I spent 30 quid on an R24 instruction DVD by a top producer and your videos are far more personable and useful by far. Thanks for taking the trouble to make them!
Very late to the party, I'm about to take delivery of an R24.... Looking forward to doing some home demos after a 20 year layoff... my Tascam Porta 414mk II was state of the art back then! I looked around a fair bit, and although it's been around quite some time, the R24 looks like it fits my needs. Not much else that has superseded it as far as I can tell. Anyway, just to say a massive thankyou for these videos. As many have said already, they are a superb introduction to this machine. Cheers, Andy.
This is my first (and probably last) RUclips comment ever, but I simply wanted to thank you for this R24 series. I bought a used R24 the other day (still haven't got it yet) and have spent the last few nights watching your informative videos to "warm up" for it. You are really good at explaining this device, and I can't wait to start working with it. Such a nice thing of you to do, to share this info with fellow struggling home studio musicians out there in such an informative, even entertaining, manner (I think the table cloth is brilliant by the way!). Good luck with your music and keep it up! Very much appreciated!
So much gratitude for this series! I'm in the process of buying one & feel ready to hit the ground running when it arrives, thanks to you. Love your deep dive approach. Also greatly appreciate your non-obnoxious, sensible style. You're a natural teacher.
Thank you so much for all of these man! I've had an r24 for about a year now and haven't really gotten to know it until I watched your videos. I really appreciate you taking the time to share what you have learned and pass the flame to the rest of us. Cheers!
Great feedback Will and you are not alone - there are plenty of folk on here who have never really got the most out of their R24's due to apprehension or not being able to understand the manual - really glad to be of help and enjoy your music!!
Well, I was uncertain to aquire this device, but after seeing all your videos, you definitely sold me one! A very big thank you for your time, you explained every aspect of the Zoom R24 very well, with live examples.
Thanks, topdazzle, for a fantastic tutorial! I currently own a ZOOM HD16-CD recorder and I'm thinking about buying the ZOOM R24. Your tutorial gave me a terrific insight into the features of the R24.
Thank you so much for your detailed, comprehensive instructions on the features and functions of the R24. I don't have one yet because I was telling my music supplier that I was interested in the BR-800 and they didn't tell me about the R24. I found out on my own and it is certainly more what I need. Finally, you have saved me hours of frustration and anxiety getting started with all the songs I have been practicing and would like to record and polish. Well done and brilliant series!!!!
Thanks for another very helpful tutorial , Topdazzle ! The easiest aspect of the Zoom R24 / R8 so far ! Agree with you about this being an art ! Cheers !
No worries Hannibal, my pleasure and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. The Zoom is an incredible product in my humble opinion and at this price point, there is nothing to touch it. I still don't know how they do it! Sure it will never compete with a high-end professional studio but then it's not costing you 10's of thousands and it will fit in a laptop bag - great fun and enjoy yours when you get it! Best wishes, Darren
Great work with these tutorial videos, they have saved me alot of hours plowing through the manual, and now Im on my way to actually recording and understanding the Zoom. Cheers mate!
Do you know if you can run audio into these and have the effects output in realtime to the outputs? I'm interested in using it as an effects unit. thanks
@@maccagrabme well I supose you can do that, just apply the effects the the channel your plugged in to, and then connect the audio out to the appropriate device. But I have not tried it, think you would be much easier of just getting an effects unit :)
@@roccsterx Thanks, what I am trying to achieve is having a sub mixer with realtime effects. Most of the new mixing desks have effects but most dont have a tap facility so you cant set the delay times and I view these small zoom mixers as a low cost way of achieving what a modern mixer does but on a budget but with more control. I have a Roland VS which is superb for effects but is a bit big so looking for something smaller.
Great to hear and thanks for the feedback Paul - really pleased that my vids are helping creative types get their music out there - makes it all worthwhile!
I'm looking into a getting multi-tracker recorder , pretty sure the R24 is the way I'm going ... I like the way you explain things, how to get here or there and some of the techniques shortcuts along with some insights on what you're doing and why ... Thanks for posting these... The Wandering Musician
No problem man and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment - it's a great piece of kit and although it's now a good few years old (and I wonder what they will come out with next) it's still getting regular use - I'm always in awe that you can have this much studio power in your laptop bag with all those inputs, effect, etc. - I love mine!
Thank you for these videos sir! I've watched a lot of them and you did a great job covering all of the features. I did end up buying the Tascam DP-24SD which is a pretty nice recorder as well, but I wanted to give you a shout out for doing these videos. I bookmarked them in case I want to try out the Zoom R24 eventually. Thanks again.
Nice cover of the Cult for the tutorials! I'm sure I'll cover something to get familiar with the unit when it arrives next week. The Cult are on my list as I got a Gretsch with a Bigsby recently. I was very interested in the new R20, but there's not much info/reviews about it yet, and I want to kick out some jams for my staycation that starts next weekend. I'm thinking this machine will be a lot of fun and easy to dive into now that you've shown me the basics. :)
Hey Sean and thanks for your comment - if you like The Cult then check out the band gig and rehearsal vids on my channel for covers of Lil Devil, Peace Dog, Love Removal Machine, Wildflower and Rain - plenty to go at there and enjoy your time off!
@@topdazzle Will do! I got to see them live some while back when they were doing the Electric tour again. They even played some of the older Death Cult/Southern Death Cult stuff, though they avoided playing Fire Woman. :)
I only ever connected my R24 once to to a laptop to use it as an audio interface .After doing this the card reader refused to respond whenever I inserted SD cards into it. After contacting Zoom engineers I was forced to send it back via the merchant .After 8 weeks I received my Zoom back .I was informed that a pcb had to be replaced . Obviously I will never risk plugging it back into any laptop or pc . Apart from that issue I have to say I totally love using it as a mixer/recorder .
Lol - thanks Tim - if only I was the creator of the Zoom R24 then I'd certainly be making a lot more money out of it than I am right now! Thanks for your comment and glad you have found the videos to be of use.
Hey there from across the world and thank you for your tutorials.. Unfortunately I must've missed some info : I can't seem to understand how to keep the EQ and REVERB that I applied to my tracks. Once I export my tracks to my computer, they're all dry and flat and it's driving me crazy... What's the trick ?
There is no trick - that's exactly what's meant to happen. It's rare that you would want to "print" effects to tracks if you are then going to edit them on a computer - normally you want these tracks "dry" so that you then have ultimate flexibility in your DAW to add or remove effects and EQ as you wish. Having said that, if you want to just use the R24 for this, then just bounce them / mix them down to a new stereo file or new tracks on the device and voila - your effects and EQ will remain. My videos show you how to do this. I hope that helps and thanks for your comment!
Hey Brian and thanks for the comment. You can loop anything that you record and you can also use the provided USB stick full of loops. You would then need to use the track sequencer to build these into a pattern which will include your basic rhythm plus whatever fancy fills and riffs you want to include. All of this will be the subject of my next video so stay tuned! Cheers, Darren
Okay, thank you so much. Here goes. Then I have to learn how to put the master onto memory stick. I learn better watching and learning from visually being shown. Just how my brain works. 😁
On the R24 (assuming you mean acoustic drums) I would definitely be using the "8 x Comp EQ" effect (that's what it was designed for) giving you independent compression and EQ on all 8 channels at the same time.
Really awesome video. I do have one question.. What I'd like to do is load 8 tracks from my DAW onto the R24, do a volume mix with the faders, and then take each of the tracks back into my DAW for additional compression/EQ/mastering at their new balanced levels. Is this possible? Or will I only be able to export a master of all the tracks mixed together?
Thanks. What you want to do is perfectly possible but a better option might be just to use your R24 as a control surface for your DAW (it works really well using the Mackie profile in your DAW preferences). Then you have the use of physical faders and can leave all your tracks just where they are (with all the extra functions that your DAW provides).
I got the L-12 Livetrack a few months ago and use it all the time now - much better than the R24 in terms of use without having to dive into menus - everything is on knobs and dials.
Thanks for your comment David - I no longer use Reaper (I've moved on to Adobe Audition as I am doing more video work just recently) so no plans but a good idea nonetheless. I have used my R24 as a control surface with different DAWS and as long as you use the Mackie option in the menus on the DAW, it works really well.
HI Darren ... yes, you've understood me perfectly! ... The best solution for me would be to take your second solution ... to mix the original 'raw' tracks with the new keyboard part ... but what I don't understand is how to get the raw tracks back to their individual channels, so I've got control over them in my next master mix ... I see them in my R24 window as mono - 001 etc., but can I reassign them to channels in the mixer, so I can then add the keyboard part in? ... How would I do that? Many thanks, Ken
Yes you can - I'm away from my R24 at the moment and won't be able to reply properly to this for about a week but it's in one of the menus (can't remember which one but probably "Track") and it's the "assign" function - you then select "file" and that shows you whatever is on your SD card, then pick the file you want and assign it to the track you have selected. Hope that helps!
