Zoom MRS-8

It??s quite easy to use.
The usual menu scrolling.
Manual works fine, but never needed to look up a lot.
No steep learning curve.
Got it of ebay and just started to use it as a practice tool the same day.

Sounds very good, depends on what you compare it to:
A Computer with a high resolution interface sounds better, but the portastudios before, which this is meant to substitute sound worse.
The inbuilt effects are usable to get a quick sketch of what you have in mind. Incredible value.
The drum and guitar amp sounds are not really good, in fact quite annoying, but they work. See it as a very good metronome.
I use it with a POD, and I get sounds in the ballpark fast.

No use bringing it to a gig.
Not enough inputs to really use the result.
The price for the high amount of extras is weak construction.

Try getting a drum machine, a digital 8-track and an effects section in a small portable box for that price elsewhere, especially regading the used prices.

Never dealt with them, no failure since I got it.

I play rock and metal, but practice all kinds of music.
Bought this to work on songs when I travel or when the computer is not an option.
I play for 15 years and have a few strats and a guitar rack.
The great portability made me pick this device.
My favorite feature is the all-in-one aspect.
It??s a great tool for working out riffs, comping for practice or to get new grooves down. Wish I had this when I was younger.
I compared it to the cheap tascam and fostex recorders, and the built-in drumloops/drumcomputer won me over.

The MRS-8 is a digital recorder, but I can see why it's in the effects section of the reviews. The effects on this unit are the flagship, you can drastically change the sound coming into this thing. And there are a lot of effects. What do you expect, it's ZOOM.
The unit is very easy to use for recording, I didn't need a manual to figure out how to record stuff, I figured that out within minutes of turning it on and it was my first 8-track ever. I do have a problem programming the drum machines and bass machine, it's far too complicated and I wish they could've addressed this with their software for uploading and downloading files on and off the MRS-8. If you want a totally continuous beat throughout the song the drum machine is perfect for you. If you want different beats in the same song, you will need to learn to program the drum and bass machine. It's easier said than done.
As long as you've got a good, clean signal going in you could have a good clean signal in the end. I was very happy since most 8-tracks I've heard in the past add a noticable hiss sound in the background no matter how clean the signal going in is. Trust me, that doesn't happen with the MRS-8, which is a good thing.
The manual is helpful, but the unit itself is complicated in certain aspects.

You've got all your basic effects on here (flange, chorus, reverb, distortion, phaser, etc.) and some extras that act as EQ's and boost certain parts of the sound and cut back others. The effects are all grouped together into categories such as guitar, vocals, synths, etc., so it's easy to find effects that were designed for certain applications. Most of the effects are good, but others aren't so good. You have to browse through them to find what's right for you, naturally.
I use this for keyboards, vocals, and samples (like dialogue from movies). It gets the job done. I upload it to my computer once its recorded and do arranging from there.
Overall it sounds good unless you've got a noisy setup or a lot of peaks in your sounds. That's what the faders are for.

You can depend on it, for the most part. I don't use it often, to be honest, since I mostly use my computer for recording and arranging. It has its uses.
This thing IS my backup at a gig. If my DJ doesn't show up, I run this through the house system and do my vocals live.

Never dealt with ZOOM about anything and hope I don't have to. I cannot have an opinion on this.

