Zoom MRS-4 Digital Multitrack

Once you get used it, you'll learn the menu system and it gets very easy to use. But it's a little confusing at the start. It could really use more buttons and knobs on the front to make it easier. As it is, there are two menu trees and you have to remember which tree contains the option you're looking for.

Also, the manual is fairly good, but it's rather vague when it comes to how to bounce tracks. I still haven't figured out how to do it, and if you can't bounce tracks, the virtual tracks are useless because there's no way to get them to a primary track where they can be used during mixdown. I'm sure if I spent some time working on it I could figure out how to do it (4 tracks is enough for me so I don't worry about it), but it's annoying that it isn't explained better.

Another complaint is that when I first bought it, I opened the manual and tried to record something. It wouldn't work because there's already a demo song on the card, and it's write protected. There is a piece of paper in with the literature that explains this, but I didn't happen to see it and spent a good hour getting frustrated because I couldn't get it to work. It's an easy enough matter to turn off the write protect and delete the song, but not so easy when you've only got 5 minutes of experience working with it.

I use this for recording my guitar, Fender American Strat, through an amp sim, and then into the MRS-4. I just can't give it high enough marks in the sound category. I was using a casette based 4-tracker before I bought this, and the difference is like night and day. There's no background noise at all, and punch in and out is utterly quiet. Using the mixdown controls allows you to get sound quality that's as good as I hear on professional CD's. There are several very useful EQ controls for mixdown, both for each channel individually and all channels globally, which really take the sound to the next level. You can even put a bit of delay on the rhythm track and it sounds like you did a perfect job of double tracking it. The other effects and stuff aren't very good but I don't really use them anyway, and for this price that's not a complaint.

I wouldn't go dropping this thing on the floor.

Never used it.

I love this little box and use it all the time. One of the best features is that I can hook it up to my drum machine via MIDI. No need to waste a track for the bass and drums because the drum machine starts playing automatically at precisely the right moment. I use it for practicing all the time as well. You can record a track, loop it, and practice along as it plays over and over. Minor complaint: to set times for things like loops, or punch in/out, you actually have to set the elapsed time of the song, down to the 1,000th of a second. Get out your calculator. It would have been much easier if they gave you the option of using the beginning or ending of each bar as a reference point.

You need to get a bigger memory card, the one that comes with it only has 16 minutes on it (4 tracks X 4 minutes). I got a Viking 128 MB smart media card from Amazon for $22.00 ($32.00 - $10 rebate), and it's worked perfectly.

Very easy to use. The manual is basically ABC 123 literally walks you thru each step.

Sound is great.Effects are relative to what you are trying to do. Me personally, I try to take my equipment as far as it will go. People tend to expect the machine to do everything for them. Well, if the artists you like did that everything would sound the same. Remember, the reason you probably like those artist is because of the sound they have. Believe me when I say that most artists get they're on sound by tweaking their equipment. If you expect the machine to create all the subtleties for you then your sounds are going to sound generic. Always explore and be creative. The machine is just a tool.Effects are only as could as the user.

very dependable and portable. It makes for easy transport for spurr of the moment recordings. The battery feature is what intrigued me. Me and the fellows can record anything anywhere anytime. For heaven's sake, it fits in my backpack. Never had the unit fail me. 4 years strong, 6 albums and several mix tapes but, I guess it would not hurt to have a backup.

Hip Hop is my first love but, there is no realm I wont try.I have been playing for more than 10 years. Gear: 2 Technic 1200 TTs, 1 Pioneer cdj 1000, Vestax pro 05 mixer, Zoom rythmtrack 123, Zoom mrs4 multitrack, Zoom 224 Sampletrack, Roland phantom keyboard, Mac G5 with Protools, Shure condensor mic, Panasonic powered condensor mic, Sony headphones. I would probably upgrade to a Zoom recorder with a built in cd burner. I love the price to worth ratio. Zoom packs alot for the buck. Yes I did compare to others like the Boss and Tascam versions. I chose Zoom over others because the user friendly manual I experienced with the Zoom rythmtrack 123. The Philosophy of Zoom's manuals has yet to surpassed. I wish I had Protools HD.Very helpful in making music.

