Zoom R16 Multi-track Recorder:Interface:Controller  

It's all that.....Very good Product ...Performs better than my old Fostex MD8...as Musicians delieved very quickly........

Build to Last light ,but not creap

built to Last.....

If it was stolen I would get another..

Lots of features, pretty much everything I can ask for in this unit. Not crazy about the guitar presets though.

The plastic housing seems to be a point of contention, but it doesn't affect the performance of the unit. I always hear comments about how some equipment 'won't stand up to years of abuse on the road.' Any one who actually abuses their gear shouldn't expect it to last two minutes. Also, having been involved in professional shows by top-name artists, I can speak from experience that no one I have ever seen abused the gear they needed for their next show. I have a Zoom 505 that was predicted not to last- I have used it continuosly since 1998.

This is my 5th studio machine since the mid-80's. I am finishing my first project with the R16, still in the learning curve but very happy with the results. I would spend the money again without hesitation.

I was really looking forward to all the guitar presets in particular - this was the only let-down. I do not play with a lot of distortion, and this unit goes from really clean to really washed out with very little in between, and the presets aren't adjustable enough for my taste. For leads they are fine, but in my styles they aren't cutting it on rhythm tracks. Back to micing a tube amp. If you play the heavier styles you should find presets to suit you. The bass, accoustic and mic effects work fine for me. The mastering effects are good, the unit is dead quiet and full-featured enough to put out some quality tracks. Very portable if the situation arises, and it can be powered by batteries. The built-in stereo mics do a good job on accoustic guitar and drum ambience. The menu-driven interface requires a lot of button pressing and jog-wheel action, but once you get used to it, it's not so bad. The SD card is convenient, and the unit boots up and is ready to record much quicker than a PC. I gave up on the Cubase altogether, loaded Reaper and haven't used software at all since I made friends with the R16.

So, let me start with a warning. To use this machine as an DAW controller, you need to use Cubase. It works with Logic but not smoothly. It does not work with Adobe Audition. It will work as an interface with everything I tried but the controller piece is, in my experience, limited to Cubase. Which is fine because that's a great interface.

Next, as a stand alone recorder, it's fantastic. No machine sound, transparent, and easy to get a hang of. It records in WAV format and doubles as a card reader for easy back up and transfer. It creates full audio tracks that start at the beginning for easy syncing.

The onboard effects are junk for recording but that's to be expected. It's nice to here them in quick playback though.

My band uses this to record demos. We'll probably use it as an interface and controller to record our full album. It's worth the dough, if you're a fan of Cubase (I've also heard it works well with Sonic) or you're willing to learn.

It's kind thin. I wish Zoom had thrown a little weight at this thing but it's build seem solid enough and it does not effect it's performance. It'd be plenty light for field recording, which is, I'm guessing, what they were thinking. Regardless, I got a hard case for it because it's an invaluable tool but I'm afraid of it breaking in a soft case. That should give you a good idea.

Best value on the market. I've owned them all (Tascams, Boss, Fostex) in regards to multritracks. This has them all beat. The price is a little silly.

This machine is worth the price for the multitracking capabilities alone.

Production:

They call this a "mobile production studio."  If you are trying to produce, I'd have to say it's a terrible choice.  As a stand-alone unit for editing you cannot record to the master track then go back and make small adjustments to that track.  Every time the master track is armed for recording it will create a NEW master track.  There is a workaround that allows you to bounce your tracks to another pair of tracks.  I have not bothered to do that because I find it to be more trouble than it's worth.  The much better option is to take what you've recorded and edit in a DAQ where you can really see what you're doing.

Effects:

I heard a lot of criticism of the effects before I purchased the unit and it was my biggest concern.  All I really cared about was reverb and compressors and I've been 100% pleased.  I use this unit with by band to play live and it sounds good.  I can't comment too much on instrument effects, but the mastering effects and reverb is good.  You can adjust reverb/chorus on each track and then put a second effect on everything or certain tracks using insert effect. You can even make the track record dry but play wet so that you have the original signal to use in your DAW later.

Interface:

  The R16 comes with cubase which I had used some in the past with another recorder but I wasn't very impressed.  I have, so far, used the R16 with Sonar X1 and Reaper.  Sonar setup was problematic but Reaper works great.  My main complaint is that what is labeled as 0dB on the unit's faders actually maps to around +5dB.  Also, the channel LEDs are disabled when in interface mode with reaper.  Overall, I think it's fantastic that it is usable as an interface and you can record at 24bit 96kHz if you use the unit with a DAW.

