Zoom MRS-4 Digital Multitrack

I can't say a bad word about the simplicity of use. I read the manual online before I bought it and spent about 45 minutes learning it up. Once I had recieved it I instantly made a track with vox, bass and guitar and the only problems was me getting the input balance right. The other useful features were learned in 5 minutes when I needed them. I've had the MRS 4 for less than a week and I'm already really at ease with the thing.

I recieved this as a christmas present so I also recieved a shure vox mike and a 65W Laney bass amp. Vox was crystal clear, like real speech. I don't have a great basis for comment on guitars because the guitars I used to play on it were bottom of the range squiers which were getting old !$%!&$# Static Chaos $!(#&#_%!". The actual effects in built were solid and accurate though I felt that there should have been an external FX loop option as reverb, double, delay and EQ boosting was not enough for me (I could have used my brother's Zoom FX pedal). TIP: You need an adequate monitoring system for it, i.e. one that can handle highs and lows without horrific resonance [Don't use #20 PC speakers like I did].

I haven't been put in the position where the plugs have come loose etc. I guess it's because I don't drop the thing or kick the cables out of the sockets. I did have a problem with powering the damn thing though. When I recieved it I only had 4 nearly-dead batteries which powered it for 20 minutes. I managed to scrounge an AC to AC adaptor which was a big mistake (the MRS-4 accepts DC), using an AC prompted the unit to flick on and off mains power which was particularly bad for the unit and meant I couldn't record for long periods becasue the unit wasn't recieving enough power. I remedied this by buying batteries and subsequently buying a universal adaptor which was just as good as the recommended Zoom adaptor and #8 cheaper. The MRS sucks up batteries like a pump assisted mega-straw used by the world's fastest straw sucker 2002.

MRS-4 is an excellent piece of kit and for a 15-year-old like me looking to get some music recorded with myself and other people at a higher level, I think it's Ideal (The last recording I made was recording my voice, a bass and guitar through one long-range mike, it sounds like arse). I've used software mixers and tried every sequencing program possible and it seems that the only thing pratical and efficient enough is the MRS-4 for Dance tracks and rock and blues (my main recording base). I did have a look at a tascam tape multitracker but the facilities were far inferior. Poor effects, no metronome, Basic EQ managment and no copying and pasating functions (sorry, that sounds a bit like an anti-plug for tascam). I'm thoroughly pleased with the MRS-4 and although I don't have enough cash to buy a replacement if it were stolen, I'm sure that someone would gladly buy it back for me. Everyone I've asked about the MRS-4 has said nothing but praises for it's value and quality, and at #165 for such a great bit of kit I'm not at all surprised.

Oh my god- this is simply 'SIMPLE' to use just take my word and everyone else's here. Everything is designed with the user in mind.

Im mainy going straight DI from my Ovation double-neck, or maybe electric guitar via my GFX8. sometimes use the emulated DI from my Marshall TSL100 Jcm 2000 and also DI keys straight in. Excellent results everytime

Again- forget what everyone else days here about the jacks. C'mon I mean if your into music gear- surely you must have picked up a soldering iron before eh?- just simply whip the back off and solder/ warm the joints of the jack legs should they become faulty over time. Ive previously owed a zoom 1010 and 3030 which I encountered this problem with. However it was soon fixed. You can easily downscore a floor FX for being flimsy but c'mon, this unit is for sitting on tables and being tweeked with by your fingers not size your 12's.
Imcidently- the unit hasnt faultered in the sightest way yet

not needed to contact them yet- but may need to coz i keep encountering font problems in win 98, when using the zoom downloadable software- (The MRS4 Cars Manager & GFX-4 Patch editor)

I bought this unit after reading all the reviews on here, and if your like me and have used the tascams/ fostex 4-track tape recorders- then you'll love this. forget all the negative points that people have listed here e.g no fx loop etc- coz this unit is simply amazing and is everything I could of asked for. You will be laying down any demo/ideas you might have 10 times faster than using tape 4-track. Oh yeah and the last time I spent that long on tape 4-track, the tape chewed after 4 hours of work...... NICE!!!!!! THUMBS UP TO ZOOM ONCE AGAIN.

Really really easy, i'm pretty stupid and i got up and running within 20 mins.

ok, but my humbuckers sound poo. may need to fiddle a little more though

dodgy dodgy connections on the back of my Zoom mrt3 but this one seems ok so far

????not yet needed???

Very impressed but for 1 thing......
I recorded 2 songs with a drum track and bass line and ran out of memory. both tracks were only 4 mins long each and using the 32mb card supplied. Bit bad i thinks so will up the spec to 128mb.

That's my only moan, oh and i didn't make my voice sound any better.

Any Questions contact me on alex.stepens@thewebdevelopers.com.

You need to read the manual once. After that you're off to a flying start and don't really need the manual too much except for the odd in-depth tweak. I'd say don't try anything until you've read the manual. It's brief and to the point and will take you 30 minutes. You'll love the MRS4 once you've done that.

