Anyone tried the Zoom MRS-8?

[chris101]

Thinking about getting one of these, the reviews on Harmony Central seem to favour the device but quite often those reviews are ****e. Anyone on here tried one? Any opinions?

[jaxadam]

I have one, it's not too bad. I'd upgrade the memory card on it, though.

For the price, it's not too bad. It does take some involvement (which I haven't really had the time to do) but it is relatively easy to use to throw some ideas down with.

[JESTER700]

Excellent for what it is. A few caveats:
1) DEFINITELY get a bigger card and a PC card reader. It'll take up to a 1GB card, which gives you about 400 track minutes.
2) There used to be a claim of an uncompressed mode. Untrue; it's always data compressed, though it's less so than any other format I've seen and it sounds very good.
3) It has a TON of features, but isn't great at most of them. It has a drum machine (a basic one), guitar FX that sound so-so, a built in mic that sounds crappy, and 8 tracks, but 4 are arranged in 2 stereo pairs. Small, touchy faders and basic metering make recording less easy than it could be.

Of course, the issues are because it's a small, potable, cheap device that tries to do so much. I agree with the corners they chose to cut, and this fit my needs better than the competing Tascam, Fostex, or Korg units. It's a GREAT songwriting /arranging notepad, and the basic recording quality is good enough quality to fly into a CD project if you do a great take.

[chris101]

That sounds pretty good, basically I want 8 tracks, ability to record in stereo, dont need any guitar FX and probably wont use the drum machine on it.

[JESTER700]

Originally Posted by chrisstevenson

That sounds pretty good, basically I want 8 tracks, ability to record in stereo, dont need any guitar FX and probably wont use the drum machine on it.

It'll fit that bill. Given your needs, I WOULD try to get more info on the Fostex MR-8. It lacks the drum machine & has lesser guitar FX, but is $50 cheaper. Another pro: It records uncompressed PCM - maybe slightly better sounding than the MRS. But you get half the recording time per GB for the same reason. And no virtual takes - 8 tracks is all you get.