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Fostex VF160EX 16-Track with Built-In CDR and Effects

Internal CD-R/RW drive. ADAT mixer mode. Scrub zoom. Fader pairing.

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""Hats off to you Fostex"" submitted June 22, 2006

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Features
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Musical Background: Musician, songwriter, recording engineer
Music Style: "Country"
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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW
Sound: I paired this wonderful recorder up with a couple of M-Audio powered studio monitors and was thrilled with the sound quality of my mixes. Even straight on through headphones the sound quality was great. Broadcast quality recordings are easy with this unit! Even prior to mixing the sound was clear and authentic. Hats off to Fostex!! Feature: This baby is loaded with features for the money, which is one of the main reasons I bought it (price was important too!). The on-board pre-amps are a little weak though...meaning you have to turn them up to nearly 7 to get anything out of them (when using a condenser), however, if you mate this up with, say a Yamaha mixer, which has excellent pre-amps, your on your way! Great on-board features for mixing (Eq, Reverb, etc.). I love how many "self contained" features this unit has for the money. Ease of Use: When I first took this out of the carton and took a look at the manual I thought "Oh man...this is going to be a piece of work". But it really was easy if you follow it through as a "process". Granted you have to "ping-pong" back and forth a bit from front to back since the manual does drop off in some areas leaving you hanging a bit scratching you head. But....it really didnt take long to become fluent in its use (without the manual). Quality: Excellent quality throughout! The unit has allot of eye appeal and I love how it has individual faders for all 16 tracks! This unit is the centerpiece of my small home studio and has performed flawlessly! CD burning is a breeze with no skips (ever). Value: As far as I'm concerned, this is the "best" product out there on the market for the money...hands down. I would highly recommend this recorder to anyone. Big budget features for not allot of coin! Manufacturer Support: Havent had to contact anyone for product support for any reason. The Wow Factor: This unit has a "stand out" appeal to it when sitting on the same pages (in a catalog) next to similar units. Overall: With everything I've done so far with this recorder, I plan on using it for years to come. As a musician, songwriter, & engineer...allot of what you get out of it depends on how well you know your craft. Again, this unit is top notch with me.
14 of 15 people (93.33%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Solid and Dependable" submitted July 31, 2007

By a customer from yahoo.com
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Musical Background: Active Musician
Music Style: Indie everything
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Sound: The sound is as good as 16 bit technology can give you. If you overdrive it, you'll get clipped. Digital is unforgiving and getting a "hot" signal without clipping will take some trial and error, as the readouts on faders are a bit rudimentary. (I say rudimentary, but that's just compared to say, Pro Tools readouts--they're actually OK.) I save tracks as WAV files on the CD burner and export them to Pro Tools for further processing and editing. A great combo, by the way. I can't stand the latency of Pro Tools when it comes to recording, but I feel limited by the editing interface of the VF 160EX. But together they're a good fit. Your mileage may vary. Feature: Basic setup is fine. No extras to speak of, but for the price I didn't expect any. Ease of Use: Yes, there is a learning curve, but it's not steep. The manual is clear, it's just not well written. You can go on to many Fostex groups on the Net, however and depending on experience, you'll get good advice. bad advice, pompous advice and clueless advice. Buyer beware. Quality: Product is solid and feels well made. Value: The best buy on the market, price for use. Manufacturer Support: Not rating since I've yet to need any. The Wow Factor: Didn't buy it for sex. Overall: I'll use it til the wheels come off or Fostex comes out with that affordable 24 track, 24 bit machine.
9 of 10 people (90%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Rock solid, reliable performer..." submitted June 22, 2004

By a customer from erols.com
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Music Style: techno, rock, acoustic
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Sound: The quality of these units is excellent. The preamps are transparent and the reproduction is flawless. The burns onto CDR never skip, and when I've checked, don't have ANY errors. Some errors would be normal and acceptable, but this machine's on-board Plextor burner is flawless. Feature: The editing, punch in/out are great. No clicks, pops... Quality: These are solid machines, and very stable in use. In a year and a half I have never lost data -- ever. Just let the HardDrive access light turn off before moving on to the next step (an extra second or two). Some procedures, like large move and pastes are not instantaneous, so you need to let the machine do it's thing. Value: 16 full tracks, rock solid stability, great sound -- $899.00? One of the best values around. Manufacturer Support: Matt at Fostex is nice, though I've never had a real problem, only questions from time to time. Overall: I don't foresee replacing this machine.
14 of 17 people (82.35%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"A great product with many features for the price." submitted February 27, 2006

