Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

26 Mar 2016, 23:38

Been dwelling over this for a long time.

I am familiar with DAWs but I don't fancy to use a computer for music production.

I need a device that can record tracks from my synthesizers and being able to mix them into complete compositions. I will mainly use the arp/sequencer onboard the synths in addition to play live to record long tracks (let's say 10 minutes per instrument). Each song will contain 6-7 instruments and each track will most likely be up to 10 minutes long. That is 70 minutes of sampling with highest sound quality per composition.

Does the MV-8800 have sufficient memory for this?
And if yes; how many of my compositions can it hold before I am out of memory?

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

27 Mar 2016, 07:38

Since you only need something that can record audio on different tracks you should look into hard disc recorders. These are designed to mix too, so you get a decent amount of fx and I/O, depending on the model of course.

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

27 Mar 2016, 08:52

Tnx for reply .

One thing: is the maximum sampling time of 50 minutes (512 M stereo) for each track or all tracks in total?

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

27 Mar 2016, 11:30

50 minutes of stereo audio is the maximum the MV can hold in the (512 MB) RAM.

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

28 Mar 2016, 00:44

Oki, I see there are some limitation here. Not exactly as flexible as DAWs.

One last thing before I dismiss it:

I am a bit sceptical to the sound quality of this box (due to its "cheap" price).
Will it hold up with e.g. RME Babyface?

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

11 Apr 2016, 12:37

It was £1761 when it came out in the late 2000's (according to sound on sound). The sound quality is very good.

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

12 May 2016, 18:44

Agree a hardware multitrack might suit better if you plan on 10 minute long recordings per track and 6 or 7 tracks of it.

As an MPC style sampler though (drums, loops, one shots), plus extensive midi capabilities in sequencing, it's the boss.

I ditched Ableton live after a decade using it to do everything with hardware driven by the mv8800. I like to throw in lots of samples and have never come close to maxing RAM out on it. It is really efficient with memory.

I now definitely prefer the all hardware setup with mv8800 controlling all my other gear. I still get some softsynth use out of ipad synths still sequenced by mv8800

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

13 May 2016, 08:07

Vondragonnoggin wrote:
As an MPC style sampler though (drums, loops, one shots), plus extensive midi capabilities in sequencing, it's the boss.

Word!

I used to be a die-hard MPC user for the last couple of years, but since owning the MV-8800 (again) I have never looked back. This machine is so slept on it isn´t funny anymore.

Re: Is the 8800 what I am looking for?

14 May 2016, 21:43

Hell yeah. I guess to answer a question by the OP, yeah it sounds musical too. I'm sure software can get you higher sampling rates, but for all intensive purposes of what you need at mixdown, it sounds killer.

Another very musical sounding sampler I have is my zoom sampletrak st-224, but it's definitely more lofi than the mv8800. CD quality is still my format for mixdown, so the mv8000/8800 is right there and AD/DA converters are good.

The sequencer is a beast and midi implementation, in my opinion, is better than with Ableton on a PC.

Audio handling with stretching is better in Ableton, but mv does pretty good at stretching too.