I play industrial music and I am the sole producer of my work. Industrial music involves lots of repetition and this recorder is not suited to do loops, even though it is falsely advertised that it is. Using a computer is better suited for what I want to do with music.
Otherwise, it's just an 8-track with a lot of effects and it can definitely have its uses, no doubt about that. If you want a traditional 8-track with lots of effects, this is perfect for you. I bought it because I didn't have my computer at that time, and used it as a sketchpad until I got my computer back. Now I just use it for sampling and as a live gig backup.
I love some of the effects on this unit and use it as an effects pedal of sorts by plugging in a keyboard and running the headphones output into my computer via an interface.
I wish I had gotten the Zoom 4-track for half the price ($150). The main reason I got this is because I thought the drum machine would be my saving grace and I was very dissappointed.
If it got lost or stolen, I'd probably buy the 4-track, or just get a cheap MD-player or something.
I do like the marker feature very, very much. That makes up for almost the rest of the problems I have with this unit.
All in all, this product is advertised to do a lot that it can't do. If you want it for the drum and bass machine prepare to be dissappointed. If you want a good drum and bass machine, get an Electribe. Even if you're strapped for cash, if the drum/ bass machine is one of the main reasons you're looking at this unit, please reconsider. But for the sheer amount of effects, ability to record two tracks at once (one 1/4" input and one XRL+1/4" combo input), and overall ease of use (and size!), I actually like this unit a lot. I've truly got mixed feelings about this machine but in the end it's better than some 8-tracks I've seen.

Very easy to use. I repeat, very easy to use. If you want to just get started and record, you can figure out how to do that within 5 minutes.

But like ALL products in this category, you need to read the manual and play with it to figure out how to make it really do what you want it to do. If you go in with the expectation that you have to read the manual and use it to get better at it, then you will not be disappointed.

You will not find a small-sized, all in one recorder that doesn't require multiple functions from each button/dial/slider on the unit - because it simply doesn't have space to give each function it's own button. But that's why it is easy for you to slip in your backpack, right?

Is it "pristine sound quality," as is suggested in a "10" rating? Of course not. It's a $300 all-in-one recorder. Can you figure out how to get down quality sounds that you would be comfortable playing for others and using to develop songs? Absolutely.

If you want something you can put on the radio, go to a professional studio. Use this unit to get your songs/your band in position to go in and maximize that studio time.

So far so good. No moving parts - I'm always more concerned about a hard drive motor going bad than I am a smart card reader or a circuit board. But I'm going to make sure I don't drop it either

I never rely on manufacturer's support. They all suck.

Read the manual and go out on the internet. Tons of great info on this and units from other manufacturer's.

Again, understand you are spending $300 for an all-in-one unit, a HIGHLY portable unit. You need to think about how you are going to use it before you go out and buy it (or any other recorder) so you get the right thing. It all depends on what you want to do.

If you want more features/better sound more flexibility, whatever...then be prepared to pay more. For me, I couldn't ask for anything more out of a $300 recorder. I could ask, but I wouldn't find it, heh.

I think it???s VERY easy to use. I've had some home recording experience before; sold my Korg PXR4 for this one. The functions are well laid out. I also looked at the Korg D4 and the Boss BR600. The D4 did not offer much new. I think the MRS-8 has a better layout than the BR600, and the display is better to read. Those that keep complaining it???s too complicated are either lazy or stupid, or both of them, and shouldn???t try digital multitracking anyway. There???s a very helpful forum on Yahoo: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/zoommrs8/

For the features: here???s largely a comparison with the PXR4: on the plus side: 8 tracks, the lighted track on/off buttons, the XLR input, parametric EQ for all tracks, V-takes on the master, you can apply insert effects to tracks AFTER you recorded them, nice drum machine (programmable and played live), the FAST song translator, MIDI out, SD card up to 1 GB supported.

Flip side: No USB (alright, that was clear right away), no noise gate (damn), signal chain somewhat limited: you can have modulation or delay, but not both at the same time ??? can be solved with bouncing though. No Time Compression/Expansion, no pitch shift fine tuning. The copy track feature could be implemented better: you can copy a track piece, but you can???t specify HOW MANY TIMES, only once. The undo function has to be switched on explicitly. And naming the projects is clumsy: you can give them a specific name as addition to their PROJXXX name, where XXX is a number, but if you copy the contents of the SD card to your PC, you only see the PROJXXX names in the file browser, not the names you gave to them.

Since I???m primarily a bassist, I don???t use the bass machine. I like the battery operation that makes it very portable.

