One really great feature of using this Fostex Digital 8 track is that since it uses smart media as the medium, you waste no minutes when recording.. If you record your first track that's got a constant melody so to say going for 3 minutes, and your second track comes in at differnt measures, you can set it to record from the begining and it will only record what you play.. The time you're not playing doesn't get recorded so you don't waste any time thus fully utilizing the full amount of time available on the card. I think this is a great feature.. I know with good keyboard sequencers you can set your start point of recording for the track, but for people like me, I like to play that bad boy from the top because I think you can really get into it that way.. I find my recordings turn out much better that way because I'm totally ready for the part when it comes up.... Also what it the current limit for smart medias? The manual for the fostex says it will accept a card up to 256mb's, and the capacity is only limited by the current technology available.. Are 256's even out? I've never seen one or even heard of one that high...

Squeak

Presently there smart media cards of 512 MB, at least (soon they'll reach the 1GB barrier - my guess). Compact flash cards already store up to 1 GB. http://shop.store.yahoo.com/beststopphoto/512mbsmarmed.html

-- José.

Good lord 512 mb's and 1 gig.... How much are those things? Anyone know the price of say a 256 card??? The recorder comes with a 128mb card which gives you 3 minutes and 6 seconds of recording for each track in the highest level (which is 44.1 khz 16 bit, and uncompressed) Plus you get twice that in extended mode which I think the sample rate is basically tape quality (maybe just slightly less though)....

Squeak

squeak .... are you saying that each recording is limited to 3 minutes???
t.

Squeak,
The price of the smart media 512 MB is quoted in the link I sent. As you will see, the price it's of the order of the Fostex itself! -- José.

[This message has been edited by matias (edited 02-03-2003).]

If you're going to be limited to 3 minutes or so of recording buy something else Squeak. That's not enough time....what that basically is then is a looper machine, not a "recorder" per se.

I don;t know how much the Fostex is, but Boss's BR series of recorders are really reasonable now.

------------------
jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

[This message has been edited by trtjazz (edited 02-03-2003).]

You're not limited to 3 minutes per song... You have 25 minutes per song in the highest grade recording which breaks down to 3 mins and 6 secs per track, or you can double that by using the extended recording mode. The unit will accept any smart media on the market, so obviously with larger cards more recording time. 25 minutes for a song isn't bad, besides not all tracks will take up the full 3 minutes anyways.. Remember the smart media set up only records when you actually play... You can start a track, have a 3 minute pause if you like, and continue on..

Squeak

Squeak,
That sounds pretty cool then.

------------------
jam on,
Terry
http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

I just acquired an MRS-1266 for $750; the USB was $99 and the CDRW was $50 (you can use an off-the-shelf version instead of Zoom's).

It is a killer unit, so far; the drums sound great, and the interface is extremely easy and well thought out, whith the possible exception of the phrase looping, which may not be quite ready for prime time.

If you don't need the 6 channel input, the MRS-1044 (now discontinued but still sold) is available for a street price of well under $500 (It also includes the drum machine).

And CoolEditPro 2.0 will open the tracks directly from the internal 20gb HD via the USB port...

Gosh, you stick a question in about a week and a half ago, get one repsonse and think no-one knows a thing about it and then another thread comes along!

So to reiterate my previous question....

Does the "midi sync" function operate whilst you are recording?