Interfacing Fostex FD -4 with a computer

KenD

New member
Hi, Im new to the FD4 and assumed that I could get the files out onto the hard disk of my computer. Looking at the messages posted here it looks:- a) that its impossible
:b) that I can transfer it through the data out port at the back through an optical cable.
Can anyone give me the real word on how to do this and what I need in the way of cables etc.
Thanks in advance
KenD
 
I intend to route the recorded FD-4 music to my sound card via analog and record it as a WAV file. I can then burn a CD with my burner. Not as good as digital/digital, but I bet it still beats the crap out of cassette tape!
 
KenD,

I dump my FD4 to my computer. I had to get the optical converter from Fostex that converts to digital, then, I got a converter at MARS to go from digital to USB. Or, if you have a digital sound card you can eliminate one converter. But I found the digital sound cards that would do the trick, were fairly expensive. Then you have to go to the setup menu on the FD4 and scroll to the outputs and tell it to send the digital signal out the optical port. You can only send 2 channels at a time. I haven't had a problem and it works real well.
Good luck
 
bbb music -- Can you really dump direct to a USB connection with adapters? How much did they cost? I use an fd8 and wanted to dump the music to the computer. I don't use the computer for much recording now. Is it possible to send from the computer back to the fd8? Why i ask is that say you arrange a song on the computer and then want to add a part. You'll need to record it and monitor the song right?
 
ADAM,
The optical to digital I got from Fostex, it was about $89. The digital to USB is made by OPCODE and you can get them from most music stores. It was $129. Not all that cheap but, I wanted to use my laptop for my "studio" and the only route to go was USB. It works super.
I have an FD4 and can only dump 2 channels at a time so, I ping everything to 2 channels. I can also only dump 2 onto the FD4. I am not sure about adding a channel after the fact. I have heard that some do it by adding all the separate channels and then sync them using the time signatures.
I've never tried to monitor the computer and add a channel but, I am going to give it a try.
What studio software do you use? I am currently using Magix Studio 5. It is very user friendly. I also use Calkwalk's Guitar Tracks. Good luck and when I try the channel adds, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Later
Bruce
 
Cool. Yeah, I was looking into the USB route and was thinking about the Roland UA-30. It has optical and a guitar/mic i/o. I think it is about $240. I heard that there is some hum on the analog in so I was wary. But liked the idea of using it with my laptop from work when I travel. The fd8 can only dump 2 at a time as well. I thought I could send all 8 tracks to the computer (2 at a time 4 times) and then resync them on the computer. Would this be difficult to do with Cakewalk?
 
I have never tried to sync after the fact. I have seen somewhere on this board that some have tried to add tracks and sync them using the time signatures to match them up. Go to the main page for all the forums and do a search. I know that even if you are just milliseconds off, you can here it.
Later
BBB
 
bbbmusic - thanks for the info. I searched to forums and didn't find the exact right answer. I posted a new topic on the digital recording forum so hopefully someone can steer me in the right direction. I tell you, the more I learn about digital recording the more of a headache I get. It seems like every time I have a solution figured out I learn about a potential probelm with it. *sigh*. Anyway, thanks again!
 
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