Fostex R8

[kingofspain]

Hi there everyone,

My first post on this forum, i'm hoping to get a little sound advice .

I'm thinking of returning to analogue recording after selling my soul to the digital devil some years ago. I'm strictly an amateur, with an amateur budget to boot.

I used to use a Fostex A8, which i freely admit was a piece of crap and part of the reason i switched to digital in the first place. I'm now looking to buy a Fostex R8, but i've read mixed reviews. I've found one for less than £200, and also sourced another unit for spares - which seems like a good idea.

I'll be using it mainly for recording folky/acoustic music but i also play in a prog rock band and would like to try recording some of our material too.

What do people think - a good amateur investment or a waste of money?

Any recommendations for a better unit?

On a more practical note, i've still got my old Studiomaster Proline 8-4-8 desk from my A8 days. Will this be compatible with the R8?

Thanks,

KoS.

[thrustman]

There is about 12 years of innovations and the Model 80 and E8 between the
A8 and the R8. I say that to say there probably isnt much relationship between the two. The R8 was probably the most sophisticated 8 track R2R ever produced. Its clean, very quiet because of the dolby c and has features no mci, studer, or ampex can approach if it has the mtc1 attached to it. Even without the mtc1 accesory its still a steal for the price you stated. Early Fostex was kind of experimental but by the time the R8 arrived Fostex had about perfected the format. Sure an Otari might sound a little better. But most of the people buying records cant tell the difference. Better to take the extra money and buy some really good outboard gear. I personally have a Fostex 16 and a Fostex half track and Im elated with the performance nad reliability of both. I hope your doing rock because the combination of tape and a studiomaster mixer is a definitely a rock sound . Not a negative but very full and rock sounding. Allen & Heath is my prefernce. Good luck with your puchase. Remember the music is more important than the tools used to make the music.

[kingofspain]

Thanks Thrustman,

That's what i wanted to hear. I've read around a bit and some people (including the guy from Sound on Sound) rate the R8 but i've read a reasonable amount of criticism too. It's good to hear someone come down firmly in it's favour.

Any recommendations for outboard gear? I had a nice old Drawmer Compressor but i sold it when i went digital.

I've currently got:

Behringer multicom

Lexicon mx220

Shure sm57/58

Rode NT1

Akg CS1000

KoS.

[fgonza2]

i would go with 1/2" 8 track instead of 1/4". A tascam TSR-8 or 48 are great machines. IMHO much better than the fostex having 8 tracks on 1/4" tape. The king of that category is probably the Otari 5050MKIII. But is a much bigger machine. The TSR-8 was also the last generation machine made from tascam, so it has all the modern electronics and tape control. I would go for that in terms of 8 track

[thrustman]

Tascam is more popular but isnt going to sound any better than Fostex. People who feel Tascam sounds better either like the sound of DBX better than Dolby or are just repeating things they have heard other people say. I have personally owned a Tascam 38 , a Msr16, what a nightmare that was, and a 3440, which actually was the best sounding of the three. My Fostex machines have been more reliable and the only significant difference in sound is the difference between noise reduction formulations. DBX gives more noise reduction but can have more effect on the music content. Dolby gives less noise reduction but to me is virtually undetectable. Otari may sound a little sweeter than either but can be alittle more costly. If given the choice between the three at the same price the Otari is probably the answer. Between Fostex and Tascam I think I would choose Fostex. Listen to both. You may feel one is preferable. They do sound slighly different. But its not tape width thats making the difference as much as noise reduction. Drop me a line and Ill send you a CD I just completed on a G16 And tell me what you think. As far as outboard the net is full of great hardware at dirt cheap prices I have comps by DBX,, Ashley, Symetrix, Rnc, Verbs by Alesis And others. I highly recomend the Wedge which sell currently fo 75 to 100 dollars, used SPX are good but sometimes overpriced, I have a yamaha R500 That beats any plugin I have. Thers old Sony and lexicon stuff out ther dirt cheap thats great. For 500 dollars today you can pick up a rack full of usable stuff. PM me ill give you some particulars. Good luck.