I'm recording backing tracks for my solo work. I use many ways to get sounds in to it. It handles everything I can throw at it. The MRS4 reproduces everything to excellent standards. Using the insert to maybe compress vocals or guitar. Using post eq to tweak tracks when mixing down. Using a mastering setting when recording to mini disk. It does it all. No problems bouncing. The position marker is excellent, especially when recroding backing vocals. Just mark the points and then skip between them. Dropping in is also a breeze! This is the best #200 you'll spend on home recording equipment - believe me.

No problems so far. Been using it intensively (many hours at a time) for over a month.

n/a

Excellent! I bought a few extra things to go along with it (mostly from Ebay) although I got thr MRS4 new. Bought a 128MB smart card and reader (for laptop - to back up to). I use a Spirit Folio Notepad mixing desk for vocals and drums. I actually use a Zoom 504II to record bass thru! Guitar is mic'd using 57 or 58 from a Laney 15 watt all valve amp. Also use an Alesis Microverb for drum fx to add a bit of space to the kit sound. Use a Boss DR-5 for midi driven drums/keyboards/organ etc. The MRS4 is just one of those excellent pieces of kit you come across every now and again that you find really hard to fault. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have about the MRS-4.

Within 30 minutes of owning this I was laying down tracks, the manaul is great, and everything is laid out so well you rarely need to look at it again.

I use a JMP1 one's speaker simulated ouput for guitars, and a roland u20, and boss dr5 for most everything else, they say its not CD quality, but you can't tell.

seems fine, people have been moaning about the jacks, but mine are fine, I suppose its how much you abuse these things

Never needed it

Exelent, if stolen I would get another no trouble

Well, the first time I tried using it I almost went crazy and wanted to send it back (you now how it is when you have no idea how to do something yet you think it simple enough to do anyways) but after going step by step with the manual I got a song going (without effects - that came on my third try) with two guitars, lead vocal and backup vocal. Later that day after looking through the manual though I was able to make an excellent rendition of my first attempt this time with effects and bass (bounce feature). I've been showing it off to casual listeners and they've thought I did it in a studio and also they were quiet surprised at the time i alloted the whole session...half an hour to record and mix "Thin Air" by Pearl Jam.
My only suggestion to new users (me...) would be to go through the manual step-by-step after that you'll be able to do it on your own, using the manual merely as a reference.

The sound is great! I'm not a sound technician so I'm probably not hearing something wrong but I don't care if it sound CD quality to me and everybody else I show than who really cares.
I'm using my American Series Fender Stratocaster either directly into the machine or I mic my Traynor CVX40 w/Cab and it sounds great also I use my mic for my vocals and that comes out crystal clear. Just make sure you've got your "imput senisivity" and the proper level and you'll have absolutly no problem.
The effects... hmmm... they get the job done, but then again I've never been a big fan of effects, nothing really spectacular hear, the reverbs are o.k... the delay and chorus are fine I guess... the cabinet simulators are fun and offer an interesting sound to you instrument.
The EQ is fine as well. I use a mixer when recording to the master so I don't use the EQ that much it's fine though and you'll get along just fine if you don't have a seperate mixer.
But this machine is made for recording and that is what it does best, like another person on this page said, it's effects happy, its not and effects machine, it a recorded!

It seems pretty breakable. No transporting this without a case of some kind. The jacks like everybody else has said suck big time!!!

Haven't dealt with them yet.

This is an excellent recording machine. It's great for all types of musics... well for me, I play a whole range of music from 50's folk and rock all the way to nineties grung and alternative (meany Nirvana, Pearl Jam ... Foo Fighter's etc...) none of that new 2002 garbage rap/metal or whatever they call that garbage now... sorry but its a disgrace to music!!! Go listen to some Cream!!! YEAH!!! or SOUNDGARDEN!!!! oh well, but back to the point. This thing is great the only thing you'll need to do is my a new memory card... i purchased the 128mb card which helps alot!!! The 32mb that it comes with is only good for 17mins of recording.

like stealing candy from a baby....

use it mainly through a nice pair of head phones and the sound is very nice.... had it running through a friends mixer and amp and it sounded superb but it was a v. expensive set up.

i had a problem with the copy/repeat function a few times but apart from that.....

?

check out the only zoom mrs-4 forum on the web!:

www.network54.com/hide/forum/213407

Ultra-easy. If you've ever had your hands on a multitracker, throw away the maual. You won't need it :)

this unit sounds amazing for it's price. I just record my songs for fun (guitar, pedal-steel, bass, drums, vox) and even with bounced tracks you get more than decent results. The microphone-preamps have a very big range so there is no instrument who's output is too little. Also, they are very silent, even if you have to amplify a lot.

The FX sound absolutely o.k., they are not editable but you can choose each fx in different levels. The EQs are not to write home about, but they're better than on tape-based multitracks.

Well, I'd expect this unit to be around me for quite some time, but the jacks and connectors plain suck. I expect to break some within a year if I'm not carefull.

I tried to download the cardmanager for MAC from the german website, wich did not work. Wrote a mail, they responded within one days and gave ma a new ULR, wich worked. Seems to be o.k.