This thing is so easy to use, have a flick through the manual and you know it all, it's simplicity is similiar to a casette four track just turn it on, plug in the instrument, select the track and press record and off you go! It's that simple

The sound quility is 32KH cd quility is 44KH but it's acctually a scientific fact that the human ear can't tell the difference, the tone is always good whatever setting and the effects sound great! I use mine with a pair of cheapy earphones and it still sounds good.

This machine is very reliable and I have had no problems so far.

Havent needed to use it yet.

overall this rules in it's price range if your starting in a band like I am or just want to record it's perfect nothing else matches up to it's simplicity. (Oh and the built in tuner is great!)

Just got the Zoom Mrs 4 and began recording almost immediately. I use background tracks as my music (rather than live instruments such as a guitar) and had some difficulty getting the sound vibrant (as it was originally recorded on my CD). After playing around with the levels and coming to the realization that headphones should be used to listen (rather than an amp which sometimes causes feedback and a tinny sound), I eventually got the sound quality to be just about as good as the original. My mic is amped and the voice quality is superb! The more you use this little device, the more you figure it out.

Again, the more you use it, the more you realize how to set the inputs. In the beginning, I would have rated this unit about a 3 but as I figured out what knobs and push buttons did, the sound soon became fantastic.

Too new to know.

Called two times. First time I got through to support in about 15 minutes and the second time someone called me back.

I bought this unit to do basic recording. I have premade CD's which where created in a studio for me. I simply have to take those sound tracks and overlay my voice onto them. This unit allows me to do just that. If I need to re-record a particular part, I simply do the old punch in and out. It is simple and works quite well. I was considering purchasing a larger Zoom such as the 1608 but decided to start with this one (as I am brand new to recording digitally). I think that this unit will do just what I need and probably won't bother purchasing a larger, more complicated Zoom. I suggest that you purchase a 128 MB Smart Card because the 32 MB Card that comes with it is just not large enough to effectively store the number os songs I'd like to store.

This is very easy to use. Bouncing is a bit more tricky but overall the interface is easy for a fairly small device.

I am mainly using this with voice mic and acoustic guitar for recording song ideas and uploading to my PC. Sound is good enough for what I'm doing. I bought a 64MB media card to replace the one that came with it, but if you use all the tracks 128MB is better.

It's plastic. Need I say more.

No need yet.

I specifically bought this unit because it did not include allot of preset effects and other junk. I was just looking for a clean and simple 4 track recorder. I have had my MRS-4 for about a year and I love it. One thing I wish it had was MIDI input capabilities. I just bought Cakewalk's Home Studio so I am hoping I can use the MIDI output from the MRS-4 with it. Also it could use a travel case.

This thing is really easy to use. Except the instruction manual doesnt really make much sense, i still dont know how to bounce the tracks on it. So that brought the score down a little bit, but apart from that very simple.

You actualy get a really good sound out of the recordings on it, make sure your microphones arent too cheap though otherwise you'll get some really crackely guitar, bass & cymbols. I suggest to never plug a gutiar straight into it, it sounds terrible, & the onboard effects dont help it either, they are also terrible, but this doesnt bring the score of it down really. The actualy recording quality is near CD quality. But seems to have trouble recording a 'fat' guitar tone overdrive, comes out quiet bad, but overdrive with alot of treble sounds great on it.

Well, the buttons seem ok. But the outer case is made of plastic, if dropped it or transported it without its box i think it would end up in peices. As everyone else has said the input jacks are really dodgy. The headphone jack is already on its way out on mine, but the actualy 'input 1 & 2' are fine at the momment.

