New VF160EX owner - VERY disappointed in one aspect, please help

  • Thread starter Thread starter quadrajet
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quadrajet

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If you've read my last post, you know I decided to buy a VF160ex. Well I've had a couple of days to familiarize myself with it and began recording my first song on it but I ran into something that I have a real problem with....the auto-punch in/out feature sucks on this thing.

One of my favorite features on my MD8 and MD4s was the fact that I could use the Jog wheel to shuttle to the exact frame that I wanted the punch in/punch out to begin and end at. It was extremely precise this way and gave you a seemless fix. Unless I'm missing something, you cant do this on the Fostex VF160EX, it like you more or less have to stab a button while its playing to make the mark in/out and hope for the best.

If I'm wrong on this, or if someone has a better method that works for them PLEASE let me know. I'm not a big fan of using footswitches and I hate sloppy punch ins. It's such a waste to re-record a whole track just becuase of one bad note, theres got to be some way to remedy this.
 
You can 'dial-in' a location: press hold then use the jog wheel to change to the desired location, then press store then 'autopunch-in'. Same for punch out. SHift/record takes you into autopunch-in rehearsal.

I had an MD8 - this is loads better!

Hope this helps

Orc
 
Also you may want to look into getting a foot switch for punch in's and out'd.

Yes you can use the jog wheel like carelessorc said.

I think the main weekness of the VF160 is the compressor (it sucks)
Most FX's are usable.
 
Get the footwsitch. It's way easier than programimg auto punches.
 
Use the SCRUB button to get yourself to the exact spot you want. You can then set your auto punch in/out points precisely.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I'll give these methods a try. I've never had much luck with footswitches so thats gonna be my last resort.

Regarding the scrub button - does the display show you what frame or milisecond you're at when you use it? It seems to me it only breaks it down by second which isnt much help if some of the songs you're recording clock in at 200bpm.
 
quadrajet said:
Regarding the scrub button - does the display show you what frame or milisecond you're at when you use it?
Click to expand...

If it's like my VF08, it'll break it down to subframes - 1/100th of a frame.
 
quadrajet said:
Thanks for the advice guys, I'll give these methods a try. I've never had much luck with footswitches so thats gonna be my last resort.
Click to expand...

Get the footswitch. The Fostex one works like a charm. No clicks, pops. If you can't find the Fostex model, you HAVE to get one of the same type or when you boot up, you'll get an error message. I forget what specific type the Fostex one is, but I know they're getting harder to find.

It could be they're on back-order.
 
billisa said:
Get the footswitch. The Fostex one works like a charm. No clicks, pops. If you can't find the Fostex model, you HAVE to get one of the same type or when you boot up, you'll get an error message. I forget what specific type the Fostex one is, but I know they're getting harder to find.

It could be they're on back-order.
Click to expand...
Any footswitch that is non-latching should work. I have a Yamaha non-latching footswitch for my keyboard that I tested out on my MR-8 and it works fine. No clicks or pops. I don't do a lot of punch-in/punch out, though. I prefer to just re-track, which wastes time, but I hate messing with menus...
 
manual punch in/out

. . .and if you need to do a manual setup of points, hit the Punch In key (or any other Mark key), use the << or >> keys to highlight Hr-Min-Sec-F-SF in the time display, and dial up the desired values with the jog wheel. Then hit [Locate], [Store], and the button for the point you want to set.

Paj
8^)

P.S.: Get a footswitch.
 
Correct pedal is not only 'non-latching' it is also 'normally open' (that is when you press it it closes the circuit).

Problem with Yamaha pedals is they are 'normally closed' (that is when you press it, it opens the circuit). If used with a VF16/0 it makes the machine go into a test mode on start up (looks like it's died!).

Lots of footswitches will do it e.g. Boss FS U5. Also keyboard sustain pedals. They are often marked 'switchable polarity' technically this is garbage, but usually means you can switch between 'normally open' and 'normally closed'.

The main thing is to get something that is mechanically quiet.

Orc
 
carelessorc said:
Correct pedal is not only 'non-latching' it is also 'normally open' (that is when you press it it closes the circuit).