PS: what you've suggested is exactly the way I would do it - re-mix it rather than try and add the keyboard part to a mix you have already made - should turn out more "cohesive" all being well (rather than like an after-thought).
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am not sure if you still monitor comments, but these videos have been a lifesaver for my son and me to learn his new Christmas present. I do have one question that I have not been able to find an answer to. My son is a drummer and he likes to play along to songs he listens to through his iPhone while he monitors the mics through the headphone jack. Right now we have a cord that splits his iPhone signal to two cables that we have plugged into two adjacent inputs that we have stereo linked. Ultimately though we would like to add more mics and do not want to use up those two inputs. Can we record down the song to a track on a different bank and then set it to play and then switch back to the original bank and use the now freed up inputs for more mics? Not sure I am making sense. Ultimately, we would like to find a way to have a song in the background to play to without having to take up the two inputs that that currently takes...
Hi Christine and thanks for your comments / question. Good news all round - firstly "yes" I do still monitor these comments and I like to help people out where I can. Secondly, "yes" - if I've understood you correctly then you can do what you want to do fairly easily. If you record down the track from your iPhone to a linked stereo pair on a bank (say bank 9-16 but it doesn't really matter), then arm these for playback (so the LED above their tracks if lit green), then go back to your first bank (or wherever you have your drum mics plugged in), arm them for record (you don't actually have to record for this to work, just arm them for record so that their LED's above each track are lit red), then press the main "play" key on the transport controls and you should then be able to hear back anything lit green (in this case your iPhone track) while being able to monitor what you are actually playing on anything lit red. Hope this makes sense and congratulations on getting your son the R24 for Christmas - he'll have a lot of fun with it (my son is a drummer too) - I wish I had these when I was a kid!! Best wishes and Happy New Year, Darren.
@@topdazzle Thank you so much! I am a career educator and your skills in conveying information are second to none. Thank you again for your excellent videos and personal help. Your time and efforts are a gift that is much appreciated!
As I have only a Zoom R16 (which has no drums) it's now time to say good bye... :'o( It was a pleasure to follow your videos and comments! Maybe one time you come back to show us some Best Practices? ;o) There are still some open aspects, e. g.: - using the Zoom R24/16/8 in live situations - using the Zoom with a smartphone for fast catching ideas (or even creating dummy tracks) - tips'n'tricks... Thank you very much for everything! Auf Wiedersehen!
Thanks so much for your awesome videos Darren. I've just completed my first recording with the R24 and my problem is the size of the master file. I moved it to the laptop and realized the file size is much too large for attaching to email. The recording I made with the R16 and burned to CD where quit small compared. Have I missed something. It is set to 16 bit.
STEPHEN MCDANIEL Not really sure Stephen to be honest - I don't email songs for that reason, I either upload them straight to SoundCloud or a Cloud storage option like DropBox and send people a link from there. You should know thought that a .WAV file is essentially an uncompressed sound file (which is why they are such good quality) but when you burn them to the format that an audio CD plays, it may compress them making the file size smaller - not too sure about this as it's been ages since I burnt a CD but something you might want to check out.
Hi, I've found all your R24 videos really useful. Just regarding mastering, when I Iisten back to the recording through what I think are fairly decent studio headphones it sounds great, but when I put the recording onto the computer and listen through my stereo/hifi it sounds quite a lot quieter than an audio CD of a similar genre would be. I've tried exporting the file to Audacity and playing around with it, but not really knowing what I'm doing I tend to end up making it sound worse. Do you have any tips to make the volume a good level when listening back through a hi-fi? I have the R8 by the way and only make acoustic, singer-songwriter type recordings, so no bass/drums etc. No problem if you wouldn't be sure but just thought I'd ask. Thanks again for the invaluable videos you have made
Yes - the two main areas you would look to increase overall loudness is "normalise" and compression. If you are recording at the right levels (which are typically conservative) you should nearly always have to normalise in post - I usually go for max peaks at around -1 or -3 db depending on what else I intend to do with it. I would normally also always use some master compression on my mixes and for this I set a brickwall limiter and add make-up (or output) gain if needed to make the finished mix even hotter (but without clipping). Hope this helps!
Thanks for your reply. The normalise and compression in audacity have brought the volume up a bit. I'm not sure where to find the brickwall limiter/make up/output functions though. Are these somewhere in audacity as well, or on the Zoom itself?
@@adamhayes4025 If you adjust the normalise to make your max peaks hotter (say -1 or -3db). The makeup or output gain is a function of most compressors to compensate for the squashing of the incoming signal - the one in Audacity may not have it. I use either Reaper (which you can try free for 60 days) or Adobe Audition. The brickwall limiter is available in Audition's native multi-band compressor which is what I use when I am not using my plugin compressors. You can also increase the overall gain of your tracks pretty easily in Audacity.
These videos gave me the nudge I needed to buy an R24. Thanks for your efforts. I plan on talking to a Zoom rep at Gearfest to give you something for your efforts. One question: If I am mixing down a song with 24 tracks and I want to make fine adjustments to track 9 and then switch back to track 1 and make a fine adjustment to it, does this sudden jump of levels due to the faders not being motorized ruin the levels. In otherwords, one track is lower in the mix, how do I move the fader without it matching the last position and creating a jump in volume. Thanks again, AL (Chicago)
Hey Al - your best bet if you want to make such fine adjustments on that many tracks and a major jump in level may be a problem is to ignore the faders altogether in my opinion and just use the level control in the track menu for each track (use the cursor keys to increase or decrease the numeric value of the level for the track) - and either a Zoom B3 bass effects pedal or a Zoom H6 recorder would go down a treat!!
That helps enormously, thank you! I really don't want to go through the learning curve and unintuitiveness (for me anyway) of computer production. I can't read music nor understand time signatures, so I rely heavily on the clock and hands-on faders and drum pads. Thanks again. Say, what is your opinion of the R24's drum sounds and included Peter Erskine drum loops? Good quality, or still sound a little thin?
Papa John Not sure if you've seen or not but there's a few vids in this series talking specifically about the drum stuff - personally I don't use them much and the ones included on the device are standard fare - reasonable enough. The Eskine loops are played by a human drummer so sound a bit better but we have a real drummer in the band so I don't need them. They are OK for what they are but not a reason to buy the machine on their own.
Great videos! I just bought a new R24 and I recorded my band gig on Saturday night. But I have a question-how can I split the 3 hour gig into the 45 individual songs so I can make a cd? I checked the manual and can't figure it out. I wanted to do it on the R24 without DAW computers. Thank you for the great work!
+TheMadHattersofPA Hi and thanks for your comment - the answer is yes you can using the TRIM function on the R24 but, to be honest, it's a major pain in the ass and much easier in a DAW. This is one of the R24's few shortcomings - it is a bit light on editing features as that's not what it is designed for. If I were you I would ship it into Audacity (or similar) and chop it up there. If you don't want to do that then you will have to make copies of the project (x45 by the sounds of it) and use TRIM to trim each copy from the start and beginning of the gig to get each individual song and then re-save it - it will take you ages!
Yes for EQ (which is always available on a per-track basis) but no for limiting and compression - these are only available on the R24 as an insert effect.
Looks pretty tricky trying to get a good mix, probably best to drag over files to computer software? It also seems to have lost a little master mix from raw track mix?
When are they going to update the Zoom R24 driver for Mac OS, so I can use my R24 as a controller in Logic Pro? Because Logic Pro doesn’t recognise the device. It’s an important issue for me and many users because 1/3rd of the device is rendered unworkable. Did I buy a cat in a bag?
Thanks for understanding. I do have one very important question regarding the post-mastering stage. You see, I currently burn post-mastering to an onboard CD player on my much older Zoom MRS-16...with the R24, can final, finished tracks simply be saved on the SD card, transferred to a computer, and imported into, for example, iTunes, or something like it? What I'm really trying to avoid is using computer software to burn my final tracks...I prefer doing it on the Zoom device itself. Can I do that? (Thanking you in advance).
Papa John Yes - you're final finished tracks are saved on the SD card as a .WAV stereo file (which means they are uncompressed and therefore, maximum quality). Depending on what format you want to burn to in the end will depend on whether or not you will need to compress or convert the file to MP3, etc. so it can be read and stored on your playback device. So if you want to make a CD for example, the .WAV will need to be converted first before you can then go on to burn it to a CD using your computer - hope that helps.
Fantastic job. Congratulations! Very useful indeed. I have a question to you. Just imagine that I have a vocal track that started at 00;00, and another one that, by mistake, started at 00:10. There's any way I can syncronize them?
