

With a name like LeBlanc you have to be from or within 50 miles of New Orleans. I went to school with LeBlanc's. I bet you know where Algiers is. right?

,Anyway what you said about working on more than one tune at a time, has me thinking that I should either wait a few months to see if the prices come down. Or talk to the wife again and go ahead and spend for the hard drive.

I'd get either the Fostex VF80 or the Zoom 1044 if they weren't trying to hold people up for the $100 USB card. That just erks me when a company does that crap. If they wnant to do that they should put it on the unit to start with an charge more for the recorder up front. Didn't they put the USB on the Fostex MR8 up front. I'm sure they have that adjusted in the price. Does that mean that without the USB the Fostex MR8 would only be $198?

I hate when someone trys to jack me around. I'm part Cajun. We don't like that type of business practice. They have a right to practice that type of business, but I have a right to tell them to go fly a kite.
Boo
 
Re: Tom LeBlanc

brickboo said:
Tom ,

With a name like LeBlanc you have to be from or within 50 miles of New Orleans. I went to school with LeBlanc's. I bet you know where Algiers is. right?
Click to expand...

haha! Well I do have mostly French-Canadian blood in me ;) I actually grew up in the Northeast though. I'm a damn yankee :P

Wait, so are you saying that the VF-80 has a USB add-on card you can get??? I didn't realize that. I always thought it was stupid that they give you this huge hard drive but no ability to move files to a PC to mix, etc. I think the CD-R drive is a waste, and that USB would be far superior...or even better, firewire or network card capability! Imagine if you could just plug it into your local network and transfer files at 10mBits/s?!!!

In terms of the MR-8...it doesn't have add-on capability like the VF-80, so there wouldn't be a USB option, that's why they included it in the factory unit. But I can't belive it's $100 for the VF-80! That's totally ridiculous! Maybe you could find it cheaper somewhere though...
 
sorry

Tom,

I've downloaded 3 manuals and lots of reviews etc. I got screwed up. You're right! I got the Zoom 1044 that has a USB card option mixed up with the VF80. The VF80 does not have a USB option. So you wouldn't ever be able to put any VF80 songs into the computer right?

Maybe if you wanted to record them into the computer you could, but I heard that you lose a lot of quality doing that. I guess that the VF80 is for people who hate computers?

Once again I'm back to first base. I wonder if they will ship a bigger card with the MR8 sooner then I think.
 
There is a way to transfer files to the computer from the VF80 if it has a CD burner. I think there is another way to hook it up via cable...I just don't know for sure without looking at the manual. I did download the manual, just haven't spent any time reading it.


bd
 
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