For such a cheap price for a digital recorder you cant give it a bad overall score. It isnt as dodgy as some other zoom products ive encountered. The card supplied with it is only 32mb big though, which gives you around 4 minutes recording if you are using every track. Best thing to do is upgrade to a bigger card, preferably 64mb or 128mb. But overall a good product from Zoom for the price.

This unit is fairly intuitive, but I do refer to the manual often. The manual is simply and logically written, so you can be up and recording quickly.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Special with P-100 pickups with a Behringer V-amp 2 or Zoom 505II for guitar sound. I use the Zoom MRT-3 drum machine, which works spendidly with the MRS-4. This unit has pointed out that my mikes are lacking in quality, so I usually run everything direct.
The onboard effects are average, but usable, particularly for mixdown. The EQ works well. This unit is dead quiet...bounce away to your heart's content with no added noise or loss of clarity. As far as the sampling rate, I would never have known unless I read it. Not being a tech-head, all I know is that the end product sounds great.
The drawback for me is the LCD display. For me, at least, I have a much easier time with a graphical display of what I am doing (like with EQs) instead of numbers on a screen. So I invested in Cakewalk Sudio Pro software, and now record to the MRS-4 and then load it to the computer to mix it down. But I will say that the recordings I made solely with the MRS-4 were very nice indeed.
A note about levels: if you are accustomed to pushing levels on your analog recordings into the "red" to get that punch, don't do it with the MRS-4 or you will be disappointed. I have learned (the hard way) to never, never let my levels get into the peak area. If you have to run the onboard limiter, I would advise it. If you peak your levels, you will have a nasty distortion to contend with. This has been the number one key to getting nice recordings in my experience with the MRS-4.

I have only experienced one unexplained data "crash", and lost a little work. Considering I have recorded for hundreds of hours on it, I would say it is very reliable.

I have never dealt with the company.

My experience with the Zoom MRS-4 has been great. Of course, the more I use it, the more I learn, and the quality of recordings just keeps going up. If you want to hear some recordings I have made, go to http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/kenevansproject.htm
All of the recordings on the site were made with the MRS-4, except one studio track that I put on the MRS-4 and added some guitar parts.
I love this unit's ease of use, sound quality and reliability. The only change I would make would be to move up to a 12 track Zoom or something when I finally wear this one out. Contact me if you have any questions at all about this unit.

I bought this about a year and a half ago, moving up from a Tascam tape unit. It's extremely easy to use. It's intuitive enough to record multi-tracks without reading the manual, though the manual is helpful in deciphering smallish LCD display and working with the more advanced features.
I've not used this with the ST-123 drum machine but would like to see how they interact. It would be nice if the machine had XLR inputs, but it's a mild consolation that you can record on it's 2 inputs simultaneously.

At home I can record straight from my pedals into the unit with fine results. In the studio, I have two amps mic'ed that run into the unit, also with great results. Even though it records a hair shy of CD-quality, you can make very nice recordings. I'm not a fan of the internal amp models, but it's probably a nice feature for some.

I keep a couple of 128MB storage cards around to swap out when one fills up and they're much nicer to work with than cassettes. You can master tracks directly on the 4-track or use a card reader to export your card data as a WAV or AIFF to your computer as well. A bonus of this is that you can save each individual track you write. So, you can record 4 tracks, copy them to your computer, erase 3 of them and then keep recording on the machine, ad infinitum. You can then assemble the pieces on your computer (Apple's Garageband, for instance). It's a great, if slighly inefficient way to layer tracks without bouncing and losing your stereo panning.

It's holding up strong for now, but I wouldn't drop it. When it dies, if that ever happens, I'll stick with the Zoom line, but move up to something bigger-- maybe their 12 track.

I wish Zoom made a version of their card reader software to run in Mac OSX instead of the OS9 shell. The file format they use is proprietary, so make sure you can run the software before you rush out to buy a card reader.

