Zoom R-16 anyone?

[deeaa]

Hello,

I'm going to buy a Zoom R-16 recorder/soundcard/control surface.

I'll be using it mainly to record 8 tracks at a time to SD card, which it should be very handy at, even works with batteries so I can record even at a cottage etc...and then bring the SD card to Cubase where it'l just import and align perfectly for more recording and tweaking on the DAW.

So I'd mostly be recording real drums and tube amps at the facility, and then add some stuff in my home studio, like vocals later, and probably re-play some if not all guitars with modeler plugins and probably also replace or double some drums by triggering off drum samples.

Anybody used an R-16? I've mostly heard only good things about it for my purpose, but I worry about one thing: does the gain on mic channels go low enough for loud bands, i.e. can the mic inputs take STRONG signals without breaking up??? :help

[marnold]

I don't have a good answer to that, but I was going to ask a similar question about the Zoom H2 or H4.

[deeaa]

Well to answer myself some...haven't tried the zoom with the band as of yet, but man, it's a FREAKING great tool. If I had had something like this way way back...

I'm totally blown away how quick&simple it is to create demos with this for instance.

I just spent literally 15 minutes and came up with a VERY nice sounding demo with a tremolo electric, acoustic and a bass plus a lead distorted guitar AND stereo vocals...with nothing but the R16 and an electric plugged in. Simply amazing.

Took me about 10 minutes first to figure out how the menus etc. work, but then it's simply put rec on to ch.1 and drop a modeler on it - you can either record the modeler or just listen to it and still record dry - and play. Select 2 channel, drop in a suitable modeler, do the same. Then finally turn on the internal stereo mic and sing over it.

And the sounds aren't bad at all. Normal Zoom sounds - similar to POD etc, quite useable.

And then, you can just drop in master FX, EQ, which include some really nice models too, and suddenly you have a demo the quality one could only dream about in the cassette era. And on top of it all, then you can just plug it to DAW and directly line up the tracks in Cubase and mix, add, whatever.

Plus it has metronome, tuner...don't even know all yet.

STRONGLY recommend it for anybody who wants to record ideas, make quick demos and whatnot. And then it will also work as an 8-in soundcard! What a package! And work with mere batteries! The only thing it doesn't have is a drum machine...very nice device indeed!

[syo]

I don't know how I missed hearing about this unit. It looks amazingly good for the money (USD $300 here in Japan). Very compact as well. There's a good review from Sound on Sound here:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep09/articles/zoomr16.htm

Very nice indeed. Perhaps you could post something you recorded with it?

[deeaa]

Indeed - it is an AWESOME piece of gear for the price, so far I have only praise for the thingy. I just recorded drums for 3 songs with it...I'll post results when the demo is done for sure! It was very easy too - just leeched a click/backing track to the R16 from an USB stick and recorded 8 more tracks along with it, simply a breeze. It even also includes all the zoom effects, so you can record a dry track and use zoom guitar FX and drives etc. after-the fact non-destructively in real time. Brilliant, even if I don't need that feature myself.

Well one thing is I must criticize - for very loud mics you need a buffer in front of it, as even on zero gain a strong mic can overload the inputs. Noticed that with bass amp D/I - just can't get the gain low enough to input, have to put a D/I box with -20db pad in between. But that's very minor.

[syo]

Well one thing is I must criticize - for very loud mics you need a buffer in front of it, as even on zero gain a strong mic can overload the inputs. Noticed that with bass amp D/I - just can't get the gain low enough to input, have to put a D/I box with -20db pad in between. But that's very minor.

One thing I noted is that it only has phantom power on input 5/6. I tend to go heavy on condenser mics but really it is simply not fair to criticize the specs at such a price. I guess I can tote along a preamp if necessary. Looking forward to hearing the demo.

For mobile recording I have an MBox (good sound quality but only two mics) and an Olympus LS-10 (Super compact. For sketching ideas and field recording). But this Zoom seems to have most everything I need...8 XLR inputs, fairly compact (+ no need for a laptop) and it's an interface AND control surface too?! And at a price $100 cheaper than I paid for my Olympus...

Just today I upgraded my Guitar Rig from 3 to 4 and bought an expansion pack for EZ Drummer to try to ease some serious GAS buildup. Oh yes, I also did the $800 upgrade for my Adobe production suite software. All of this TODAY. And now this. Thanks alot dee. The gas is now worse than ever...

[Monkus]

sounds awesome, seems like just the thing I need!

[deeaa]

Yep, syo, just 2 phantoms...but then again it also has pretty decent condensers built in as well, one at each end a foot apart. If you can use those - they work great for acoustic guitar and room ambience for instance, you can use 4 condensers already. Me, I use a small mixer to provide the third phantom (I only need three; 2 for overheads and snare, the rest is passive mics.)

It records fantastically with just batteries&the two in-built mics, and the best thing is it really weighs next to nothing.

