Zoom R16 16 Track SD Card Recorder Interface and Controlle
Zoom R16 16 Track SD Card Recorder Interface and Controller
STUDIO-QUALITY RECORDING WHEREVER YOU GO
The Zoom R16 instantly transforms any environment into a recording studio. Not only does it offer 16 tracks for recording, it can also be used as a DAW control surface and audio interface, allowing you to craft great-sounding music both at home and wherever your travels take you. The R16 has it all: built-in stereo condenser microphones, 8 mic/line/instrument inputs for connecting external gear, a whopping 135 onboard DSP effectsâeven a chromatic tuner.
STATE OF THE ART EDITING WITH EVERY MULTI-TRACK RECORDER
The Zoom R16 comes with a free download license for Steinbergâs Cubase LE music production software, providing not just the ability to capture incredible audio in every box, but to do spectacular things with them.
Take your recordings to a more professional level. Steinbergâs powerful and state-of-the-art audio software used by creators around the world now comes with every Zoom R16 purchase.
CONTROL YOUR DAW
If you use DAW software, you probably love mixing in the box but hate mixing with a mouse. The R16 provides the perfect solution. Its Mackie Control emulation enables the R16 to act as a full-featured control surface for popular DAWs such as Cubase, Logic, Ableton Live, adding physical faders and transport/status buttons that streamline the process of creating the perfect mix.
FEATURES
- 16-track playback, 8-track simultaneous recording
- Built-in stereo condenser microphones
- Records directly to SD and SDHC cards up to 32 GB for up to 100 track hours
- Eight mic/line level inputs on XLR/TRS combo connectors
- Input 1 can also be used for Hi-Z instrument-level signals such as electric guitar or bass
- Built-in metronome and chromatic tuner
- 135 send-return and insert DSP effects, including amp/preamp models and mastering algorithms
- User editing of effects parameters, with 390 patch memories for storage
MULTITRACK RECORDING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
The R16 provides sixteen tracks for recording and playback (up to eight tracks can be recorded simultaneously) in full fidelity WAV format, making it ideal for both professional production and for use as a musical sketchpad. Battery operation allows for field recording and enables you to capture your musical ideas quickly. You can connect external microphones or line-level sources directly to the R16, or use the built-in stereo mic pair for minimal setup. You can also plug instruments such as electric guitar or bass right into the R16. When your multitrack recording is complete, you can use the R16’s internal mixer, complete with real faders, equalization, panning, and 135 built-in DSP effectsâincluding amp models and mastering effects like multi-band compressionâto create a stereo mix with studio-quality sound.
ADVANCED FEATURES
The R16 offers eight inputs on combo connectors which can accept either XLR or ¼” balanced or unbalanced cables. All can handle mic- and line-level signals, and Input 1 can also handle instrument-level signals from passive or active electric guitars and basses. Phantom power of +48 volts can be applied to Inputs 5 and 6, allowing the use of external condenser microphones. There are dual balanced ¼” TRS output jacks and a headphone output with a dedicated volume control.
135 studio-quality DSP effects are provided, including insert effects such as equalization/dynamics processing and send-return effects such as reverb, delay, chorus, flanging, and phasing. In addition, there are guitar amp, bass amp, and mic preamp models, as well as effects specially designed for use on vocals and stereo instruments such as electronic keyboards, plus mastering algorithms such as multi-band compression. Effects can be applied during recording and mixdown, or can be used for playback only.
The R16’s USB port allows it to send and receive digital data and to act as an 8-input/2-output interface for DAWs such as the included Cubase LE. All level meters and the onboard chromatic tuner remain fully operational when using the R16 as an interface, and when operating at a sampling frequency of 44.1kHz, input signal can be routed through the R16’s onboard DSP effects. You can even synchronize two R16s via USB for 32 tracks of playback and 16 tracks of simultaneous recording.
Just 6 AA batteriesâeither alkaline or rechargeable NiMHâare required for power. Battery life when using alkaline batteries is more than 4.5 hours, even during continuous recording. Alternatively, you can use the included AD-14 AC adapter, which allows you to power the R16 from any standard wall socket. The R16 can also be powered via USB when connected to a computer.
The R16 records directly to SD cards, with support for both standard SD and SDHC cards up to 32 gigabytes, for a maximum of 100 track hours. Using SD media for recording ensures increased reliability and means that you never have to be concerned about hard drive failure.
HERE’S WHAT COMES INCLUDED WITH THE R16
- Operation manual
- AC adapter (Zoom AD-14)
- USB cable
- Steinberg Cubase LE software
Weight: | 1.3kg |
Dimensions: | 37.59 x 23.7 x 5.23 cm; 1.3 Kilograms |
Model: | R16 |
Origin: | China |
It is not a bad peace of kit but i could not use it within my system as i could not pair it up with my tascam
this is why i sent it back. it is not that easy to use and it did not come with any paper work at all no instuction so you are a bit blind with it but i must admit it do;s look good the sound wise is pritty good.
but if you are thinking about getting one then make sure you get all the info on it as it is a bit baffaling to use
Prior to this I had a H6 which was very good for handheld use, but somewhat fiddly to navigate the menus. This purchase was a direct replacement for that and is much better suited for my needs which is as a portable studio but in a static setting if you see what I mean, i.e. I need to easily transport it around but when I actually come to use it I have a table and static wired microphones.
For this purpose this was a great purchase, the menus are easy to navigate, the faders are great, recording quality is great, and it is capable of playing a soundtrack on one or more channels whilst simultaneously recording on other channels.