Thanks a lot for your answer. It really worked. Another question: are you familiar with any plug-in that can help with correction of pitch of any voice recorded? Thanks in advance. BR Machado
Hi great videos! Super helpful i'd be nowhere with my R8 without them thanks. I have a question concerning the song output/ playback once taken off the R24/ R8. I have mixed and mastered through headphones and got all my levels good, it sounds good through the headphones. But once put onto my computer and played through itunes or whatever else it sounds really quiet and very different. So frustrating to get all the way to the end and end up with this. If I up the levels or master volume won't it just clip? any ideas?? thanks heaps
Could be a number of things - if your individual track levels are good and nicely balanced, what is your overall (red fader) level looking like? It should be touching orange most of the time, ocasional peaks into red are not a a problem as there is a certain amount of headroom built in prior to clipping. Don't forget when mixing on headphones, use the red fader to set your overall recording level but use the volume control on the back of the R24 to control the headphone volume (i.e. if it's too loud in your ears, don't turn down the master fader). Also, what mastering preset are you using?
How exactly do these mastering inserts work? For example. if I have my tracks ready to mix but have no mastering effect at all, is there a way to mess with the panning or EQ levels of the tracks to get the same sound I would if I turned on the "Rock Show" effect? I just don't understand this at all. When I turn on "Live" or "Rock Show" there is a good stereo effect to the guitar sound, but I don't understand how exactly this all works.
No because the insert mastering effects contain lots of other parameters that aren't available on a track by track basis (compression, limiting, noise reduction, boost, etc.) and the overall effect is made up of a "chain" of these individual effects all linked together with different levels set on each - hope this makes sense.
Hey, hello, please can you help me. on my 1 to 8 bank. I have somehow got 3 and 4 5 and 6 stereo linked. So they come one together when pressed. How do I get them back to being individual channels. Come out of the stereo link?? I haven't been using my zoom for a while and just cannot remember how to do this. I not a very technical person. But manage to record and mix down. But can't remember or find out how to do this. Regards David
Hi David - yes, they are behaving like this due to being stereo linked. You can unlink them in the Track menu I think it is. If they have recordings on them, they can’t then be unlinked in that project as they were recorded as a stereo pair so start with a new blank project and don’t continue with the same project settings - choose the other option (I think it’s “from new” or something like that - not “continue”).
Thanks as ever for the great videos! - I have a question about Mastering down a mix - I produced a 'rough mix' master to give to my keyboards player so she could work out a keyboard part to our current song in production. I did this with your help in part 5 of your series of tutorials. I burnt it to CD after making this rough master by taking the memory chip out and putting it into my laptop and burning the CD via I-tunes. Now I want to go back into my Zoom and record her worked out keyboard part over my existing recording of this song which was already 5 tracks (gutars, drums etc) ... I now find that my rough master is still there under the song name, and the individual files are still there under 'project / file / 'mono-001, mono-002 etc., but when I play these individual files, each one is on the 'master' fader. Does this mean that I've lost the ability to add on new tracks (ie keyboard) to an existing song that I've already roughly 'mastered'? ... if this is true, then it's a major fault in the Zoom!! - or am I doing something wrong? ... Help please? Cheers, Ken
Hi Ken - not sure if I've understood you correctly but here goes! Any Master file you create on the R24 is simply a stereo WAV file that behaves the same as any other stereo WAV file, it just happens to be assigned to the Master fader (which looks a bit like a mono track as there is only one fader control). That means (if I've understood you correctly) to add in your new keyboard part to your rough Master mix you have essentially two options. You can either re-assign the stereo master track to any other pair of linked stereo tracks (say 5&6) record your keyboard part to another linked pair of tracks (assuming it is giving you a stereo output into the R24) and then bounce both pairs of stereo tracks (or mix them down again) to either the Master track or another pair of stereo tracks. Alternatively, you could record your new keyboard part to a new track(s) and then mix down again all your raw tracks together along with the new keyboard part to the Master track but just make sure you have the record mode set to "always new" so that you get a new Master file but the old one is also still there - otherwise you will overwrite it and lose the original. Rest assured, you are able to add in your new parts - it's just a matter of which way you choose to do it and how simple you want your work flow to be. One final thing, when taking tracks off and back on to the R24, make sure to keep the file names in the same format (I think it might be 8 characters followed by .WAV but double check this) and keep the folder format the same on the SD card, that way your R24 will be looking in the right place for your files and will recognise them when it sees them. Hope this makes sense - a bit hard to describe! Best wishes, Darren
Hi Darren ... Well I've tried doing what you suggested, but I still can't get those files back into tracks to remix them again. When you get back in front of your Zoom R24, maybe you could let me know which way to do this? I don't think it's 'Track' as you suggested ... I've had another song which I mixed down as well, and I also seem to have lost the original files completely once the mix down / mastering has taken place ... I certainly hope I can recover ANY files that I create in the R24!! Cheers, Ken
Hi there. dunno if ya ever check this now but.. I used your tutorials and managed to record a whole 2 hour gig, then master each song and name it... but when I exported the wave file into iTunes there was all the dead air before the song exported as well so the last song although mastered separately had 1 hour of silence before it played the actual track.. any help appreciated.
@@topdazzle Hi thanks so much for your videos! I have had my R24 for over a year and still can not figure out how to use the send effects of reverb and chorus!! It has been very frustrating to have a feature on this that I am unable to get to work. Please let me know if there are any resources out there that explain how to get this function to work. I have viewed the videos on effects and mixing, but did not see anything on these. thanks so much, Matt
1832498 Hey Matt - check out my vid on Basic Recording on the R24 for a full breakdown on how to use the reverb and chorus/delay send and return effects.
Hi Jon and thanks for your question - sadly I have no experience whatsoever with the Tascam so I can't help you but I would imagine that they do broadly similar things. I would doubt you will be disappointed with either.
I found your videos very helpful. Any suggestions on using more than the provided drum tracks (fills/breaks/whatever)? I am able to record over the beats on the r24, but how do I insert fills? Thanks
I'm a bit late to the party but just trying to make my mind up which multitracker to go for, and I found your video series really helpful. Thank you for the time and effort. I have used a Yamaha AW16G in the past but mine is now a little old and past it - and it's not particularly DAW friendly! I've recorded bands live and the results have been pretty good - do you have any experience of doing this on the R24? Cheers again for the vids.
Hi Jon - if you don't need the extra tracks then the R16 would do you just fine although bear in mind you are also getting a smaller screen on the R16 and so it may not be as easy to work on - those are the only two major differences between the two devices.
Great videos, but i got a question. I'm in a bind at the moment, i need to export 6+ hours of recording onto an external hard drive. but the r24 won't see it. whenever i try to initialize the storage and create a folder, it gives me an error. I don't know if you've already answered this in another video so i'm sorry if i sound redundant. But i could use some help
+Kenissis You can't connect an external hard drive directly to the R24, it's not designed to work with it. You have two (possibly 3) options to get your footage off the device as follows: 1) remove the memory card, put it in a laptop then drag and drop your audio to your HDD via your laptop, 2) connect your R25 directly to your laptop via USB and drag and drop to your HDD that way or 3) dump your track onto a USB stick plugged in to your R24 then transfer this to your laptop and HDD - either way, you're going to need a computer to transfer the audio I'm afraid.
Had mine years with no probs except one, my master volume doesn't fade out smoothly at the lowest volume instead it sort of jumps from 1 to 0 at the last moment abruptly no matter how slowly I fade it.anyone know an onboard way around this?
Hi Topdazzle, am a newbie in Australia. Have mastered my first song with three tracks. Understand I can master again or copy the project. But can't work out how I can record another track or edit an existing one on the project AFTER it has been mastered. I can't find anything anywhere in forums etc. Any suggestions? Love your work!
Hi Andy - once you "master" something, all you are really doing is creating a new stereo file within the project (in the "Masters" folder on your memory card) made up of whichever tracks you selected all blended together at the levels that you set with the effects, EQ, etc. applied that you selected. Your original tracks are still there within the project so you can create as many masters as you want within each project, all using the same tracks (or different combinations of them - whatever you choose) with whatever effects, EQ, etc. you choose for each Master. In your case, you would not be looking to add or edit the existing Master you have already created but rather make a new Master with any additional tracks or edits you want included. Hope this helps!
Hi mate, thanks very much for responding. I think I have that sorted. For some reason I had some restrictions in being able to record on that project but as you have described it seems to be Ok and will revise tracks and add new ones. Appreciate your help. Very useful
hey mate, can you go over or expain if you know easiest way how to take tracks straight to usb? looking to burn cd from pc easiest way without mastering maybe if thats easier and makes sense? thanks in advance.
Hi, I am learning via your video tutorials. So, I take the memory card out and get it up on the computer to be able to get to the master mix down to record into an MP3 file. Not sure how to do that. Any links for this?
