Thinking about buying Foxtex Products

A

Angelo Rubino

New member
After poor results (likely my fault) with cubase vst 24, considering purchasing a dedicated machine to record. I went to the fostex site and was overwhelmed by the possibilities. As far as this newbie can tell there are a number of possibilities: Multi Track using cassette tape/Multi Track using built in hard drive or ZIP, and Multi Track using Mini Disks. Not to mention reel to reel. I am on a limited budget (1,000 USA tops), and would like to hear from fostex users. All I want to do is record some of the guitar parts that I have been bouncing of my bedroom walls for the last 30 years (and I still suck). I would like to add Vocal Tracks and maybe some organ, and a track from my Yamaha DD9 (Digital Percussion). P.S I would like to be able to go through with a mic (acoustic), and effects pedal (Korg A5 Performance Signal Processor), and electric guitars(Gibson ES 120 and Flying V).
Any advice would help?
Thank You to all of you that respond.

[This message has been edited by Angelo Rubino (edited 10-25-1999).]
 
ANGELLO, I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THE FOSTEX 380.I'M ALL TASCAM BUT I SAW A DESCRIPTION OF THE 380 IN A 3 YEAR OLD MUSICIANS FRIEND THAT LED ME TO BELIEVE THIS WAS THEIR BEST RECENT 4 TRACK.IT WAS AROUND 1000.00 THEN AND HAD DOLBY S.IT SAID IT WAS SCARY HOW CLOSE TO DIGITAL IT SOUNDED. IF A FOSTEX 4TRACK IS YOUR ROUTE, GO TO EBAY.1000.00 THEN MEANS 275.00 NOW
 
I bought a Fostex FD-8 about six months ago an I so far, I'm very impressed with it. I hooked up a Syjet 1.5 gig drive to it and it works pretty good. However, very occasionally, playback or record will skip or it will freeze up (like computers sometimes do). Other than these small problems, it has served me pretty well.

It records uncompressed digital at 16 bits and you can digitally move your stuff (by mix down, or take each track individually using the ADAT out).

One thing to note, the user manual is kind of crappy; you can tell that it was translated poorly from Japanese to English.

If anyone has any other questions about this Fostex unit, I'd be happy to fill you in with what I know.
 
I have the Fostex DMT8VL...and It has worked perfectly for the past 2 years! I have upgraded to a larger hard drive (2.5 gig) that gives me 60 minutes of recording time. I mix down to Cassette, Minidisc or CD's. Then free up the hard drive for more songs. I have also occasionally transfered the contents of the hard disk to ADAT Tape for archiving, and possible future re-mixing. I have seen closeouts on these units for about $699.00 new. and around $500.00 used!

Dom Franco
 
hi angelo..i have a fostex fd-8..and so far i really enjoyit....its digital of course...the the recording sounds great...and it has a very user friendly and familiar anaolog mixer..i would recomend going with the 250mb zip disk set up also...the whole package is just under a grand..so it sounds like a good choice for ya...let me know if theres anything else ya wanna know


spin
 
Thanks Spin,
If your still out there.

Saw a tascam 4 track (cassette tape) for $399 canadian. Old model, perhaps 97 or 98. No ...XLR plugs. What do you think about these units that use cassettes, am I waisting my money?
 
I own two of them. They're a lot of fun, but can't compete with MD, HD or computer solutions. But even if you upgrade to digital later, you can use some or all of the units capability no matter what you choose as an upgrade path. Look for the useful option of normal speed cassette recording. And they'll teach you some very important recording concepts applicable no matter what system you end up with.
 
Thanks to one and all.
I have just left a music store selling the FD-4 with an internal 2.1 GB HD Installed + (not sure if it had the SCSI-2). Wants $789 Canadian plus 15% tax. How does that sound?
 
cool angelo..like i said i have the fd-8 and loveit....im sure our mixers and our editing functions are the same so if ya have any questions (i know i did) let me know...have fun

spin
 
oh wait..sorry i read that wrong....i thought ya bought it already..if ya havent...id go for the fd-8....youll love the extra four tracks believe me....i dont know the exchange rate off hand...but you should be able to get the fd-8...and the 250 zip for right around $900 american...let me know if ya need help on where to get one

spin
 
Spin,
Now you've got my head spinning. So your 900 USA would be 1,800 canadian clams (50% exchange rate). Fostex's retail price guide lists the FD-8 (8-Track Recorder/Mixer-SCSI-2 Port) for 899 USA, and the FD-8/250x (as above including an external SCSI Zip Drive)like yours I think, for 1,099 USA. They(Fostex) also list the one I am considering FD-4 /2.1 (FD-4 with an internal 2.1GB HD (E-IDE)+ SCSI-2 Port) for 949 USA. This is the one that the place wants 779 Canadian for(which is about 390 USA). That's why I have such a hard on for it. What do you think? The FD-8 With a 4.3 HD I think is going for 1,439 Canadian or $720 USA. Which would you go for, the 8 is quite a bit more. I am also leary of the HD, one of the messages above says that it does experience slight problems with ("skip and freeze up"? That message has me concerned. Thank YOU!Any light you can shed on this is appreciated.
 
ok..if i were you....the fd-4 sounds like a great price but you are REALLY gonna miss the extra 4 tracks of the fd-8...if your anything like me....you dont want to have to buy something...then trade up and loose money...save up and buy the best ya can afford..as for the hard drive..i havent heard anything good about it either..get the zip 250...and dont pay a cent over $200 (us) for it..ok i just looked in musicians friend and the fd-8 including the zip is $899 (us)
the number is 1-800-776-5173...or you may wanna try www.8thstreetmusic.com...they will match any price im sure...good luck...keep in touch

spin
 
I got my fd8 for 699 at musicians friend.Then I bought a sequest zip for 100.
The only thing I dont like is the zip cartriges cost me about 50$.
Ive been thinking about getting a different zip drive or maybe even record from my fd8 to my pc.

I like fostex but I kinda have a feeling that I might be going adat soon.
 
I just bought an FD-8--hasn;t arrived yet. Anyway, do I have to get an external drive for this? Or can I use my PC for storage?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top