Each of the 16 channels can either play, record, or be muted at any one time. There are physical 8 inputs, and these can be assigned to any of the 16 channels while the other channels play.
In addition it is easy to import music, and to save a track and record with a new name.
In short, it’s small but not too small, operates on mains or battery, and as good a quality as I need. I use it for doing pre-records in amateur theatre, and for this it is great, everything I could have asked for at this price range. Highly recommended.
Really easy to use, sounds fantastic. Battery powered is a game change
El producto era recuperado, se vea que ya lo haban abierto.
Hace la funcin que se describe y de momento lo veo un buen aparato.
Tambin deca que vena un SD de 1GB y no estaba, supongo que al reembalarlo no la introdujeron. De todas maneras pensaba cambiar la SD por otras que tengo de ms capacidad (8GB dice que graban 24h, lo cual creo que est muy bien).
La principal ventaja del aparato es poder grabar las 8 pistas a la vez sin necesidad de ordenador para despus poder pasar las pistas a tu DAW preferido si quieres editarlo. En nuestro caso, la intencin es utilizarlo en los ensayos del grupo para hacer review en directo y tener pistas para crear tracks personalizados para ensayar individualmente.
Las 4 estrellas en lugar de 5 es por el estado en que lleg.
es bon produit pour son prix ! tres satisfait !le son aussi est au rendez vous.
Works well with my Ableton Live/Mac DAW, which is a priority. As per all the Zoom products I’ve used (this is I think the 4th), it’s great value for money. But, that’s what it is, not pro studio kit. The sliders are sticky, the inputs grip a standard TRS jack like a terrier holding a bone, and typical Zoom, it’s not that that easy to use. All in all though, best bit of ghastly white plastic that I’ve bought and I defy anyone to get a better equivalent for the money.
his unit is absolutely fantastic very hard to understand the manual, go to youtube stevekonbass he is absolutely brilliant he makes it look so easy , and it was , no problems he is very very helpful he has about four videos how to operate the zoom r16
L’utilizziamo per registrare in sala prova, collegandolo all’insert del mixer. L’ideale sarebbe stato un 12 CH, ma si fa di necessit virt. La qualit ottima.
I bought this at the end of 2017 for my son, who is now (summer 2020) studying music at 6th form college. During COVID lockdown it has turned out to be a brilliant tool for recording all of the tracks on his songs without anybody else’s input.
With the 16 available mono tracks he has had plenty of space to record drums, lead guitar, two rhythm guitar parts, bass, piano, lead vocals and two backing vocal tracks. As he doesn’t have a physical drum kit, he starts in the (free) Cakewalk for Bandlab DAW and records a drum part as a MIDI track. In Cakewalk he converts that to a WAV audio file and exports it to the R16’s SD card as twin mono tracks. In the R16 he imports the drum WAV files into a project. Then, he is able to record each of the other instruments onto other tracks while listening through headphones to the tracks that have already been recorded, using the track sliders to get the balance sounding right. Finally he transfers the audio files back into Cakewalk to add any minor effects (like reverb), to adjust the balance of each track and exports the mix to a stereo audio file. The R16 does provide some in-built effects, but it is easier to add these in Cakewalk.
The sound is CD quality. The whole unit is extremely light and portable. There are useful features like the ability to ‘bounce’ one track from one channel to another, and my only gripe is that the user interface is not very friendly. To uncover all of the features (and even to understand some of the more basic ones) you have to have the patience to read through the relevant sections of the manual – which might be a problem if you are a non-techie teenager.
Overall though it is a brilliant little unit that I would thoroughly recommend for individuals and bands wanting to record professional quality music.
Voil six mois que j’ai achet cet appareil, et l’arrive, je suis plutt convaincu!
les +: il est trs instinctif, c’est vraiment “plug and play”. Compar un DAW, on a vraiment l’impression de faire de la musique et pas de l’informatique // La qualit d’enregistrement est au rdv // Les effets intgrs sont corrects // On a tout en un; on peut enregistrer, mixer, masteriser et avoir un rsultat convaincant // Le prix (tout un studio portatif moins de 300 euros)
les -: Les instructions succinctes quand on veut l’utiliser en interface audio avec un DAW. Il faut aller sur internet pour trouver les instructions, et elles n’expliquent pas tout // La qualit des micros intgrs (mais ce prix l, ce n’est pas une surprise)
En bref: On a une qualit audio plus qu’acceptable l’arrive. Pour enregistrer ses rptes en groupe, ou bien pour poser ses ides de compositions, il fait tout fait le taff! Je recommande donc!
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32gbSD
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Not the easiest gadget to master and one which I’m still coming to terms with. The user’s manual is annoying to read but not nearly as annoying as most YouTube tutorial voices. You need to be technically minded in order to grasp the complex functionality of this device. Having said that, I’m far from being a technical geek as I prefer the practical side of ‘plug in and play’ of music making. Other than that, from what I can tell, this device offers professional sounding music at an affordable price.
Aucun soin pdt transport: emballage arrach, forc, le R16 indemne, ouf! Certainement malmen, fonctionne trs bien. Sans regrets
A quality bit of kit which does exactly what it says on the packet.
Strumento dalla grandine potenzialit va studiato bene per ottenere il massimo
es bon produit pour ses enregistrements en home ou en studio de repetition et pour ceux qui aiment une bonne qualite sonore. bon rapport qualite prix..
Very simple to use, wanted a “musical notebook” for ideas and playing about with audio. Love it.
Easy to use. Does what it claims it can.. Very good tool indeed
The instruction manual is a little lacking in some areas but YouTube videos and on-line forums tell you all you need to know.