Some features can be recognized right away, some by studying the manual first, and some you run into during use. I???d say the positive experiences far outweigh the negative ones.

Great for a portable, a big step forward again. Very little noise, and bounced tracks come through clearly. I liked most clean guitar presets right away but the distortions took some tweaking for a warmer sound. Probably set up by a hardcore metalhead. I like the drums too, and you can apply effects too them. Now Zoom???s site speaks of ???optional uncompressed??? sound. When do you get that? The audio files are definitely compressed in some proprietary format (.ZAF: Zoom Audio Format??) judging by the file size.

It feels sturdy, the metal chassis plate surely helps. Be careful though with the connectors mounted on the printed circuit board; don???t pull the cables. I carry it with me in a laptop bag.

My MRS-8 appeared to have SD card access problems the first week I got it (end of March ???06). Contacted the shop and they advised me to send it to the European distributor in Berlin, while they would contact the service manager. Got it back repaired in one week, how???s that?? It has worked fine up to now.
The manual is OK and covers all features, it has a quick startup chapter; it isn???t the only one though that lacks a good tutorial. Live and learn??? The Card Manager tool from Zoom???s site works great too. Firmware updates can also be found there: http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/mrs8.php

This is the best portable machine for my home recording purposes so far. I even recorded a demo song already in our band???s rehearsal room. It gives more bouncing/mixing work than with a 16 track recording 8 lines directly, but I was happy with the result. I???m still learning???

Takes a while to get used to, just be patient. Use track sheets (always wise) and note down the settings. At this price point, a lot of the functions are going to option menu-driven (plastic knobs and buttons cost $$$). As you move up to the MRS-802, MRS-1608, more of the features get dedicated controls. I just started recording and my current plan of attack is to use the MRS-8 as a recorder and then if I run out of tracks, export to PC to mix/master. The bounce function works well and is easy to use...sorta (read the manual).

Up to 1GB SD cards can be used. This is pretty adequate for me. Card manager software (from Zoom site) is pretty simple and functional.

Internal mic is very good. Sub-par guitar FX. Good vocal and mastering effects. Drum machine is good and not too hard to program, just be patient with the manual. Sound capture is good. Use good outboard gear (guitar, mic, cables etc.). Don't blame the Zoom if the gear is crap. Drum machine is great for what I'm doing, FAST programming method is excellent. The built-in reverb, chorus, vocal and mastering fx are pretty good for what I'm doing (I'm a novice). But the guitar FX, are well...kinda sucky. I was hoping they'd be at least as good as my old 606 pedal, but they're not. I'm sure some good tones can be obtained via tweaking, but it's easier for me to record from my amp (VOX AD30VT) or external Zoom G2.1u pedal. Use the Zoom like a recorder/mixer and you'll be happy, don't buy it for the guitar FX. Vocal and mastering fx are good though.

Seems very solid so far for something this small. Dunno about the drum-pad, although it seems pretty solid.

Haven't had to call Zoom/Samson yet. But the high rating is because there's an EXCELLENT user forum online! Lots of helpful gurus out there.

Great bang for the buck if you're starting out. I suspect it's pretty damn good even if you're an experienced at recording---as long as you know the limitations.

For just jotting down an idea i'd give this an 8 or a 9 but things start getting a little tricky when you get into the drum pattern editting etc. Tho i'm sure with a bit of use, it'd soon prove no problem.

The rest of the functions are logical and make the best use of the buttons available. Unfortunately, having a scroll wheel AND direction buttons means that it's not always entirely logical as to which to use to select menus/parameters. Saying that, maybe there's a system which i've yet to discover.

The manual is long but detailed without being too overwhelming. You'll probably find you only need to read a few small sections to get going and further reading may only be required when needed.

The recording quality and effects are brilliant for a box of this size/prize. I presume Zoom have a large catalogue of algorithms that they use for all their boxes and in general, i'm usual more than satisfied with their recent products.

