--------------------------------
See Nick's review here:
http://nickspicks.com/?p=94--------------------------------
There seems to be a growing interest in multitracking on this board and that's really great to see but it also means it can be rather expensive. That is until Zoom came along with their Zoom R16 machine. I purchased mine from Nick a couple months ago and I have slowly been getting more practice with it since.
I'm really please with the weight of the machine. With batteries, I think it would be about 3 pounds.
I know there are various machines on the market in the sub grand level but are they this light and run on SD cards? No, they are heavy and record to hard drives and some have CD burners adding to the extra weight. Some run on batteries while others will require a/c power.
Nick found the menus confusing and not easy to learn but to me, I really didn't have a hard time picking it up without the manual. In fact, I only consulted the manual a few times but I did get a copy printed as it is easier to carry around rather than pulling up the pdf on a computer. The screen isn't gigantic like the ipad so there are abbreviations and if you want to name a track, it has a small limit.
You can make tracks stereo and when you do this, the odd number channel fader will control the volume. you cannot swap stereo tracks so it is a good idea to think about how you want to record before getting too far into the project. Mono tracks are easily swapped so if you want to lay down vocals on 5 and swap empty track 6 with it so you can record more vocals, no issue at all. This is a great idea so you won't need to adjust the EQ/reverb/effects/cables each time.
Phantom channels are 5/13 and 6/14. It is not possible to swap or bounce these at all so once again, think about how you will be recording PRIOR to setting up.
The internal mics operate on 7 & 8 when you turn a switch on to active the channels. You wouldn't want to record a symphony with just the built in mics but they may be adequate for drums.
I haven't fully mixed down a song so I can't comment on how it would sound burned to a CD or played on a computer but from Nick's band songs, I think it came out nice.
This machine obviously isn't something that would be useful for taping in a club unless you had a dedicated area so you would be able to set the machine up and run the cables appropriately. There is no hold switch or a way to lock the volume/gain so just be mindful of sliding and pushing buttons. No hold switch isn't a bad thing since you may have to re-activate and de-activate it several times just recording one song.
If you are taking this into a club, take the a/c adapter. Having a steady power source without worrying about anything is much better than seeing the low battery icon come up on the screen. I used the batteries for a few hours while just navigating around the menu system and using the internal mics and I believe it was about 3 hours before I noticed the battery icon and I'm sure it would be at least half that time before it completely turned off.
I have yet to connect this to my computer and use the software supplied with it so I can't comment on that.
For headphone monitoring, I bought a $25 headphone amp and 1/4" cable and plugged it into the headphone output. The headphone amp is very valuable so the guitar player and bass player can hear their playing since an amp is not needed (plug guitar right into r16).
Disadvantages:
*backlight remains on until you de-activate it in the menu
*slow boot up (about 3 seconds?)
*while the built in mics may work for something like loud drums, that's probably all they would be good for unless you turn the gain way up. Luckily you don't have to use them and they don't take up any extra space.
All in all, this thing is real nifty and had a lot of features. Don't expect to see it in Beyonce's studio anytime soon but if it was around when she started, she may have used it. (wishful thinking anyway)
For the hobbyist musician who doesn't want to blow a wad of cash in a professional studio, this is perfect. Get this and practice on it and put your music up on your computer to spread around as an EP and go to a studio for a clean, professional cut.
I must say most of the reviews I read on here were negative without people actually using the machine. I only know of one other person who has this R16 and he's given it overall positive reviews.
If you're rich and can afford high gear, you may turn your nose up at this and walk away in your Tuxedo eating your caviar but don't forget...if you record shitty music, it will still sound bad on a $10,000 machine.
Topic: My zoom r-16 semi-review (Read 1473 times)