By a customer from gmail.com
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Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: Gospel musician, composer, teacher
Music Style: Gospel
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Sound: Very clean sound. I'm still tweaking and experimenting with input levels, compressors, etc. Feature: I was not looking for a unit with a lot of bells and whistles. This recorder has just what I need to make quality recordings without getting distracted with drum machines, vocal harmony processors, etc. I am an older musician (56) and have been working with midi gear for over 20 years. I'm no longer motivated to spend months learning how to operate a complicated piece of equipment. This unit has a short learning curve and I feel very comfortable working with it after only 2 weeks. Ease of Use: I have owned this unit for 2 weeks and was warned about the manual. It is very vague in describing some features and some proceedures are left for you to figure out on your own. Only after visiting the Fostex online help forum was I able to figure out some of the features. However, I now feel comfortable with this recorder and have burned several cd's with very good results. The more I use it the more I enjoy working with it. Although the manual is difficult in places to understand, I still thumb through it often to shorten the learning curve. Quality: This unit seems very solid and sturdy. Value: This recorder is a great value compared to many of the others out there. I looked around for over a year before deciding on this one. Manufacturer Support: Great online support and help. The Wow Factor: This unit does not look cheap or poorly made. It feels solid and has that quality look that gives it that "eye candy" appeal. The knobs and faders work smoothly and even the power button feels solid. The only negative is the small lcd display. I have to get up close to read some of the messages. Of course, I'm also very near-sighted. Overall: At this point, I anticipate owning it until it wears out or something so awesome comes along at such a great price that I can't say no.
3 of 4 people (75%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Great deal!" submitted May 8, 2006

By a customer from yahoo.com
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Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
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The Wow Factor
Musical Background: Recording Engineer
Music Style: R&B, Rock, Folk, Dance, etc.
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Sound: Excellent sound quality. The FX are very hit and miss. The hall and plate reverbs are sproingy, but the room and ambience types are fine. The chorus and flange programs are useable too. Delays are clean, but the compressor is a little aggressive for my tastes. No noise gate anywhere, which is a shame. Feature: Does most everything you need it to do. The FX are an after thought, but otherwise I have no problems with the unit. Ease of Use: So far so good. Recording my first track was a little tricky, as the manual leaves a lot to be desired in this regard. I finally figured it out and now I find it easy to use. Quality: The recording of the tracks is excellent. Good sounds in, good sounds out. Value: Great deal for the money. Some of the quality concerns I've read make me a little uneasy, but hopefully they were all user-error! Manufacturer Support: Haven't needed to contact anyone about the unit. The Wow Factor: This unit doesn't get as much publicity as it deserves. Some of the earlier versions were questionable in quality, so I can understand people being shy to buy it. Overall: I plan to build a nice, small home studio around this unit. A decent mic, keyboard workstation and whatever else I can lay my hands on.
2 of 3 people (66.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Great product Great Price Great sound Great for home studio and live recording" submitted August 19, 2004

By a customer from verizon.net
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Sound
Features
Quality
Value
Music Style: Gospel \ instrumental
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Sound: the sound is really great for an all in one recorder recording at 16 bit res. if you know what you are doing in the recording proc. Feature: the features are nice but you still need to export to daw or out board proccessors to get the max sound from your musi. phantom power for condensors is nice but wish it had more xlr imputs for direct recording live. Quality: the unit is a sturdy solid unit including the buttons and faders. Value: for a 16 track digital recorder with a 40 gig hd I think it's a great value for under a grand. Manufacturer Support: haven't needed it Overall: I think this product will last me for quite a while I record mostly in my home studio and live at church so far it meet's all my needs. (along with all my other gear)
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"for beginners not wanting to pay for studio time- this is the ticket!" submitted May 20, 2005

By Janet
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Sound
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Value
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Sound: better than what my PC use to provide. for someone some what techy savvy and just starting out with playing thier own music i found it be a great recorder for CD's. great for laying down tracks and giving them to friends Feature: it included the bag ect...most feature i have yet to use becuase of the nature of it, 300 page manual wow! but has pictures and walks you through it step by step Quality: made VERY well. not something i would recomend droping or tossing to a friend, but well made. Value: yes, although i have not tried many others outside of the cpu Manufacturer Support: neutral- i have not had to reach out to tech support.
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"Buy it; you wont regret it" submitted August 15, 2006

By a customer from aol.com
Overall
Musical Background: Hobbyist
Music Style: Punk/Metal
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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW
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Overall: This is the best recording studio on the market. I owned the Boss Br1600 and the Korg D3200 before this unit and would describe them as useless junk compared to this thing. The Korg cost $1200 peaked like crazy and stopped working two weeks after I bought it. The Boss played back a weak quality recording, didn
4 of 6 people (66.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Great device at great price, especially as a multitrack backup recorder!" submitted April 14, 2005

