Zoom R8 8-Track Digital Recorder/Interface/Controller/Sampler

Excellent machine for quickly recording your ideas. A step up from the phone. Love the availability of a drum track. Pretty easy and logical to use. But for serious recording you still need a computer and daw. But that’s ok it is what it is. 5 stars. Cheap and good.

Excellent mixer...forget the free software

Upside: Easy to use, record, mix and dub tracks. I am a singer/songwriter and wanted to mix my playing multiple instruments with a voice track. Computer recording was always producing hum so I wanted a stand-alone battery-driven silent recorder/mixer with a Phantom boost for condenser microphones. This fit the bill perfectly.Downside: The on-board microphones are functional for producing practice tracks but not really up to the performance of a good condenser microphone for final production. At some point the manufacturer quit supplying the DAW software on CD bundled with the mixer instead opting for download. I have a very high end computer but the download took a couple of hours and frankly what you get is an unnecessarily over-complicated DAW that is probably ... MoreUpside: Easy to use, record, mix and dub tracks. I am a singer/songwriter and wanted to mix my playing multiple instruments with a voice track. Computer recording was always producing hum so I wanted a stand-alone battery-driven silent recorder/mixer with a Phantom boost for condenser microphones. This fit the bill perfectly.Downside: The on-board microphones are functional for producing practice tracks but not really up to the performance of a good condenser microphone for final production. At some point the manufacturer quit supplying the DAW software on CD bundled with the mixer instead opting for download. I have a very high end computer but the download took a couple of hours and frankly what you get is an unnecessarily over-complicated DAW that is probably useful for commercial Nashville cats working with large bands but IMHO is a waste of time for this mixer. Most of what you need for mixing a few tracks like this can be done with a free DAW called Audacity (and the download is quick). I'm just sayin'...

Full Blown Vocal Processor For Live Band

Just needed to cover new discoveries about the R8. First of all there are the seven best guitar effects that are currently being offered in their Zoom Ms50 pedal so you get these fx as a bonus the pedal. There are multi fx set up in groups for each type of effect, for instance guitar. You can select a compressor a modulation effect a delay and a reverb and eq in a vocal type multi fx. Reamping is a popular studio technique where you record clean, then copy the track and try different fx. You could have 4 or more guitar mixes and punch them in as you like on a bounce take. So all that is necessary is playing with a reference mix all the way thru then mixing it down later to a master 2 tracks. The Vocal fx are absolutely awesome. Right down to Mic types and exciters ... MoreJust needed to cover new discoveries about the R8. First of all there are the seven best guitar effects that are currently being offered in their Zoom Ms50 pedal so you get these fx as a bonus the pedal. There are multi fx set up in groups for each type of effect, for instance guitar. You can select a compressor a modulation effect a delay and a reverb and eq in a vocal type multi fx. Reamping is a popular studio technique where you record clean, then copy the track and try different fx. You could have 4 or more guitar mixes and punch them in as you like on a bounce take. So all that is necessary is playing with a reference mix all the way thru then mixing it down later to a master 2 tracks. The Vocal fx are absolutely awesome. Right down to Mic types and exciters and compressors. Easy to ride the mix and have vocals float on the surface of the mix for pure presence. Best compressors and Limiters. The mastering section uses sonic maximizing that uses 2 band compression that really polishes a mix. These fx are not subtle when turning them on and off. When you have really learned these fx you will need all you need to know to be a master mixer. The key is to hear the mix at 3 levels, low mid and loud. Loud needs to be punchy and present without harsh hi end and lows need to be felt in the room without muddying the mix. The sonic maximizer can pump up any dj mix and this is a great do all add on for a dj. The fx in this thing alone are worth a studios worth of fx. The drum machine is filled with great sounding kits and it is a full blown drum machine allowing you to tap in your own beats. Believe it or not the pad buttons can actually trigger complete musical sounds or even full mix loops onstage. What more can you ask for, but there is much more. Keep in mind that it does communicate with your favorite software on your computer and comes with Cubase. This is great because controlling tracks on the r8 will be flawless. Unlike unreliable computer tracks.

Nice recorder

I'm a longtime guitar player (42 years) and recorded quite a bit with a Tascam 4 track cassette years back. The Zoom R8 seems like a good product so far. For the money, it is very versatile. I just completed a recording using only my electric guitar in conjunction with the R8. There is a decent amount of sounds to be had with the built in processor. You could get away with just an inexpensive guitar and the R8 and come away with a nice recording. I used a Squire strat with GFS pickups, tweaked a few of the internal sound algorithms, used the bass simulator and internal drum loop and came up with a recording using no other external gear, amps, mics or processors. Just plugged into the unit direct. I'll post the recording on y-tube for those that may wonder about ... MoreI'm a longtime guitar player (42 years) and recorded quite a bit with a Tascam 4 track cassette years back. The Zoom R8 seems like a good product so far. For the money, it is very versatile. I just completed a recording using only my electric guitar in conjunction with the R8. There is a decent amount of sounds to be had with the built in processor. You could get away with just an inexpensive guitar and the R8 and come away with a nice recording. I used a Squire strat with GFS pickups, tweaked a few of the internal sound algorithms, used the bass simulator and internal drum loop and came up with a recording using no other external gear, amps, mics or processors. Just plugged into the unit direct. I'll post the recording on y-tube for those that may wonder about recording direct in. Guess I'll title it Zoom R8 Funky Daze first recording.I've read the manual and its OK. It should be physically larger with a large font and it could be more concise and clear in a few areas. There are over 500 drum patterns, numerous kits, and you can load individual patterns into songs. I believe this will be the most difficult task for most. You have compression, chorus, reverb, and a number of other effects available. I haven't used the on board mics but I'll be trying them with my acoustic soon. I haven't downloaded Cubase yet. I ran the outs into Audacity. Bottom line, you get a huge bang for your buck and I think this is a fantastic unit.

