Fostex MR-8MKII User Manual

Owner’s ManualDigital Multitracker4341908588072000<Important!>Thank you very much for purchasing the MR-8mkII. Before using the unit, read “Prep

10MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)Thank you very much for purchasing the Fostex MR-8mkII digital multitracker.The MR-8mkII is a digi

100MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)<Note>: If you want to cancel the move opera-tion, move the cursor to "[CANCEL]" on the

101MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)4) Rotate the JOG dial to select"Change Track >", andpress the [MENU/ENTER] key.5) Rotate

102MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)9) Press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now returns to the track edit menuscreen, where “Change Track

103MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)Part data editing<Undo/redo of editing>You can undo part editing. By pressing the [UNDO/REDO] key

104MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)The time (or bar/beat/clock) value changesin realtime as the recorder moves (i.e. whenit plays, fastforw

105MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)TRK 1TRK 2TRK 3TRK 4TRK 5TRK 6TRK 7TRK 8SilentLOCATE ApointLOCATE BpointREC ENDABS ZERO<Note>: You

106MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)You can copy the desired part(s) of the selected track(s) and paste it(them) to the same timeposition of

107MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)6) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Source Track = *",and press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display

108MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)You can copy the desired part(s) of the selected track(s) and paste it(them) to the other timeposition o

109MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)6) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Copy Track >", andpress the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display

11MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)About power supply• The MR-8mkII runs on the supplied ACadaptor (Model AD-12A) or batteries (six A

110MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)5) Press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now returns to the part edit menuscreen, where “Paste Part >

111MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)You can move the desired part(s) of the desired track(s) to the other desired track(s).The part move ope

112MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)9) Rotate the JOG dial to move the cursor to"[ENTER]" on the screen, and press the[MENU/ENTER]

113MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)5) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Change Part >" inthe second page, and press the [MENU/ENT

114MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Part data editing)10) Press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now returns to the part edit menuscreen, where “Change Part &

115MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)Data export to a personal computerThis chapter describes how to export song data on tra

116MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)By converting track data recorded on tracks 7/8 (which consists of an L/R pair of mono

117MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)5) Press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The MR-8mkII quits the conversion functionand the display

118MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)The MR-8mkII is equipped with the USB port for direct connection to a personal computer

119MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)3) Highlight "USB" by rotating the JOG dial, thenpress the [MENU/ENTER] key.T

12MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)This section describes the basics of the MR-8mkII you should know before using the MR-8mkII.Record

120MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)The MR-8mkII CompactFlashTM Card is protected by default.The protection is effective on

121MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)You can archive song data recorded by the MR-8mkII by using either of the following met

122MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Data export to a personal computer)

123MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)* CD-DACD-DA stands for "Compact Disc Digital Audio". It is the officialdesignation for the

124MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)Before connecting an external CD-R/RW drive and burning a CD-DA-format audio CD, read thefollowing.Imp

125MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)MIDI OUTUSB HOSTCOMPACTFLASH CARDSong data which can be recorded to a CD-R/RW discYou can record a ste

126MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)Procedure of creating an audio CDIn the procedure described below, it is assumed that the following pr

127MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)<Note>: During operation, if “Not Mounted”is shown at the bottom of the display as be-low, the M

128MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)The MR-8mkII starts finalizing the disc, whilethe screen shows "Finalizing...".When finalizi

129MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)Viewing TOCViewing TOC after completing "CD Burn"You can view the TOC when completing "

13MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)About songTo understand songs, imagine separated rooms as shown below. Each room can be regarded a

130MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Burning an audio CD)2) Use the JOG dial to select "CD TOC>" and pressthe [MENU/ENTER] key.As with viewing the

131MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)Other functionsThis chapter describes the following functions which are importantfor using the MR-8mkII.(1

132MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)You can reformat the CompactFlashTM Card by using the FAT16 file system. By reformatting thecard, all exis

133MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)The level meters shown on the display have the peak hold function. When it is enabled, themeter peak value

134MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)As described earlier on page 49, when both the auto punch in/out and loop modes are active,the pre-roll an

135MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)1) While the recorder is stopped, press the[MENU/ENTER] knob to enter the menu mode.The display now shows

136MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)While the time base is set to the bar/beat mode, if you set the "Beat resolution" item in the me

137MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)The MR-8mkII can supply phantom power (+48 V) to the XLR balanced connectors of [INPUT A]and [INPUT B]. So

138MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Other functions)By initializing the MR-8mkII, you can initialize all global menu settings common to all songs, aswell as t

139MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Troubleshooting)TroubleshootingIf you encounter any problem while operating the MR-8mkII, check the following for the poss

14MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)Time baseInput monitor and repro monitorThe term, "time base", is used as the reference

140MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Troubleshooting)<Trouble 7>: During overdubbing, I cannot monitorthe playback signal of the recorded track.• Is the

141MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Troubleshooting)<Trouble 9>: I cannot execute auto punch in/out.• Is "" shown on the screen?If it is not,

142MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Troubleshooting)<Trouble 1>: I cannot hear the rhythm guide click.• Is the [RHYTHM GUIDE] key is illuminated?When th

143MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)MR-8mkII Specifications

144MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)[Inputs/Outputs]0dBu=0.775Vrms, 0dBV=1.0Vrms, Reference level: -12dBfsAnalog input [INPUT A / INPUT B]Conne

145MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)22065Physical dimensionsMAXMINMAXMINREC SELECT1 2 3 4 5/6 7/8 MASTERRLPANLR LR LR010EFFECT SEND100100100BRI

146MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)When using the bounce mode (1-4 > 5/6 mode)When using the normal modeDISTORTIONINPUT AINPUT BTRIMTRIMA/D

147MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)When using the bounce mode (1-6 > 7/8 mode)When using the bounce mode (1-8 > New Song mode)IN7IN8OUT7

148MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)<Digital multitracker>TransmittedRecognizedRemarksFunction...BasicDefaultChannelChangedDefau

149MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)<A>ABS time ...14, 32AC adaptor ...

15MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)[TRIM] controlYou must pay great attention to the [TRIM] control adjustment when recording to the

150MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)Declaration of EC DirectiveThis equipment is compatible with the EMC Directive (89/336/EEC) - Directive on

151MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)FOR THE US CUSTOMERS ONLYFOSTEX AMERICA LIMITED WARRANTYThe following statement defines specific legal righ

152MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Specifications)FOSTEX AMERICA LIMITED WARRANTYTo claim all warranty service, first access www.fostex.com to receive servic

FOSTEX CO.3-2-35, Musashino, Akishima-shi, Tokyo, Japan, 196-0021FOSTEX AMERICA13701 Cimarron Avenue Gardena, CA 90249 U.S.A.© PRINTED IN CHINA JAN.

16MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)

17MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)PreparationThis chapter describes preparation for recording, playback and ed-iting using the MR-8mkII. The chap

18MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)The MR-8mkII can run on the supplied AC adaptor (Model AD-12A) or alkaline batteries. Whenpreparing power suppl

19MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)The MR-8mkII has two song modes: Normal andLP modes. You can choose the desired modewhen making recording.The N

2MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK).NO USER - SERVICEAB

20MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)<Important!>: When inserting or removing a card,make sure that the power of the MR-8mkII is off.If you i

21MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)Turning on the powerAfter preparing power supply (the AC adaptor orbatteries), turn on the MR-8mkII by sliding

22MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)When turning off the power, make sure that theMR-8mkII is stopped.If any peripherals are connected, turn off th

23MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)4) Rotate the jog dial to select "---:(New Song)" andpress the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now shows

24MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Preparation)<Character entry keys>Some keys on the MR-8mkII toppanel act as character entry keysin the MENU mode. For

25MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)Names and functionsThis chapter describes the names and functions of the controls,keys, connectors, etc

26MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)6. [REVERB/DELAY TIME] controlAdjusts the stereo (L and R) buss outputlevel.8. [MASTER] faderThese keys

27MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)10. [REC SELECT] keys16. [TRIM] controls / [PEAK] indicatorsEach control adjusts the input gain of thec

28MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)25. [MASTERING] keysUsed to select the desired mastering effectduring track bounce or mixdown. You cans

29MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)31. [LOCATE A/IN] / VWX8 keyPressing this key while holding down the[STORE] key sets the LOCATE A point

3MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)Important Safety Instructions1) Read these instructions.2) Keep these instructions.3) Heed all

30MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)3. [MIDI OUT] jack (DIN 5-pin connector)Used to connect to a MIDI IN jack of an ex-ternal MIDI device (

31MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)When turning on the MR-8mkII, the display shows the startup screen (showing the startup status of theMR

32MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)When the display shows the home screen, pressing the [TIME BASE SELECT] key switches the time basemode

33MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)If a serious problem happens to the MR-8mkII during operation, an appropriate warning message is showno

34MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Names and functions)

35MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)Basic recording operationsThis chapter describes basic multitrack recording.If it is the first t

36MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)BRIT STACK US METAL 60'S COMBOMICTUBECONDENSERDYNAMICINPUT ALINEMICMINMAXLINEMICDISTORTIONG

37MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)When you use the [INPUT A] channel, the [INPUT A SELECT] switch must be set appropriately.“MIC/L

38MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)<Note>: The fader for track 1 is used to ad-just the monitor level. To adjust the record-

39MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)6) While playing the guitar, adjust the recording levelusing the [TRIM] control of the [INPUT A]

4MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)Read this chapter first! ...

40MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)<Note>: Track faders 3 and 4 are used toadjust the monitor levels. To adjust the re-cordin

41MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)6) While playing the music, adjust the recordinglevel of each track using the [TRIM] control ofe

42MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)<Note>: Track 1 and 7/8 faders are used toadjust the monitor level. To adjust the re-cordi

43MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)9) While holding down the [RECORD] key, press the[PLAY] key to start recording.The recorder reco

44MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Basic recording operations)010EFFECT SEND100100100BRIT STACK US METAL 60'S COMBOMICTUBECONDENSERDYNAMICINPUT ALINEMICM

45MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)Advanced playback and locate functionsThis chapter describes advanced playback funct

46MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)• By holding down the [F FWD] key during playback, the recorder starts cueing forwar

47MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)MAXMINMAXMINREC SELECT1 2 3 4 5/6 7/8 MASTERRLPANLR LR LR010EFFECT SEND100100100BRIT

48MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)In the Auto play mode, when locating to the ABS ZERO, REC END, LOCATE A or LOCATE B

49MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)When the loop mode is active (while the auto punch in/out mode is inactive), the LOC

5MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)Input connection ...

50MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)The following describes the locate functions, which allow you to immediately skip to

51MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)Locating to the LOCATE A or LOCATE B pointYou can set the desired point of a song as

52MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Advanced playback and locate functions)LocatingWhile the recorder is stopped, press the [LOCATE A/IN] (or [LOCATE B/OUT]) k

53MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Punch in/out)Punch in/outUsing the punch in/out function of the MR-8mkII, you can over-write the desired part of the record

MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Punch in/out)541) Press the [REC SELECT] key for the track youare going to make punch in/out recording.The track is record-ar

55MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Punch in/out)2) Press the [REC SELECT] key for the track youare going to make punch in/out recording.The track is record-ar

MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Punch in/out)56By setting the punch-in and punch-out points in advance, The recorder automatically makespunch in/out recordin

57MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Punch in/out)After setting the punch-in and punch-out points appropriately, you can rehearse the auto punchin/out for check

MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Punch in/out)58After rehearsing the auto punch-in/out operation, it's time for executing actual auto punch in/out operat

59MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Using effects)Using effectsThe MR-8mkII provides the insert effects for recording (microphoneand amplifier simulation effec

6MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)Track bouncing ...

60MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Using effects)The [INPUT A] channel of the MR-8mkII provides two types of insert effects: microphone andamplifier simulatio

61MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Using effects)Selecting an effect typeThe MR-8mkII has the original built-in reverb/delay processor featuring the newly-dev

62MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Using effects)As shown in the signal flowchart below, a track(playback) signal after the track fader is fedto the [EFFECT S

63MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Using effects)The MR-8mkII provides the dedicated mastering effects for the L/R stereo buss.You can use the mastering effec

64MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Using effects)

65MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)Track bouncingThis chapter describes track bouncing which is an importantfunction in the recording process.T

66MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)You can record more than eight materials using the track bouncing function as shown in thefollowing example.

67MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)• "1-6 > 7/8" mode (see page 70)In the "1-6 > 7/8" mode, tracks 1 through6 are pla

68MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)Before executing track bouncing, you can rehearse it. While rehearsing track bouncing, you cancontrol the pl

69MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)5) After finishing rehearsal, press the [STOP] keyto stop the recorder and locate it to thebeginning of the

7MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)MIDI synchronization ...

70MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)You can bounce tracks 1 through 6 to tracks 7/8.As described earlier in "Bouncing tracks 1 through 4 to

71MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)5) After finishing rehearsal, press the [STOP] keyto stop the recorder and locate it to thebeginning of the

72MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)You can bounce tracks 1 through 8 to tracks 7/8 of a new song. A new song is automaticallycreated when execu

73MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)After finishing rehearsal, let's carry out actual track bouncing.1) While the recorder is stopped, pres

74MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track bouncing)Typically, bouncing is executed from the beginning to the end of a song, as shown in Figure 1below. However,

75MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)Rhythm guide functionThe MR-8mkII offers the rhythm guide function, which allows out-putting the rhyt

76MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)MAXMINMAXMINREC SELECT1 2 3 4 5/6 7/8 MASTERRLPANLR LR LR010EFFECT SEND100100100BRIT STACK US METAL 6

77MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)Rhythm Guide: OffConductor Map: OffRhythm guideNo outputBar/beatindicationThe "Signature"an

78MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)2) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Song", and pressthe [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now show

79MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)4) Rotate the JOG dial to select "---Bar -> ---", andpress the [MENU/ENTER] key.The disp

8MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Safety instructions/Contents)Trouble for recording ...

80MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)• Deleting an unnecessary time signature eventYou can delete an unnecessary time signatureevent.2) Ro

81MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)By default, the bar/beat value at the beginning (ABS ZERO) of the song is set to "bar -2/beat 1&

82MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)Bar 1/beat 1: 120 bpmBar 4/beat 2: 180 bpmBar 8/beat 3: 90 bpmBar 12/beat 1: 120 bpmBar 16/beat 4: 25

83MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)7) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Beat = 1 ", andpress the [MENU/ENTER] key."1 "

84MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Rhythm guide function)• Deleting an unnecessary tempo eventYou can delete an unnecessary tempo event.2) Rotate the JOG dial

85MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (MIDI synchronization)MIDI synchronizationBy connecting the external MIDI devices (such as a sequencer, soundmodule, compute

86MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (MIDI synchronization)The following describes how to synchronize a sequencer to the MR-8mkII which supports MTC(MIDI Time co

87MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (MIDI synchronization)The following describes how to synchronize a sequencer to the MR-8mkII using MIDI clock.Use this metho

88MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (MIDI synchronization)

89MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Song management)Song managementThis chapter explains the following five operation procedures forsong management.1) Selectin

9MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Read this chapter first!)Read this chapter first!This chapter describes precautions before using, as well as featuresand bas

90MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Song management)The following describes how to select the desired song from the CompactFlashTM Card whenmore than one song

91MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Song management)You can edit a current song name save the edited song name. Only the current song can beedited.1) Load the

92MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Song management)If you delete all songs on the card by re-peating the procedure above, only high-lighted “<<Back” is

93MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Song management)You can protect a song to prevent an accidental erasure. The protection can be released when-ever you want.

94MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Song management)Deleting an unused WAV file in a song4) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Delete Unused >",then p

95MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)Track data editing<Undo/redo of track editing>By pressing the [UNDO/REDO] key after executing trac

96MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)5) Rotate the JOG dial to select "Erase Track = 1",and press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The currentl

97MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)8) Press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now returns to the track edit menuscreen, where “Erase Track &

98MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)9) Press the [MENU/ENTER] key.The display now returns to the track edit menuscreen, where “Copy-Paste Tr

99MR-8mkII Owner’s Manual (Track data editing)TRK 1TRK 2TRK 3TRK 4TRK 5TRK 6TRK 7TRK 8ABS ZEROREC ENDYou can move whole data (from ABS ZERO to REC END