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Almost all of the sound patch information is saved with the notes into the pattern. So just hold down Shift and the Write button. Then hit Enter to save the pattern with the sound information.

Yes, for sure. You can apply effects to try to make those synth sounds better. I just really wish Zoom included more usable and classic sounds that everyone could use - like just give me a grand piano sound and I would be happier.

Thanks!

Depends on what kind of outputs your mixer has. If it has line level XLR outputs, you should be able to run those from the mixer out to one of the R20's inputs (#3-8) and adjust the gain on the R20's inputs. Or you could run a TRS 1/4" stereo to 1/4" TS breakout cable between the headphone jack of your mixing board to inputs #1 and 2 of the R20. And just adjust the headphone volume and the input gain on the R20. For a drum track you can record a drum machine or record live drums. Or you can use the internal drum loops, which I demonstrate here: ua-cam.com/video/Z2QVM103uFQ/v-deo.html

You can record podcasts with it, however, if that's the ONLY thing you want to do with it I probably wouldn't recommend it. If you want to record music and use the same device to record podcasts, then sure, it could work for you. But it really depends on what kind of podcasting you are doing. If you are doing solo podcasts by yourself, then the R12 could work very well. It would allow you to record your main take, and then you could record in sound effects or background music later on different tracks and you could do some light editing and mixing all on the device. That could work well for. On the other hand, if you want to have multi-person podcasts with host(s) and multiple guests, then it's harder to use the R12. The R12 only has two inputs, so you can only record two mics simultaneously. Additionally, it only has one headphone jack, so if you usually do one-on-one interviews you would likely need to get a headphone splitter/amplifier to talk to someone while you each have a mic. If you only want to record podcasts, and you can do some audio editing on your computer instead, and only use mics (no instruments), I think you'd be much better off going with a Zoom P4 or a handy recorder from Zoom or Tascam.

@@GazRendar thank you for your feedback i really appreciate it that helped a lot made some really good points here

Yes, you can play back what you recorded on say...Tracks #1-7 while you are just kind of jamming with a MIDI controller using the R12's synth sounds. You just need to make one of the tracks a synth track first (in this example, say Track 8), select your synth sound or synth sound #19 Drum Kit, arm track #8, adjust the fader for track 8, and hit Play. Don't hit Rec. But that will allow you to hear what you are playing with the MIDI controller while Tracks 1-7 play in your headphones.

@@GazRendar Fantastic, exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you!

Happy to help!

Yes. Depending on your needs, you might not even need to export. When you are done recording you can take the SD card out, pop it into your computer, and you'll see all the individual tracks as separate .WAV files. From there you can simply import them into a DAW for mixing and mastering if you'd like. Or you can mix down on the device. If you have content on multiple tracks, you can select the Mix Down feature on the fader view screen to mix the entire project down to a stereo .WAV file.

Eh...using the cord feedback loop is indeed kind of a pain. I rarely do that. But using the digital stereo mix down and re-import is pretty straightforward and easy. In practice, I'm never annoyed that I have to do that since it's pretty quick. Overall, though, I totally agree - if they had a dedicated bounce feature to combine multiple tracks and immediately place it into an open track - that would be ideal.

Thanks for the kind feedback! And yes, I've done what you have described. To set up an effects send feedback loop and end up with stereo files requires you to do a few extra mini steps, but it's possible. On my long to-do list that is actually one of my next two planned tutorial videos.

You're welcome. Happy to help out!

Thanks! Yeah, I bounced quite a few tracks on the R8, but since I got the R20 I found myself not doing it as much. This video has been on my to-do list for awhile though, because I do know it's important for R12 users. Hope all is well and as always, thanks for watching!

Thanks! Glad the R12 is starting to work out for you. Sounds like you're well on your way to using learning most of the features for your recording projects. I saw your comments from other videos. Seems like you are setting up your own effects patches as well...you can use Guitar Lab to edit more effects patches on the unit. Thanks for watching!

I don't have an older R24 unit, but I believe you can record some one-shot samples and trigger them with the sample pads at the bottom of the device. For the R20, if you are using the synth sound #19, that's the drum kit. You are limited to using the sounds that are within the R20 itself. You cannot load your own kick, snare, cymbals, etc sample sounds to it and trigger it with pads of a MIDI controller.

