Members amanonfire Posted April 13, 2006 Members Share Posted April 13, 2006 i got one of these yesterday, its a 4 track. i cant figure it out for the life of me. fostex doesnt have the manual on their site (but i can have it for 6 bucks ). so any help operating this thing is greatly appreciated. its an old 4 track with knobs and buttons and sliders (but mostly knobs and buttons) :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 13, 2006 Members Share Posted April 13, 2006 Can you post a photo of it? If it's what I think it is, I used to have that one, and it's really straightforward to operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 13, 2006 Members Share Posted April 13, 2006 Ok, I'm pretty sure it's the same one I used to have. It's a nice 4-track, you can record all 4 tracks at once. It runs double tape speed, so it gets better sound quality, but of course it will go through cassettes much faster, since A: it uses both sides of the cassette at once, and B: it's running double-speed, so expect to get 1/4 the actual time that's listed on the cassette you are using. For instance, a 60 minute cassette will get you 15 minutes record time. To record, you have to use the track arming buttons for tracks 1-4, just choose the track, push the button and turn up the slider. Each input channel has separate bass & treble adjustments, as well as an aux/effects send (might be 2 aux/effects sends per channel, I can't remember for sure). Just adjust it how you think it sounds best using either some powered monitors or a set of heaphones, then push record and play and there ya go! To punch in, just turn off the track arm button then hit record and play and when the song gets to where you want to record, press the track button you want to punch in on, and it starts recording at that point. Because of it's double tape speed this machine will actually punch in pretty clean for a 4-track, although it's definitely not seamless punch-in. If you want to set up a separate headphone mix and you have a headphone amp you can use, you can hook it up to the aux/effects send while you're recording, and you can use the aux/effects controls on the channels to adjust for a separate headphone mix from what's coming out the front headphone jack. This machine is pretty versatile for a 4-track all-in-one machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amanonfire Posted April 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 13, 2006 well, i was using the track selection buttons, and the level indicator bars were telling me it was getting input and i could hear it through the headphones, but when i tried to play it back i got nothing. do the buttons underneath the knobs have any bearing on whether or not it records? i will try to post a pic tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 13, 2006 Members Share Posted April 13, 2006 It's been long enough since I've used it that I can't remember all the stuff that's on the machine. Can you make me a list of the knobs/switches on a channel strip from top to bottom? OH, one other thing, when you were getting levels, you did have record and play both on, on the transport controls, right? I *think* that's the only way you can get input levels on the 160 but I can't remember for sure, it's been nearly 10 years. If you make me a list of one of the channel strips it will help me a lot. I went and tried to find a picture of the unit online but the only ones I could find were of eBay units and were no longer available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 13, 2006 Members Share Posted April 13, 2006 Afternoon bump for amanonfire. I've got band practice for an Easter cantata I'm playing guitar for. I'll check back in on the thread when I get back tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amanonfire Posted April 14, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 14, 2006 forgot all about this last night, i will take a long lunch and do it then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amanonfire Posted April 15, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 15, 2006 http://amanonfire.goesnowhere.com/d/7899-2/IMG_6204.JPG here is the link to the picture. its pretty big but you should be able to see everything clearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 15, 2006 Members Share Posted April 15, 2006 Ahhh, I fondly remember that machine. You need to set the pan control pushbutton switch for "direct" when you are recording, firstly. Also, the track switch at the bottom of the channels needs to be set to "input". You will want the meter switch set to "recorder" so that you get all four meters working. And, of course, the record track buttons need to be pushed for whichever tracks you are recording. For playback, you need to set the input slider switch to "trk" for the channels you are playing back. You can play back the other tracks with this machine while recording another one, it's pretty versatile. If you're mixing all four tracks down, then set all four channels for "trk" and the pan switches to "mix", and change the meter switch to "stereo". The AUX knob with the switch beside it is for hooking up a reverb or other outboard effect processor during mixdown, or you can use it for a headphone mix during recording, depending on whether you have the switch set for "source" or "track". Set it for source to use as a headphone mix. Then you can use the monitor section AUX switch to get that mix to the headphone output of the 160. If you follow the first paragraph you should get a recording, I'm pretty sure. It's been a while, but I think that's all you need to do to record. Hope this helps, and feel free to shoot me any more questions you might have. This machine is capable of quite a bit for a tape-based 4-tracker, it will take a few times to get a handle on it all but you'll be happy with it once you do, providing it all is working properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 16, 2006 Members Share Posted April 16, 2006 bump for amanonfire..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amanonfire Posted April 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 17, 2006 thanks a ton Jon. i will have to fiddle with it. your advice will definitely help. sounds pretty decent for 75 bucks. my only problem is that the rewind and fast forward dont work toward the ends of the tape for some reason. i may have to pop it open. thanks a ton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jon Hiller Posted April 17, 2006 Members Share Posted April 17, 2006 I'd guess that it might need new belts. The 160 actually is a pretty good sounding 4-tracker, it benefits from Dolby C and from double-tape speed. Mine was the best 4-track I've had. I sold it to a guy who was teaching guitar in my shop about 8 or 9 years ago when I picked up a Fostex R8 and as far as I know he is still using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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