Hello again Topdazzle ! Just wanted to give you big thanks for these highly educational tutorials . I don't think I would have gotten it without your help ! After 2-3 months of learning the Zoom R8 , I'm now getting great guitar / vocal / bass / fx sounds . I gave up on the sequencer function and got v-drums . So , big thank you ! Question : I've recorded quite a bit of material on one 32 GB sound card , I'm a bit hesitant to load the card into my PC . I don't have a DAW on the PC . So , what happens when you insert the sound card into a computer ? Does it recognize master mixes as opposed to individual non-mixed tracks ? Is the sound card going to be in any way altered by putting into the computer ? Any help is appreciated ! :)
Hey Sean and thanks again for the great feedback - very kind! I gave up on the sequencer too - not really my cup of tea!! As for your question about the card, yes, it recognises Master mixes separately to non-mixed tracks and these are easily distinguished on your card with a different file name (from memory I think it's "MASTER_001.WAV", etc. or something similar). The card will not be effected by putting it into your computer so don't worry - all you will see is a normal folder structure with files inside the folders that are all .WAV files (uncompressed audio) which you can drag and drop the same as any other files. You can copy them, paste them, do whatever you like with them. The only thing to be aware of is don't go messing with the folder structure on the card (like renaming folders, moving folders, etc.) as the R24 sets this up whenever you format a card inside it so it knows where to look for stuff and where to put stuff. If you change any of this it will mess it up and the R24 will not know what it's doing.
Thanks Bro.I have learned so much from you.I know this thing like the back of my hand now.Best thing I ever bought.I do my music by myself playing every Instrument.The R24 is perfect for me.I made a FaceBook page called Zoom R Series Multi Track Recorder/Audio Interface/Sampler.I put all your video's on there.
Priceless info, great job again. Question; If you did recordings in 24 bit and my intent is to download to cd that should be recorded in 16 bit. Is that tracks recorded in 24 bit useless? or can it be converted to 16 bit without re-recording all the tracks and master tracks?, or do I need to re-record all again with recording mode to 16 bit? Thanks again, for your hard work and great insight and info. I was clueless on a lot of the vocabulary and using the R8,and your down to earth tutorials is awesome and works with my R8.
Hey Billy - fear not, your tracks are still good - you can convert from 24 to 16 bit quite easily using a lot of different types of software / DAW's - I have never done it myself as I always record in 16 bit to save the hassle but I am led to believe it is very straightforward - try Googling "24 to 16 bit converter software" and see what comes up or check the Zoom US forum and do a search on there.
topdazzle Thanks, I was able to open the record mode and lo and behold I was in the default 18 bit, so that solve that issue. Something funny happen though, I took the sd card, was able to download to my computer and burn onto a cd disk, but I can only play back the cd in my computer and the sounds would not come out of my car or home stereo units?, any imput on this. Thanks.
topdazzle Yup I checked the record mode, and I was set in the 16 bit, and I was able to download to "audio cd" vs data and it worked fine. Now next, I want to figure out how to use the drum section to add to songs, there's some info on it, are you gonna do a vid on using the drums how to?, I hope so, Thanks man.
It depends entirely what you intend to use it for. For multitrack recording and mixing, the R24. As a field recorder or for film / video production, podcasts, voice overs, sound effects, etc. the H6. Two entirely different devices for two entirely different purposes (with some overlap). I have them both and use them both.
someone help.i've recorded and mastered a couple of tracks on the r24 which is easy enough.trouble is i cant send it to my computer and the manual is just hopeless.it just says you simply drag and drop.i've tried connecting the usb,set the r24 to card reader and loaded the the cd's but without knowing what i'm doing i always seem to hit a wall.can some tell me without computer jargon how to transfer a master song from the r24 to the pc.cheers!
No worries John - I do it that way all the time - I have yet to connect my R24 to my laptop - I'll get round to it one day but only because I want to try it out as an audio interface. All the best and enjoy your R24! Darren
No, not really. Technically yes - you could apply a mastering effect to 8 tracks at a time then repeat but you will end up with multiple finished stereo files / mix downs - that’s not really the way it’s designed to work. Mastering is meant to be something applied to the whole finished stereo mix, not a few tracks at a time. You can keep an eye on all levels just by using the “bank” buttons during the mix down. If you have your levels in the right ball park to begin with, any adjustments you may then need to make should be few and minor.
Also people who tell you its wrong because you did it the wrong way should only be listened too if you don't like what you have produced. Our latest release was hated by every engineer who got hold of it because I had recorded it wrong in their eyes. I said feck off it sounds great and it was our most poular release, because it had an unusual signiture sound exactly what I was after. Trust your ears, don't look at screens and listen non creative teccies. They are not always right!
Hey Tito - I have no experience whatsoever with the R16 I'm afraid but I would imagine it's very similar to the R24 so take a look at this video and see if that helps. If that's no better then Google "Zoom Forum US" where this is a specific section for the R16 and I bet you're query is covered there - if not you can ask the members and they are very helpful. I hope this helps and best wishes, Darren
Hello there, I'm getting my brand new Zoom R24 tomorrow and can't wait to use it. You video's have been really informative and useful. Thanks for putting your time and effort into doing these tutorials. Much appreciated. If I have any queries would it be ok to message you ? Regards, From Christopher from across the pond in England
can i just ask. I have read different things about sd cards not being com-patible. Which sd 32gb card should i use to record with my zoom r24. Can i use a hc card and any particular brand ?
Not sure on the branding comparabilities Mac (I use San Disk) but you need to make sure that the read / write speeds are enough for recording multiple streams of audio at the same time - this is measured by the "Class" of the card and, from memory, you should be looking for something around the Class 6 mark.
im using the sd card to export the files to my computer. i want the files to have the mastering effects on them but i dont think they do. do i have to like mix down or do something special to make the effects permanent? thanks
Just make sure you are recording your final mix "wet" (i.e. with the effects burned in permanently to the track) and NOT "dry" in the Project Record Mode settings.
topdazzle how do you record a final mix? i never needed to do this because i have entire patterns in one track since i do a lot of mixing on my sp 404. if its in your video please just let me know the time mark.
Do you know a way to have a sequence recorded (from reason) in two tracks and a third with a click so the drummer is the only one that can hear it live?
I spent 30 quid on an R24 instruction DVD by a top producer and your videos are far more personable and useful by far. Thanks for taking the trouble to make them!
Hey - I know the DVD you are referring to and I am very flattered - thanks for your comment and glad I am able to help you out!
Very late to the party, I'm about to take delivery of an R24.... Looking forward to doing some home demos after a 20 year layoff... my Tascam Porta 414mk II was state of the art back then! I looked around a fair bit, and although it's been around quite some time, the R24 looks like it fits my needs. Not much else that has superseded it as far as I can tell. Anyway, just to say a massive thankyou for these videos. As many have said already, they are a superb introduction to this machine. Cheers, Andy.
Omg the rain! I played drums with that for a high school concert back in 1986! Yea!
This is my first (and probably last) RUclips comment ever, but I simply wanted to thank you for this R24 series. I bought a used R24 the other day (still haven't got it yet) and have spent the last few nights watching your informative videos to "warm up" for it. You are really good at explaining this device, and I can't wait to start working with it. Such a nice thing of you to do, to share this info with fellow struggling home studio musicians out there in such an informative, even entertaining, manner (I think the table cloth is brilliant by the way!). Good luck with your music and keep it up! Very much appreciated!
Hey Anders - thanks a lot for your very kind comments which make it all worthwhile. The table cloth is the real celebrity! lol
So much gratitude for this series! I'm in the process of buying one & feel ready to hit the ground running when it arrives, thanks to you. Love your deep dive approach. Also greatly appreciate your non-obnoxious, sensible style. You're a natural teacher.
Thanks Man - enjoy!
Thank you so much for all of these man! I've had an r24 for about a year now and haven't really gotten to know it until I watched your videos. I really appreciate you taking the time to share what you have learned and pass the flame to the rest of us. Cheers!
Great feedback Will and you are not alone - there are plenty of folk on here who have never really got the most out of their R24's due to apprehension or not being able to understand the manual - really glad to be of help and enjoy your music!!
Well, I was uncertain to aquire this device, but after seeing all your videos, you definitely sold me one! A very big thank you for your time, you explained every aspect of the Zoom R24 very well, with live examples.
No problem and thanks for the comment
Thanks, topdazzle, for a fantastic tutorial! I currently own a ZOOM HD16-CD recorder and I'm thinking about buying the ZOOM R24. Your tutorial gave me a terrific insight into the features of the R24.
Hey William - you are very welcome my friend and thanks for the kind comments - good luck with the R24 if you end up getting one!
You have done a fine job with this series. Much thanks to you.
Thanks a lot Jim - very much appreciated.
Thank you so much for your detailed, comprehensive instructions on the features and functions of the R24. I don't have one yet because I was telling my music supplier that I was interested in the BR-800 and they didn't tell me about the R24. I found out on my own and it is certainly more what I need. Finally, you have saved me hours of frustration and anxiety getting started with all the songs I have been practicing and would like to record and polish. Well done and brilliant series!!!!
Thanks for another very helpful tutorial , Topdazzle ! The easiest aspect of the Zoom R24 / R8 so far ! Agree with you about this being an art ! Cheers !
No worries Sean and thanks for the comments!
Thanks so much for making these videos. This weekend I taught myself how to use the R24 and your videos were extremely helpful in the process. Cheers!
Hey Danny - great news and thanks for the comment! Enjoy your R24.
