Zoom R16 16 Track SD Card Recorder Interface and Controller

Product Information

The next step in my use of R16 is reading samples through the machine, I'd previously edited in Reaper and imported into the SD card R16. Low (amp out), guitar (amp out), battery (2 + 1 C414 Beta52), keyboard (line out), microphones (SM58) ... everything goes. Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. is a subsidiary of Meta Platforms, Inc. based in the USA. It cannot be ruled out that your data collected by Facebook will also be transmitted to the USA.

I only use very little effect outside of the reverb. It not seem that bad. In any case, in the context of use as I do, it seems more than enough. There's a flexibility of working here that's simply not available in any other single piece of gear in this price range" The stripped down nature of a simple portable unit such as this inevitably means compromises have to be made with its design. It would have been easy for Zoom to add dedicated buttons for every function but that would have resulted in a much bulkier unit. The R16 comes bundled with a copy of Cubase LE 4 for Mac or PC, now slightly outdated but still a worthwhile introduction to working with a DAW and easily capable of carrying out the editing tasks the R16 omits. Templates are supplied for Cubase that make it even easier to drag and drop your recordings into a new project.The reason I don't feel too inclined to dwell on the R16's shortcomings as a mixer is that it is so clearly designed to be integrated with a computer recording system. Once you've installed its ASIO driver, you can hook up a USB cable from R16 to PC (assuming you have a USB2 port on your computer, which almost everyone does nowadays). The R16 will happily take its power from the USB connection where it's available, and when it detects such a connection, gives you the option of starting up in Card Reader or Interface modes. Assuming you actually want to work on material recorded to the R16, you'll need to use the Card Reader mode first, so that you can transfer the necessary files over to your computer's hard drive. For some reason, all R16 projects appear to the computer as 'PROJ001' and so on, regardless of any name you've given them within the R16, but confusion is unlikely unless you've got lots of them on a single card. You can't import Projects themselves into a DAW, but it's easy enough to line up the audio files — helpfully, even takes that were started halfway through a Project are automatically extended to the Project start.

The drivers are up to date for windows 8.1, so it's still a relevant product in 2014. However, there's no news for Linux, the hardware isn't generic, so it isn't recognized as a sound card (however the R16 is perfectly recognized as a player, so you can import your recordings and mix them with Ardour).

I've hauled this to gigs, live shows, bathrooms, and my home studio. It works anywhere you do. The onboard mics are really nice though I dont use them as much as I should. They are clean and warm with plenty of headroom/volume. I got it for cheap (210 €) in December 2013 so I am quite satisfied, money quite impressive report. Mixer: It can be used for emergencies. Bad accessibility to the EQ and effect controls. The reverb is not bad , the delay is okay, but the rest is to be used only in an emergency. The EQ is okay.

The Tascam products tend to record a bit brighter then the Zoom products I've had (H4n, R16, H2), which tend to have a warmer sound that I prefer. In general, the work on the Zoom requires great attention because of multifunction buttons, cascading menus, etc.. Handle in peace! Algorithms: 9 (CLEAN, DISTORTION, ACO / BASS SIM, BASS, MIC, DUAL MIC, STEREO, 8 x COMP EQ, MASTERING) On the whole, though, Zoom have got the balance between size and features just about right. The design of the R16 ensures that it's both portable and functional. The R16 also offers microphone simulations (U87, SM57, C414 and MD421) and all sorts of effects. The list is very long and it would be boring to name them all — let’s just say it provides 390 presets for 135 effects. It’s possible to use eight compressors and eight EQs simultaneously, not bad!One can even use the faders to control the DAW, but as they do not the motor is not necessarily practical.

Built-in microphones: Omnidirectional condenser microphones Gain: -50dBm to +4dBm continuously variable The quality of the effects is generally perfectly acceptable, although I don't think many people would bother using them in preference to the plug‑in effects in a modern DAW. The EQ is clean, but rather anaemic, and although the dynamics are transparent, setting them up from the two‑line LCD is hard, and the signal path is fixed (high‑pass filter precedes compressor/limiter precedes EQ). More useful are the amp simulations and so on, which can either be recorded with the input signal or applied only in the monitor path, allowing you to monitor the wet signal and record the dry one for later re‑amping. It is very light (plastic) very portable, buy the bag sold is useful for protection during transport. I use this for direct plug in recording then transfer it to REAPER or GARAGEBAND for editing and adding effects, EQ, pan, synth sounds, etc...The stereo output on the console of our rehearsal studio on branch (to amplify the voice) and records everything you want with the system, without having to disconnect any cables. USB: [B type (USB2.0 High-Speed compatible)] Audio Interface / Control Surface or Mass Storage Class operation [A type (USB2.0 High-Speed compatible)] USB Host capability The R16 offers very little in the way of editing functionality and focuses more on mixing, which we think is a wise decision on Zoom's part. Recordings made with the R16 are stored as 16- or 24-bit 44.1kHz WAV files and the results offer very good sound quality. The preamps are nothing to write home about but acceptably clean and quiet for a unit at this price level. Personally ergonomics came to me quite easily after passing through the manual, I can have it be that the MPC makes me drool ... The R16's real strength is in a recording role... If the R16 did only that it would be worth the asking price, but the additional audio interface and software controller make it an absolute bargain"