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Fostex VF-16 Digital Multitrack Recorder
Sirve como mixer digital programable efectos y compresores
This Fostex VF-16 Digital Multitrack Recorder has been used to record several full length CD projects and is in very good running order. Included in the price is the Fostex Carrying Case and a clean 20 gig hard drive. For years I have used it as an ADAT interface into a DAW system. I recently changed system and do not need it for that purpose any longer. It still functions well.
Key Features: 44.1/16-bit uncompressed hard disk recording; SCSI port; digital mixer and built-in effects, editing and automation; optical digital I/O
+ Uncompressed CD-quality audio, clean sound
+ Compact package with nice look and feel
+ ADAT Interface
+ SCSI interface
Features
The VF-16 is a digital multitrack recorder and mixer with six channels of 1/4-inch unbalanced inputs and two channels that offer both unbalanced 1/4-inch and XLR input, for a total of eight. These last two channels are also equipped with TRS (send and receive) 1/4-inch inserts and menu switchable phantom power. Each analog input features its own preamp with trim knob and peak light.
Digital inputs are optical, and they are switchable between S/PDIF (IEC 60958) and ADAT lightpipe. The lone aux send jack doubles as sends 1 and 2 (with send 1 as the tip and 2 as the sleeve). There are no returns.
Rounding out the I/O are MIDI in and out, and 1/4-inch jacks for monitor output, punch in/out and headphones. The lone analog master bus outputs are on RCA jacks.
Within the unit, recording takes place on an internal 3.5-inch EIDE hard drive. All audio data is saved as uncompressed 44.1/16-bit data in a Fostex proprietary format (FDMS-3). The unit can, however, transfer files to the external drive as either FDMS-3 or WAV. This is where this unit really makes a case as a professional device - good resolution uncompressed audio with the ability to offload data to standard media.
You can record and play back up to 16 tracks simultaneously, limited of course by the number and type of inputs. A/D is accomplished with a 20-bit, 64X oversampling DAC and then dithered to 44.1/16 bits. Once your audio is in the box, all operations take place in the digital domain.
The front panel has 16 channel faders and a master fader, standard tape deck controls, and a large jog/shuttle wheel that doubles as the main data entry device. Features are accessed via momentary buttons, all of which are lighted from the rear to indicate status - a nice touch. Better yet, the channel mute/select buttons change from orange to green to red and can flash to indicate various configurations.
The LCD screen is small, about 2 inches by 3 inches, and its default page has tiny meters for each track/channel and the output bus. With the press of a button, the screen switches to any of a myriad of menus to adjust parameters and view information.
On the signal processing end, there are two effects busses - the first with 28 reverb presets, and the second with the same reverbs plus additional effects such as delay, chorus, flange and pitch shift. Compression is included, but it can only be assigned to the master bus and to Channels 13 through 16, presumably for submixing/bus mastering. Each channel has its own pan and EQ controls. All these are accessed in standard digital board fashion by choosing the parameter, selecting the track and tweaking away.
In addition to the standard transport controls you can set up to seven locate points, although some of these do double duty as edit points. The scrub function allows you to view a waveform for a specific track and fine-tune a location with the wheel. Editing is by simple cut/copy and paste, with an option for repeated pasting to set up loops. Tracks are easy to reassign and, using the bus record, you can bounce tracks to submix or to run a final mix back onto open tracks. Fader levels and mutes can be saved as scenes, and scenes can be saved as events, for effective automation, although dynamic fades are a little tricky under this regime.
The VF-16 has a lot of features for syncing up with external MIDI gear and can either generate or slave to MTC as well as MMC. In addition to absolute time or MTC, the unit's time base can also be set to bars/beats mode and there is a built-in metronome.
The recorder excels as a scratchpad for songwriting or tracking. The built-in preamps were quiet and faithful, Overall sound quality is very good, and there is more than enough storage space for most applications. In general, the unit is transparent and quiet.
The EQ has a very informative display with a graphic response curve. Controls are for three bands - the high and mid controls are almost fully parametric, with controls for level, frequency and Q.
The combination of the large jog wheel, wave display and audible cuing makes it possible to do some pretty tricky edits. Also, if you've been working on your song in bars/beats mode, you can quickly do some simple sampling and looping.
Automation is well implemented - simply a matter of setting up scenes and saving them, more or less on-the-fly. Fader and mute data are saved and recalled in real time, with up to 99 events per program.
The VF-16 is an impressive tool for writing songs, tracking demos and even recording live shows. It sounds great, it's very small and lightweight, and it lets you do some things that have only recently come within the reach of semipro gear.
I would recommend it especially for songwriters, as it is simple enough to not interfere with the creative process, but flexible enough to be able to do some advanced work.
The clean operation and uncompressed audio are great too, since you always have the option of keeping tracks if you go into the studio to rerecord; we've all been in those situations where the demo had a certain feel that was hard to duplicate.
It's a solid musical scratchpad, and, if you need to be able to do something advanced, you probably can. The VF-16 is a worthy portable, all-in-one solution for songwriters and home recordists.
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