No worries Hannibal, my pleasure and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. The Zoom is an incredible product in my humble opinion and at this price point, there is nothing to touch it. I still don't know how they do it! Sure it will never compete with a high-end professional studio but then it's not costing you 10's of thousands and it will fit in a laptop bag - great fun and enjoy yours when you get it! Best wishes, Darren
Great work with these tutorial videos, they have saved me alot of hours plowing through the manual, and now Im on my way to actually recording and understanding the Zoom.
Cheers mate!
Do you know if you can run audio into these and have the effects output in realtime to the outputs? I'm interested in using it as an effects unit. thanks
@@maccagrabme well I supose you can do that, just apply the effects the the channel your plugged in to, and then connect the audio out to the appropriate device.
But I have not tried it, think you would be much easier of just getting an effects unit :)
@@roccsterx Thanks, what I am trying to achieve is having a sub mixer with realtime effects. Most of the new mixing desks have effects but most dont have a tap facility so you cant set the delay times and I view these small zoom mixers as a low cost way of achieving what a modern mixer does but on a budget but with more control. I have a Roland VS which is superb for effects but is a bit big so looking for something smaller.
Thank you for all the videos very much appreciated very clear and to the point ,very helpful to me .
Thank you for your help and support 🙏 I learn many things from your channel many music I make i will give my credit to you sir. Thank you again.
Thanks, very much, for sharing your experience with the Zoom R24.
No problem Malik - you are very welcome!
Thx for the info, again. You really explain things better than anyone on youtube. Thanks for vids!
No problem Amy!
Awesome work. Thank you so much for your detailed tutorials.
Hey man, thanks a lot and Happy New Year!
You are the ZOom R Series Guru
Great set of vids Topdazzle never needed to look at the manual thanks to them and got my stuff up on soundcloud .Many thanks
Great to hear and thanks for the feedback Paul - really pleased that my vids are helping creative types get their music out there - makes it all worthwhile!
I'm looking into a getting multi-tracker recorder , pretty sure the R24 is the way I'm going ...
I like the way you explain things, how to get here or there and some of the techniques shortcuts along with some insights on what you're doing and why ...
Thanks for posting these...
The Wandering Musician
No problem man and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment - it's a great piece of kit and although it's now a good few years old (and I wonder what they will come out with next) it's still getting regular use - I'm always in awe that you can have this much studio power in your laptop bag with all those inputs, effect, etc. - I love mine!
Thanks for this amazing video...Now I can do my first Mix Down...now, I need to learn how do the Panning,EQ and Insert Effec !!! lol
No worries man and glad it was of use - thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Thank you for these videos sir! I've watched a lot of them and you did a great job covering all of the features. I did end up buying the Tascam DP-24SD which is a pretty nice recorder as well, but I wanted to give you a shout out for doing these videos. I bookmarked them in case I want to try out the Zoom R24 eventually. Thanks again.
No problem Josh and you are very welcome - thanks for the comment!
Thank so much for taking the time to make these video's.
You are very welcome Keith
Well done . Please do more .
It is a timeless machine in deed.
Nice cover of the Cult for the tutorials! I'm sure I'll cover something to get familiar with the unit when it arrives next week. The Cult are on my list as I got a Gretsch with a Bigsby recently. I was very interested in the new R20, but there's not much info/reviews about it yet, and I want to kick out some jams for my staycation that starts next weekend. I'm thinking this machine will be a lot of fun and easy to dive into now that you've shown me the basics. :)
Hey Sean and thanks for your comment - if you like The Cult then check out the band gig and rehearsal vids on my channel for covers of Lil Devil, Peace Dog, Love Removal Machine, Wildflower and Rain - plenty to go at there and enjoy your time off!
@@topdazzle Will do! I got to see them live some while back when they were doing the Electric tour again. They even played some of the older Death Cult/Southern Death Cult stuff, though they avoided playing Fire Woman. :)
I only ever connected my R24 once to to a laptop to use it as an audio interface .After doing this the card reader refused to respond whenever I inserted SD cards into it. After contacting Zoom engineers I was forced to send it back via the merchant .After 8 weeks I received my Zoom back .I was informed that a pcb had to be replaced . Obviously I will never risk plugging it back into any laptop or pc . Apart from that issue I have to say I totally love using it as a mixer/recorder .
Thanks for that Steven - good to know.
wow..... it's almost as if you are the creator of the R-24. Your videos were so helpful. best on RUclips. by far! thanks a million Top✌
Lol - thanks Tim - if only I was the creator of the Zoom R24 then I'd certainly be making a lot more money out of it than I am right now! Thanks for your comment and glad you have found the videos to be of use.
Love your posts so good thanks mate 😎
Glad you like them!
Hey there from across the world and thank you for your tutorials.. Unfortunately I must've missed some info : I can't seem to understand how to keep the EQ and REVERB that I applied to my tracks. Once I export my tracks to my computer, they're all dry and flat and it's driving me crazy... What's the trick ?
There is no trick - that's exactly what's meant to happen. It's rare that you would want to "print" effects to tracks if you are then going to edit them on a computer - normally you want these tracks "dry" so that you then have ultimate flexibility in your DAW to add or remove effects and EQ as you wish. Having said that, if you want to just use the R24 for this, then just bounce them / mix them down to a new stereo file or new tracks on the device and voila - your effects and EQ will remain. My videos show you how to do this. I hope that helps and thanks for your comment!
nice one mate .. cheers a Different kind of Blue
Indeed! You are welcome my man.
Hey Brian and thanks for the comment. You can loop anything that you record and you can also use the provided USB stick full of loops. You would then need to use the track sequencer to build these into a pattern which will include your basic rhythm plus whatever fancy fills and riffs you want to include. All of this will be the subject of my next video so stay tuned! Cheers, Darren
Fabulous...thanks a million from Canada
Thank you Michel - you are very welcome (from Ireland!)
Happy St-Pat...and by the way ...your band sounds great !
Same to you Michel - and thanks!
this was awesome.... very helpful thank you so much for the information...
Maria lopez Thanks Maria - you are very welcome.
Great informative video. Thanks.
Jim McGuirk Very welcome Jim
You're a great teacher. Thank you
Hey Sam - many thanks for your kind comment!
Thanks so much for this mate its an absolute god send
billy bob You are very welcome sir!
Thank you for your effort to share your skills in recording. That help me to choose my machine ;)jp
You are very welcome my friend and thanks for the comment.
Okay, thank you so much. Here goes. Then I have to learn how to put the master onto memory stick. I learn better watching and learning from visually being shown. Just how my brain works. 😁
Yup thanks to you I bought an R24
Nice!!
Here comes the rain😊👌 👌
Indeed!
Just wanted to say thanks I learned so much from your Video's.
You are very welcome Gerald and I am glad they are of use - thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know.
By the way i don't think you talk to much.I soak up the knowledge like a sponge.
What effect patch do you recommend for recording drums?I use a Makie ProFX12
On the R24 (assuming you mean acoustic drums) I would definitely be using the "8 x Comp EQ" effect (that's what it was designed for) giving you independent compression and EQ on all 8 channels at the same time.
Very well explained thanks
No problem and thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the video's and taken the time .
No probs Jasper - glad they're of use.
Really awesome video. I do have one question..
What I'd like to do is load 8 tracks from my DAW onto the R24, do a volume mix with the faders, and then take each of the tracks back into my DAW for additional compression/EQ/mastering at their new balanced levels.
Is this possible? Or will I only be able to export a master of all the tracks mixed together?
Thanks. What you want to do is perfectly possible but a better option might be just to use your R24 as a control surface for your DAW (it works really well using the Mackie profile in your DAW preferences). Then you have the use of physical faders and can leave all your tracks just where they are (with all the extra functions that your DAW provides).
@@topdazzle thanks for the reply! I have tried it Pro Tools but no luck unfortunately
Super video! Curious of your opinion on the Zoom Live 20 compared to the R24. Thanks so much!
I got the L-12 Livetrack a few months ago and use it all the time now - much better than the R24 in terms of use without having to dive into menus - everything is on knobs and dials.
Very helpful. Thank you
You are very welcome Jeff and thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment.
great series on the R24...would really like to see something on using it with reaper
Thanks for your comment David - I no longer use Reaper (I've moved on to Adobe Audition as I am doing more video work just recently) so no plans but a good idea nonetheless. I have used my R24 as a control surface with different DAWS and as long as you use the Mackie option in the menus on the DAW, it works really well.
Fast forward to around 20:22 for hands on demo. ty Dazz.
TheBlueskyson ...or just use the quick links in the video description to go directly to the part that interests you!
HI Darren ... yes, you've understood me perfectly! ... The best solution for me would be to take your second solution ... to mix the original 'raw' tracks with the new keyboard part ... but what I don't understand is how to get the raw tracks back to their individual channels, so I've got control over them in my next master mix ... I see them in my R24 window as mono - 001 etc., but can I reassign them to channels in the mixer, so I can then add the keyboard part in? ... How would I do that? Many thanks, Ken
Yes you can - I'm away from my R24 at the moment and won't be able to reply properly to this for about a week but it's in one of the menus (can't remember which one but probably "Track") and it's the "assign" function - you then select "file" and that shows you whatever is on your SD card, then pick the file you want and assign it to the track you have selected. Hope that helps!