Je ne m’en sortais pas vraiment avec Garageband, autre temps autre moeurs sans doute.
J’ai donc dcid de revenir une machine avec tout sous mes doigts!
Ce Zoom R16 se prsente bien: facile et ergonomique, on peut trs vite enregistrer ses dmos sans se retourner sans arrt sur un tutoriel.
16 pistes, a donne vraiment une marge suffisante.
Pas de latence constate, usage ais, qualit de son au rendez-vous, j’ai t conquis!
Ease of use, good quality, reasonable price, good layout, this recorder does the job. It’s kind of perched in between the old fashioned portastudio (and it’s certainly highly portable) and a full on DAW or computer recorder package. And, it kind of works in both directions if needed….. link to DAW or computer, use as a control surface, and in the opposite direction one can use it as a simple recording notepad. Personally I have bought it to use as a basic recorder and my first impressions is that it is well able to fulfil that purpose.
A product like no other. Similar in function to a conventional adat machine. Easy to use, works very well, stable, great quality. In built condenser mics can also be used as room mics.
prodotto usato, facile da utilizzare, funziona bene, mi ha soddisfatto. Nel complesso sono stato contento dell’acquisto!
Great for recording at home and also at gigs. Easy to use
Il prodotto mantiene quello che la pubblicit promette! registrazioni facili e flessibilit per gli input. Facilit di trasferimento dati verso qualsiasi editor e studio a qualsiasi livello (da CUBASE ad Audacity). Grande disponibilit di effettistiche e filtri (a chi interessa). Ma anche leggerezza per il trasporto, compatiblit con i principali software e supporti di memorizzazione… insomma, un successo!
Perfect for what I need, connecting to theatre sound desks! Great that its also a recorder! Easy to use too.
Enregistreur numrique multipiste (16 pistes). Idal pour home studio. Prise en main presque intuitive. J’ai construit mon premier morceau (8 pistes) en moins d’une heure !
Excellent produit d’une grande simplicit d’utilisation et avec des effets plus que corrects. Pour un groupe qui veut enregistrer chaque instrument en vue de retravailler seul leur partie = +++
Rapport qualit/prix = +++
Prix trs attractif, appareil de qualit et trs simple utiliser, notice en franais, lger, bref : que du bon ! Allez, s’il faut vraiment lui trouver un dfaut : les prises jack 6,5 sont un peu difficiles retirer des input, il faut un peu forcer. Mais l’appareil mrite amplement, selon moi, ses 5 toiles. Je recommande chaudement !
Der Mehrspur-Recorder ist einfach genial. Die Bedienung ist intuitiv und sehr einfach. Es ist alles im Gert enthalten um eine komplette Aufnahme inklusive abschlieendem Mastering durchzufhren. Es knnen simultan 8 Spuren aufgenommen werden, was vor allem fr Schlagzeuger sehr interessant sein sollte.
Projekte werden auf einer SDHC-Karte gespeichert. Die darauf erstellten Wave-Dateien knnen anschlieend am PC auf eine andere Software bertragen und dann weiter verarbeitet werden. Das Gert akzeptiert SDHC-Karten bis zu einer Gre von 32GB. Damit knnen 110 Minuten 16-Spur Aufnahmen erstellt werden. Das Gert kann zudem auch als Audio-Interface genutzt werden. Dem Gert liegt eine sehr verstndliche Anleitung in Papierform bei, was heut zutage nicht mehr selbstverstndlich ist. Aufgrund des Preis- Leistungsverhltnisses ist das ZOOM R16 meines Erachtens in dieser Klasse konkurrenzlos. Klare Kaufempfehlung.
Das Pult ist der absolute Hammer! Ich arbeite hauptschliche mit Logic pro x, nach einigen hin und her wrde das Gert als Mackie erkannt und macht was es soll.
Le zoom R16 correspond a toutes mes attentes, c’est un bon produit, il est parfait pour les enregistrements de groupe.
So far very impressed fairly complex machine so needs using to fully review seems well made.
I’ve used this for several years now and have never had a complaint. It has proven rugged and reliable.
I use it as a mixing desk, putting the band through the zoom before feeding it into the PA. This allows me to get a good sound in the room and also to simultaneously record directly to the R16. This can be a little distracting when I am trying to drum and mix the sound at the same time, but that is the advantage of having a drum stick in your hand as you move sliders and input levels around.
After recording I might do a bit of panning and add a bit of reverb or chorus before converting the master to mp3 files from WMA, but that’s all as I like a record of what we sounded like on the night. For my needs and the needs of the band this thing is excellent, Every bum note and missed fill are clearly recorded as well as the occasional sonic success
Over the years I have had so much fun out of this machine and for the price and to be able to use 8 inputs at once it is unrivalled.
Great tool, for Bands, solo performers and home studio enthusiasts. With the ability to record onto 8 tracks simultaneously and 16 tracks in total this is a great device. I’ve seen comments about it having problems as a controller for cubase etc…i’ve only seen this with the Windows 10 OS. In windows 7 and 8 this performs perfectly in Cubase LE and in Nuendo. By using the device setup in the related software and setting it to “Mackie” controller this allows complete functionality of the R16. With over 100 effects built in to help contour your sounds and great mastering capabilities, this is ideal for most applications. Any bugs have been fixed, earlier models using older firmware were susceptible to freezing etc, this has now been resolved with the new updated version 1.21 firmware. Affordable, reliable and portable…this is worth getting. If you’re looking at it, then you obviously need it, so get it.
