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Fostex VF160 Digital Hard Disk Multi-Track System
Record, master, and let it burn.
"Nice machine, less than nice manual- good bang for the buck"
The machine is pretty good. 16 mixdown tracks all with their own faders is nice for the money (compared to what's on the market right now). The mic preamps are a little noisy (but I use external preamps anyway). I think the manual bites... it's not the most intuitively written manual I've ever read. I'm technically minded, but this is my first experience with any digital mixer. A manual (or a section in the manual) written for first-timers would have been helpful.
As I learn how to use the recorder/mixer functions, things get easier, but the layout, again, is not exactly intuitive. It's got a mid-steep learning curve (not as steep as a Roland, but not as intuitive as the Yamaha counterparts).
Automated mixdown (memorizing fader movement during mixdown) would have been nice. Motorized faders in conjunction with automated faders would have been real cool, but probably would have driven the price of the unit too high. Automated mixdown should have been included though... it's just a software function- the software already recognizes fader position, it wouldn't have been too hard to have it record fader movement during mixdown).
The onboard effects are simple, but effective. The reverb is really good. I recorded a tin whistle part of a song, added about 20% Wet Hall reverb, and it's sounded really sweet. The EQ is also decent, although full parametric function on all three bands would have been more useful. Having a compressor for each channel would have been VERY useful also (in fact, that's what I thought I was getting... the ads are misleading in that department). I'm only using compression on the master out anyway at this point... if I need individual channel compression, I'll use an outboard compressor (although the idea of using a DAW is to limit the amount of outboard gear you need, right?).
The real-time mixdown is nice- but there should be a "enhanced speed" mixdown for those projects that you know you'll set the channel faders in one position and leave them for the entire mixdown. We're just dealing with bits here, you should be able to process them at faster than real-time for us slow-poke humans. :-)
Overall, it's a fine machine for the money, but not completely well thought out. The manual needs a re-write.
As I learn how to use the recorder/mixer functions, things get easier, but the layout, again, is not exactly intuitive. It's got a mid-steep learning curve (not as steep as a Roland, but not as intuitive as the Yamaha counterparts).
Automated mixdown (memorizing fader movement during mixdown) would have been nice. Motorized faders in conjunction with automated faders would have been real cool, but probably would have driven the price of the unit too high. Automated mixdown should have been included though... it's just a software function- the software already recognizes fader position, it wouldn't have been too hard to have it record fader movement during mixdown).
The onboard effects are simple, but effective. The reverb is really good. I recorded a tin whistle part of a song, added about 20% Wet Hall reverb, and it's sounded really sweet. The EQ is also decent, although full parametric function on all three bands would have been more useful. Having a compressor for each channel would have been VERY useful also (in fact, that's what I thought I was getting... the ads are misleading in that department). I'm only using compression on the master out anyway at this point... if I need individual channel compression, I'll use an outboard compressor (although the idea of using a DAW is to limit the amount of outboard gear you need, right?).
The real-time mixdown is nice- but there should be a "enhanced speed" mixdown for those projects that you know you'll set the channel faders in one position and leave them for the entire mixdown. We're just dealing with bits here, you should be able to process them at faster than real-time for us slow-poke humans. :-)
Overall, it's a fine machine for the money, but not completely well thought out. The manual needs a re-write.
"Fostex VF160 Don't just look at it buy it already!!!!!"
Feature:
The VF160 What you see is what you get very conveinient.A very good mix of components and features in which I am completly satisfied.
Desirability:
Very sexy, nice appeal,very proffesional.It is a pleasure to own one.
Sound:
All I can say is . To the company Fostex bravo and thank you for the wonderfull VF160.I have a small recording studio in Ontario, Canada.Since I first plugged the unit in I knew I had beutiful and well built peice of equipment.After the fist tracks where laid down I was amazed with the sound quality,the eas of use and the fact that you can record up to 16 tracks at once a must option that I was looking for in my search for a new machine. If any one is looking for a muilt track unit there is alot on the market but in my opinion for the money this machine has great sound no kidding it made me want to jump up and down.As for tips .Get in you car or walk, go to your locl Fostex dealer,by a VF160,take it home,unpack it,plug it in,get your guitar or what ever and just record you'll love it .
Support:
I have had Fostex machines in the past and have had no problems with their products what so ever.Therfore I have not had to deal with them. But If their reputation compares to the quality off the products that they offer I'm sure that they will pull their weight with the greatest of eas.
Overall:
Fantastic job goes to all the people at Fostex. Thank you for such a wonderful product.
The VF160 What you see is what you get very conveinient.A very good mix of components and features in which I am completly satisfied.
Desirability:
Very sexy, nice appeal,very proffesional.It is a pleasure to own one.