PS: what you've suggested is exactly the way I would do it - re-mix it rather than try and add the keyboard part to a mix you have already made - should turn out more "cohesive" all being well (rather than like an after-thought).
Thank You top dazzle for your tutorials---antonio da gama --goa india
You are very welcome Antonio - thanks for your comment!
keep up the good work-A big thank you, again
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am not sure if you still monitor comments, but these videos have been a lifesaver for my son and me to learn his new Christmas present. I do have one question that I have not been able to find an answer to. My son is a drummer and he likes to play along to songs he listens to through his iPhone while he monitors the mics through the headphone jack. Right now we have a cord that splits his iPhone signal to two cables that we have plugged into two adjacent inputs that we have stereo linked. Ultimately though we would like to add more mics and do not want to use up those two inputs. Can we record down the song to a track on a different bank and then set it to play and then switch back to the original bank and use the now freed up inputs for more mics? Not sure I am making sense. Ultimately, we would like to find a way to have a song in the background to play to without having to take up the two inputs that that currently takes...
Hi Christine and thanks for your comments / question. Good news all round - firstly "yes" I do still monitor these comments and I like to help people out where I can. Secondly, "yes" - if I've understood you correctly then you can do what you want to do fairly easily. If you record down the track from your iPhone to a linked stereo pair on a bank (say bank 9-16 but it doesn't really matter), then arm these for playback (so the LED above their tracks if lit green), then go back to your first bank (or wherever you have your drum mics plugged in), arm them for record (you don't actually have to record for this to work, just arm them for record so that their LED's above each track are lit red), then press the main "play" key on the transport controls and you should then be able to hear back anything lit green (in this case your iPhone track) while being able to monitor what you are actually playing on anything lit red. Hope this makes sense and congratulations on getting your son the R24 for Christmas - he'll have a lot of fun with it (my son is a drummer too) - I wish I had these when I was a kid!! Best wishes and Happy New Year, Darren.
@@topdazzle Thank you so much! I am a career educator and your skills in conveying information are second to none. Thank you again for your excellent videos and personal help. Your time and efforts are a gift that is much appreciated!
@@christineoliver100 Very kind Christine - thank you.
As I have only a Zoom R16 (which has no drums) it's now time to say good bye... :'o(
It was a pleasure to follow your videos and comments!
Maybe one time you come back to show us some Best Practices? ;o)
There are still some open aspects, e. g.:
- using the Zoom R24/16/8 in live situations
- using the Zoom with a smartphone for fast catching ideas (or even creating dummy tracks)
- tips'n'tricks...
Thank you very much for everything!
Auf Wiedersehen!
+Jost Schwider You are very welcome Jost and Auf Wiedersehen!
Thanks so much for your awesome videos Darren. I've just completed my first recording with the R24 and my problem is the size of the master file. I moved it to the laptop and realized the file size is much too large for attaching to email. The recording I made with the R16 and burned to CD where quit small compared. Have I missed something. It is set to 16 bit.
STEPHEN MCDANIEL Not really sure Stephen to be honest - I don't email songs for that reason, I either upload them straight to SoundCloud or a Cloud storage option like DropBox and send people a link from there. You should know thought that a .WAV file is essentially an uncompressed sound file (which is why they are such good quality) but when you burn them to the format that an audio CD plays, it may compress them making the file size smaller - not too sure about this as it's been ages since I burnt a CD but something you might want to check out.
Hi, I've found all your R24 videos really useful. Just regarding mastering, when I Iisten back to the recording through what I think are fairly decent studio headphones it sounds great, but when I put the recording onto the computer and listen through my stereo/hifi it sounds quite a lot quieter than an audio CD of a similar genre would be. I've tried exporting the file to Audacity and playing around with it, but not really knowing what I'm doing I tend to end up making it sound worse. Do you have any tips to make the volume a good level when listening back through a hi-fi? I have the R8 by the way and only make acoustic, singer-songwriter type recordings, so no bass/drums etc. No problem if you wouldn't be sure but just thought I'd ask. Thanks again for the invaluable videos you have made
Yes - the two main areas you would look to increase overall loudness is "normalise" and compression. If you are recording at the right levels (which are typically conservative) you should nearly always have to normalise in post - I usually go for max peaks at around -1 or -3 db depending on what else I intend to do with it. I would normally also always use some master compression on my mixes and for this I set a brickwall limiter and add make-up (or output) gain if needed to make the finished mix even hotter (but without clipping). Hope this helps!
Thanks for your reply. The normalise and compression in audacity have brought the volume up a bit. I'm not sure where to find the brickwall limiter/make up/output functions though. Are these somewhere in audacity as well, or on the Zoom itself?
@@adamhayes4025 If you adjust the normalise to make your max peaks hotter (say -1 or -3db). The makeup or output gain is a function of most compressors to compensate for the squashing of the incoming signal - the one in Audacity may not have it. I use either Reaper (which you can try free for 60 days) or Adobe Audition. The brickwall limiter is available in Audition's native multi-band compressor which is what I use when I am not using my plugin compressors. You can also increase the overall gain of your tracks pretty easily in Audacity.
Many thanks for this, I'll give these a try!
These videos gave me the nudge I needed to buy an R24. Thanks for your efforts. I plan on talking to a Zoom rep at Gearfest to give you something for your efforts. One question: If I am mixing down a song with 24 tracks and I want to make fine adjustments to track 9 and then switch back to track 1 and make a fine adjustment to it, does this sudden jump of levels due to the faders not being motorized ruin the levels. In otherwords, one track is lower in the mix, how do I move the fader without it matching the last position and creating a jump in volume. Thanks again, AL (Chicago)
Hey Al - your best bet if you want to make such fine adjustments on that many tracks and a major jump in level may be a problem is to ignore the faders altogether in my opinion and just use the level control in the track menu for each track (use the cursor keys to increase or decrease the numeric value of the level for the track) - and either a Zoom B3 bass effects pedal or a Zoom H6 recorder would go down a treat!!
That helps enormously, thank you! I really don't want to go through the learning curve and unintuitiveness (for me anyway) of computer production. I can't read music nor understand time signatures, so I rely heavily on the clock and hands-on faders and drum pads. Thanks again.
Say, what is your opinion of the R24's drum sounds and included Peter Erskine drum loops? Good quality, or still sound a little thin?
Papa John Not sure if you've seen or not but there's a few vids in this series talking specifically about the drum stuff - personally I don't use them much and the ones included on the device are standard fare - reasonable enough. The Eskine loops are played by a human drummer so sound a bit better but we have a real drummer in the band so I don't need them. They are OK for what they are but not a reason to buy the machine on their own.
Great videos! I just bought a new R24 and I recorded my band gig on Saturday night. But I have a question-how can I split the 3 hour gig into the 45 individual songs so I can make a cd? I checked the manual and can't figure it out. I wanted to do it on the R24 without DAW computers. Thank you for the great work!
+TheMadHattersofPA Hi and thanks for your comment - the answer is yes you can using the TRIM function on the R24 but, to be honest, it's a major pain in the ass and much easier in a DAW. This is one of the R24's few shortcomings - it is a bit light on editing features as that's not what it is designed for. If I were you I would ship it into Audacity (or similar) and chop it up there. If you don't want to do that then you will have to make copies of the project (x45 by the sounds of it) and use TRIM to trim each copy from the start and beginning of the gig to get each individual song and then re-save it - it will take you ages!
Thank you for your quick response and the advice! I have been checking out your videos for great tips. Thanks again. James
Thank you for sharing. Can you apply compression, EQ and limiting individually during the mastering process as opposed to using a mastering patch?
Yes for EQ (which is always available on a per-track basis) but no for limiting and compression - these are only available on the R24 as an insert effect.
Legend Thank you Thank You xxx
You are very welcome Simon and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment
Looks pretty tricky trying to get a good mix, probably best to drag over files to computer software?
It also seems to have lost a little master mix from raw track mix?
When are they going to update the Zoom R24 driver for Mac OS, so I can use my R24 as a controller in Logic Pro? Because Logic Pro doesn’t recognise the device.
It’s an important issue for me and many users because 1/3rd of the device is rendered unworkable.
Did I buy a cat in a bag?
I have no idea I'm afraid - I only ever use mine with either Reaper or Adobe Audition and for both of these, it works perfectly.
Yeah I used old Sonar and Foundry suite.
Thanks for understanding. I do have one very important question regarding the post-mastering stage. You see, I currently burn post-mastering to an onboard CD player on my much older Zoom MRS-16...with the R24, can final, finished tracks simply be saved on the SD card, transferred to a computer, and imported into, for example, iTunes, or something like it? What I'm really trying to avoid is using computer software to burn my final tracks...I prefer doing it on the Zoom device itself. Can I do that? (Thanking you in advance).
