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Fostex MR-8 8 track digital recorder for sale

For those of you who missed my exciting news, I'm the proud owner of a Tascam 2488. Wa-hoo!
This makes my Fostex MR-8 8 track digital recorder available for sale. Manual, cables, power adapter, original box and packing, and a bunch of CF cards.
Make me an offer.
Or...hook me up with the hottest woman you know (that you aren't married to :shock: ) and I'll GIVE it to you. 8)

Comments

  • congratz!

    Is that Tascam a 1st or 2nd run model? nifty unit!
  • Is that Tascam a 1st or 2nd run model? nifty unit!
    It's the first run...the MKII basically just has a nice LCD screen & some extra git'r effex...not worth an extra $3 bills to me. I think this one will work JUST fine!
    So now I just need to find someone in need of an 8-track digi. Who might even have a hott sister-in-law?!? :twisted:
  • cool- I was just inq about the differences since my bassist is having given up on Cubase, Guitar rig etc and is going stand alone multitracker. He's really eyeballing and drooling the new Zoom units from Winter Namm that have the meter bridge and so on. That or the new 2488 is what his debate is. How are the mic pre's? quiet? I'va had the VS2000 since 02' and it's a workhorse with the VS8F3 add on. Can't beat stand-alone for simplicity !
  • Yeah, I'm with you - and we can all use some simplicity, especially since recording music can be kinda compicated. I'd happily use computer multi-track s/ware and deal with the complexity in order to have the capabailities and so on, but it's too unstable and temperamental for me to deal with.
    I get the 2488 on Weds; once I've had some time to fiddle with it, I'll post my impressions. Consensus is tht the main drawback would be the little LCD screen and it's having to perform multiple functions. But hey, if I could spend 100 grand for a studio, THEN I'd gripe!!!
  • I can count on both hands and feet more than twice how many times I've had driver or VST or resource issues. I've had mac and PC and it makes no diff. Sometimes they just fart back at ya and crap out fro some odd reason! Never an issue EVER on the VS recorder. I had a MOTU setup a while back and dumped it too. Adats still using on some things like horns or accordions (yep, I get those), but not so much any more. DAT- you bet! Might be more of what I've become accustomed to, but I can do without all the other issues.
    I'm not saying the PC recording daws are not my choice. They are given all the power and flexibility. But when the tracks need to put down without illness, it matters.

    Let me know how you like the 2488 and I'll have my bass player come look at your review. shoot me an email if you prefer.
  • 10-4, I'll write something up for him once I've played with it some. Does it matter that I'm not near the serious musician you guys are, just a tech weenie with G/A/S and a love of music and just enough ability to play to really enjoy it? I'd have to PAY people to be in a band with me! :roll:
    And as usual, you're right - while computer recording offers a wealth of flexibility and features, it's a pain to deal with the stuff choking on it's own vomit all the time. I use my fostex - and my new tascam to come - without any difficulties, and while they don't have the abililtes that a puter DAW does, I never have to diddle the thing, I just play and record. If EMI or Geffen were returning my phone calls, then perhaps I'd get more serious about the hardware, but for now, the standalones are fine.
  • More 2488 impressions...now that I've actually made a recording (http://www.digitech.com/soundcomm/guitar_view_music.asp?productid=199&music_id=3047) on it. Even if it sucked. :?
    I didn't use the XLR inputs for vox, so I still can't say how the mic preamps are.
    I still don't care for the click track it provides; even maxed out it's too quiet and not clear enough to record to.
    It has pretty good effects built in, but you are limited in what you can apply them to. I'd say you're better off using the sends if you can afford external effects, even if it's just a reverb and/or delay.
    On the upside:
    I LOVE the flexibilty of lots of tracks and the ability to modify each track individually (pan/EQ/levels/etc). You can use stereo tracks, link mono tracks, all kinds of flexibility.
    The \"bounce\" capabilities are excellent, as is the ability to do those \"virtual\" takes, and select the best one to be that track. This was really great when I was doing vox, as it's not exactly my strong suit and I did lots of takes. It's also good for things like git'r solo's and stuff...you can do a lot of takes without erasing/recording over, or using extra tracks, until you get one you like.
    Interface: It's very do-able. My Fostex MR-8 (still available for sale, or for trade for your wife's hott sister :D ) was really brainless - you could use every feature without the manual in about 30 minutes. The 2488 is certainly more complex, in keeping with it's vaster capabiltes, but is also pretty intuitive. I've learned my way around the basic functions in just a coupla recording sessions, and I'm sure I'll get the deeper stuff down as I go. It's like the GNX units - daunting at first, but once you've used it for a while it becomes pretty instinctive. Kinda like dealing with a really high-maintenance woman. :shock:
  • If you keep it and use it for a while, I'd be interested in reliability reports. I've seen numerous posts online of it crashing, burning, corrupting its hard drive, and doing other whack stuff. Let's hope those were only isolated cases.
  • Shredd said;
    I'd have to PAY people to be in a band with me!

    I'd be in a band with ya Shreddy, :wink: with only one goal...to get you laid! :lol::lol::lol:



    Peace,
    Dobb.