Nice piece of kit, was recording after minutes of opening. Found it very easy to use and a nice sound.
This does exactly what it says on the label. Very impressive piece of kit at a good price. The mixer function is good but very fiddly to use but I knew that when I bought it as I intend does mixing in a PC based DAW
Lovely bit of kit ,would be better if it was MIDI
Der Zoom R16 ist ein toller Recorder. Er macht standalone 8 synchrone Aufnahmen mit 44.1ks/s bei 24 Bit Auflsung. Mit Batterie luft das Teil eine ganzes Konzert hindurch. Zwei Gerte gekoppelt kann man synchron starten, so dass man also 16 Spuren aufzeichnen kann. Die Daten landen auf einer SD Karte, alle Eingnge als separates WAV File in einem Ordner pro Projekt. Die lassen sich dann wunderbar mit Logic oder aber auch mit Audacity abmischen. Eingebaut ist viel Schnick-Schnack, der aber ber das kleine Men schlecht bedienbar ist. Als Recorder ist es wunderbar. So kann man gleichzeitig zur Aufnahme bis zu 8 Spuren wiedergeben und kann dieses dann spter synchron mischen. Das ist praktisch, wenn man Instrumente nacheinander einspielen will.
Die Buchsen (Kombi XLR & Klinke) gehen recht stramm, so dass ich bereits einen Klinkenstecker eingebt habe. Sei es drum.Fr den Preis ein tolles Gert. Die Dynamik der Eingnge ist ausreichend, man mu halt einigermaen einpegeln. Zwei Eingnge mit Phantomspannung runden das Bild ab.
Bought this as a gift for my partner and it’s amazed him, does what it states and “the best track recorder” he’s ever used!..
I bought my first r16 four years ago and since then I have convinced several of my friends to do the same. Without doubt the best budget home multitrack unit ever made by man or beast. Lightweight, easy to use, 8 inputs, perfect for home demoing, rehearsal recording, live gigs, even making full length albums. It sounds good and does what it says on the tin.
I do just love this device for all the things it can manage. It does occasionally make my laptop trow a fit, however that is more likely the laptop and not the Zoom. I have used a lot of Zoom made devices over the years (mostly the guitar multi effect processors, staring with the 9001 and on with the G1 up to the G5 – which I still use now) and the build quality is good as long as your sensible. This is no exception, I wouldn’t recommend throwing this around but it should be remembered that this is not an effect pedal to be stomped on mid gig! I have successfully used this on battery to record a 2 hour session, to reasonably good quality (it was a noisy bar – I even managed to keep the beer off it!!), just by placing the unit on the table in front of the players. The mic’s work well enough, maybe not up to the standard of the other units zoom make, but these are more specialised units just for standalone recording and don’t have many of the other functions. This is maybe more unit than some folk will want for a very small vocal and mic combination recording at home, but this will allow you to do more than just a dual input at a price that I don’t feel is excessive. While I don’t think I would call this a real professional recorder/mixer/interface it is good for someone starting out or someone who is an enthusiastic hobbyist who enjoys recording music. For a small band (drums/bass/guitar/vocals) it’s a great items and if you need more input then you could get a second one and daisy-chain them too. I didn’t go for the R24 as I didn’t see the point (personally) in the 8 inputs with the 24 tracks..
Excellent piece of equipment. Easy to use and sounds great. Haven’t used it as a DAW controller and not sure if I will as it is fine as self contained unit. It’s nice to know the versatility is there and if necessary it can be linked with another unit to expand to a 32 track (16 simultaneous) recorder. Amazing value for money! the only tiny gripe is that the audio input sockets are a very tight but for a few extra quid a set of XLR to male jack adapters easily solve this problem.
Excellent for home recording and rehearsal. Very portable and surprisingly good sound
Being a novice at making music, I was a bit apprehensive about laying out 250 for this item but after doing some research on it, mainly on YouTube videos, I thought it looked a runner. It arrived promptly and I looked over the little machine with excitement, liking what I saw immediately. It is a light and compact, but very sturdy item. The manual is very thick and daunting, I was hoping for a simpler guide to get going with it, as I was impatient to start recording my music. I read bits of the manual but mainly picked it up from the videos I had watched. Now I’m up and running with it, I love it! There’s still a lot I need to learn about the R16 and its capabilities but it looks pretty good to me and I’ve laid down my first track using my synthesizer. The only downside to the package is I couldn’t get the free Cubase software to download, I was looking forward to using that DAW.
I’m currently using the Magix Music 14 program but I must say it’s not the best.
Yes so far I like the product, but as the vital software disk was shattered …… well I have not really been able to put it through its paces.
This would not be a problem but for the fact that there does not seem to ba a way to contact the seller directly, in order that they can simply
dispatch a replacement. The only path to follow in order to rectify the problem seems to be to return the entire consignment. Not very satisfactory.
I find it hard to express how much in love I am with this device. I wanted something that would function in an entirely standalone capacity, and would allow me the kind of fingers-on-faders control that I’ve never achieved on a computer. Having previously been disappointed by the likes of the Fostex V80 (very awkward to use) and earlier Zooms (their MRS range…), my expectations weren’t especially high… but I had this up and running within 10 minutes, with one solitary reference to the manual required (it was to joggle through the opening ‘menu’ sequence and file-naming procedure).
After that… delightfully plain sailing.
I’ve only a few caveats: firstly, the two-way XLR/jack sockets on the back are VERY snug fitting with some of my jack leads (to the extent that the centre pin on a cheap patch lead has ended up lodged in the socket of channel 5… forever), so I’ve bought a set of (male)XLR-to-(female)-jack adapters which I now keep permanently connected at the back.