Papa John Yes - you're final finished tracks are saved on the SD card as a .WAV stereo file (which means they are uncompressed and therefore, maximum quality). Depending on what format you want to burn to in the end will depend on whether or not you will need to compress or convert the file to MP3, etc. so it can be read and stored on your playback device. So if you want to make a CD for example, the .WAV will need to be converted first before you can then go on to burn it to a CD using your computer - hope that helps.
Fantastic job. Congratulations! Very useful indeed. I have a question to you. Just imagine that I have a vocal track that started at 00;00, and another one that, by mistake, started at 00:10. There's any way I can syncronize them?
+Machado Moura Sure - just cut the extra time off your second track using the trim function in the menu system and they should line right up.
Thanks a lot for your answer. It really worked. Another question: are you familiar with any plug-in that can help with correction of pitch of any voice recorded?
Thanks in advance.
BR
Machado
+Machado Moura Good to know - no, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that plug in.
Hi great videos! Super helpful i'd be nowhere with my R8 without them thanks. I have a question concerning the song output/ playback once taken off the R24/ R8. I have mixed and mastered through headphones and got all my levels good, it sounds good through the headphones. But once put onto my computer and played through itunes or whatever else it sounds really quiet and very different. So frustrating to get all the way to the end and end up with this. If I up the levels or master volume won't it just clip? any ideas?? thanks heaps
Could be a number of things - if your individual track levels are good and nicely balanced, what is your overall (red fader) level looking like? It should be touching orange most of the time, ocasional peaks into red are not a a problem as there is a certain amount of headroom built in prior to clipping. Don't forget when mixing on headphones, use the red fader to set your overall recording level but use the volume control on the back of the R24 to control the headphone volume (i.e. if it's too loud in your ears, don't turn down the master fader). Also, what mastering preset are you using?
How exactly do these mastering inserts work? For example. if I have my tracks ready to mix but have no mastering effect at all, is there a way to mess with the panning or EQ levels of the tracks to get the same sound I would if I turned on the "Rock Show" effect?
I just don't understand this at all. When I turn on "Live" or "Rock Show" there is a good stereo effect to the guitar sound, but I don't understand how exactly this all works.
No because the insert mastering effects contain lots of other parameters that aren't available on a track by track basis (compression, limiting, noise reduction, boost, etc.) and the overall effect is made up of a "chain" of these individual effects all linked together with different levels set on each - hope this makes sense.
Hey, hello, please can you help me. on my 1 to 8 bank. I have somehow got 3 and 4 5 and 6 stereo linked. So they come one together when pressed. How do I get them back to being individual channels. Come out of the stereo link?? I haven't been using my zoom for a while and just cannot remember how to do this. I not a very technical person. But manage to record and mix down. But can't remember or find out how to do this. Regards David
Hi David - yes, they are behaving like this due to being stereo linked. You can unlink them in the Track menu I think it is. If they have recordings on them, they can’t then be unlinked in that project as they were recorded as a stereo pair so start with a new blank project and don’t continue with the same project settings - choose the other option (I think it’s “from new” or something like that - not “continue”).
Thanks as ever for the great videos! - I have a question about Mastering down a mix - I produced a 'rough mix' master to give to my keyboards player so she could work out a keyboard part to our current song in production. I did this with your help in part 5 of your series of tutorials. I burnt it to CD after making this rough master by taking the memory chip out and putting it into my laptop and burning the CD via I-tunes. Now I want to go back into my Zoom and record her worked out keyboard part over my existing recording of this song which was already 5 tracks (gutars, drums etc) ... I now find that my rough master is still there under the song name, and the individual files are still there under 'project / file / 'mono-001, mono-002 etc., but when I play these individual files, each one is on the 'master' fader. Does this mean that I've lost the ability to add on new tracks (ie keyboard) to an existing song that I've already roughly 'mastered'? ... if this is true, then it's a major fault in the Zoom!! - or am I doing something wrong? ... Help please? Cheers, Ken
Hi Ken - not sure if I've understood you correctly but here goes! Any Master file you create on the R24 is simply a stereo WAV file that behaves the same as any other stereo WAV file, it just happens to be assigned to the Master fader (which looks a bit like a mono track as there is only one fader control). That means (if I've understood you correctly) to add in your new keyboard part to your rough Master mix you have essentially two options. You can either re-assign the stereo master track to any other pair of linked stereo tracks (say 5&6) record your keyboard part to another linked pair of tracks (assuming it is giving you a stereo output into the R24) and then bounce both pairs of stereo tracks (or mix them down again) to either the Master track or another pair of stereo tracks. Alternatively, you could record your new keyboard part to a new track(s) and then mix down again all your raw tracks together along with the new keyboard part to the Master track but just make sure you have the record mode set to "always new" so that you get a new Master file but the old one is also still there - otherwise you will overwrite it and lose the original. Rest assured, you are able to add in your new parts - it's just a matter of which way you choose to do it and how simple you want your work flow to be. One final thing, when taking tracks off and back on to the R24, make sure to keep the file names in the same format (I think it might be 8 characters followed by .WAV but double check this) and keep the folder format the same on the SD card, that way your R24 will be looking in the right place for your files and will recognise them when it sees them. Hope this makes sense - a bit hard to describe! Best wishes, Darren
Hi Darren ... Well I've tried doing what you suggested, but I still can't get those files back into tracks to remix them again. When you get back in front of your Zoom R24, maybe you could let me know which way to do this? I don't think it's 'Track' as you suggested ... I've had another song which I mixed down as well, and I also seem to have lost the original files completely once the mix down / mastering has taken place ... I certainly hope I can recover ANY files that I create in the R24!!
Cheers, Ken
OK Ken, leave it with me and I'll take a look.
Hi there. dunno if ya ever check this now but.. I used your tutorials and managed to record a whole 2 hour gig, then master each song and name it... but when I exported the wave file into iTunes there was all the dead air before the song exported as well so the last song although mastered separately had 1 hour of silence before it played the actual track.. any help appreciated.
Can you switch the track banks live during mixdown? To gain access to all sixteen tracks (eight at a time), to ride the faders?
Yes
Thanks Dazz. Do u have a vid on how to use effects, such as reverb, delay etc? ty
No - sorry I don't
@@topdazzle Hi thanks so much for your videos! I have had my R24 for over a year and still can not figure out how to use the send effects of reverb and chorus!! It has been very frustrating to have a feature on this that I am unable to get to work. Please let me know if there are any resources out there that explain how to get this function to work. I have viewed the videos on effects and mixing, but did not see anything on these. thanks so much, Matt
1832498 Hey Matt - check out my vid on Basic Recording on the R24 for a full breakdown on how to use the reverb and chorus/delay send and return effects.
great vid , I'm torn between this and the Tascam dp32 ,...... any advice greatly appreciated ,thanks in advance Jon
Hi Jon and thanks for your question - sadly I have no experience whatsoever with the Tascam so I can't help you but I would imagine that they do broadly similar things. I would doubt you will be disappointed with either.
I found your videos very helpful. Any suggestions on using more than the provided drum tracks (fills/breaks/whatever)? I am able to record over the beats on the r24, but how do I insert fills? Thanks
I'm a bit late to the party but just trying to make my mind up which multitracker to go for, and I found your video series really helpful. Thank you for the time and effort. I have used a Yamaha AW16G in the past but mine is now a little old and past it - and it's not particularly DAW friendly! I've recorded bands live and the results have been pretty good - do you have any experience of doing this on the R24? Cheers again for the vids.
Great video. Not yet bought a zoom recorder. But is the 24 worth getting over the 16 if I don't need the extra tracks?
Hi Jon - if you don't need the extra tracks then the R16 would do you just fine although bear in mind you are also getting a smaller screen on the R16 and so it may not be as easy to work on - those are the only two major differences between the two devices.
Great videos, but i got a question. I'm in a bind at the moment, i need to export 6+ hours of recording onto an external hard drive. but the r24 won't see it. whenever i try to initialize the storage and create a folder, it gives me an error. I don't know if you've already answered this in another video so i'm sorry if i sound redundant. But i could use some help
+Kenissis You can't connect an external hard drive directly to the R24, it's not designed to work with it. You have two (possibly 3) options to get your footage off the device as follows: 1) remove the memory card, put it in a laptop then drag and drop your audio to your HDD via your laptop, 2) connect your R25 directly to your laptop via USB and drag and drop to your HDD that way or 3) dump your track onto a USB stick plugged in to your R24 then transfer this to your laptop and HDD - either way, you're going to need a computer to transfer the audio I'm afraid.
Had mine years with no probs except one, my master volume doesn't fade out smoothly at the lowest volume instead it sort of jumps from 1 to 0 at the last moment abruptly no matter how slowly I fade it.anyone know an onboard way around this?