[deeaa]

I just posted this for the others; made a 3-song recording with the drummer, this is for the rest to play their parts to...I even used the zoom's own mics as far-mics for my amp...as of now pretty raw, not any EQ on the guitar really:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/de_j_base.mp3

[syo]

I just posted this for the others; made a 3-song recording with the drummer, this is for the rest to play their parts to...I even used the zoom's own mics as far-mics for my amp...as of now pretty raw, not any EQ on the guitar really:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/de_j_base.mp3

Wow! Raw you say but I really like it. Gritty and immediate. Drew me in straight away. Any chance I can come over and play?:rockon:

I've been doing a bit of reading on the R-16 and found a veritable fan club over at gearslutz:
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/366508-zoom-r16-any-experience-opinions.html
Lot's of good info and a few fanboys.

I'm in a bit of quandry about this. I want to order one right away but I have 4 good interfaces already for different purposes. This one though covers so many bases and is comparitively cheap. Meaning I don't technically NEED it but it would be a shame not to have it. Hmmm...

Well very nice indeed Dee. Thanks for posting (and posting more? :D)

[deeaa]

Here's the songs with a little mixing:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/wishicould_beta01.mp3 - on this one I'm real happy how the Ceriatone sounds with my EMG's.

http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/moment_beta01.mp3 - bit more aggressive sound

http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/worldscollide_beta01.mp3 - the third one.

Any comments welcome!

[deeaa]

dang, them 2 links are the same...anyway, plz comment on wish i could guitar sound, because to me it seems the1st time i got the recording to sound like it does live & is pretty much my tone heaven, cant think howd i improve. but do you like it?

[marnold]

I agree with you that it seems to do a very nice job. Awfully high on the bang/buck ratio.

[syo]

I think they're excellent Dee. The "Moment_beta" file is a great mix to me. The drums and guitar fit perfectly together. It has that live sound going great and sounds professional too. I love the whole vibe. :rockya :applause

[deeaa]

Just posting the final versions in the original thread as well...some songs are live takes some 'studio' tweaked:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/moment_betamaster.mp3
http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/ton%20of%20bricks.mp3
http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/wishicould_betamaster.mp3
http://deeaa.pp.fi/spookbox/worldscollide_betamaster.mp3

[Monkus]

awesome...I really like them...

[Eric]

Hi deeaa-

What do you think of this unit (Zoom R16) after a few years with it? Would you still buy one or would you recommend something else? The guys I play with want to get some stuff recorded at this point but studio time is getting expensive, so we are looking into the DIY approach and the R16 seemed like a good choice for easy tracking that could be thrown into a DAW. But I thought it would be worth it to see how you think of it after some time in the saddle, particularly given your honest takes on gear.

[deeaa]

It is very good still - we basically only use it as a recorder though. Spilled some beer on it once and had to open it up and wash the keys, but no issues other than that. It is not very mechanically strong, but has had no problems. Still, it's much simpler to record 16 tracks of stuff on the zoom sd card and simply drag and drop to daw for further editing than try to use a daw for all. It is permanently at the rehearsal room usually, ready to record.

I have still recorded vocals etc. On a daw. Actually Spookbox has been so slow lately our drummer has been mostly using it, making his solo music. He takes it along to his cottage and runs on batteries and records. Works fine.

I would not buy it as my only soundcard, or the only way to record and mix demos, but as a multitrack recorder, can't think of anything easier, so I'd well recommended it for such use.

[Eric]

I was thinking of using it the way you describe: for tracking and some overdubs prior to mixing and tweaking at the computer. I find that going directly into a computer for recording can be kind of annoying, so my hope was that this would be an easier way to get the sounds to 'tape' before working on them at the computer. It sounds like that is what you are using it for.

What do you mean when you say that you wouldn't use it as your only soundcard? That you would always want a separate audio interface for your computer? If so, why not? Because it's not sturdy enough or the preamps are underwhelming or something? Only reason I ask is because right now we have nothing other than a 57 and 58 and a tiny 4-channel mixer, so I want to make wise use of any money spent.

[deeaa]

Simply because I don't totally trust its preamps etc...they do a good job but for my main card I want something definitely good. And it's usb and I prefer firewire because I have too many usb gadgets as is. And something metal, sturdy, not a flat mixer style dust gathering thing. Also, if one wants to employ the zooms portability aspect, it would feel strange to remove the only soundcard. I'd prefer to have a good fixed soundcard for the daw and just use the zoom as a recorder. Which it does marvelously well too. I suppose it's just a gut feeling. I don't really have any issues with the r16...it's certainly been worth every penny so far.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Eric]

Simply because I don't totally trust its preamps etc...they do a good job but for my main card I want something definitely good. And it's usb and I prefer firewire because I have too many usb gadgets as is. And something metal, sturdy, not a flat mixer style dust gathering thing. Also, if one wants to employ the zooms portability aspect, it would feel strange to remove the only soundcard. I'd prefer to have a good fixed soundcard for the daw and just use the zoom as a recorder. Which it does marvelously well too. I suppose it's just a gut feeling. I don't really have any issues with the r16...it's certainly been worth every penny so far.
I can see where you're coming from, and I think I would feel the same way if I actually had anything resembling a studio setup. I have read that some think the preamps are a bit weak, though some say you just need to get it in the orange to have it sound good. Anyway, thanks for clarifying -- this sounds like it would be a good fit for what we need, so I imagine I will be ordering one shortly.