[fgonza2]

Originally Posted by thrustman

Tascam is more popular but isnt going to sound any better than Fostex. People who feel Tascam sounds better either like the sound of DBX better than Dolby or are just repeating things they have heard other people say. I have personally owned a Tascam 38 , a Msr16, what a nightmare that was, and a 3440, which actually was the best sounding of the three. My Fostex machines have been more reliable and the only significant difference in sound is the difference between noise reduction formulations. DBX gives more noise reduction but can have more effect on the music content. Dolby gives less noise reduction but to me is virtually undetectable. Otari may sound a little sweeter than either but can be alittle more costly. If given the choice between the three at the same price the Otari is probably the answer. Between Fostex and Tascam I think I would choose Fostex. Listen to both. You may feel one is preferable. They do sound slighly different. But its not tape width thats making the difference as much as noise reduction. Drop me a line and Ill send you a CD I just completed on a G16 And tell me what you think. As far as outboard the net is full of great hardware at dirt cheap prices I have comps by DBX,, Ashley, Symetrix, Rnc, Verbs by Alesis And others. I highly recomend the Wedge which sell currently fo 75 to 100 dollars, used SPX are good but sometimes overpriced, I have a yamaha R500 That beats any plugin I have. Thers old Sony and lexicon stuff out ther dirt cheap thats great. For 500 dollars today you can pick up a rack full of usable stuff. PM me ill give you some particulars. Good luck.

My main point is having twice the track width. 1/2" vs 1/4". About noise reduction, you can getaway without using any on 1/2" most of the time. On an 8-track 1/4" tape noise reduction is a necessity in my opinion.

The MSR-16 has the same problem, 16 tracks on 1/2". Thus back to my point that for 8-track i would go with wider tape/track width.

The tascam 38 is a very picky deck i agree w that. That is why i mentioned the TSR-8. Fostex mechanics are not that much better in my opinion and experience if not worse, but i understand we all had different uses and experiences. Parts availability is a factor for sure on fostex.

[GZsound]

I wish I would have kept my R8. I too fell into the digital hype pool and replaced it with ADAT machines.

I wish I would have kept my R8... Great sounding tape deck.

[kingofspain]

Thanks everyone for your input, but the deed is done and i've bought 2 R8's (for a little under £300).

fgonza2 - I take your point about squeezing 8 tracks onto 1/4" tape, and i thought long and hard about investing in a Tascam (i've still got my old 414 - my first foray into the world of home recording. That's still going strong even though my housemates cat peed on the heads!). I had a chance to buy a Tascam 58 or a couple of 38's - i'd have had the 58 but it would've meant a 600 mile round trip.
What swung me in the end was the cost of tape, 1/2" being nearly twice as much as 1/4" - i've still got a small stash of blank 1/4" from my A8 days.

Am i to understand that Fostex units are hard to get spares for? One of the units i bought for spares (i've not seen it yet, an ebay purchase). Apparantly it works a-ok except the meters are down. There's another coming up in a couple of days so i might have that too if the price is right.

At the end of the day i'm just happy to be returning to the joys (and frustrations) of reel to reel recording.

[thrustman]

KingofSpain check your email tell me what you think. Once again Im not a tascam hater. Have some of their gear right now but its no better than Fostex. I would not trade my G16 for anything out there right now. Im a happy camper. And I bet once you get your r8 All set up the way you like it youll be a happy camper too.

[fgonza2]

Originally Posted by kingofspain

Thanks everyone for your input, but the deed is done and i've bought 2 R8's (for a little under £300).

fgonza2 - I take your point about squeezing 8 tracks onto 1/4" tape, and i thought long and hard about investing in a Tascam (i've still got my old 414 - my first foray into the world of home recording. That's still going strong even though my housemates cat peed on the heads!). I had a chance to buy a Tascam 58 or a couple of 38's - i'd have had the 58 but it would've meant a 600 mile round trip.
What swung me in the end was the cost of tape, 1/2" being nearly twice as much as 1/4" - i've still got a small stash of blank 1/4" from my A8 days.

Am i to understand that Fostex units are hard to get spares for? One of the units i bought for spares (i've not seen it yet, an ebay purchase). Apparantly it works a-ok except the meters are down. There's another coming up in a couple of days so i might have that too if the price is right.

At the end of the day i'm just happy to be returning to the joys (and frustrations) of reel to reel recording.

Hey good luck with the machine. Having a spare is good. yes tape is very expensive, that is a factor for sure as well. let us know how it goes.

[thrustman]

Last reel of half inch I bought cost me 4 times what quarter inch cost. I think I paid about 80 dollars for a reel of half inch Rmg 911. Be sure and tell us your observations once you set up your R8. good luck.

[kingofspain]

I've re-jigged my studio and left an R8 sized space. I'll let you all know the results as soon as they're in.