Hi Topdazzle, am a newbie in Australia. Have mastered my first song with three tracks. Understand I can master again or copy the project. But can't work out how I can record another track or edit an existing one on the project AFTER it has been mastered. I can't find anything anywhere in forums etc. Any suggestions? Love your work!
Hi Andy - once you "master" something, all you are really doing is creating a new stereo file within the project (in the "Masters" folder on your memory card) made up of whichever tracks you selected all blended together at the levels that you set with the effects, EQ, etc. applied that you selected. Your original tracks are still there within the project so you can create as many masters as you want within each project, all using the same tracks (or different combinations of them - whatever you choose) with whatever effects, EQ, etc. you choose for each Master. In your case, you would not be looking to add or edit the existing Master you have already created but rather make a new Master with any additional tracks or edits you want included. Hope this helps!
Hi mate, thanks very much for responding. I think I have that sorted. For some reason I had some restrictions in being able to record on that project but as you have described it seems to be Ok and will revise tracks and add new ones. Appreciate your help. Very useful
hey mate,
can you go over or expain if you know easiest way how to take tracks straight to usb?
looking to burn cd from pc easiest way without mastering maybe if thats easier and makes sense?
thanks in advance.
I'm pretty sure anything you record is then on the SD card. Plug the SD card into your computer and get individual tracks off of it.
Hi, I am learning via your video tutorials. So, I take the memory card out and get it up on the computer to be able to get to the master mix down to record into an MP3 file. Not sure how to do that. Any links for this?
Thanks Dude! 😂
Hello again Topdazzle ! Just wanted to give you big thanks for these highly educational tutorials . I don't think I would have gotten it without your help ! After 2-3 months of learning the Zoom R8 , I'm now getting great guitar / vocal / bass / fx sounds . I gave up on the sequencer function and got v-drums . So , big thank you ! Question : I've recorded quite a bit of material on one 32 GB sound card , I'm a bit hesitant to load the card into my PC . I don't have a DAW on the PC . So , what happens when you insert the sound card into a computer ? Does it recognize master mixes as opposed to individual non-mixed tracks ? Is the sound card going to be in any way altered by putting into the computer ? Any help is appreciated ! :)
Hey Sean and thanks again for the great feedback - very kind! I gave up on the sequencer too - not really my cup of tea!! As for your question about the card, yes, it recognises Master mixes separately to non-mixed tracks and these are easily distinguished on your card with a different file name (from memory I think it's "MASTER_001.WAV", etc. or something similar). The card will not be effected by putting it into your computer so don't worry - all you will see is a normal folder structure with files inside the folders that are all .WAV files (uncompressed audio) which you can drag and drop the same as any other files. You can copy them, paste them, do whatever you like with them. The only thing to be aware of is don't go messing with the folder structure on the card (like renaming folders, moving folders, etc.) as the R24 sets this up whenever you format a card inside it so it knows where to look for stuff and where to put stuff. If you change any of this it will mess it up and the R24 will not know what it's doing.
When you move the faders will it be at that level for the whole song.Meaning you won't hear the Bass being turned up at that point.
+Gerald Armitage No, the volume of the bass part will change whenever you move its fader.
Thanks Bro.I have learned so much from you.I know this thing like the back of my hand now.Best thing I ever bought.I do my music by myself playing every Instrument.The R24 is perfect for me.I made a FaceBook page called Zoom R Series Multi Track Recorder/Audio Interface/Sampler.I put all your video's on there.
Priceless info, great job again. Question; If you did recordings in 24 bit and my intent is to download to cd that should be recorded in 16 bit. Is that tracks recorded in 24 bit useless? or can it be converted to 16 bit without re-recording all the tracks and master tracks?, or do I need to re-record all again with recording mode to 16 bit?
Thanks again, for your hard work and great insight and info. I was clueless on a lot of the vocabulary and using the R8,and your down to earth tutorials is awesome and works with my R8.
Hey Billy - fear not, your tracks are still good - you can convert from 24 to 16 bit quite easily using a lot of different types of software / DAW's - I have never done it myself as I always record in 16 bit to save the hassle but I am led to believe it is very straightforward - try Googling "24 to 16 bit converter software" and see what comes up or check the Zoom US forum and do a search on there.
topdazzle
Thanks,
I was able to open the record mode and lo and behold I was in the default 18 bit, so that solve that issue.
Something funny happen though, I took the sd card, was able to download to my computer and burn onto a cd disk, but I can only play back the cd in my computer and the sounds would not come out of my car or home stereo units?, any imput on this.
Thanks.
Sounds to me like you burned it as a data CD rather than an audio CD - that would make sense.
topdazzle Yup I checked the record mode, and I was set in the 16 bit, and I was able to download to "audio cd" vs data and it worked fine.
Now next, I want to figure out how to use the drum section to add to songs, there's some info on it, are you gonna do a vid on using the drums how to?,
I hope so,
Thanks man.
Yep - drums is my next video
I might be a bit too grounded in the computer world but there is only one real blue: #0000FF. 😊
Please Which is better. zoom h6 device or zoom 24 r device
It depends entirely what you intend to use it for. For multitrack recording and mixing, the R24. As a field recorder or for film / video production, podcasts, voice overs, sound effects, etc. the H6. Two entirely different devices for two entirely different purposes (with some overlap). I have them both and use them both.
In order to preview any of those mastering insert effects, how would you set it up to hear that effect on all of the tracks?
Just apply it to the master fader - everything comes through that.
someone help.i've recorded and mastered a couple of tracks on the r24 which is easy enough.trouble is i cant send it to my computer and the manual is just hopeless.it just says you simply drag and drop.i've tried connecting the usb,set the r24 to card reader and loaded the the cd's but without knowing what i'm doing i always seem to hit a wall.can some tell me without computer jargon how to transfer a master song from the r24 to the pc.cheers!
Hi John - the easiest way is just take the SD card out of your R24 and put it in your laptop/PC then drag and drop from there.
topdazzle many thanks topdazzle.i did manage it in the end but your way sounds much more straight forward so i'll do that next time.cheers!
No worries John - I do it that way all the time - I have yet to connect my R24 to my laptop - I'll get round to it one day but only because I want to try it out as an audio interface. All the best and enjoy your R24! Darren
If you have, say, 24 tracks with stuff on them, can you master 8 at a time so you can watch all levels?
No, not really. Technically yes - you could apply a mastering effect to 8 tracks at a time then repeat but you will end up with multiple finished stereo files / mix downs - that’s not really the way it’s designed to work. Mastering is meant to be something applied to the whole finished stereo mix, not a few tracks at a time. You can keep an eye on all levels just by using the “bank” buttons during the mix down. If you have your levels in the right ball park to begin with, any adjustments you may then need to make should be few and minor.
Also people who tell you its wrong because you did it the wrong way should only be listened too if you don't like what you have produced. Our latest release was hated by every engineer who got hold of it because I had recorded it wrong in their eyes. I said feck off it sounds great and it was our most poular release, because it had an unusual signiture sound exactly what I was after. Trust your ears, don't look at screens and listen non creative teccies. They are not always right!
"Trust your ears" - good advice.
hello i have an R16 and i was wondering how to put tracks into 1 or mastering... can you help me pleaseeee?
Hey Tito - I have no experience whatsoever with the R16 I'm afraid but I would imagine it's very similar to the R24 so take a look at this video and see if that helps. If that's no better then Google "Zoom Forum US" where this is a specific section for the R16 and I bet you're query is covered there - if not you can ask the members and they are very helpful. I hope this helps and best wishes, Darren
Hello there, I'm getting my brand new Zoom R24 tomorrow and can't wait to use it. You video's have been really informative and useful. Thanks for putting your time and effort into doing these tutorials. Much appreciated.
If I have any queries would it be ok to message you ?
Regards,
From Christopher from across the pond in England
can i just ask. I have read different things about sd cards not being com-patible. Which sd 32gb card should i use to record with my zoom r24. Can i use a hc card and any particular brand ?
Not sure on the branding comparabilities Mac (I use San Disk) but you need to make sure that the read / write speeds are enough for recording multiple streams of audio at the same time - this is measured by the "Class" of the card and, from memory, you should be looking for something around the Class 6 mark.
thank you i will try the san disk version
Thanks for the videos! If your intent is to burn your final product to a CD, is there any benefit to recording in 24 bit?
im using the sd card to export the files to my computer. i want the files to have the mastering effects on them but i dont think they do. do i have to like mix down or do something special to make the effects permanent? thanks
Just make sure you are recording your final mix "wet" (i.e. with the effects burned in permanently to the track) and NOT "dry" in the Project Record Mode settings.
topdazzle how do you record a final mix? i never needed to do this because i have entire patterns in one track since i do a lot of mixing on my sp 404. if its in your video please just let me know the time mark.
WLG1 i figured it out. thanks man
Do you know a way to have a sequence recorded (from reason) in two tracks and a third with a click so the drummer is the only one that can hear it live?
Sorry Eduardo - I've never used it that way so I can't help you.
Thanks on the response, I might stick using my iPod to launch my sequences. Best!