Problem with Yamaha pedals is they are 'normally closed' (that is when you press it, it opens the circuit). If used with a VF16/0 it makes the machine go into a test mode on start up (looks like it's died!).

Lots of footswitches will do it e.g. Boss FS U5. Also keyboard sustain pedals. They are often marked 'switchable polarity' technically this is garbage, but usually means you can switch between 'normally open' and 'normally closed'.

The main thing is to get something that is mechanically quiet.

Orc
Click to expand...
I think I got luck then, because it worked on my MR-8 (which is a totally different thing, I know). So mine must be one that is normally open... ;)
 
Yeah you got lucky - I didn't.
When I replaced my Yamaha MD8 mutitracker with the VF16 I literally swapped over all the connections, including the punch-in pedal. The VF didn't work so I returned it to the store. I was about to do the same with the second machine, when it occured to me to unplug everything - and bingo! it worked. (Because of this I became an expert in punch-in pedals - sad but true).

BTW in the post above when I said 'Lots of footswitches will do it' I meant 'will work properly'.

Orc
 
carelessorc said:
Yeah you got lucky - I didn't.
When I replaced my Yamaha MD8 mutitracker with the VF16 I literally swapped over all the connections, including the punch-in pedal. The VF didn't work so I returned it to the store. I was about to do the same with the second machine, when it occured to me to unplug everything - and bingo! it worked. (Because of this I became an expert in punch-in pedals - sad but true).

BTW in the post above when I said 'Lots of footswitches will do it' I meant 'will work properly'.

Orc
Click to expand...
Bottom line is don't chance it then? Get the Fostex pedal and be done with it. At least you know it's going to work, and you don't have to spend all that time going through the menu to set the A-B points...
 
Okay, I decided to ignore my previous bad experiences with footswitch punch ins and give one a try. WOW - I am absolutely amazed at how seamless the fix is! I am one of those people who will isolate a track by itself in the mix and nitpick it to death if its my own work and I just cant complain about the pedal punch in/out on this thing!

Funny thing is I see a lot of you are having problems using other brands of footswitches, since the Fostex one is available almost nowhere. Well, I must've got lucky then, because I'm using a pedal that I know shouldn't work, yet it does....

I'm using the pedal that came with my V-amp 2. I know it technically shouldnt work because it's actually a 2 pedal switch used to scroll up and down for presets on the V amp. It has a stereo type 1/4 inch plug (TRS) which I thought would eliminate the possibility of using it, but I figured you just dont know till you plug it in and try, and believe it or not - IT WORKS!

The only quirky thing I've noticed about the punch in/out using the footswitch is that after you punch out as the music keeps playing, the track you were recording over sounds blank for about 1 or 2 seconds after you stepped on the switch for the punch out. But then, after you go back to listen to your take on playback, the point at which you hit the pedal for the out is indeed where it stopped recording and the original music that sounded like it was being blanked out is still there, so I guess it's not really a problem just kind of a wierd thing that I have to get used to.

Thanks for talking me into the footswitch guys!
 
quadrajet said:
The only quirky thing I've noticed about the punch in/out using the footswitch is that after you punch out as the music keeps playing, the track you were recording over sounds blank for about 1 or 2 seconds after you stepped on the switch for the punch out. But then, after you go back to listen to your take on playback, the point at which you hit the pedal for the out is indeed where it stopped recording and the original music that sounded like it was being blanked out is still there, so I guess it's not really a problem just kind of a wierd thing that I have to get used to.

Thanks for talking me into the footswitch guys!
Click to expand...

In fact, you'd get the same thing if you had the genuine Fostex switch, so looks like you're good to go.

I am also one who labors over one track for day's, weeks, months... After using the footswitch, you never want to go back.

Just one note. If your switch is plugged in and the VF160 gives an error on bootup (start-up), then you'll need to unplug it before starting the machine.
 
No error messages...yet. Incidently, if anyone else wants to try this, its the left pedal on the board that is active, the one used for scrolling "Down" on the V-amp.
 
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