Zoom MRS-4 manual

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A good user manual

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- informations concerning technical data of Zoom MRS-4
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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    Thank you for purchasing the ZOOM MultiT rak Recording Studio MRS-4 (subsequently referred to as "the MRS-4 "). The MRS-4 offers the follo wing attracti ve features. ◆ Simultaneous 4-track playback/2-track recor ding 8 virtual takes per track add up to a total of 32 takes a vailable for recording. ◆ Flexible track parameter settings H[...]

  • Page 2

    Safety Precautions In this manual, symbols are used to highlight warnings and cautions for you to read so that accidents can be prev ented. The meanings of these symbols are as follows: This symbol indicates explanations about extremely dangerous matters. If users ignore this symbol and handle the device the wrong way , serious injury or death coul[...]

  • Page 3

    The MRS-4 provides three types of ef fects: insert effect, mixdo wn ef fect, and send/return effect. These ef fects ha ve dif ferent characteristics, as described below . ■ Insert effect This effect operates directly after the input mixer . It is used to modify the input signal before it is recorded. ■ Mixdown effect This effect operates direct[...]

  • Page 4

    Parts of the MRS-4 ZOOM MRS-4 7 ZOOM MRS-4 Parts of the MRS-4 6 Parts of the MRS-4 T op panel Rear panel Front panel Display [TRACK P ARAMETER] key [SONG/UTILITY/TUNER] key [AUTO PUNCH IN/OUT] key [A-B REPEA T] key MARKER [ U ]/MARKER [ I ] keys [MARK/CLEAR] key [INPUT LEVEL] controls 1/2 [ON/OFF] keys 1/2 [MIXDOWN] key [SEND/RETURN] key [METRONOME[...]

  • Page 5

    Power on/off switching To turn the MRS-4 on or off, proceed as follows. 1. Make sure that the MRS-4 and all other devices are turned off. T urn down the v olume at the source equipment, MRS-4, and monitor system. 2. Insert the SmartMedia card into the SmartMedia card slot on the front panel of the MRS-4, as described on page 5. 3. Set the [POWER] s[...]

  • Page 6

    When you start to use the MRS-4 for recording, you must choose whether to create a new song or open an existing song for modif ication. 1. Connect the monitor system to the MASTER [L]/[R] jacks. To use headphones for monitoring, connect them to the [PHONES] jack. 2. Make sure that a SmartMedia car d is inserted in the SmartMedia card slot. Then tur[...]

  • Page 7

    The insert effect processes the signal from input 1/2 before it is sent to the tracks for recording. In this example, you apply the insert ef fect on the guitar signal supplied to the INPUT 1 jack. If you do not wish to use the insert effect, proceed to section 2-3 on page 15. 1. Press the [MIXDOWN] key and the [SEND/RETURN] key simultaneously . Th[...]

  • Page 8

    Record the guitar sound with insert effect on track 1, as follo ws. 1. Press the status key 1 r epeatedly , until the key is lit in r ed. The status keys 1 – 4 serv e for selecting the recording track, and for controlling the mute on/off condition for the track. W ith each push of the status key , the setting changes as follows. When the status k[...]

  • Page 9

    ZOOM MRS-4 17 5. When your guitar play is finished, press the STOP [ P ] key . The REC [ O ] key and PLA Y [ R ] key go out, and the recorder section stops. The display briefly shows "W AIT", and then the main screen reappears. The length of the "WAIT" interval dif fers, depending on recording conditions. 6. To listen to the r e[...]

  • Page 10

    ZOOM MRS-4 19 The length of the "WAIT" interval depends on setting conditions. 6. To listen to the r ecording, use the ZERO [ U ] key to return to the beginning of the song, and then press the PLA Y [ R ] key . The recorded tracks 1 and 2 are played back. If necessary , adjust faders 1 and 2 for optimum balance. 7. To stop playback, press[...]

  • Page 11

    The track mixer incorporates a send/return ef fect with rev erb/delay/chorus. The signal flo w when using the send/return effect is as follo ws. The intensity of the send/return effect can be adjusted for each track indi vidually by adjusting the send lev el. Raising the lev el causes the ef fect to be more pronounced for that track. This example s[...]

  • Page 12

    2. Use the [P ARAMETER/VALUE] keys to select the algorithm and the setting value. The up/down [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] ke ys change the setting value. When the highest or lowest setting is reached, the unit switches to the ne xt algorithm. Pressing the left/right [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] keys changes directly to the next algorithm. 3. To change the parameter[...]

  • Page 13

    10. While playing the song, use the up/down [P ARAMETER/VALUE] keys to adjust the send level for that track. 11. Perform the same steps for other tracks. The mixdown ef fect serves to process the stereo signal produced by the track mix er . This effect can be used simultaneously with the send/return effect. The signal flo w is sho wn below . Procee[...]

  • Page 14

    When the mixdown ef fect setting is completed, you are ready to record the f inal mix on the master recorder . 1. Use the ZERO [ U ] key to return to the beginning of the song. 2. Set the master recor der to the recor ding condition. 3. Press the PLA Y [ R ] key . 4. When the song has been completely recor ded, stop the master recor der and the MRS[...]

  • Page 15

    Combining multiple tracks (Bounce function) "Bounce" is a function that mixes the recorded content of sev eral tracks and records them on one or two tracks. This is sometimes also called "ping-pong recording". Even when all 4 tracks are recorded, the MRS-4 allows you to play them back simultaneously and bounce them onto currentl[...]

  • Page 16

    This section describes how to use manual punch-in/out to re-record a region of a previously recorded track. 1. Repeatedly press the status key of the track on which you want to punch-in/out, until the key is lit in red. 2. Raise the fader of the corresponding channel to a suitable position. 3. While playing the instrument connected to the input, ad[...]