I'm still discovering new presets after 3 or 4 months. The fact that they can, potentially, be infinitly layered makes the only limit your imagination (tm).

as for the drum and bass sounds, these are relatively tacky beatbox style samples so only good for ideas or for a purposely idiosyncratic "cheap beatbox" sound. I also find that i rarely ever use the preset drum patterns (of which there are many) as, like all these things, they try to encompass all musical styles - presumably for those "today i want to branch out from emo into bossa nova" days - instead of offering a good range of the bread and butter beats.

It's still relatively new and it's not being tranported around anywhere. the unit feels sturdy and the main silver section is made from some sort of metal alloy.

i can't imagine anything physically breaking too easily.

As for the software, i'm sure it'll be mentioned on this page in future if it becomes a recurring problem.

N/A

This thing is very easy to use if you just want to jot down ideas. it still takes relatively long to get to grips with compared to a traditional 4 track but that's inevitable considering all the options available.

one trick i've found is that if you set the bounce source (in the system menu) to "Drum Track" or "Bass Track" then perform a bounce, you can play the pads and record them live. An obvious, if a little fiddly, solution but one that i didn't see mentioned anywhere in the manual.

For just jotting down an idea i'd give this an 8 or a 9 but things start getting a little tricky when you get into the drum pattern editting etc. Tho i'm sure with a bit of use, it'd soon prove no problem.

The rest of the functions are logical and make the best use of the buttons available. Unfortunately, having a scroll wheel AND direction buttons means that it's not always entirely logical as to which to use to select menus/parameters. Saying that, maybe there's a system which i've yet to discover.

The manual is long but detailed without being too overwhelming. You'll probably find you only need to read a few small sections to get going and further reading may only be required when needed.

The recording quality and effects are brilliant for a box of this size/prize. I presume Zoom have a large catalogue of algorithms that they use for all their boxes and in general, i'm usual more than satisfied with their recent products.

I'm still discovering new presets after 3 or 4 months. The fact that they can, potentially, be infinitly layered makes the only limit your imagination (tm).

as for the drum and bass sounds, these are relatively tacky beatbox style samples so only good for ideas or for a purposely idiosyncratic "cheap beatbox" sound. I also find that i rarely ever use the preset drum patterns (of which there are many) as, like all these things, they try to encompass all musical styles - presumably for those "today i want to branch out from emo into bossa nova" days - instead of offering a good range of the bread and butter beats.

It's still relatively new and it's not being tranported around anywhere. the unit feels sturdy and the main silver section is made from some sort of metal alloy.

i can't imagine anything physically breaking too easily.

As for the software, i'm sure it'll be mentioned on this page in future if it becomes a recurring problem.

N/A

This thing is very easy to use if you just want to jot down ideas. it still takes relatively long to get to grips with compared to a traditional 4 track but that's inevitable considering all the options available.

one trick i've found is that if you set the bounce source (in the system menu) to "Drum Track" or "Bass Track" then perform a bounce, you can play the pads and record them live. An obvious, if a little fiddly, solution but one that i didn't see mentioned anywhere in the manual.

It is easy to use, and the manual is well written in most places. It has a quick-start section to get you up-and running easily. I'd recommend getting a 1GB SD card. Transferring to PC is easy.

The sound quality is excellent. It records at 44.1 kHz, 16-bit. It has excellent effects including vocal, guitar, reverb, etc. The built-in condenser mic is good: I found it to be crisper than a Shure SM-58.

No problems so far in one and a half years.

They were very helpful when I e-mailed them. They took a long time to reply on one occasion, but on most occasions they replied quickly.

I love this machine. It's compact and enjoyable to use with nothing annoying about it at all. It's rich in features, including the ability to play back a number of songs in sequence, which was really useful for a live performance I did last year. It's great value. I would like more tracks, but instead I export to PC to create my final mix using Audacity (which is free). This machine is excellent value-for-money, and I would definitely recommend it.

