Zoom MRS-4 Digital Multitrack

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.....

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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.

Fairly easy to operate once you get your head around it. The manual (like every other Zoom manual I've seen) is very concise and informative.

So far I have only used the unit in Hi-Fi mode, as opposed to Long Play, which is of poorer quality. Crystal clean recording, provided you don't get any buzzes from your guitars etc. The effects sound great, even if there are no tweakable parameters. From a guitarists viewpoint, it would be nice to have a few effects aimed at guitarists, though for something in it's price range, its only a minor gripe.

Well it's a little to early to see how well it lasts. Still very handy for capturing takes, wherever you may be.

Too new.

I have recorded many styles with this unit, but the results are always the same - great. It's a great thing for ease of use, and it sure beats tape based recorders any day. I would strongly recommend the purchase of a larger Smart Media card, as the one that comes with it doesn't allow for much recording.

The new Zoom MRS-4 MultiTrack Recording Studio. Incredibly easy to use. I owned one of the Roland VS840EX digital workstations until I sold it last year because it was an absolute nightmare to use. It was the most creativity-stiffling piece of gear I've ever owned! Getting to know this little MRS-4 is less complex than an analog tape 4-track deck. You simply turn it on, and press record. The manual is excellent.

I'm using this to record light Jazz with my wife who plays piano. We need to record piano, bass, drums (the Zoom MRT-3 in our case), and various guitars. The sound quality is as good or better than the Roland VS840EX. The Roland units certainly have far more variety of features and effects, but the MRS-4 has excellent quality effects, though they are few and somewhat limited in controllability (then again, you won't be spending the better part of the day getting all 10 parameters of a given effect to sound right). You get great Compression, Two band Parametric EQ, great Reverbs, ok Choruses and Delays, etc. Has Cabinet Simulators for guitar, but no preamp sounds. Has a built-in Tuner and Metronome, Auto Punch, A/B Repeat, etc.

Just bought it a few days ago, so I don't know. The input jacks themselves are nice and tight for inserting cables, but the way they are fastened to the chassis or PCB doesn't seem as solid. I would be careful whenever connecting/disconnecting cables incase the jacks are soldered to a PCB, or they may break from the board over time. I find that this is basically how everything is manufactured these days, so it's not uncommon. Other than this, everything seems solid enough.

I've been playing guitar for 23 years, and like many styles. This unit seems to have everything necessary to create excellent sounding demos. It has 32 "virtual" tracks (tracks 1-4, plus 7 "virtual" tracks for each), for multiple takes on a given track. There are limitations such as there are only two inputs for a maximum of 2 simultaneous recording inputs. However, this unit has a MIDI output to connect to a drum/rhythm machine, so you don't have to waste a track for synchronization. Also, there are two auxillary inputs where you can route the drum machine's stereo outputs back into the MRS-4, which then goes to the master fader so no external mixer is necessary. I highly recommend the new Zoom MRT-3, because it's was designed just for the MRS-4. If this were stolen, I'd run right out and buy another. Because of its simplicity and ease of use, it's great for times when you're suddenly inspired and just want to pick up an instrument and record. Again, it's not a $1,000.+ unit, but it's an excellent value for people like me who just want to create quick demos and record sudden inspirations.