  • Page 17

    Moving to a desired point in a song (Locate function) Y ou can specify a location within the song in time units (minutes/seconds/milliseconds), and mov e to that location. 1. While the main screen is shown, press the right [P ARAMETER/ V ALUE] key once. The indication "M" flashes on the display . 2. Use the left/right [P ARAMETER/ V ALUE][...]

  • Page 18

    Specifying a mark directly 1. While the main screen is shown, press the left [P ARAMETER/ V ALUE] key once. The indication "MARK" flashes on the display , and the number of the nearest mark before the current location is shown. 2. Use the up/down [P ARAMETER/ V ALUE] keys to select the desired mark number . As the mark number is changed, [...]

  • Page 19

    Assigning two inputs to a track In the "Basic Operation" section, we learned how to record the signal from one input on one track. By using the input mixer , it is also possible to combine the signal from two inputs onto one track, or to record it on two tracks separately . The procedure is described below . 1. Connect the instrument or m[...]

  • Page 20

    7. Use the [P ARAMETER/VALUE] keys to adjust the parameter . The left/right [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] keys serve for selecting the parameter and the up/down [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] ke ys for setting the value. • When wishing to use the send/return effect, press the [SEND/RETURN] key to set it to ON, and then select the algorithm and parameter ( ➝ p. 21).[...]

  • Page 21

    8. Specify the end point in the same way as described in step 6. 9. When you have specified the end point, press the [ENTER/YES] key . The screen for specifying the copy destination track and V -take appears. 10. Specify the copy destination track and V -take in the same way as described in step 4. 11. Specify the copy destination start point in th[...]

  • Page 22

    Use the left/right [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] ke ys to mov e the flashing section, and use the up/down [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] ke ys to change the number . 5. Press the [ENTER/YES] key . A screen will appear that allows you to set a start point for the erase action. 6. Use the [P ARAMETER/VALUE] keys to specify the start point for the segment to be erased. Th[...]

  • Page 23

    5. If necessary , specify the track number and V -take number , and press the [ENTER/YES] key . Use the left/right [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] ke ys to mov e the flashing section, and use the up/down [P ARAMETER/V ALUE] ke ys to change the number . Y ou can also specify a V - take that is currently not selected for the track. When you press the [ENTER/YES][...]

  • Page 24

    4. Press the [ENTER/YES] key . The screen for the item selected in step 3 appears. The subsequent steps differ for each item. F or details, see the following section. Song menu items Operation steps for the various song items are described here. To create a new song on the SmartMedia card, proceed as follows. 1. Select "SnG nEW" on the so[...]

  • Page 25

    Y ou can protect the currently selected song, so that no further recording or editing is possible. When a song is protected, you can still change effects or parameters, b ut you cannot store the results on the SmartMedia card. 1. From the song menu, select "ProtECt" and pr ess the [ENTER/ YES] key . The current protection on/off status is[...]

  • Page 26

    When the metronome is on and playback is started from a point midway in a song, no precount clicks are hear d. Depending on the start position, the metronome sound may start partly through a beat. Functions available with MIDI MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard that allows v arious types of messages such as playing and timing[...]

  • Page 27

    7. When tuning is complete, press the [EXIT/NO] key several times to r eturn to the main screen. Formatting a SmartMedia card Before starting to use an off-the-shelf SmartMedia card (designed for 3.3V , capacity 16 – 128 MB), you must first format it in the MRS-4 as follows. 1. While the MRS-4 is turned off, insert the unformatted SmartMedia card[...]

  • Page 28

    Using the AUX IN jacks to save tracks A UX IN is an input that accepts an e xternal signal which is then mixed with the internal signal of the MRS-4 and output as is at the MASTER [L]/[R] jacks. This can serve se veral purposes. F or example, during track recording or ov erdubbing, you could connect a rhythm machine synchronized to the MRS-4 to the[...]

  • Page 29

    Specifications ZOOM MRS-4 57 Recorder Physical tracks: 4 V irtual takes: 32 (8 V -takes per track) Maximum number of simultaneous recording tracks: 2 Maximum number of simultaneous playback tracks: 4 Recording media: SmartMedia card 16 – 128 MB (3.3V) Recording grade: 32 kHz (HiFi) / 16 kHz (Long) Maximum recording time (con verted to single mona[...]

  • Page 30

    ZOOM MRS-4 59 ZOOM MRS-4 58 The recor ded sound is distorted • Check whether the input sensitivity setting ([INPUT LEVEL] controls 1/2) w as appropriate. •L o wer the track f aders or MASTER fader so that the 0 (dB) dot of the lev el meter does not light. • If the EQ gain of the track mixer is set e xtremely high, the sound may be audibly dis[...]

  • Page 31

    MIDI implementation chart MIDI implementation ZOOM MRS-4 61 ZOOM MRS-4 MIDI implementation 60 [Smartmedia Digital Recorder ] Date : 06.Jan.,2002 Model MRS-4 MIDI Implementation Chart Version :1.00 Transmitted Recognized Remarks Function ... Basic Default x Channel Changed x Default 3 Mode Messages x Altered ****************** Note x Number True voi[...]

  • Page 32

    Insert effect ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5, 13 Algorithm •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 13 ◆ L Lev el meter •••••••••••••?[...]

  • Page 33

    ZOOM CORPORA TION NOAH Bldg., 2-10-2, Miyanishi-cho, Fuchu-shi, T okyo 183-0022, Japan PHONE: +81-42-369-7116 F AX: +81-42-369-7115 We b Site: http://www .zoom.co.jp Printed in Japan MRS-4 - 5000-2[...]