Secondly – inevitably – while audio shaping at ‘fader/pan/eq’ level is easily achieved, you DO need to menu-surf quite a bit to do much more.
And finally… while my Zoom has never failed me, there have been times (with a full-ish SD card and a big file) when the ‘Please wait…’ pause between pressing ‘back to the start!’ and it actually occurring has been very… very… very… long.
Otherwise… an astoundingly practical and robust bit of kit. Highly, highly recommended.
Excellent!
Livr avec cubase le 6, une carte micro sd 2gb et un adaptateur sd.
Les micros de la table sont impressionnants au niveau qualit.les preamp ne sont pas mauvais, pour faire des maquettes semipro c’est sympa.
Les effets sont plutt pas mal mais mon avis il fait les peaufiner dans les rglages.
L’cran lcd n’est pas un frein, les rglages sont intuitifs et le mode d’emploi est en franais.
En 20 min Je me suis enregistr un get Lucky avec des effets, des affectations d’enregistrements sur les pistes 9-16.
Pour le prix, vous avez un vrai studio d’enregistrement.
Je n’ai pas test avec cubase ni masteris sur la table car cela ne fait qu’une heure que je l’ai.
Trs bon produit.
Elle fait galement carte son pour enregistrer directement sur le pc. J’ai une focusrite scarlet
Du coup je ne pense pas m’en servir.
Bought this 3 years ago for a project recording an album of Gambian musicians in The Gambia. It’s lightness, simplicity and ability to run on batteries was invaluable. I was recording everything from drums to kora to vocals – all handled superbly along with my trusty Rhode NT1 and other mics.
Have used extensively since for everything from live gigs with all 3 of my bands through to recording sessions of said bands through to shanty vocal group.
Now syncing with my Mac beautifully. Using as part of my PA at a festival next week. About to buy a second one as back up…that’s how highly I rate it…
I like to do live recordings of some of the gigs I play on and this machine is perfect. I would recommend this to any one who wants up to eight channels to mix down after the gig.
I purchased this as a gift for a musician and he is saying it is excellent. Just as described and the service and delivery is excellent all in 24 hours Thank you
Appareil fantastique j’en possdait dj un . Celui ci va servir tendre l’enregistrement 16 pistes simultanes. A conseille
Brilliant piece of kit great sound quality
Would recommend it to anyone. Loads of cool functions and easy to use.
Really great and reliable tool to make home studio recordings on. Be that for band practice of serious productions it is brilliant …. So many facilities and effects options. I also used it to transfer and digitise old 8 track reel to reel master recordings for easy remixing in Cubase … Would have been painful to do it in other ways.
So, my missus bought one of these for me a few weeks ago. I haven’t been able to use it properly until yesterday at a band rehearsal.
I mic’d up the guitar amp. DI’ed the keyboard, bass, and PA (vocals), and used the onboard mics for the drums (I sat it on a chair facing the kick drum).
All I can say is wow! Where has this been all my life?
It’s so easy to use. Plus, I know that I can use it as an interface on my computer for further recording, the latency rivals my old M-Audio Quattro. It’s so versatile.
So happy with it, you cannot believe it.
I’m not sure there is a rival to this on the market, but I’m not fussed, this is the business!
After one four hour session the USB connection failed. Tried different cables and computers with no success, so it wouldn’t work as an Interface/Controller. Reading the reviews I see I’m not the only one who’s had this kind of problem. Also, although advertised as “with 16GB SDHC Card”, the card in the box was just the standard 2GB provided by the manufacturer. For this reason I returned it and bought a replacement from another supplier on Amazon, which (so far – fingers crossed) works perfectly, though I haven’t had time yet to check out all it’s many functions. All in all, it’s a very powerful piece of equipment. I love it… with the nagging reservation that that USB connection might just pack up sometime down the line!
Ability to record 8 tracks at once and then use it as a control surface for mixing on a computer (after copying files) is ideal for me. Means I can record more or less anywhere. Sounds “dry” with DI, but that’s what I would expect – my aim is to record the highest quality clean signal and then add “pixie dust” as required. Also low noise.
The Zoom R16’s key feature is that it permits 8-tracks of recording simultaneously. The R8 (which I also use) has only two simultaneous tracks. Worth noting, however, that of the R16’s 8 inputs only two supply phantom power directly. This need not be a drawback if you feed the inputs from line sources, such as external preamps, or use self-powered mics. The preamps themselves are OK. By that, I mean acceptable, but not wonderful. Gain is somewhat limited, especially with very low output sources. Residual noise becomes more obvious at high gain settings. Again, though, this can be largely overcome by using external preamps and going in via line level. Use with high quality preamps (for example Focusrite ISA’s and Universal Audio 610’s) this little recorder really shows what it is capable of. The combination XLR’s do accept balanced line level TRS jacks, incidentally. The onboard A/D conversion, while not up to Apogee standards, is quite respectable, and subjectively sounds good enough. Another advantage over the R8 is the limited – but still very useful – ‘meter bridge’, making it much easier to keep an eye on incoming levels. In most respects, operation is very similar to the R8. There are not too many nested menus, and most basic operations are fast and intuitive. The built-in FX are, as you would expect, not too much to write home about, and adjusting them (compression and EQ, for example) is not much fun. Real dials and knobs (or at least realistic on-screen representations of them) make a huge difference here. I suspect most will avoid these, and apply such FX via separate DAW later. Used simply as a machine for grabbing live tracks for later processing, this recorder is a real bargain. It does this extremely well. It is also very good for basic overdubbing on the move. Portability for a 16-tracker is outstanding. Operation for the most part is very simple and straightforward. If you have any recording experience at all, you should be up and running in a few minutes. If you have zero experience, then yes, you will need to study the manual. There is also a helpful Zoom recorder user forum. As a portable multi-tracker this recorder is well worth the money. Not too many years ago, you would have to spend many thousands to get something that is not even half as capable.