Easy to lay down a track, harder to change drum beats mid song or create drum sounds.

Altering sounds is simple, lot of effects as well, from creating a bass guitar sound to different mic settings to guitar distortion etc

Manual can be difficult to follow for advanced features but those with time will fathom it out.

Very good, this is my first time with multi-track but the mic which is condensor mic is amazing. Picks up everything you hear, clear crisp and doesn't miss a thing. I'm even more suprised with it since i bought SM57 Shure Mic after to use with the MRS-8 and the guitar sound acoustic and electric is clearer and sounds better with this mic than the SM57. It's made me want to buy a proper condensor mic.

Im using a VOX Valuetronix amp which i play on low setting using the power level and place the MRS-8 infront of it, sounds like i'm rocking out even though im not. Acoustic i just place it fairly near. The only difficult sound is vocals as the mic has no filter so too much exhale of air will be picked up.

Again very good. For someone who wants to get a song down quick this is the machine. There's no messing, switch on press new project, press mic button, then select track & record. The mic being so clear and responsive makes laying down an idea simple and can suprise you with the end result.

It has twice in 8 months not recorded what i played since it froze up and went bit crazy the other day when the card was nearly full. But considering i've recorded probably 80 songs since i've had it, then it hasn't been a problem.

Excellent choice for someone wanting to capture songs. Especially guitar players. Just playing one of the drum beats and playing along has helped my timing and aided me in creating many songs.

The Zoom MRS-8 is a 4-mono 2-stereo track recorder for a total of 8 Tracks.
It has a Built in drum machine with 5 drum kits and a bass machine as well.
Many many effects Zoom quality! The Manual is pretty good! Better than a roland manual!
I have the most recent OS. Editing and such is pretty easy after a read through the manual.

I use the MRS-8 with a Parker P-38 guitar with a Duncan JB and vintage rails as well as a Fernandes Sustainer. Also I use a Korg Micro Korg and a couple of Dynamic mics.

It provides a pretty nice clean signal(It records at 16 bit 44.1 uncompresed), very little noise.

I like the effects as well, I have been a zoom user for a long long time.

I havent lost a track or song at all, I would trust it with my work with no back up!

never delt with Zoom directly but have delt with there reps. Very nice and profesional!
I have never had a Zoom product die on me yet!

I play rock to jazz to metal and electronic type stuff.
I have played for 11 years.
I have a peavey Classic 30 amp and few effects and the above listed gear the Zoom works well with it.

If it were lost or stolen I would Buy two more just in case!
I do wish it had a USB port or a CD burner.

After a 4 year slump of not making much music it has lit my creative fire again. So it does help me make music!

Get one it well worth it and so easy to use!!!!

It had a good base of guitar/bass sounds and effects as well as hundreds of drum patches and fills. Recording wise, it was a bit tricky to input the drum sounds. Overall the effects are all very easy to get around to although I'd like a little more reverb in some of the guitar sounds (you can do that but I haven't figured it out yet).

Although there aren't as many analog knobs in there editing is pretty easy. The buttons and knobs are really straight forward. You can edit the panning, eq, levels etc...

The manual walks you through the general features as well as gives you a "dummies guide" to recording in the the earlier pages. On the later parts you get the specifics (down to the last dot). If you don't like things to get too complicated stop reading after the first few pages but you definitely will miss out on a lot of features.

You can get software and updates free on the zoom website. They give you the software number, download instructions etc...Very easy.

I'm using an american standard strat, an epi elite les paul custom as well as a gib sg special.

There is practically no noise. Since its all 24 bit its a matter of garbage in garbage out. So take the time to check your line signal (cables, levels etc...). If all is well, everything will come out clean and crystal clear.

It has one of the best "clean" sounds I've ever heard. The distortion's ok-they give you a lot of sounds to play around with although some sound too processed. I'm sure you can get a great tone if you'd take the time to edit the settings.

