Zoom R16 Truly The Professor Gizmo* Of Multitrack Recorders
January 2009 saw the unveiling of a one-of-a-kind recording solution from Zoom. Sort of. Boasting impressively multi-faceted utility, the design of the Zoom R16 made it hard to categorize; was it a multitrack recorder, control surface, USB interface, portable field recorder, or something else entirely? Actually it was none of these, because at NAMM is was only a cardboard mock-up under a glass case. Now, finally, we can celebrate the actually unveiling of the world's first 16-track portable HDSC Card Recorder / Interface / Controller, because the Zoom Samson's answer to all of these issues is now in the form of the Zoom R16.
The intuitive design of the R16 is reminiscent of it predecessors -- except a lot sleeker looking (IMHO). Based off your usual analog onboard mixers it's got sliders, knobs, peak meters, and other controls so recording veterans can do their mixes in a snap. With eight XLR/1/4" combination jacks, you can easily record a live band and an adequately mic'd-up drum kit without the bulk of your analog equipment. . . .and you can record 8 tracks simultaneously. A Hi-Z input allows you to record an electric guitar directly plugged into the R16, with built-in guitar and bass amp simulation as well as effects. Phantom power, high-quality mic preamps, and vocal effects are available as well.
The Zoom R16 records onto SD and HDSC cards (supports up to 32 GB SDHC cards) to store and back-up your tracks. Storing your audio data in SD cards saves a lot of space and takes away the fear of a crashing hard drive during recording (no moving parts). The Zoom R16 includes a 1 GB SD card as part of the package. With a 36 GB HDSC card, the R16 can record over 100 hours of audio.
The Zoom R16 can turn your usual desktop or laptop into a fleshed-out project studio in an instant. You can hook up the Zoom R16 to your computer via USB to serve as an audio recording and playback interface. The R16 offers monitoring output with two audio out ports for monitoring. While it can't offer that surround sound deal you get from PCI cards and other interfaces, you can still make use of the eight inputs for simultaneous recording, at 24-bit/96-kHz resolution no less.
Most of the folks reading this now might be tired of mixing and mastering using a mouse in your DAW. The Zoom takes that bother away with its function as a controller. You can directly manipulate your software sequencers and audio editors using the Zoom R16 as if doing so with analog equipment (albeit in a very portable and digital manner). The R16 package includes a copy of Steinberg Cubase LE so you get to start making music right away.
Portability was an integral part of the Zoom R16's design, and it's small size and battery-power option (six AA's, please) make it great for location work. You can plug in your booms, handheld mics, etc. to record conferences, speeches, and even live gigs. Having no microphones won't excuse you from recording as the R16 has built-in stereo microphones just like a handheld recorder would.
^&*(4ik,kl48^%(%545. . . oh sorry, I was just drooling and shorted out my keyboard. With a street price of $399, this has got to be one of the most cost-effective measures around in building a highly versatile DAW setup. It should be shipping to your favorite pro audio retailer as we speak. Type? Read?
*Who?**
**This Guy.
where's the built-in drum/bass machine?
I take it that all the built-in effects cannot be used from within DAW software, like VST effects?
The drum/bass machine was really something that appealed to me in their older digital recorders. Perhaps an R8 is in the works with this feature? Only Zoom and Boss seem to put drum machines in digital recorders. Boss needs to come out with a new model that works with SDHC cards. Or update the software of the existing models to allow for the higher capacity cards to be used.
R16
hope this isnt too good to be true
but if its REAL... they are gonna make a killing.....
still
still though..........could end up being a total peice of junk..... time will tell
Doesn't seem like junk. I'm
Doesn't seem like junk. I'm pre-ordering mine.
Zoom R16
Got one drool…Picked it up at Sam Ash for $299 (I had a $100 of anything $399 or more post card they sent me) more drool….Short and simple it’s a must have! The FX routing is incredible as well as the sounds of the FXs. The fact that I can do 16 tracks of digital audio with FX without having to watch my cpu cycles is worth the $299 by its self. Get thus, you can pop in a usb flash drive and transfer the files as waves on to the drive. It gets better you can link two of these babies together for 32 tracks!! It’s light and made from plastic so take care on how you treat it(got mine on a keyboard tray under my desk).Haven’t tried it as a sound card or control surface yet and probably won’t use it as one. The reason why I got it in the first place is that I need a lot of tracks without the fuss of a computer. Got a Tascam DP-02CF but this thing is on another level. If there is one thing that you treat yourself to this year it should be this baby. It’s mobile, light, and the best bang for the buck in 20 years.
Digital I/O
If this thing had digital in and out, particularly optical so I could hook up a decent preamp, well I would be buying one in a flash!
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