I thought very carefully before laying out 319 on this little beauty. The trouble with buying something new, meaning a new product to the market, is that it hasn’t been truly tested. Anyway I ‘bit the bullet’ and ordered it.
At first I just wanted to open the box and start playing without looking at the manual (so like a man I can hear the women saying) and because I am new to multitrack recorders, I gave in and picked up the book. The instructions were (mostly) clear and easy (easy-ish) to follow and I was up and running after just a few minutes.
I’ve had it now for just over a week and to be honest, I am liking it more and more. I did have a few problems loading Cubase LE4, but after I realised that the mistake was entirely mine, Cubase was up and running on my laptop. Again I needed to look into the instructions, this time not the manual that came with it, but seperate instructions that are to be found on the disc containing the driver for the R16. Once I had sorted all that out, magic!
On the plus side: Small, but not too small, portable, works on 6 AA batteries that seem to last for ages, loads of effects (although I will probably never use them as the effects on LE4 are amazing), clear screen, 8 tracks recordable at once (although I would never use 8 at a time), works well with LE4 as a controller, silent operation, records onto SDHC cards which have greatly come down in price recently, on board mikes if necessary and it looks good too.
On the minus side: Can be fiddly to use/get used to, the preamps are OK, but only OK (I use an external preamp for recording voice, an ART Tube MP, which is brilliant with it). Apart from that, no other niggles really.
I am not very experienced when it comes to multitracks and I need to learn the basics, but using the Zoom R16 can be quite straight forward SO LONG AS YOU READ THE MANUALS – why do we men do that? I have read the manual that comes in the box and the disc based instructions which I printed out, both many times now, and I am itching to put all my new knowledge to good use.
When I first looked at the possibility of buying a multitrack recorder quite a few years ago, it was a cassette tape version with 4 track recording. This unit is so far removed from that first ‘Portastudio’ that you cannot even begin to compare the two. For a little over 300 you get:
1 A 16 track digital recorder
2 8 inputs including Hi-Z for guitar and 48v phantom power (on 2 channels)
3 A portable silent recorder using batteries and SDHC cards
4 An interface to connect microphones etc direct to computer
5 A DAW software controller complete with Cubase LE4
6 Hundreds of effects built in
There must be more, but I have only had this unit for 10 days.
Bottom line then – this is simply AMAZING, it’s not perfect, it won’t take the place of professional equipment, but believe me, it comes close. If you are reading this, then I assume you are interested in buying it – so go ahead, buy it and enjoy it.
I have been recording for many years. I think back to my cassette portastudio multi-track recorder. It is amazing how technology has advanced. This unit is just outstanding for under 300. There are so many features. All the normal expected recording operations are present for up to a possible 16 tracks. Moving around the menus takes a little effort to learn but does become easier the more you use it. The pre-amps are okay but I always record dry anyhow but the pre-amps are useful to get an idea of the sound you want. You can do all your mastering on the unit if you wish – I use a laptop to do that with the raw recorded tracks. – more flexibility.
Recording quality is excellent and very clean. Storing data on an SD card is very convenient. Each recording is stored as a separate ‘project’ which is easy and intuitive to work with.
The only gripe I found is that the jack sockets are very very tight! I have to prize the jack plugs out with a screwdriver! I expect that will be ok once the sockets are ‘bedded-in’ and not so new.
If you do a lot of home recording, you cannot go wrong with this unit. I fully recommend it. It will give you all the options you need to produce a pretty decent sound. 48V phantom power is useful in addition to hi-z inputs.
You won’t regret buying it.
The Zoom R16 is a great little recorder. It’s very easy to use. If you can use a tape recorder, then you shouldn’t find this too hard. There are not too many bells and whistles to it, it’s just very good at what it does, and extremely reliable.
You can use it as a 16 track stand alone recorder which is capable of recording 8 tracks at once. The 8 inputs can either be jack or xlr connectors, and there is phantom power on two inputs. Two inputs can also record using the units built in condenser mics.
Your tracks are recorded to SD cards as standard WAV files which can be copied directly to your computer. The R16 handily lines up all the tracks for you so that you can easily import your multitrack recordings in to your DAW with no fuss at all.
This also doubles as an 8 input, 2 output sound card for your computer, and can work as a control surface for your computer’s sequencer too.
I use it to record my band’s live practice sessions, and it is absolutely essential. I tend to have instruments and mics recording on 6 channels and leave two channels recording on the units condenser mics to get some room sound back into the recordings. It’s great to use this rather than a computer, and it is completely silent too.
The unit is very lightweight and portable and records to a good quality. If you have an acoustic guitar, and you sing, then your guitar, this recorder, and a few bits of percussion might be all you need to record your first album.
The only thing I think they missed a trick on is MIDI and the ability to synchronise to other equipment. If you could use this as a stand alone 16 track recorder but have it synchronised to your computer then it would have an extra layer of usefulness. I have a problem with groundloops on my laptop when I use this as a soundcard, and the ability to sync up the 16 track without actually using it as a soundcard would be useful because the R16 itself does not have any problems with groundloops at all.