By a customer from ullanta.com
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Value
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Musical Background: Recording Engineer
Music Style: Classical, Jazz, experimental
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Sound: Well, my primary use for this is as a backup recorder through ADAT, so I'm not using the built-in preamps or converters. For what i need, the sound is great. The headphone out is a bit noisy. Feature: ADAT! ADAT! ADAT! The VF160EX has many features I've played with but not used extensively. Suffice it to say, it is capable of a tremendous amount. On a feature vs. price ratio, it's incredible, even for JUST an ADAT 8-track HD recorder. Adding in mixing and monitoring, it's even better. Adding in editing, effects, CD burning... you get the picture. Quality: Feels very solid; hasn't had any problems. Value: Outrageous value! Especiaslly given my needs, nothing less than twice the price is comparable. Really, you can't afford NOT to have one. In the realm of 16-simultaneous or even 8-simultaneous track recorders, it's really outstanding. Don't be fooled by all the 8, 12, and 16 track recorders that only record 2 simultaneous tracks! Manufacturer Support: I only had pre-purchase interaction, but CS was responsive. There is also a great deal of useful web support, both from Fostex and from the community. The Wow Factor: It's a very practical machine... built well, performs well, and quite compact. So it looks utilitarian. To me, that's fine! Overall: I plan to use it for a long time. Since I use it primarily as a backup, I can live with 16-bit recording limitations for a while. Were I to begin using it for many gigs as a primary device, i might be tempted to look for a 24-bit capable device... however, that's far from certain! The sound quality might very well be fine for live gigs, where the recorder is generally not the limiting factor.
3 of 5 people (60%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"the vf160 is a good entry level product for those on a buget who take their recording seriously." submitted November 21, 2004

By a customer from msn.com
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Sound
Features
Quality
Value
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Musical Background: minister of music Baptis Church
Music Style: gospel
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Sound: I think the unit sounds as good as most and lets me hear what I record Feature: I like the wave form view for editing it's convinient. makes edits more accurate with the zoom Quality: so far no problems with any part of the unit Value: It's currently the best value on the market for a 16 track digital recorder with a 40gig drive and the sound quality cd burrner and editing features for anyone wanting to get started in home recording. Manufacturer Support: n/a Overall: the product caught my attention right away becuse of the price range and then sold me on the features and kept me with the quality and ease of use. I think I'll be using it for years to come with great results and expected satisfaction.
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"Best value 16 track machine available" submitted March 8, 2005

By a customer from sbcglobal.net
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Value
Manufacturer Support
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Musical Background: Producer
Music Style: all
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Sound: Fantantically clean sound Feature: Well thought out, from start to finish. Quality: Had mine 2 1/2 years. Reliable as can be. Value: Easily the best value out now. Manufacturer Support: Not biggest tech dept, but I haven't really needed any.
1 of 3 people (33.33%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Great piece of equipment to last a while!" submitted November 16, 2004

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Value
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Musical Background: Active Musician (college music major)
Music Style: All styles
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Sound: My Fostex gets a great sound with the right mic set up and levels. Feature: Great fatures, althought I never use the scrub zoom or edit at all, but the effects are not bad and it is very intuitive. Quality: Well made and sturdy. I have taken it on gigs and it has handled well. Value: Great price for a great product, can't be beat. Manufacturer Support: Have had no problems so far. The Wow Factor: great piece of equipment.
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"I Like." submitted January 5, 2008

By a customer from aol.com
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Musical Background: Hobbyist
Music Style: MUSIC
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Sound: Is ok. Feature: Is ok. Ease of Use: A little bit of a learning curve but once you catch on ... is ok. Quality: Is ok. Value: I bought it for $350 from my friend who was hurting for money. What a sucker. Manufacturer Support: Don't know, haven't needed to call them. The Wow Factor: Just an addition to record practices so we don't lose any more ideas. Overall: So far so good. I've owned it for 7 months & haven't had any problems with it. After I actually sat down & studied the owner's manual was I able to better ascertain most of the recording functions & hard disk format information of the VF160EX
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"Great Product" submitted April 1, 2005

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Sound: Sound is extremely clear Feature: This product is amazing, it contains numerous features. Quality: The Disc Drive is not sturdy, but other than that everything is of good quality. Value: The price wasn't bad compared to other multitrack recorders on the market, but I was hopeing to find it a little cheaper. The Wow Factor: Definitely the machine to have for expierenced and beginning users. Overall: Willl have tthis product for aprroximately 1 1/2 - 2 yrs. before upgrading.
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