FOSTEX MR-8HD mini music production center

MR-8HD with accessories...recording doesn't get much easier than this...

The entire workspace lifts off and can be relocated anywhere you desire.

Mini music production studio features:

• Fostex MR-8HD 8 track digital audio workstation
• Monitoring headphones
• Small stereo with auxiliary input
• Home-built routing switch to route the MR8 or auxiliary source to the mini stereo system
• Various sources to feed into the auxiliary input including a CD player, drum machine, and my other favorite toy… an I-river iFP-899 MP3 recorder / player.
• Home-built platform that sits on my roll-around chop saw stand
  It has built-in handles and a permanant rails that hold the MR-8HD at a nice angle for viewing

This system allows me to quickly record a song when inspiration hits. When I’m done I can easily transfer the finished song stereo wav file to my computer and burn a CD from it. I can also use the CD or MP3 player to practice along with at the flick of a switch. The whole system is located on a removable top shelf that sits on top of my chop saw stand in the garage. It has wheels to roll it around wherever I need it, but I can also lift off the top by its built in handles and carry it anywhere else I may choose to use it. There is a power strip mounted behind the MR-8HD to switch all the individual components off or on. I keep an extra power cord at my computer desk so I can plug the MR-8HD in at that location. It uses the standard modular connector found on all computers and is available anywhere if you don’t have an extra one lying around already.

Notes about my iRiver iFP-899 MP3 recorder / player:

This is my second favorite piece of audio gear. It records directly in MP3 format, has a built-in mic for quick recording, a line in so you can use it with external equipment, and a 1 gig flash memory that gives you literally hours and hours of live recording time. I bought it primarily as a portable music player that I will occasionally take to jams and music camps. I actually stuck a couple of mics up, ran them through a small Peavey RQ200 mixer to boost them to line level and recorded our band’s entire last bar gig. It actually turned out pretty good! The iRiver has management software that you install on your computer that makes moving MP3s back and forth between the iRiver and the PC extremely easy. If I do location recording with it, I first move the MP3 files to my PC and convert them to wav files using an MP3 to wav conversion program. I use dbpowerAMP music converter which is available as a freeware download. I then split the wav files up and apply fades and normalize with an audio editor. I currently work in a free version of Traction and I like it well enough that I’m thinking of purchasing the new version of the program. I suppose that’s why the older version was available free before the release of their latest version! I have heard that NERO also performs well as a basic audio editor.

Fostex MR-8HD review:

I've got a much larger and full-featured digital audio work station, but was looking for something I could stick out in the garage and use on a moment's notice if I felt inspiration hit me. I also wanted something to use as a practice aid to provide backing tracks to play along with. After researching the various options the unit that sounded almost perfect was the MR8 recorder. The deal-breaker was its use of flash memory which limited its track minute count too severely and also added considerably to the base price of the unit. Along came the MR-8HD which added the ability to record 4 tracks simultaneously and a 40 gigabyte hard drive for less than it would cost to add a gig of compact flash memory to the MR8. OK, it didn’t take me long to make a decision on the purchase of an MR8. Additionally, the MR8 features easy connectivity to a PC to transfer finished mixes, usable effects, and basic one button “mastering tools“ to improve your finished mix. It has little to no learning curve and you barely need the supplied manual to operate it. The display provides all the information you need and the combination data/enter knob makes it easy to navigate the menu system. The menu system has been kept to a minimum, but everything you need is available. Often used commands are generally accessed by dedicated buttons on the main panel. These guys have done their homework when addressing the ease of use issue that most audio workstations have. Auto-routing of input signals greatly simplifies operation. A few quick button presses are all that separate you from recording with the MR-8HD. There are more bells and whistles available that you can explore after you master the MR-8HD basic operation. Most of the more useful features are on the front panel and include the Rhythm guide ( fancy version of a click track), pre-defined “mastering” buttons to improve the sound of your finished mix downs, also buttons for setting locate points within a song or track. The locate points are usually used for track cut/copy/paste operations, looping parts of the song for rehearsal or re-recording only a portion of a track. There are additional features you can explore at your leisure with the included manual. The manual is generally well-written and easy to understand, but could have benefited from a little proof-reading from someone a little more familiar with the usage of the English language. While reading the manual keep an eye out for useful shortcuts such as a long press of the input OFF/ON button to quickly access the menu to turn phantom power for the input off or on.
Negative comments? I was somewhat perplexed why BOTH fast-forward and rewind “transport” buttons are on the right side of the operation controls. There must be a reason Fostex decided that they wanted to be different than any other manufacturer, but I don’t know why. There is no EQ available, but using a good-sounding input signal will greatly reduce the need for EQ. An LED to use as a visual reference to the built-in click track would have also been nice at no additional expense to the manufacturer. I tend to record “backwards” to the standard conventional wisdom, preferring to record a strong melody and add the rhythm portions afterward. Visual click track helps when you do it that way. Editing audio is not this machine’s forte either, but you can cut, paste, and copy tracks and parts of tracks if you wish. Fade-ins and fade-outs are done as you mix down tracks in real time on the machine.
Short take… I love the MR-8HD, especially given its street price for a machine with 4 phantom-powered mic inputs, 4 track simultaneous record capabilities, and a built-in 40 gigabyte hard drive.

