Stetka's new recorder - Fostex MR8

[curtisstetka]

My wife has a bunch of voice students. Recently I helped a couple of them make recordings for college auditions, using the mic and preamp recommended by Fezz and others and my inlaws' Pandaro recorder.

Out of nowhere, one of the kids' moms presented me with a Fostex MR8 in appreciation for all the help.

It was missing a flash memory card and its power supply. I recently got these things off ebay and now I'm ready to roll. As soon as I figure out how (and I have the time) I'll be participating in the JamZone after several years of not knowing how to do so.


Anyway, I'd also like to begin recording a bunch of songs. So I'm looking for a drum solution - machine / pc-based / whatever.

The MR8 has a midi jack. I've never used midi before. I'm wondering if I should look into getting a drum machine with midi so I can set up some sort of clock between the two devices. Is this desirable?

I'm just tickled right now to have me some multi-tracking capabilities.

[Rickenjangle]

You could get an Alesis SR16 for low bucks. I like mine. It doesn't sound quite as good as some of the newer, more elaborate stuff, but I got mine for about $65 and I've used it on a lot of tracks when I'm demo'ing a new song. Easy to use, solid, and dependable.

[Kap'n]

I can't count the number of times I've heard a pop or hip-hop/rap record, and said to myself "That's an SR-16." Good quality sounds, even if often used for evil.

[Gravity Jim]

The SR-16 sounds good, but it's programming interface has driven many home producers to strong drink.

A groovy PC-based MIDI drummer with good samples - like NI's Battery - will give you access to a large bunch of easily-edited MIDI files.... it's something to consider.

[curtisstetka]

Thanks, gents.

Forgive my ignorance here - so a PC-based thinger would let me put together my drum part, then I could turn it into a .wav file and move it to the recorder as a track using the MR8's USB interface? Is that the deal?

[pc]

Thanks, gents.

Forgive my ignorance here - so a PC-based thinger would let me put together my drum part, then I could turn it into a .wav file and move it to the recorder as a track using the MR8's USB interface? Is that the deal?

Right, assuming the MR8 accepts audio input through the USB port. USB can just be for external hard drives or peripherals, but I assume it's set up to take audio into it as well. (I.e., Line6 PODs send digital audio out through USB).

That said, by the time you spent money on Battery and software that could burn the the drum track you create (by using MIDI programs with the supplied samples) into a stereo WAV file, you'd already have enough stuff to not need the MR8. In your case, I'd look for a used drum machine like the Alesis SR-16 or HR-16, or the Yamaha units Fezz mentions.