Sound:
All I can say is . To the company Fostex bravo and thank you for the wonderfull VF160.I have a small recording studio in Ontario, Canada.Since I first plugged the unit in I knew I had beutiful and well built peice of equipment.After the fist tracks where laid down I was amazed with the sound quality,the eas of use and the fact that you can record up to 16 tracks at once a must option that I was looking for in my search for a new machine. If any one is looking for a muilt track unit there is alot on the market but in my opinion for the money this machine has great sound no kidding it made me want to jump up and down.As for tips .Get in you car or walk, go to your locl Fostex dealer,by a VF160,take it home,unpack it,plug it in,get your guitar or what ever and just record you'll love it .
Support:
I have had Fostex machines in the past and have had no problems with their products what so ever.Therfore I have not had to deal with them. But If their reputation compares to the quality off the products that they offer I'm sure that they will pull their weight with the greatest of eas.
Overall:
Fantastic job goes to all the people at Fostex. Thank you for such a wonderful product.
"16 Track recorder, built like a tank."
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:This is a very capable machine. A full 16 tracks, no stereo pairs. Options to use external processing, but has most everythig you'd need onboard.
Quality:
Solid and VERY stable operating system. These machines rarely if ever crash, rarely if ever need reformatting -- very smart software design leading to rock-solid reliability.
Value:
The best value out there.
Sound:
Pristine audio quality. Faithful to what you put in.
Support:
Matt at Fostex has been great in answering questions -- but I haven't had any problems requiring service.
"VF160 - What COULD Have Been, What SHOULD Have Been..."
Feature:
Misleading advertising as far as "records 16 tracks at once!" - you need at least one additional expensive piece of equipment to do that (so much for the under $1,000 price tag, now!). No direct outputs on individual tracks. Can not record with EQ on all tracks. Can not record with compression on all tracks. Comes with its' own cd burner (and today, they all should!), a flimsy partial tray that is supported so poorly, the manual has a reminder that you must hold the underside while you snap a cd into the tray. Also has the requisite teeny-tiny LCD screen that is extremely hard to read. No "pan" knobs, panning (left and right placement) is done internally, so no Jimi Hendrix guitars flying from left to right during mixdown.
Quality:
Seems to be made pretty well, althought the knobs along the top seem like they could break off easily (especially with all of the input busses right there - a lot happens at that top edge!). I do take the unit out in the world to record, but I am extremely careful with it - would not consider it to be "road-worthy". Could use a bigger screen, and at a better angle for viewing.
Value:
This is definitely the best unit for the price, tho I would certainly be willing to pay more to cover my "nitpicks" listed above.
Desirability:
Very practical piece of equipment. 16 tracks is always better than 8. 24 tracks will always be "sexier" than 16, by the way (and so on, and so on).
Sound:
Excellent quality uncompressed sound. Relatively poor EQ. 2 Mic pre-amps are a bit noisy, not the best. Better to have your own quality board to get quality original tracks into this recorder. Smooth, quiet faders slide nicely, do not feel cheap.
Support:
I have not needed any support from Fostex. The unit has worked well, and has had no problems so far.
Overall:
I like the Fostex brand (the VF160 is my 3rd piece of Fostex equipment). I'd like to see the same type of unit, but with more features (true 16-trk recording, record EQ /compression /limiting /gating on every track, a bigger screen, better internal effects, etc). Maybe the capability to chain units together like ADAT (I'd certainly spend another grand to have 32 tracks of digital multitrack!). Probably be looking for my next recorder in a year or so.
Misleading advertising as far as "records 16 tracks at once!" - you need at least one additional expensive piece of equipment to do that (so much for the under $1,000 price tag, now!). No direct outputs on individual tracks. Can not record with EQ on all tracks. Can not record with compression on all tracks. Comes with its' own cd burner (and today, they all should!), a flimsy partial tray that is supported so poorly, the manual has a reminder that you must hold the underside while you snap a cd into the tray. Also has the requisite teeny-tiny LCD screen that is extremely hard to read. No "pan" knobs, panning (left and right placement) is done internally, so no Jimi Hendrix guitars flying from left to right during mixdown.
Quality:
Seems to be made pretty well, althought the knobs along the top seem like they could break off easily (especially with all of the input busses right there - a lot happens at that top edge!). I do take the unit out in the world to record, but I am extremely careful with it - would not consider it to be "road-worthy". Could use a bigger screen, and at a better angle for viewing.
Value:
This is definitely the best unit for the price, tho I would certainly be willing to pay more to cover my "nitpicks" listed above.
Desirability:
Very practical piece of equipment. 16 tracks is always better than 8. 24 tracks will always be "sexier" than 16, by the way (and so on, and so on).
Sound:
Excellent quality uncompressed sound. Relatively poor EQ. 2 Mic pre-amps are a bit noisy, not the best. Better to have your own quality board to get quality original tracks into this recorder. Smooth, quiet faders slide nicely, do not feel cheap.