UPS:
• 4 track simultaneous record with 48v phantom power on all 4 XLR inputs
• 40 gig 3-1/2" hard drive (quiet, by the way. You can barely hear it, much like a laptop)
• Very intuitive, you barely need the manual to operate it
• twin outs for 2 pair of headphones
• Good sounding reverb and delay built in...turn a knob and its there
• Built well...looks like it will hold up if you don't drop it
• Basic but usable mastering tools to assist your final mix

DOWNS:
• "fast forward" and "rewind" buttons are BOTH on the right side of the transport controls
• I'm thinking...

A quick overview of what it’s like to actually use this machine.

Often it is useful to have as much information as you can before making a decision on equipment purchase. Download the manual in PDF format from Fostex.com for further reading or in-depth operation instructions.

Recording example using a microphone as your sound source.
Before recording take these preliminary steps:

• Unpack your new MR8, plug the power cord in and wait for it to initialize. The POWER ON button will slowly blink red indicating the standby mode when it is ready.
• Turn all input TRIM knobs to their minimum setting
• Turn all EFFECTS SEND knobs to their minimum setting
• Place all PAN knobs to their center position
• Turn the REVERB/DELAY knob up 1/2 way, about 12 o’clock for the rotary knob position
• Set all track sliders and master slider to the grayed “0” position, about 75% of travel
• Turn the PHONES VOL up 1/2 way, about 12 o’clock for the rotary knob position
• Plug a microphone into the channel A input. Here’s a good place to mention auto-routing.
  AUTO-ROUTING… The actual process is easy, but it’s a little hard to explain. In general, if you are only using 1 input it must be input A. If you use 2 inputs they will be A and B. Ditto for using 3 or 4 inputs simultaneously. The inputs are automatically numerically assigned to tracks as you select them. As an example, if you arm tracks 2 and 3, then input A is assigned to track 2 and input B is assigned to track 3. No matter what combination of track inputs are selected with the track REC SELECT buttons, they are presented with inputs A, B, C, and D in that order.
  One additional note, If you are using only input 1 to record you also have the option of using the "Mic Simulator" buttons. While testing out the MR-8HD I found that it's best to use a condenser mic such as the AKG 1000 for tracking. If you are using a standard dynamic such as a Shure SM57, then the "condenser mic simulator" button will do a pretty convincing imatation of the real thing.
• Plug a set of headphones into one of the headphone output jacks

Creating your new song:

• Press the MENU/ENTER knob
• Rotate knob to SONG and press the MENU/ENTER knob
• Rotate knob to SELECT SONG and press the MENU/ENTER knob
• Rotate knob to NEW SONG and press the MENU/ENTER knob
• Name Song will appear next, press MENU/ENTER knob twice to automatically name and create song

Setting your input gain level:

Rotate the input A TRIM fully clockwise for microphone use. Back it off slightly if the PEAK LED flashes for the loudest sound you will present to the microphone. You always want to use as hot of signal as possible to utilize as much of the MR8’s 16 bit / 44.1 kilohertz recording format as you can. Low bit use equals low digital resolution which equals limited dynamics and higher noise in your finished tracks.