It seems pretty solid and you can use AA batteries if you don't have an adaptor (which I suggest you buy). I think you could plug this into a PA system without any trouble but I don't see any reason why you'd wanna do that since its a lot easier to just bring cd copies of your songs.

I haven't dealt with them.

As a recorder, it's the best sounding in this category. Getting started is very easy. I was able to record an entire song in half the time it takes me to record on similar machines. For the guitarist this can do it all. You can input bass and drums on the fly using the key pads and it has a built in mic for vocals. Hell it even has vocal effects! Besides that, there's also a built in chromatic tuner (no excuses). And the best part is you can transfer data by sd card (the same ones that come with celphones). With the card manager (available free on zoom online) you can tweak the track settings on your pc and convert the files to wav format.

Another cool feature is the V-Take. Here you can have up to 10 Virtual Takes from track 1 all the way to mixdown. Every V-take acts as a virtual track with its own settings and sounds. Which means you can listen and choose from many versions on all tracks before mixdown and even choose which mix you want in the end. I can't begin to describe how helpful it is to be able to pick from one take to another.

I've owned a tascam 4 track tape recorder as well as a used 16 bit digital 8 track by fostex and they simply can't compare with the sound
quality, features list, convenience and ease of use of the Zoom. Besides all that, this thing is small enough to fit into a guitar's gig bag-now that's convenient!

If you want to upgrade from tape to digital or if you want better quality than 16 bit (there is a difference) then you should definitely check this out. If you're simply in the market for a recorder, the Zoom is The Best Way to Go!

It took me just a little time to take my first tracks. In spite of it's small size, I hardly miss any keys or knobs. Enough dedicated buttons for functions like marker, punch in/out,...
The manual is ok. I like the FAST method for input of the drum track: i.e. "(100) x 8 + (102) x 4" means: repeat pattern #100 8 times, then repeat pattern #102 4 times. And so on. Very easy, to produce the drum track in a quick manner.

No, this is no high-end studio. But I didn's expect such one. For it's size, this box has an excellent audio quality. Effects are great. There's only one thing I don't like very much: the high tom of the drum set. But... hey, it's just a 370,- EUR box.

I own it since a couple of days. No problems up to now.

Never dealt with them.

This is exactly what I was looking for: compact, good sound, easy to use and cheap. No other product in this price range (Boss BR-864 costs >500,- EUR). I'm really happy with it!

It's not easy to use because there are only a few buttons for a lot of functions to edit. So many buttons have multipe meanings. For some functions you have to look at the manual. The manual is ok.
The display should show more informations.

The sound is quite good. No hiss except for some effect settings. The effect quality is ok too. There are about 500 drum pattern with very good quality.

No problems until now but it could be built more solid (especially the dial wheel...)

No experiences...

I only miss an USB port. You can download software to get WAV-files out of the data of the sd card (not yet tried).
It's very good for recording guitar and bass tracks at home to catch some ideas.
For the price it's fine.

Very intuitive - I only had to open the manual a couple of times to figure out the less common options.

I was spoiled by a 24bit/48KHz home studio before reverting to this unit but I am very satisfied with the quality - I couldn't ask more from a battery powered unit.

It's new - too early to tell

No need for them so far...

This unit replaced my home studio as I had to move to a rented flat while building my new home and there was no room for the equipment. The best thing about this unit is the ease and portability. Can't beat these two features.. Drum and bass unit is fine but I miss the real time fill feature of my old DR-770 and SR-16. I will just have to get used to the Zoom way of doing things. The FAST method is a good alternative, though. Effects are no news as far as Zoom units go - nothing really changed since my long gone 2020 but there is a good selection covering most bases. The recorder section is easy to operate.
I miss the MIDI IN and MIDI track options (available with higher end Zoom units). A full MIDI file support and GS/GM sound module would have made this unit perfect. But for the money - it's brilliant.