Korg D8

the display is small, not lit, and very difficult to read under some conditions. it needs a red led under the level meter to show which channels are in record mode. also it lack channel solo and channel mute buttons.
also it is contrained by the lack of busses and its possible to record only 2 channels per pass.

it also has only one effects unit so there is one effect per pass; so the mixdown takes too long. eventually we dumped all the tracks on to a pc via an optical interface and did the final with sonic studio version 5.

there have been times recording 2 channels and playing back 4 or 5 when the machine had disk underruns because it could not support the data rate of 6 simultaneous operations

the current revision of the s/w is 11.1
the software is eprom resident and has to be carried out by the manufacturer. backup the disk before sending it in!

its a physically small device and most functions wind up routed to the control wheel. there are 3 settable marks per track as well as start and end points but it all takes a while to become proficient.

the machine cost 600 euros us550 in france

it produced a good demo so we accomplished our goals on it

do not trust the little internal drive. you can back up via the optical interfact to a pc or plug in a scsi external device

backup frequently if you care about your data!!!

do not vibrate or shock the d8

minimal support from korg

best bet is the news groups

i am the engineer. the style is alternative

the d16 solves a lot of the d8 issues


we have a digital studio to produce ddd cds or dvds for under us4000
how bad can it be?

I give it a 4 for ease of use. The small LCD readout is hard to see and needs to be back-lit. There are too many peramiters that must be accessed with the same buttons... push and hold < > for this, press edit and < > for that. Please, would the addition of a few more dedicated buttons realy have sent the cost up very much?
I give it a 5 for editing, there is only one effects unit. if you record everything dry and expect to play with each track latter, you can't.
I give the manual a 3. What a piece of tecno-squat!

I think it sounds great. I just wish the drums could do more complicated stuff.

I would not move it around very much.

What support. Ever since the D16 came out the KORG site has no tech support for the D8. Is this thing an orphin now?

Does any one know if I can connectthe D8 directly to a CD recorder?

After reading the manual and playing around with the unit, I found it was relatively simple to get on with. Some of the editing steps do need repitition to commit to memory. If you only use it occasionly then it can be forgotten - where did I put that manual again!!.

For what it does I think its brilliant - I would of liked to see a footswitch thrown in on the package. Korg says you need a PS1 or PS2, they dont tell you if its a latching or momentary type of switch, thats because you will buy an other. If anyone out there know the spec for the footswitch please let me know.

Excellent - I use it for duo backing tracks, and demos for the band, two inputs means you have to manage the way you record from the outset. I plug my GT5 straight into it and the sound is awesome, vocals do need a good quality mic to get what you want. Use the effects sparingly so you dont saturate the sounds. I tend to use outboard effects thats only because looking at that little display can get to you after a while. Always opt for simplicity.

I have had it about 3 yrs and its not let me down, its the heart of my home studio - and if I have to take it out then I will without any problems.

Not tried them yet - but I'll bet its crap here in the UK. Lets see if they respond to my emails. Then I'll let you know.

The best way of describe or rate this is that if it was stolen I would get another one thats because I cant be bothered to learn another process for another item, I would also consider the D16.

I love the sound production quality - all my gear is plugged into it the PC sequenced filed via the Korg NX5R if I cant be bothered to sync it up via MIDI, the Alesis SR16 drum machine if the NX5R dont have the sound I need.

I've had this unit for almost a full year:
It could be easier...Sometimes the unit playes games with me...
Only once it froze...It sure beats using Computer programs, although
those may do more, but are hard to use as hands-on like the "D-8"...

Sounds great...It might even sound perfect...The Reverbs and Delays
are great just because they are stereo...This unit is not professional
but it can sound like it is...The rest of the effects are cheap, but
I have heard a whole lot worse out there...Recording Digital with
16 bit grahic resolution at 44.1 Khz sampling rate means that:
Garbage-in equals Garbage-Out(what you hear is what you get) which
sure beats Analog recording due to audio drop-out and tone modifying
...It's great because you don't have data-compression at all, so all
your audio sine-waves aren't grainy, blurry, or missing any sections
in your signal...If you want to be a perfectionist, use a professional
unit that has 96Khz sampling-rate with 24 bit-resolution to get close
to a real analog sine-wave, of coarse recorded and preserved digitally
that way...If you are going to release your music on standard audio
compact discs(CD)this unit has the same quality of CD players with no
difference at all...If you have a professional unit, it won't make
a difference if you release it on CD any way, but professional is
only good for archiving something for the advanced future...This unit
would be great for archiving, but not perfect...Remember that your
ears only can't tell the difference...

Somewhat good reliability...It could use some sturdier construction...
When I program an effect the way I wan't it, the next time I use it it
reset itself to a different setting even different from the factory
presets(Thats a game it plays on me)...WHY???...I hate when computers
have a Mind Of Their Own...The first time I customize a program on a
"Korg D-8"(I've used many of these) it screws up all the effects, even
the ones I did'nt touch yet(even Store models and return models)...
Sometimes buttons do different things then what they normally do...

They prefer that you send it back wherever you bought it...

It could use built in perminent LIMITER buffer circuits like the
"SONY MiniDisc" recorders...It could use Faster Responding Decibel
Level Metering like the "SONY MiniDisc" recorders, instead it just
won't be quick to tell you if you reached a peak signal when you do
...It could sure use a Back-Lit-Display...The (VFO) Wheel/Dial moves
faster than the display can react(thats how it froze once)...I once
returned a store model because of some defects like the sliders were
dirty and the levels didn't respond until I tapped real hard, then
the display finally reacted(a Computer-Problem)...This is the most
affordable 16-bit,44.1-Khz,UnCompressed-Data unit out there...The
"BOSS Br-8" isn't even this good, but it has easier and fancier
features(with data-compression, which is bad)...
PLEASE DO E-MAIL ME WITH ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THIS UNIT, AND OTHER
RELATED RECORDING UNITS: TheRottonCoffin@Yahoo.Com

I'll keep it short and sweet. If you have ANY recording experience whatsoever, the D8 is pretty easy to warm up to. The only thing that gave me any trouble at all was formatting a jaz-drive to this unit. Other than that, it's a gem. The "undo" button is sweet when doing re-take after re-take.

This is a 16-bit 44kHz digital 8 track recorder. The recording quality is great if you understand the limitations of 16-bit recording. I mean, you're not going to get a sound that's as perfect as a 48 channel pro-quality studio with the D8. But, you can get about 75% there if you use a quality mic preamp, quality mics, and good cables. That's an amazing accomplishment for such a reasonably priced machine!
The built-in effects are great for a moderately priced unit. Plate reverb was my personal favorite. I recorded an entire 10-song CD on this thing, and the results were quite excellent for what it is. Like I said, 16 bits has it's limitations, especially on the high notes of a wailing guitar solo. But, I'm still very pleased with it's sound quality, overall.

No problems here. It's solid and reliable.

I had some questions and called a local Korg Authorized Service Repair Center. They were friendly and helpful and answered all my questions.

We recorded a CD that had Rock, Pop, Country, and Contemporary music.
The D8 did a nice job on all the songs, especially the acoustic-based stuff. The faders, buttons, and dials are easy to read, understand, and use. You can edit within one-thousandth of a second, which works out great when you copy a vocal to a second track, pan them both out, and delay the second track by a few milliseconds. It gives you a nice, full sound.
I like the D8 alot. It's a great unit for the money.