Next step up from MR-8

[mrx]

I've had great success with my MR-8, but am wondering if any of you can offer suggestions for a more advanced unit. I've read the posts about the VF-series Fostex units, and am wondering about units form other manufacturers. I recall hearing great things about the AW16G, but wonder if, after 18 months, it's due for a large price drop. Also, any thoughts about the recorders from Zoom?

Thanks

 

[billisa]

I've had great success with my MR-8, but am wondering if any of you can offer suggestions for a more advanced unit. I've read the posts about the VF-series Fostex units, and am wondering about units form other manufacturers. I recall hearing great things about the AW16G, but wonder if, after 18 months, it's due for a large price drop. Also, any thoughts about the recorders from Zoom?

Thanks

I am a biased VF series user. I think these are great units (VF80/VF160) and compete very well against their competitors in the price range. The VF160 gives you a full 16 tracks and excellent stability, though others swear by other maker's units. The learning curve on Yamaha's is signficant, though I get the impression it's not so steep on the Korg models.

 

[mrx]

My experience has been that Yamaha gear is more complicated than others, but over time it seems this is due to power and flexibility. I've found Boss/Roland equipment to be complicated for no reason other than poor design, and Tascam to have lost their way regarding customer focus. Korg is an option, but their recorders always seem to be getting discontinued.

The only issue I have with the VF series is the lack of USB (although the Yamaha has the same problem). It will be very difficult to give up the drag/drop file transfer ability of the MR-8.

 

[kdgospel]

I can't remember what the type of hookup is, but I know you can get a soundcard for your pc with the proper hookups other than USB. I don't know what the price is though. Might be something to look into though.

 

[mrx]

The 160 can use ADAT interface, but the 80 is limited to either transfering two tracks at a time via spdif, or burning a CD. I was just looking at the specs on the Korg D1600MKII - 16 track (with 16 faders), 8 trk simultaneous recording, 16 or 24 bit, 40GB hard drive, 8 simultaneous insert effects + 2 master, CD burner AND USB.

 

[billisa]

The 160 can use ADAT interface, but the 80 is limited to either transfering two tracks at a time via spdif, or burning a CD. I was just looking at the specs on the Korg D1600MKII - 16 track (with 16 faders), 8 trk simultaneous recording, 16 or 24 bit, 40GB hard drive, 8 simultaneous insert effects + 2 master, CD burner AND USB.

I too was looking at the Korg D1600. It's quite an impressive machine and comes across as well put together. The VF80/160, the Yamaha aw16 and the Korg D1600 don't feel like toys -- whereas the "feel" of some others isn't as substantial. The Korgs are said to be easy to learn, and the 1600 uses a touch-screen menu. The VF160 is $850 whereas the Korg is $1300. The silver Korgs were made in Japan -- the new blue ones are made in China (not that that matters).

There is a Korg forum site you should probably look at to get a sense of how people are experiencing these machines first hand.

Lastly, all the these hard-drive recorders make some mechanical noise (from the whirring hard drive) that WILL be picked up by a condensor mic. The VF160 is very, very quiet (my VF80 was more noticeable, though much quieter than a TASCAM I tried out). The Korg D1600 has a fan, I believe, so while I wouldn't make a decision based on "fan noise", I'd still bear it in mind if you make very quiet recordings with the mic nearby the machine....

 

[dwillis45]

I would look at the Fostex VF160 but give some consideration to a 24 bit recorder like the Yamaha. You might also think about ways to upgrade your MR-8 by using an external preamp or external effects. Another step-up might be the Fostex 24 track which sells for about $1,299, although you would need a mixing board. Finally, give some thought to recording directly to a computer through an interface/soundcard and software. I recently switched from the VF16 to a MOTU 828 interface using an imac G4 with Cubase, AudioDesk (a scaled down version of Digital Performer), and Live. I found that the MOTU>DAW setup produced better results. I suspect that the difference is a function of either better preamps, better A/D converters, or the fact that the DAW recorded at 24 bit.

 

[billisa]

I would look at the Fostex VF160 but give some consideration to a 24 bit recorder like the Yamaha.

Just a note, the Yamaha is a 16bit recorder.