Portable and loaded with lots od goodies...

Take that little thing to the woods (runs on batteries), and record eight tracks of something in a good quality! Pretty amazing that is I think. Than you can plug it in any PA and let it play - everyone needs to know what the hell you were doing in the woods :D . Its just a nice little and portable toy to capture your imagination anywhere you take it with you. Very practical for people who want to become a recording artist anywhere and anytime, I love it...

Review of Zoom R8 Recorder, Interface and Sampler

This is a great device for the price. I got it because I didn't want to spend my music time in front of a computer (I already do that for work). It's not as powerful or flexible as a DAW, but you don't have to sit in front of a screen, worry about latency, compatibility or software updates.The device is not so intuitive that I could have worked it out without a manual - on the other hand I only had to read the manual once. Once you know how things work it's logical and you don't need to go back to the manual.You can record up to two tracks at once, and play back 8 tracks. You get 3 band eq, reverb and chorus for each of the 8 tracks. Other effects (e.g. distort) can only be applied to one track at a time, typically you'd use it on your input, though you can use ... MoreThis is a great device for the price. I got it because I didn't want to spend my music time in front of a computer (I already do that for work). It's not as powerful or flexible as a DAW, but you don't have to sit in front of a screen, worry about latency, compatibility or software updates.The device is not so intuitive that I could have worked it out without a manual - on the other hand I only had to read the manual once. Once you know how things work it's logical and you don't need to go back to the manual.You can record up to two tracks at once, and play back 8 tracks. You get 3 band eq, reverb and chorus for each of the 8 tracks. Other effects (e.g. distort) can only be applied to one track at a time, typically you'd use it on your input, though you can use it on a track then mix it down.The sequencer is very usable given the small screen size ! Very practical if you only want to record your bass line for the chorus once for example. I wouldn't use it for anything finer grained than that, though you can sequence down to bar level if you really want too.I've not used it as a sampler or audio interface. I've not used the in-build drum machine, so can't comment on those features.

Total Package Even For Full Blown Pro Production

The Zoom R8 is unbelievable. I was expecting an easy and portable solution to record quick song ideas down on tape before I would lose them. But I found myself actually getting far more than I bargained for and the ideas were much more than a reference and in many instances the flavor of the mini takes became the heart and soul of the song ideas. Since sound plays a very important role in what draws a listener into a song, the production level begins to take on a life of its own. Even cooler is how you can have many virtual takes which run in a parallel sub track. In other words you can have for instance 8 different vocal tracks under track 2, serving as sub takes and play back any instance of them or bounce them around with no quality loss whatsoever. You can ... MoreThe Zoom R8 is unbelievable. I was expecting an easy and portable solution to record quick song ideas down on tape before I would lose them. But I found myself actually getting far more than I bargained for and the ideas were much more than a reference and in many instances the flavor of the mini takes became the heart and soul of the song ideas. Since sound plays a very important role in what draws a listener into a song, the production level begins to take on a life of its own. Even cooler is how you can have many virtual takes which run in a parallel sub track. In other words you can have for instance 8 different vocal tracks under track 2, serving as sub takes and play back any instance of them or bounce them around with no quality loss whatsoever. You can record your guitar clean while hearing a distortion mix that does not get recorded so you can keep playing with different fx and fine tuning the guitar mix. Can be done with vocals as well. Drums can be a used as a sync without actually recording them so they can be edited later to add fills or change completely. You just cannot find a better production tool for writing that is more complete than Zoom recorders. The built in mics are just fantastic and I recorded a live band and there was not one bit of distortion recorded. Singing and playing guitar 3 feet from the recorder and then adding fx sounded like a studio recording. This a seriously well thought out unit and a must have for every musician that feels the need to be productive on the fly or for full blown mastering. I like to bounce 8 tracks to the master stereo track and then copy the original tracks to sub tracks and then free up 6 more tracks now I have 14 tracks to again master to stereo 2 track. All tracks having full blown fx processing. Tight short gate reverb is the key to lively tight mixing. The fx are not to be outdone and the compressors and excites are as good as any I've used. Hands down best recording fx for the money.

ZOOM R8

Great bit of kit. Surprised how much it actually does. Very easy to start using, and the manual definitely helps. Some really good drum patterns included, with a variety of music genres, and you can change the tempo of them to suit your needs. Was really impressed with the guitar effects too, there's some great distortion and also clean tones. Nice interface too. The quality of the product is great too, from the switches and sliders to the material itself. Has a good chromatic tuner also. I use a pair of headphones with a 1/4 jack to plug in and create the music. Alternatively I think you can use speakers with an amp. Batteries don't last that long in the unit, but I've been using the power supply that was included. No memory card was included, but 32gb SD cards are ... MoreGreat bit of kit. Surprised how much it actually does. Very easy to start using, and the manual definitely helps. Some really good drum patterns included, with a variety of music genres, and you can change the tempo of them to suit your needs. Was really impressed with the guitar effects too, there's some great distortion and also clean tones. Nice interface too. The quality of the product is great too, from the switches and sliders to the material itself. Has a good chromatic tuner also. I use a pair of headphones with a 1/4 jack to plug in and create the music. Alternatively I think you can use speakers with an amp. Batteries don't last that long in the unit, but I've been using the power supply that was included. No memory card was included, but 32gb SD cards are cheap online. Still haven't done over 50% of its features, but I am blown away with it so far.Very responsive unit, great sound quality, easy to use if familiar with sound recording. But even if you're new to this, it won't be too difficult.