Fostex MR8 8-Track Digital Recorder with Built-In FX

Records on Compact Flash Card. Simple and easy Interface. 626 People rated this product:

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Manufacturer's Description for Fostex MR8 8-Track Digital Recorder with Built-In FX

Fostex has broken the digital recorder price barrier with their new MR8. It's the world first 8-track that records into solid-state, Compact Flash Card memory - and there's more! It's got a USB port for WAV file data transfer to a Windows PC for data editing, CD burning, and backup. And operating the MR8 is more intuitive than many other digital recorders - it's ideal for users who have no experience in digital multi-track recording.

Most of the functions appear on the top panel physically instead of page surfing on LCD. Need to make a change? You don't have to page through menus, just grab a knob! The LCD and self-illuminating keys show you the current status visually. The MR8 also provides built-in digital reverb and delay, 2 inputs (one XLR and one 1/4 in.), uncompressed 16-bit/44.1kHz recording quality, 2-track simultaneous recording (full 8-track playback), mastering effects, an optical S/PDIF output, and a built-in mic so you never lose those melodies that pop into your head in the middle of the night. The MR8 may be powered by 6 AA batteries or the included AC adapter. Now high-quality digital recording is more affordable than ever!

Features
8 tracks recording and playback

128MB Compact Flash included!

The world first 8-track recording into solid-state memory (Compact Flash Card)

Records to CompactFlash (CF)

Simple & Easy Interface

No menus to navigate

Knob/Button for each function

On-Board Effects

Reverbs

Delays

Guitar FX

Amp Simulator

Mic Simulator

Mastering

USB Port

.WAV import/export

Archiving

CD Burning

2 XLR Mic Inputs

2 Guitar Inputs

S/PDIF Digital Output

Built-In Microphone for quick recording of ideas or events

Portable - Battery Operated

2 Headphone Jacks

The MR8's main applications include: songwriters, traveling musicians, beginning recording enthusiasts, and project studios. With just over 2 hours of battery time (6 AA), the MR8 offers an affordable portable field recorder solution where timecode is not needed. zZounds is an authorized dealer of Fostex products.

Recording Medium: Compact Flash Card

Recording Format: VFAT (FAT16)

Sampling Frequency: 44.1 kHz/22.05 kHz

Quantization: 16-bit linear

A/D Converter: 16-bit Delta-Sigma

D/A Converter: 16-bit Delta-Sigma

Number of Recording Track: 8 tracks (maximum 2 tracks simultaneous recording)

Recording/Reproduction Frequency: 20 Hz - 20 kHz (Normal Mode)

Analog In (2ch) Connector: XLR-3-31 type and f 6mm TRS phone

Input Level: -40dBV (MIC) - +10dBV (LINE)

Input Impedance: 1.5k ohm or more (XLR)

Stereo Out (L, R) Connector: f 6mm stereo phone

Load Impedance: More than 16 ohm

Output Level: 20mW or more (at 32 ohm)

MIDI Out: Connector DIN 5 pin

Foot Switch: Connector: f 6mm phone Level TTL level

USB Connector: B type (data save/load controlled from PC)

S/P DIF Connector: Optical

Format: IEC 60958 (S/PDIF) 44.1kHz only (Normal Mode)

Dimensions (H x D x W): 65 x 215 x 283 mm

Weight: Approximately 1.9 kg (1.6 kg, without AC adapter)

Power Supply: AC Adaptor AD12A (supplied accessory) or 6 x AA alkaline battery

Fostex Warranty Fostex Warranty Fostex offers a warranty of 1 year for parts and 90 days labor. If you have additional warranty questions, please call the manufacturer at 800-994-4984

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 (626 ratings) Rate and Review This Product

Read all 28 Fostex MR8 8-Track Digital Recorder with Built-In FX Reviews

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us. "Make Room on your shelf for your Grammy"