Support:
I have not needed any support from Fostex. The unit has worked well, and has had no problems so far.
Overall:
I like the Fostex brand (the VF160 is my 3rd piece of Fostex equipment). I'd like to see the same type of unit, but with more features (true 16-trk recording, record EQ /compression /limiting /gating on every track, a bigger screen, better internal effects, etc). Maybe the capability to chain units together like ADAT (I'd certainly spend another grand to have 32 tracks of digital multitrack!). Probably be looking for my next recorder in a year or so.
"Awesome tool for the creativity."
I own Stewdio 54 in North Arkansas. I just completed my first project with the vf 160. There is a marked difference in the quality and ease of use than with other recording systems. The on-board effects are great. The burning capabilities are good for whatever you plan to do. Really fun to use.
"Really Cool!"
I havent seen anything comparable in it's price range. The only thing I would like is a better on board effects processor. Shoot, with it's price though you still cant go wrong with it and an external effects processor. I will be able to make some really great recordings and make some money doing it!!
"VF160 is a pleaser!"
Feature:
Low end EQ is limited - otherwise, the features are considerably more than any home recording user could want. An external compressor and/or reverb and/or EQ are normal extras for any recording unit, so naturally these will help you get even better control over your production - but there are integral versions of each if you don't have outboard units instead.
Quality:
No problems whatsoever.
Value:
I thought it was a great eal at $1200 - now it's a lot less!
Sound:
Superb quality - as good as any CD you'll listen to.
Support:
Got emailed patch upgrades for software. Very friendly folks.
Overall:
Nothing's a 10 - but this is close!
Low end EQ is limited - otherwise, the features are considerably more than any home recording user could want. An external compressor and/or reverb and/or EQ are normal extras for any recording unit, so naturally these will help you get even better control over your production - but there are integral versions of each if you don't have outboard units instead.
Quality:
No problems whatsoever.
Value:
I thought it was a great eal at $1200 - now it's a lot less!
Sound:
Superb quality - as good as any CD you'll listen to.
Support:
Got emailed patch upgrades for software. Very friendly folks.
Overall:
Nothing's a 10 - but this is close!
"Works Great read the Details"
I bought this machine about 3 weeks ago. I like it a lot, midi options are very basic yet straight forward. MTC tracks well with Platnium Audio 5. Still a better buy that Korgs D1600 for the money.
"It's a great start!"
Feature:
I think the effects processors, (2), are good. Plenty of selection and editing capabilities. After 6 months of use, I would say that faders & pots seem to be of good quality.
Quality:
Everything functions well so far. I haven't subjected it to "the road" yet. We'll see........
Value:
For someone looling to get into 16 track digital recording, who has no concerns about amp modeling and drum tracks, you can't beat it. With the price in the $900.00 range with some of the financing options available, it's a great value.
Desirability:
whatever...........
Sound:
All in all, you get quality digital reproduction with this machine. The fact that you only have 3 band, sweep eq, limits your ability to shape the tracks post recording. In other words, work to get the sound you want as close as you can get it, on recording before mixing.
Support:
n/a
Overall:
I will use it as long as it suits my needs. I do plan to use it in a live setting in the near future as a combination mixer/recorder. We'll see how it holds up.
I think the effects processors, (2), are good. Plenty of selection and editing capabilities. After 6 months of use, I would say that faders & pots seem to be of good quality.
Quality:
Everything functions well so far. I haven't subjected it to "the road" yet. We'll see........
Value:
For someone looling to get into 16 track digital recording, who has no concerns about amp modeling and drum tracks, you can't beat it. With the price in the $900.00 range with some of the financing options available, it's a great value.
Desirability:
whatever...........
Sound:
All in all, you get quality digital reproduction with this machine. The fact that you only have 3 band, sweep eq, limits your ability to shape the tracks post recording. In other words, work to get the sound you want as close as you can get it, on recording before mixing.
Support:
n/a
Overall:
I will use it as long as it suits my needs. I do plan to use it in a live setting in the near future as a combination mixer/recorder. We'll see how it holds up.
"time to go digital ,you will not believe your ears and how much money you save!!!!!"
Feature:
liked all of the features, for the price, who can complain!!
Quality:
i have owned my vf160 for a year now. so far no problems
Value:
excellent value for the money
Sound:
no compression,16 bit recording. for the price,i cant complain. sounds pretty damn good!
Support:
never had to deal with them?
liked all of the features, for the price, who can complain!!
Quality:
i have owned my vf160 for a year now. so far no problems
Value:
excellent value for the money
Sound:
no compression,16 bit recording. for the price,i cant complain. sounds pretty damn good!
Support:
never had to deal with them?
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