Arming track(s) and recording:

• Press the REC SELECT button immediately above the track 1 fader to arm the track 1 for recording. The indicator will change to flashing red.
• Raise the track 1 volume slider to the grayed 75% level so you can monitor your signal.
• Press the RECORD button (it will flash red to indicate record ready state) and monitor your signal through the headphones. Adjust the headphone volume if necessary.
• When you’re ready to record, press the RECORD and PLAY buttons simultaneously. The track 1 REC SELECT and the RECORD button will change to solid red and the display will indicate the track recording progress.
• Press STOP when you are finished.
• Press STOP and REWIND simultaneously to return to the beginning of the song.
• Press the track 1 REC SELECT button to un-arm the track. (Prevents accidentally erasing your track)
• Press PLAY to listen to your track.
• Press STOP.

Easy, huh?
If you don’t like what you’ve recorded you can press the UNDO button and repeat the recording procedure again, or you can overdub a second part.

Overdubbing a second part

• Press STOP and REWIND to return to the beginning of the song.
• Press the track 2 REC SELECT button immediately above the track 2 fader to arm the track for recording. The indicator will change to flashing red.
• Raise the track 1 volume slider to the grayed 75% level so you can monitor your signal.
• Press the RECORD button (it will flash red to indicate record ready state) and monitor your signal through the headphones. Adjust the headphone volume if necessary.
• When you’re ready to record press the RECORD and PLAY buttons simultaneously. The track 2 REC SELECT and the RECORD button will change to solid red and the display will indicate the track recording progress. This time you will play along with what you have already recorded on track 1 as you record your second part on track 2.
• Press STOP when you are finished.
• Press STOP and REWIND simultaneously to return to the beginning of the song.
• Press the track 2 selector button to un-arm the newly recorded track. (Prevents accidentally erasing your track)
• Press PLAY to listen to your tracks. You can adjust each track’s volume with the track LEVEL slider, pan each track left or right using the PAN control, or add effects using the EFFECTS SEND knob.
• Press STOP.

Still pretty easy, huh?

What do I do next?

Keep adding tracks if you like. If you do internal track bouncing, with a little creativity the possibilities are limitless. You can perform mix downs at any point in the process, the idea is to end up with a finished 2 track mix on tracks 7/8.

Sub-mixing on the MR-8HD:
You can create a sub-mix of tracks 1 through 4 on track pair 5/6 in preparation for further recording.
You can then record over your original tracks 1-4 with new material before combining them all on tracks 7/8.

• Press the 1-4 TO 5/6 OR 1-6 TO 7/8 button once to select 1-4 TO 5/6 mix down. The button turns red and the display indicates which mix down function you are about to perform, as well as changing the REC SELECT button to flashing red above the pair of tracks you are mixing down to...in this case tracks 5/6.
• Raise the track 5/6 volume slider to the grayed 75% level so you can monitor track mixing.
• When you’re ready to mix the tracks down, press the RECORD and PLAY buttons simultaneously. You can adjust each track’s volume with the track LEVEL slider, pan each track left or right using the PAN control, or add effects using the EFFECTS SEND knob as you mix the tracks down to a stereo pair on tracks 5/6.
• Press STOP when you reach the end of your song.
• Press STOP and REWIND simultaneously to return to the beginning of the song.
• Press the 1-4 TO 5/6 OR 1-6 TO 7/8 button to un-select the mix down function.
• Press the track 7/8 REC SELECT button to un-arm the newly recorded track. (Prevents accidentally erasing your track)
• Lower all track volume sliders to zero EXCEPT track 5/6.
• Press PLAY to listen to your finished mix.