Storage and power:

You can record on batteries!  That's pretty sweet if you feel like playing with it on the go.  The SD card is convenient as it transfers very quickly to your PC if you have a card reader.  It's also silent and wont' fail as hard drives eventually will.  You can get 32Gb SDHC cards for a great price now, so it's not much additional expense.

The one feature I really really wish it had was MIDI recording.  I'm a keyboardist by default and would rather record my keys or drum machine using MIDI.  In the studio it's not an issue because I have a separate interface for that, but if I was able to use MIDI at gigs or practice I could open up a couple tracks that could be use for more drum mics.

When I purchased this unit I was comparing it to much bigger/heavier portable studios and was concerned that it would feel cheesy.  It actually feels surprisingly sturdy and all the buttons have a nice tactile feel.

Preamp quality is acceptable but not great.  It would be nice if they were a little better but I feel that the other features outweigh the less-than-stellar preamps.  Get a separate preamp unit if it's really an issue for you.  If you care that much, you probably want a separate unit anyway.

This recorder is one of the cheapest 8 track recorders available.  Add to that:

portability (moreso than other recorders)

usable as an interface (mackie emulation)

Able to record at 96kHz, 24bit (with a DAW)

and I think it'd be tough to beat.  There are even a couple phantom powered inputs if you have drum overheads or something like that.

I have used the unit for 3 weeks and have recorded 2 gigs and a few practice sessions.  The R16 itself is pretty basic and I was able to figure it out pretty quickly without referring much to the manual.  A DAW, however, can have a pretty steep learning curve.  I got going quickly in reaper (cubase is easy too) but to get really good results you could spend years getting a good sense of proper effects and eqing.  That's not a fault of the R16, but it's something to consider when you want to record and produce simply.  As I mentioned, I was very concerned about the effects quality but I've found the reverb and compressors to be more than adequate for live sound.

I got my R16 from Musician's Friend a few days ago and discovered that setting it up was pretty easy. I bought several sound cards and break out recording devices over the last few years and some of them never really worked well. Cash has been an issue for myself but I do know what quality is about, having recorded on every thing from a Fostex 4 track cassette, Otari 4 track reel to reel and on up to to a Trident 48 Channel mixer. (I was just helping with the Trident, it was pretty intense to even look at!) For about the cost of a half day in a pro studio you can buy a full stereo Zoom R16 that has a built in Controller and audio interface. (Maybe a laptop too)

I have been a Cubase fan since the days of the Atari st 1040, so using the included Cubase LE 5 was not very hard at all. I know that with gear lust the temptation is always there to have the latest and greatest but for the "average" real world user such as myself having ANY digital recording is satisfying. The R16 controls the Cubase LE 5 in a direct manner and was easy to install and operate. I easily spent dozens of hours trying to get various sound cards and break out boxes to sync up, one of these I bought here on Amazon. I gave it a really bad review after the stupid thing turned out to be pretty worthless. A Yamaha model was almost 200$ and it was such a hassle, the included effects were very difficult to program, utilize and sort out. The Zoom effects are very nice IMHO and get to the point.

When I first took recording and synthesizer classes at LCC's lab back in about 1984 when MIDI was quite new, instructor Ed McManus told us that keeping things simple was a real objective. Over the years I have become interested in results, not in tedious sample tweaking and fiddling with numerous settings, or of saving up for the day I could get state of the art gear. This recorder is easy to set up, easy to use and makes no sound. A battery? Nice. Built in mics? Convenient for grabbing stuff. You can sample in the field with this or do great recordings. Boot leg albums have been recorded on far less.

If you are considering this machine you probably realize that this is the result of a mature digital technology. It offers a lot of features and value. I would compare it to the early 4 track cassette machines in ease of use but add that it sounds very. very nice and goes far beyond being a simple recorder. Instead of dreaming of an effective mini/MIDI home studio- make it a reality.The R16 has NO MIDI but you can be creative about using MIDI with it. I am very glad I sometimes have the chance to use high end gear but even happier to afford something useful, powerful and nice sounding. I use sequencers, synthesis of different types, drum machines and a computer. This is one of my best additions in years!

There are a few short comings with the R16 such as it not having 1 thousand dollar ADA's (lolz!) and less than 48 inputs~ but for the average music fan trying to get tracks down with a minimum of wasted time,cash and maximum results, this is the answer I was looking for. With the Musician's Friend fast delivery and guarantee I felt confident buying this. I like the solid feel of the control surface, the flexible design and the look of this machine.