Sound: The sound is remarkably clear/good. It's amazing how well it reproduces your mistakes... the good stuff too. You probably won't like the guitar distortion, it's wierd, just mic your amp and use the stomp stomp box I know you have. I like the reverb and delay. Feature: I like the internal mic, the LCD, it's very portable, and easy to use. It's pretty fun. A good feature also is the USB, but they don't include the cord with the MR8, which is bogus becuase you have to go out an buy one immediately. It also has a S/P DIF out and midi out, but you will need more equipment to use those, I never have. It would be nice it had and effect send jack for external effects, and an equalizer. The most notable feature overlook is the size of memory CF card. The included card is 128 MB, which is 24 minutes or 3 minutes on each of 8 tracks, in normal mode, 1 to 3 songs depending on how you record. Quality: Great for home use or taking to a party (depending on the party I guess) or recording your drunk budies singing "leavin on a jet plane" in the back yard. You'll want a padded bag if you plan on toting it around much. I would do carry-on, rather then check, if I went by air, about the same abuse resistenace as a lap-top computer. Value: Unbelievable out of the box value. It is short on some nice features, namely memory, but a great buy overall, you won't regret it. It gets you into digital recording on a budget. Plan on buying a 512MB CF card ($118.45), you'll out grow the 128MB quickly. You will probably want a mixer as well, I ended up getting the Eurotrack 1202 for about $90 . You will also probably want Cakewalk, Power Tracks, Sonar, Cubase, Garage Band or some other software eventually ($50-$500). Manufacturer Support: Check out the web site. Use the forum. It will answer your questions. The Wow Factor: I have one!! If you've always wanted to play with yourself, and I know you have, this is the ultimate. You won't know how you went without for so long. Overall: I expect to own this for a long time. I love it, it's great. I wish I knew about the memory limitation before I bought it. At this time there are only 4 approved CF card for the MR8 and the largest approved size is 512MB, see the web site. I tried my 256MB SanDisk CF from my camera, it worked on individual tracks, but it skipped when you bounce the tracks to 5/6 or 7/8. I ended-up buying a RiDATA 512 MB approved card for $118.45 on yahoo, it works perfectly. You may want to consider getting a mixer and some audio software such as Cakewalk. Also if portablity is not and issue and you are computer literate you may want to consider just recording directly to the hard drive on your computer. The songs end-up there anyway. You'll end-up buying a sound card, mics, mixer, large hard drives, software, cords, sound monitor, head phones, etc. Probably cost you $500, to get started recording directly to your hard drive.

Style of Music: Blues, Acoustic, R&R

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Sound: Simply put: you get out of it what you put into it. I'm tired of people bashing this machine's sound. Take it for what it is: a recorder. It is not a mixer, it is not a sampler, or anything else. It records. So if you don't like the effects, buy a mixer or something so that you can add effects before you record. When you look at the big recording studios, you don't see cheap mics,setups with no mixers,or Casio keyboards. The actual recorder is just a very small part of a professional setup. So I think that anybody who complains about the MR-8's sound is expecting too much. I have created some beautiful sounding things and I'm sure if I had professional equipment, i could get near-profeesional sounding results. Feature: The MR-8 may not have quite as many features as the "big boys," but I could not give it any lower than a 7 simply because of the price. In my humble opinion, it has more than enough features for a novice recorder such as myself. Quality: This is a tough category for me to rate because I don't take it on the road, nor have a had it long enough to have any major problems. But it seems to be built well and I don't expect to hae any problems with it. Value: Here is where this baby shines: It is the most inexpensive (cheap is not a word that should be associated with this product) 8 track recorder on the market, and it gets the job done. Just look at my title to this review and it is pretty self-explanatory. Manufacturer Support: Like my quality rating, this one is hard to judge because I have not had to use it (which is a good thing). But I can say that the website has a lot of info and FAQs for this product. The Fostex website also has compatible flash cards for all of you babies who keep whining that there isn't enough time on the included card. The Wow Factor: I had to take two points away in this area because if you are anything like me, the allure of the more expensive brands will tempt you because you don't know wether a product at this price is woth buying. Another thing that I have heard people complain about is the color. I kinda like the red. It's better than plain black, white, or silver that a lot of other brands offer. Besides, I have seen websites that have black Fostex MR-8's if you don't like red or need something that will fit in with the rest of your setup. Overall: In my opinion, this product is one that can grow with me as I grow musically. As I said before it all depends on how dedicated you are as far as adding professional equipment around it. It is definintely worth the mony and it is in a class all by itself as far as value. If it were lost or stolen I would replace it, except I probably will not have $300 again any time soon.

Style of Music: Gospel

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Read all 28 Fostex MR8 8-Track Digital Recorder with Built-In FX Reviews