I don't know why Musician's Friend or Guitar Center won't sell Zoom products, since they seem every bit as good as any Fostex I've ever used. A friend of mine was switching to digital and bought the fostex MR-8, which is a decent machine, but using all 8 tracks burns through your media in one song. You can actually fit a decent amount of material on a 128MB card with the MRS-4 which is important if you're using it as a scratchpad. Mine fits in my guitar case and comes along to each practice to record thoughts as they happen.

It's a well-thought out tool that has great creative potential. And having one means never having to rewind a tape ever again.

es muy facil obtener un buen sonido, el manual de instrucciones es muy claro y editar las pistas es muy simple. sinceramente con solo leer el manual un par de veces puedes dominar todas las funciones.demasiado facil de usar.

tengo una telecaster, un big muff, un phase boss y un ampli marshall, pero generalmente grabo las guitarras directo a la entrada del mrs4 ya que no tengo microfonos decentes, pero el sonido que obtengo es bastante bueno. en general estoy contento con el sonido, lo que si no he logrado es sacar un buen sonido de distorsion pero se que se puede con un buen mic. los efectos que trae incorporado creo que son lo justo para dar una idea, pero siempre sera mejor un pedal. al final uno graba las pistas y despues las trabaja con algun programa como cool edit y el resultado es bastante bueno.

Las perillas plasticas que tienen son lo peor, da la sensacion que en cualquier momento se rompen, igual con las entradas de linea, yo conozco otros productos zoom y tienen el mismo problema. el resto esta piola, solo hay que cuidarlo un poco mas y si se transporta llevarlo en su caja.

no creo que aca en chile haya algun servicio tecnico autorizado, espero que no se me eche a perder por que no sabria donde mandarlo a arreglar.

Me gusta harto la musica lo-fi por lo que no soy muy exigente con el sonido y con la pureza que deba tener, eso se los dejo a los metaleros. me lo compre hace un a?o y creo que no le he sacado ni el 20% de su capacidad. si me lo robaran me compraria el mismo sin duda. me gusta el tama?o, el hecho de tenerlo en tu pieza y poder grabar cualquier wevada que se te ocurra en el momento, no me gusta que las entradas de linea esten por detras, deberian estar al frente para un acceso mas facil. no conosco otras portastudios. deberia venir con una tarjeta smartmedia mas grande, la que trae no sirve para nada, tambien un transformador, aunque son baratos pa comprar. me haservido para hacer musica y para grabar las ideas que van saliendo en el camino, yo recomiendo grabar y despues trabajar las pistas con cool edir u otro programa y con eso estay listo, pa que mas.

I have access to a Roland VS-1680 and it is extremely difficult for me to use. Too many buttons to push before you can begin recording. The MRS-4 is so easy to use. After bringing the unit home, I was recording MULTIPLE tracks in less than 20 minutes.. this includes patching in and out and using the built in various effects.. NO JOKE. The manual takes the guess work out of operating the unit. No assumptions are made at all, meaning that you do not need any previous experience with any recorder to get instant results. I even sync it up with the Zoom RT-123 drum machine. Nothing could be finer for what I need!!!!!

I play vintage Ibanez basses and have a Dean 12 string bass. This unit takes all that my basses gives it. It puts out what you put in. The MRS-4 is not noisy at all. The effects are not the best sounding at all, but I did not buy the unit for its effects. I bought it for what it is.

I must say that this unit is reliable, at least for what I use it for: a device to capture musical concepts. This unit never failed me nor powered out for reason(s) unknown to mankind. I would have no trouble using this unit live without having a backup device.

I have never had to contact their support team, so I have no idea if they are helpful.

If I ever lost this unit, I would buy another immediately. No questions asked.

I am very good at coming up with melodies/rhythms/ideas and forgetting them. NOT ANY MORE!!! This unit is so easy to use, that it takes me longer to plug in the instrument cable to the unit and to my bass before setting up the MRS-4 to record.

I only wish a larger sized media card accompanied this unit. It takes not much time to fill up the card which comes with the unit. And the cards are not cheap at all.