For demos or just for fun it's perfect. I wouldn't record a real CD on it, but for other applications it's perfect. Sometimes I also get demos from songwriters to add some pedal-steel to it; so I record the track to the ZOOM, add pedal-steel, mix it, and send it back. It it was stolen, I'd buy it immediately again.
The only thing I'd love it to have would be an USB-port so you could easily back the card up.
I used to own a Roland 880EX and also had to sell it since I wanted to make music and not become a recording engineer first. This little unit is the first product where I thought it was designed to my needs. What do you want more...?

First confrontated with its User Interface,I thought this must be a pain to work with.Was reminded to the two button parametersalsa of the
eighties digital synths like DX7 or VZ1.
After trying it out my sorrows were blown away.The Menu and functional
buttons are optimized for a fast work.
There are still limitations for fast work,caused by its design,but the
engineers found a great way to eliminate the Parameter frenzy.
Congratulations to the Zoomstaff...
The manual is well done and explains each step very well.I missed only
some more examples how to work with it.Bouncing to two tracks is well
explained,but it would not have been bad to expain the bouncing to
one track for example.

For a device with a maximum samplerate of 32kHz,this machine sound
brillant and crispy clean.The AD/DA converters are of good quality.
The long Modus is also useable.It sounds a little bit like a track
of the third generation of bouncing from an MC Multitracker,so no
complaint.To avaoid aliasing a Low Pass Filter should be used at a
frequency of 8kHz.
The build in effects are useful.These are more Preset effects,but
that's OK,complete programmable effects would prepare a nightmare for
fast work.Parameterfrenzy !!!
The effects are choosen from a practical view and so they work in 90%
with satisfaction.
What I miss is an effects loop for external FX-devices.For me such a
loop could be more useful as the AUX In function.

Nevertheless a fine and marvelous Multitracker.
A lot of functions and sound for a small money.
Recommendable.

Still new,but it should handled with care.By normal useage nothing
will happen.This is not a stompbox....;-)

Not yet needed

I have choosen this one for several reasons.Firstly it can be used
with batteries.So it it a kind of Notebook to me.The soundquality is
very well for a device of this pricing.
Flexible in routing.Small and handy.
A practical device.I don't need a Software Harddik recorder for my
Mac for Demos.I hate this softwaresolutions.They are only working
well,if you buy additional hardware.To work with Mouse only is horror.

I still have my old Fostex280 Multitracker.A nice machine.With a lot
of knobs and routing possibilites plus Midi.Bouncing is the only problem,because it is based on MC.

I use the MRS for prerecording and bouncing.The quality will be the same,how much you will bounce.I bounce at least 64 tracks,to one track.Each song will have then at least 4*64 tracks.So totally 256
tracks.this one will be recorded to the Fostex280,wich works as
Master.
Why so many tracks ? Because I use the MRS4 mainly as a kind of analog Fouriersynthesizer.Experimental music....

And the Fostex as Master is used for quadrophnia sound.Plus its effects loops and amazing Mixingsection.Not to forget that tape
saturation produces a warm and compact sound.
The best of analog and digital world are used here in a practical way.

A great,helpful tool with a fair price.

A cheap digital Multitrack recorder.The manual explains all in a fine
way,so that the MRS4 can be used very quickly from scratch...

It has some limitations like the old,cheap Multitrackers of Fostex or
Tascam at that time,wich were analog with MCs.
Only can record two channels at once and so on.The User Interface
is simple but OK.
Fortunately this thing was designed only to record something.A lot of
functions you can find in the upper digital class are missing here.
And this is no con.Some people only want a device where they just
record to,without all this gimmicks of the digital Multitracking of
today.
Nevertheless the MRs4 has a lot to offer,wich the analog MTs had not.

A practical device,with the necessary things in recording,but not with
the overhyped functions like a Roland VS offers.

The sound quality is fine and good for digital devices.eventhough the
sampling rate is maximum at 30kHz.High class systems work with 96kHz.
But 96kHt is nothing new.Nearly 20 years ago,the Synclavier had already that resolution.

Nice gimmicks are the build in effects.This is Zoom.

For Demos this device is fine.But also only as simple recorder it
makes a good figure.I use mainly the bounce function.What a joy,if
compared to the old analog stuff.
also the MIDI out is very useful.start a drum machine or sequencer with it.No problem.
Besides all this oversized digital Multitrackers of nowadays,I was
waiting for such a rudimentary MT.Offering bouncing,a FX Loop,maybe
Midi,no need for FX build in(but nice that it has it).
And a good sound quality.And this has this machine.A good compromise
of 30kHz and playing time.In long mode you can work with 16kHz wich is
still acceptable for guitar demos.

From electronics I trust this machine,from the Hardware not.
Jacks can easily break,so a careful use is recommended.Use it in a fixed wiring and without any movement,then it will survive for years.
Handle with care.It is not a stompbox.

Never used

The MRS4 is a puristic Multitracker,with some nice-but not needed-
goodies.Important for me was a good sound quality(it has),bouncing
without loss(it does),Midi,battery usage-a kind of Music PDA-small
size.
Nice are the build in effects and tools.Also the EQ is not bad.
For my own needs,I don't need this EQ or effects,but they don't
disturb my work.

Great device,for a really small money.