VF80 - transferring tracks to PC?

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Datoyminaytah

New member
How easy/hard is it to transfer track data to/from a PC with a VF80?

I'm considering the VF80 instead of the MR8, since MR8's are backordered all over, but I want to mix primarily on a PC. The VF80's got a 20GB drive though, and if you consider the price of a large CF card for the MR8, the difference in price isn't that much.
 
Does the vf80 have a scsi drive? I'm not sure if it does or not so i'll just tell you what i going to do when i get the pc to mix my vf songs on. Can your vf80 export wav. files? if so then this might work.

1. Get a Jaz 1 or 2gb scsi drive (get one of of ebay for arould $20-$50 bucks) and make sure that all of these things are included:

1) 50pin-50pin scsi cable
2) 50pin-25pin adapter
3) Jaz Traviler
4) at least one jaz disk
5) and if you don't have windows XP on your computer, then you will need the software too. (you can download it for free (i think) at the company that makes jaz drives website.) But if you have Window XP on your computer, then you should have the right drivers in it.

Then read your vf80's manual on how to "Export Wav. File"

Zeke
 
Previous posts from VF80 owners indicate that you either need to get the internal CD burner, or use the SPDIF port to transfer tracks, two at a time, to a PC sound card that also has SPDIF.

The latter method would be the same as playing the song on the VF80 and recording the line outs into a sound card, except that the transfer will be digital so you won't lose quality. My understanding is that you have to play the song with two tracks playing and record that to the PC, then select another two tracks and repeat, until all your tracks are transfered.

Depending on your patience, the CD burner might be a nice investment...
 
If you have not purchased anything yet--you might want to hold onto your money a little bit longer. Zoom has come out with an 8-track which records to a hard drive, has built-in stereo drum machine, a built-in cd burner, AND a USB port for connecting to a computer. From the press release I saw, which was dated last week, it has an MSRP of $659, which will give it a substantially lower street price than the VF-80 equipped with the internal CD burner.
 
Good point about the Zoom. Boss is also supposed to have a new cheapo 8 track with USB.
 
mrx - you are almost right on the SPDIF transfer. What it actually does is transfer all the tracks of a song two at a time, but once you start it the thing happens automatically. It's my favourite part of the process 'cause it's a great excuse for a beer and a cigar:D Then you use a wave editor to cut and paste each track into your n-Track or whatever.

The Zoom and Boss products must be worth a look - my only point would be that most users here are taken by the build quality of Fostex kit. Not sure that would be applied to Zoom. But on the other hand the pace of these things is such that you'd expect a more cost effective piece of kit to be coming out by now. I think Fostex segmented the market perhaps too precisely, with the tiny memory of the MR8 and the difficult or expensive PC interface on the VF80.
 
Hey MRX

Your two track at a time concept sounds great...but it doesn't have to be that painful, at least I think....

You and bounce up to five tracks off the 7/8 track can't you? Then it would be as simple as transferring 7/8 to your sound card?
This is just a guess, I haven't tried it yet...but that was the impression that I got from the manuel.

It's worth a try.
 
That's true you can bounce, but then you don't have individual tracks to mix, which might defeat the purpose.
 
Hey bdette

We take the individual tracks as .wav files off the VF80 and mix/master them on the PC. Much easier with a screen / mouse / multitrack software than all those little buttons and just the VF80 inbuilt effects.:)
 
a12stringer said:
If you have not purchased anything yet--you might want to hold onto your money a little bit longer. Zoom has come out with an 8-track which records to a hard drive, has built-in stereo drum machine, a built-in cd burner, AND a USB port for connecting to a computer. From the press release I saw, which was dated last week, it has an MSRP of $659, which will give it a substantially lower street price than the VF-80 equipped with the internal CD burner.
Click to expand...

I paid $599 for my VF80cdr.... JDSound..

:)
 
new zoom

that new zoom 8-track looks cool. i love my vf80, one reason being the component quality and how well it seems put together. zoom products always have a lot on board, but i wonder if that's a good thing... i have a separate zoom rt-123, but having considered the zoom 1044mrs, while having the drum/bass thing on-board was initially attractive, i wasn't sure if this was such a good option after all. putting all the $$ toward the record/burn functions seemed like the way to go (for me). but still, isn't it great how the prices go down, while the specs go up!
 
That's what makes the free market economy and competition so great. The manufactures are driven to provide a better product for less money and we the consumers win.
 
independent assessment...

this is going a little off thread, but is there a reliable source of info on the kind of thing a retailer won't tell you? after buying the vf80 (which always felt good and tight) i was told that fostex has a rep for using high quality components all through their machines (from faders on up). what i'm getting at is, i couldn't get real definitive word on products like the zoom or the tascam, or korg, or fostex for that matter, and if i asked enough people, i would get conflicting opinions.

are there people out there who routinely look inside these machines, or collect a "rap sheet" on manufacturers. i'm not really talking about magazine reviews. with cameras, it used to be possible to get a pro opinion on the build/component quality. for instance, the plextor burner in the vf80 has an excellent reputation for low errors... what kind of burner is in the zoom? who makes the hard drive? do these machines tend to hold up?

does anyone remember Dokorder? this was a '70's era reel-to-reel maker that had lots of features for the money, but mechanically was awful (so i heard)...

salespeople all too often have no idea what they are selling. i guess beyond having to fish around the net, i'm looking for a resource that tends to have the inside dope on equipment, based on actual knowledge and experience. you know like "these people are outsourcing their processors from a new plant who's quality control isn't up to par..." etc.
 
The only suggestion I have is to check out the other forums within this website. Ask questions in those forums.
In addition, check out Acoustic Guitar magazine. They have done articles in the past reviewing home recording equipment. A couple of months ago they did a review of several of the new breed of four-track portable digital recorders: Korg, Zoom and Boss.
Perhaps if enough people write in to request it they will look at the 8-track daws. Acoustic Guitar is apparently more sensitive to reader input than Guitar Player and Guitar World.
 
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