I bought the R16 for recording drums and for knocking up quick acoustic demos. The first one I received had a faulty usb socket and wouldn’t record. After a few emails to Music Gear (and 20 to post it back) I received a new one a week later. I have to say here that Music Gear were brilliant and all emails were answered promptly and getting a replacement was pretty painless. The replacement appears to work well and has, so far done everything i has asked of it. The two built-in condenser mics are pretty good and on most occasions, it is just a case of hitting rec and play and off you go.
I am having some difficulty setting up the software drivers, which seem to be reluctant to install. Not sure if that is a fault and i plan to download it from Zoom as soon as i can get it to uninstall properly. This is a minor thing.
Overall, for 8 track simultaneous multi-track, at this price, this is the nuts. Manage your expectations, the built isn’t great and the firmware feels a bit stroppy, but at this price (two grand cheaper than a Mac) to a get multi-track recorder, with no latency, in a small and user friendly package It is a no-brainer.
I have had the R16 for 2 years now and I love it! The quality is as close to lossless as I have heard. I have used it every Sunday to record our church sermon and the full worship band. I used it recently to record a wedding. I use it as both a DAW with cubase and a stand alone recorder and again can’t fault it. The person that gave it 1 star for their inability to set it up should contact me and I will happily talk the through it. I now want a second one to link up to give me 16 live channel inputs. Anyone who wants to sell theirs let me know as can’t afford new at the mo.
I bought one of these units going by the recommendations already here on Amazon.
First of all the unit is amazing for the price. The ability to record up to 8 tracks simultaneously and 16 in total is probably unrivalled for the price and this sort of capability would have cost thousands only a few years ago.
To produce a unit at this price there have to be a few compromises. An example of this is the lack of direct easy access to controls such as panning and equalisation. These are accessed via several button presses. However, the main controls are well thought out and generally quite intuitive. The built-in microphones are quite adequate but may be switched out if higher quality devices are being used. Mixing only becomes a problem if more than 8 tracks are used as each volume sliders is used for two channels (depending on which bank of 8 the controls are currently switched to) – it’s rather easy to lose a setting for a channel if you don’t remember which bank is currently switched in. However, in most cases you will be transferring the results to a computer and working on the final mixes there. The unit comes with a version of Cubase (LE 6) though, having experienced Cubase in the past and not liking it, I haven’t bothered to install that. I now use Reaper instead and the R16 tracks can be dragged into Reaper very easily for further processing.
The only problem encountered was that first unit I received was faulty – 2 of the inputs didn’t work. Amazon would only refund the price and not replace the unit as it was sold through a third party (Music Gear) so I contacted Music Gear and they exchanged the unit quickly without quibble and I was only without an R16 for less than a week, though I did have to pay for the return postage.
This is an amazing bit of kit for the price. Has and does everything as advertised.
Only minor negative point, it only has phantom power on two of the inputs. This can be circumvented by buying a couple of units (Millenium PP2 from Thomann.de)
Very good recording sound, easy to use and fun for beginner to try all the options available. I will recommend it to music makers.
The Zoom R16 is fantastic for the money, whether you are out and about or recording at a home studio. Being able to directly plug it in to my computer and use it to control my recording software is fantastic, and gives me a much lower latency connection than my old method through my soundcard.
8 simultaneous inputs is also fantastic for recording bands and groups live. My main reason for getting this was to record a choir with a band and be able to get each part separately. We can line in all the guitars, bass, piano and electric drum kit, and still have enough inputs for 2 condensor mics to record the choir and a soloist mic for vocalist solos.
Anyway, couldn’t recommend this enough, definitely well worth the money.
I bought this on a whim as I needed a stand alone recorder to record a choir without lugging out a laptop and interface. It’s amazing. Audio quality is excellent, battery life is excellent. Verstitliy is built in and is so easy to use. You do not need to read the manual to get it to work – the operation is very intuative if you’re prepared to ‘try it & see’ what happens when you press a button. Recommeded. For a 16 track recorder it’s incredible value too.
Now I’ve had one for a while I can confirm that it was a great buy and does everything it should and more
Jim Mora
Amazing value for money and very easy to use. I haven’t used this enough yet to give a considered opinion, but these initial impressions are excellent. The first one that arrived had a dead screeen, but MusicGear replaced it without question, by return.
Having looked for a 16 track recorder and realised that unless you spend 1000s you can’t get anything to record 16 tracks at the same time I looked into this one. It records 8 tracks at a time, but at the press of a button you can play back the original 8 and record an additional 8 to tracks 9-16. (Be aware some so called 16 track recorders only record 2-4 tracks simultaneously, this does 8 and that’s better than most) Only used it a few times so far and was surprised at how easy it is to operate. After the first time out of the box I decided to record a few test files, add vocal effects and lay down a couple of keyboard tracks to see how it worked. Within no time I’d recorded and mixed a track and actually decided to play and sing over it with additional instruments with my church band the same week. I never intended it for this purpose, but as it’s a controller, recorder, mixing desk all in one playing back, over dubbing and using it in a live situation is so easy it make a good addition. I’ll be using it like this again when I’m missing band members to help out for holiday cover! As a recorder it’s excellent quality, easy to use and fairly intuitive. If you’re used to setting up EQ on a standard desk with loads of dials you may at first wonder how to control everything, but with 5 mins practice you’ll see that each channel/track is independently controllable by simply clicking the EQ button, then scrolling down the 5 channel EQ changing it with the control wheel. It’ll even keep these settings if you wish once you add a new recording so you don’t need to keep setting it up. I’ve not even got as far as using the supplied Cubase software as the on board mixing is so good. Looking forward to giving it a try soon when we record a new CD next week. I could write so much more about how good it is, easy to use, great value for money, but the best thing I can say is `Just buy it, it’s great’. You won’t be disappointed!