Don’t like? Remember the UNDO button?
Like? Good! Let’s create that final stereo pair on tracks 7/8 if you haven’t done so already.

Creating a stereo pair on tracks 7/8:

• Press the 1-4 TO 5/6 OR 1-6 TO 7/8 button twice to select 1-6 TO 7/8 mix down. (If you want to include tracks 7/8 as source tracks for your finished mix, you must use the 1-8 TO NEW SONG button.) The button turns red and the display indicates which mix down function you are about to perform, as well as changing the REC SELECT button to flashing red above the pair of tracks you are mixing down to.
• Raise the track 7/8 volume slider to the grayed 75% level so you can monitor track mixing.
• When you’re ready to mix the tracks down, press the RECORD and PLAY buttons simultaneously. You can adjust each track’s volume with the track LEVEL slider, pan each track left or right using the PAN control, or add effects using the EFFECTS SEND knob as you mix the tracks down to a stereo pair. Notice the lack of PAN or EFFECTS SEND knobs for track pairs 5/6 and 7/8. It is assumed you have already performed these functions when mixing down tracks 1-4 to 5/6 or 7/8 track pairs.
• Press STOP when you reach the end of your song.
• Press STOP and REWIND simultaneously to return to the beginning of the song.
• Press the 1-4 TO 5/6 OR 1-6 TO 7/8 button to un-select the mix down function.
• Press the track 7/8 REC SELECT button to un-arm the newly recorded track. (Prevents accidentally erasing your track)
• Lower all track volume sliders to zero EXCEPT track 7/8.
• Press PLAY to listen to your finished mix.

Don’t like? Remember the UNDO button?
Like? OK, let’s get it to our PC so we can burn it. It's easy again, assuming you have created a stereo pair on tracks 7/8. You must first convert the 7/8 mix to a stereo wav file to export to your computer. Don't worry, we'll do this next.

Exporting your finished song to your computer so you can burn a CD:

• Press the 7/8 TO STEREO WAV button.
• Press and hold the RECORD button down then press the MENU/ENTER knob. The display will indicate conversion process in process as well as tell us when it’s complete. Now to the PC side of the equation.
• Plug your computer’s USB cable into the MR-8HD’s USB port.
• Press the MENU/ENTER knob, rotate to USB DEVICE MODE.
• Press the MENU/ENTER knob.

The MR-8HD driver is automatically installed on your computer and its hard drive and folders will show up in Windows Explorer. You can copy/paste the completed songs located in the “2 mix” folders on the MR-8HD hard drive onto your local hard drive for burning with your CDR burner. Wait a minute if the MR-8HD doesn’t show up right away. It takes a little longer than what you may be accustomed to before the drive and folders show up. I’m not certain why, but it’s a small price to pay for the availability of this feature.

Since fade-ins and fade-outs are a manual affair on the MR-8HD, I do the final editing in an audio editing program, but fades can certainly be done during mix down if you wish. I currently work in a free version of Traction and I like it well enough that I’m thinking of purchasing the new version of the program. I suppose that’s why the older version was available free before the release of their latest version! I remove excess length at the start and end of the tracks, apply fade-ins/fade-outs and mastering effects if desired, and normalize the level. I have heard that NERO also performs well as a basic audio editor.

Want to shut down the MR-8HD?

OK, I feel a little sheepish admitting this to anyone, but I had to crack the manual for this one. Hold the POWER button down for a few seconds till the “Please wait…” message appears on the display. The rest is history as they say.

To download the MR-8HD user manual:

Click here to go to Fostex home page. To download the MR-8HD users manual in PDF format select your location then navigate to support/product downloads page. MR-8HD users manual can be selected from the list to download the users manual.

Rudy's Musical Instrument Construction home page.