    P.S. sell the fostex?
  • \iliace\ wrote:
    If you keep it and use it for a while, I'd be interested in reliability reports. I've seen numerous posts online of it crashing, burning, corrupting its hard drive, and doing other whack stuff. Let's hope those were only isolated cases.
    Roger Wilco. I've heard the same reports, especially of the ccrashing. This one is a late production run and has all the latest software and firmware and all that. It's behaved well so far, but I'll still be backing up stuff I care about, I guess. I think those probably were isolated cases, 'cuz when I read reviews and so on, the only people who didn't rave about it were the ones who had those problems. I'll post peridodically as I use it more.
  • \Dobb\ wrote:
    Shredd said;
    I'd have to PAY people to be in a band with me!
    I'd be in a band with ya Shreddy, :wink: with only one goal...to get you laid! :lol::lol::lol:

    P.S. sell the fostex?
    Thanks Dobb...I'd love to be in a band with ya, especially 'cuz you'd be luring in all those sweet Northern babes!!! :D
    PS - still have the Fostex...put it on ebay and didn't get near reserve. :? Anyone out there interested in a great deal, or have a hott sis-on-law to trade? :lol:
  • \Dobb\ wrote:
    Shredd I'd be in a band with ya Shreddy, :wink: with only one goal...to get you laid! :lol::lol::lol:
    Amen :lol:
  • Promises, promises...would I have to lug the gear?!? :lol:
  • More 2488 impressions...
    I'm working on a cover of an instrumental I really like, but it's really complicated, so it's pushing the edges out in terms of what I need to do production-wise. So the new Tascam is getting tested, as am I!!!
    It's doing a GREAT job, especially when it comes to editing tracks and moving things around. It's easy and brainless and works perfectly. I especially like the wave-viewer/jog feature that lets you place punch points and the like exACTly where you want them, instead of close.
    The only thing that's tripping me up so far - and I'm sure it's cuz I'm new with it - is the whole \"virtual tracks\" thing. The manual gives instructions on it but it seems they assume you already know something about it, which I don't. I'm finding them a little confusing, which sux 'cuz I really want to use them; I'm making lots of takes to get things right.
    Plus, the Corr sisters haven't come over to hang out yet, which is very disappointing. :?
  • Virtual tracks are simple. Let's say you have tracks 1-16. Each track can have up to 8 versions: a through h. You can record a take of a particular part up to 7 versions. When I used to record on my Korg, we would put all the scap tracks on 1-16a, bounce them to 1-2b then do all drums on 3-16b; bounce scrap tracks without drums to 1-2c and drums to 3-4c - do guitar, bass, etc on 5-16c. We'd use the rest of the virtual tracks for various additional parts, ideas, and alternate takes like guitar solos.

    Then we got Sonar.
  • Yah, that's the basic gist here...it seems you can record just TONS of V-tracks, and assign them anywhere you want as a \"physical\" track, once you've made a take you like.
    The 2488 also has EXcellent bouncing/compiling capabilities...any combination you want, to any destination you want. It's great.
    I'm just having some difficulty figuring out how to record my \"V-tracks\" so that they're available to put where I want them, but not actually ON a \"physical\" track. So far, when I've tried to record a \"v-track\", it's appeared on an actual track. I'm doing something wrong that I haven't figured out yet...
    I also haven't figured out how you DELETE v-tracks, to clear wasted space once you've got the take you want. :?
    Maybe you could call Shania and have her come over and teach me stuff? She's married to Mutt Lange and sold about a billion records, she must know SOMEthing. And she's HOTT. :twisted:
  • Shredd's new pickup line: \"Hey babe, I need a girl to help me. You know how real men don't need manuals? Well... [dramatic pause] ... you need to come over to my place and teach me how to use my home studio.\"
  • \iliace\ wrote:
    Shredd's new pickup line: \"Hey babe, I need a girl to help me. You know how real men don't need manuals? Well... [dramatic pause] ... you need to come over to my place and teach me how to use my home studio.\"
    :lol::lol: ya think she'll buy it??

    If you've seen the manual, you know what I mean...there's about a paragraph about the v-tracks. I'm just going to have to experiment some to figure out how it works.
    Or else find a hott babe that's smarter than me... 8)
  • More impressions of my new Tascam, after rippin' out a recent \"mangling\" project, albeit a complicated one...
    I'm still diggin' it and learning new stuff all the time. Steep learning curve, just like a GNX.
    I love how this thing allows you to do all sorts of individual channel mods - EQ, compression, etc for each channel, plus you can store the settings.
    I'm continuing to LOVE the unit's ability to bounce and combine tracks. I had a KB part where one section needed much more volume and some EQ tweaking; I just moved the part to another track, fixed it up, and bounced the original track and the fixed part back to the original location. Came out perfect. :D
    It's very liberating having enough tracks to work with; instead of piling stuff onto tracks and twiddling like crazy during mastering/bounce operations, you can put things on their own tracks, make them sound like you want them to, and then mix prior to your master recording. Very painless.
    There's a lot of capability in terms of disk management and USB connectivity to a PC (or Mac). Backups, wav files in or out, partitions for different groups of songs (for all you rock stars that're in more than one band!!! :shock: ). Etc etc, it's really versatile. I even run my GNX stereo through my mixer, and mono via a XLR direct to the Tasam's inputs.
    Now all I need is a band and the ability to write songs. :?
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