Great buy, I remember this being reviewed in a sound mag back in march for 350, so 300 with 16gb card is good value, had it about three weeks- still havent experimented with all the various functions yet. such a simple ui, my only qualm is that there is only 1 hi-z input that can be utilized at any one time. so for someone like me with a lack of mikes, i have to record guitars one at a time. Also if the zoom warns you your running out of space, dont ignore it. i carried on recording(just to finish what i was doing) and the zoom crashed and i lost the last 15 minutes of previous recordings. but seriously this product rocks, so light, and small and it can run on freaking batteries!!
fantastic bit of kit still getting to grips with it but so far cant find anything to complain about and on top of everything it will operate on batteries jobs a good’
Zoom R16 Digital Studio with 16GB SDHC Card
As a composer and arranger for the Spring Quartet and Ponticello, the electric violin duo, I used to use a Fostex X26 cassette recorder for demos and backing tracks. It never let me down, but I needed to go digital. I got a Roland Edirol R-09HR (excellent!) for the final mix from Sibelius, but was never completely happy with the results. I felt I needed a new multitrack recorder.
Most lower-priced multitracks only record two tracks per take. I wanted to be able to record at least 4 tracks simultaneously. I also needed phantom power for a pair of condenser mics. I found the Zoom R16 on Amazon, and its spec was perfect; 16 tracks, 8 simultaneous, two channels with phantom power and assignable onboard effects. The bonus of a 16GB card was the clincher.
I’ve found the quality excellent, and the machine is simplicity itself to operate. We’re now able to go into production of saleable CDs of Ponticello. It also arrived early! Can’t recommend it highly enough.
A really excellent product. Recording quality is A1. Easy to use and does everything brilliantly. Interfaces flawlessly with both PC (XP) and Mac OS X. Its silent – no fan or hard disc. The included cubase 4LE is pretty good too. I love the lightness and the battery power. It runs for hours on NiMH batteries. Even though it is light it feels sturdy. The controls feel slightly cheap but I have owned Zoom stuff before and it has been reliable.
Can’t fault it.
Great value for money.
Fantastic.
I thought very carefully before laying out 319 on this little beauty. The trouble with buying something new, meaning a new product to the market, is that it hasn’t been truly tested. Anyway I ‘bit the bullet’ and ordered it.
At first I just wanted to open the box and start playing without looking at the manual (so like a man I can hear the women saying) and because I am new to multitrack recorders, I gave in and picked up the book. The instructions were (mostly) clear and easy (easy-ish) to follow and I was up and running after just a few minutes.
I’ve had it now for just over a week and to be honest, I am liking it more and more. I did have a few problems loading Cubase LE4, but after I realised that the mistake was entirely mine, Cubase was up and running on my laptop. Again I needed to look into the instructions, this time not the manual that came with it, but seperate instructions that are to be found on the disc containing the driver for the R16. Once I had sorted all that out, magic!
On the plus side: Small, but not too small, portable, works on 6 AA batteries that seem to last for ages, loads of effects (although I will probably never use them as the effects on LE4 are amazing), clear screen, 8 tracks recordable at once (although I would never use 8 at a time), works well with LE4 as a controller, silent operation, records onto SDHC cards which have greatly come down in price recently, on board mikes if necessary and it looks good too.
On the minus side: Can be fiddly to use/get used to, the preamps are OK, but only OK (I use an external preamp for recording voice, an ART Tube MP, which is brilliant with it). Apart from that, no other niggles really.
I am not very experienced when it comes to multitracks and I need to learn the basics, but using the Zoom R16 can be quite straight forward SO LONG AS YOU READ THE MANUALS – why do we men do that? I have read the manual that comes in the box and the disc based instructions which I printed out, both many times now, and I am itching to put all my new knowledge to good use.
When I first looked at the possibility of buying a multitrack recorder quite a few years ago, it was a cassette tape version with 4 track recording. This unit is so far removed from that first ‘Portastudio’ that you cannot even begin to compare the two. For a little over 300 you get:
1 A 16 track digital recorder
2 8 inputs including Hi-Z for guitar and 48v phantom power (on 2 channels)
3 A portable silent recorder using batteries and SDHC cards
4 An interface to connect microphones etc direct to computer
5 A DAW software controller complete with Cubase LE4
6 Hundreds of effects built in
There must be more, but I have only had this unit for 10 days.
Bottom line then – this is simply AMAZING, it’s not perfect, it won’t take the place of professional equipment, but believe me, it comes close. If you are reading this, then I assume you are interested in buying it – so go ahead, buy it and enjoy it.
As a multitrack recorder to record 8 simultaneous tracks, this works very well. It is light without feeling flimsy and the menu system may not be instantly intuitive but with a little bit of practice you’ll get the hang of it. The I/O options are fine, the sound quality is good and using SDHC cards instead of a hard drive makes transferring the sound files to the DAW on the computer quite straightforward.
My big disappointment is with what I thought was the breakthrough innovation — the ability to chain two of these together to get 16 track simultaneous recording for comfortably under a grand. Widely touted as a feature, it was disappointing to read in the manual that the recordings would be 1-2 ms out from each other — in practice certainly enough to notice the difference and for the recording to sound out of time. Sure, you can play around with moving the tracks in your DAW software, but it took a lot of effort to get this just right.
So, an interesting, smaller replacement to something like a Korg D888 but not the 16-track recording solution I’ve been looking for.