List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $414.99
Today's Bonus:
- Specially Priced Sonic Sense package includes the Zoom R16, 8GB memory card, Samson HP10 headphones,Sonic Sense Mic Cables
- Zoom R16 Features: Digital recorder with 16-track playback and 8-track simultaneous recording utilizing Secure Digital (SD) memory
- Doubles as a computer interface for 8 channels of 24bit 96khz recording!
- Also can be used as a computer control surface for your favorite recording software!
- Built-in stereo condenser microphones
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I normally don't write gushing reviews, but I really love this little machine.I got it last night and spent only a couple of hours to lay down a mix with 5 tracks. I have been looking for a digital means to do multitrack recording for our band, but it's always been too expensive. So the options were: either run a horribly bad live mix in a single stereo track to the laptop (mixed on the fly on one of my regular Behringer or Mackie mixers, but adjusted for the PA), or record one track at a time (which I could never get the band to do anyway).
I originally bought the recorder to work with DAW I already have Live 8, and the recorder comes with Cubase as a bonus. But I found last night that mixing within the machine itself is pretty effortless too; bouncing tracks and layering a mix can all be done stand-alone. There's also a built-in insert and 2 built-in send/return FX loops (one for chorus/delay, one for reverb). There's a slew of built-in effects for these (i think several hundred) and room to edit custon effects. You can take the tracks and master that are the result right off the SD card, put it in the laptop for backups or MP3 creation (the recorder makes WAV files).
So it takes one major headache out of DAW recording that I've had before: the endless twiddling around with latency to get a fast enough USB I/O to overdub in real time. Now, even if there's some issue with the USB driver or with your laptop's speed etc, you can get the mix 90% ready on the recorder itself, then upload the master tracks in WAV format for post editing. It also means less cables, no waiting for PC bootup etc etc. The recorder runs on batteries, USB power or the included power adapter, so it's very flexible.
The machine is made of plastic, but feels pretty solid. In a trade-off of materials and convenience, it's a really good choice my 16 track mackie is a real backbreaker, but this recorder can easily be lifted with one hand. The input connectors feel quite solid and 1/4" jacks click into place without any play i actually had to pull quite hard to get them back out, so good connections.
Also very handy that it has 2 built-in condenser mics with stereo recording. They're decent enough to quickly record ideas on the fly, and it means you can carry the recorder anywhere without any wires, power supplies or cables, and record as inspiration strikes.
The only negatives I can find so far are:
There's only one insert available. Not sure why this was done, since it should be possible to use a different one for every track, perhaps machine processor speed was the issue? In any case, you can always re-master on a laptop, and then use as many effects as you like. Plus, for live multi-tracking, chances are each player already has their effects of choice anyway, so you'll be getting those wet signals as inputs already. For studio recording, the good thing is you can run the insert to the headphones or output so you can listen with effect as you play, but you can actually record the track as a dry mix if you like, so you can change the settings later. You can also record wet.
EQ is available per track but a little hard to access while the faders are readily accessible, EQ has to be adjusted through the little keypad and display, and it's just not that intuitive, so you really can't adjust it well in a live setting (I think, haven't actually tried it live yet). It does have EQ gains on 3 or 4 frequency bands per track, with the frequency range adjustable per gain.
All in all, for the money this package costs, and the fact that it comes bundled with Cubase, 8 cables, an 8Gb memory card and a headset, it's pretty unbeatable!This is a great recorder. I have only had it freeze on me twice. It's really the only digital recorder I have had any experience with so I really don't have anything to compare it to. I was used to 4 track tape recorders before I bought this. It is very simple to use. I think that's why I love it the most. And it sure beats a 4 track tape recorder.I use two Zoom R16's to record live punk bands. Connecting the two units together gives me 16 simultaneous tracks to record with. The instruction manual is a bit difficult to understand, and I haven't even touched the production/mixing/mastering side of things, but for recording multiple tracks and importing them into your DAW, this is a great unit.Having used the Zoom H4n on several occasions for video production work, I assumed (incorrectly) that this big brother product would also be suitable with the added advantage of having more channels and the ability to mix with sliders. What I found was that this product was designed exclusively for garage bands with no consideration whatsoever for any other kind of recording. Whereas the H4n creates a new audio file every time you stop and start recording (essential if you want those to match up with your video clips every time you stop and start the camera), the R16 simply adds on indefinitely to the file you started with. This creates a very long and almost completely unusable file for video purposes. So this is probably wonderful if your band is working on their first CD down in the basement, but for video field work it's a bust.
i will be writing another review when i get the package so come back and check it out!
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