Not necessarily. I record multiple synths and drum machines at the same time. But you do need the right cables to do it. Here's a video explaining some options if you need to record multiple devices that normally have TS or TRS 3.5 mm or 1/4" outputs: ua-cam.com/video/W6yneM66yCE/v-deo.html

@@GazRendar Thanks; I didn't know these cables even existed

They do not have built-in mics. I didn't use them all the time, but once in awhile I would play acoustic guitar with the built in mics on the R8 and they could get the job done in a pinch. To try to fix that, I made this "built-in" mic for the R12/R20 units for $20-25. It's not great, but again, can get the job done in a pinch: ua-cam.com/video/yKQ6plHUvMk/v-deo.html

Hmmm...it's hard to know without being able to dig through the settings...hardware-wise,something could be wrong with the sound board's processing pathway, in which case it might just be old and broken? The other quick thing to check is to see what sample rate you are recording at for that project. If you are recording at 48kHz I don't think you can use the on-board effects. You only have access to them if you record at 44.1kHz.

It can be. But the R12 and R20 are still budget multitrackers, so they are not designed to be full one-for-one replacements with a decent computer and a DAW. However, context is everything. With older multitrackers you didn't even have true audio "regions" that you could visualize. The units just blended everything together on the track as a single file/track, or as a "virtual track." Being able to see, split, copy, paste, and move your audio regions on the R12 and R20 is a nice upgrade in my opinion. I've just gotten into a habit of exporting or rendering a track with multiple regions on it so it all converts into a single audio region and then move forward from there. So it's not so bad, but yeah, with a budget recording device, you'll have to work with some of the limitations.

I agree. It sucks. I'd throw good money at a modern portable DAW replacement solution that was fully powered, but there's just not a product out there.

I just made a new video about bouncing tracks: ua-cam.com/video/JYfAHu39vLo/v-deo.html

Well, the R8 is about 14 years old now and Zoom isn't manufacturing them anymore. So whatever new stock you see at retailers will be old, never sold boxes. The R8 isn't bad, I have one and I still use it and it still has it's good qualities. The R8 uses the same generation of jacks and preamps as the R24. So their recordings will sound identical. I personally think the R12 and R20 sound "brighter" than the R8 and R24, but it's only a subtle improvement. If you are interested in hearing a pretty good side by side comparison, I recommend you search Floyd Steinberg's channel for his R24 vs R20 comparison. Overall, though, you are talking about a budget multitracker that costs less than $600 sounding like a home recording. Well, it is a home recording. Even if you have some good mics, you still need fantastic preamps, effects, and thousand dollar mixing boards with thousand dollar EQs and compressors to make things sound studio quality. Because that's the hardware they have in studios. Also, while you can master directly on the R-series multitrackers, their mastering capabilities pale in comparison to a full scale DAW with EQs, compressors, and mastering plug-ins plus an engineer who knows exactly what they are doing. if you opt to buy a sub $600 multitracker, you can make your recordings sound pretty good, but it takes hours and hours and hours of practice tweaking your sound specifically for recording. Just because these budget multitrackers make it easy to plug in a guitar and record something in 30 seconds doesn't mean it's easy to make it sound awesome. You can't underestimate how much time it takes to learn how to record things well. That's why professional engineers and producers can charge so much by the hour - they've put in years of work to get good at their trade.

Then you go to a concert and the band sounds like *#$@, but the CD sure sounded amazing!

Happy to help!

The number of effects listed in the manual is limited. There are far more effects available if you side load them into the R20 with a computer using Zoom's free Guitar Lab software: ua-cam.com/video/PUaVJpqfWz8/v-deo.html

You can power the R12 with AA batteries, a wall adapter, or a large rechargeable battery that outputs power through USB. You can also hook the R12 up to a powered USB hub, too, if you need it: ua-cam.com/video/wNv9XJ22eqk/v-deo.html

It depends on what your needs are. You just want to play a minute of acoustic guitar and record an idea for later? You can just put your phone down on a table and use that for simple recording and playback. If you want a dedicated recorder to mostly record simple stuff with one or two instruments, then you could get a handy recorder for cheap, like a Zoom H1n. If you want a mixing board to record multiple band members at the same time and be able to use that mixing board for live shows as well as record the different instruments onto separate tracks to mix and master on a computer later, you can get a mixing board hybrid unit like a Zoom L-8 or a Tascam Model 12. If you want to record multiple instruments, be able to do multiple takes, be able to edit the audio with split and copy and paste, and also have built-in effects on the unit, then you likely want a multitracker like the Zoom R20 or smaller R12. Or could go with a Tascam Portastudio SD-24.

Exactly. That's the power of the touchscreen on this device or on the smaller R12. I just made a video demonstrating that with the R12, but it's the same on the R20: ua-cam.com/video/PkqoL7d35dw/v-deo.html

@@GazRendar Thanks! :-)

Sadly, no.

Sadly no. That's a lot of processing power that the R20 does not have. You can only apply a send effect to slightly modulate the pitch and sound, but you won't be able to change the sound to hit a certain note like pitch correction.

@@GazRendar I mean that transpose from -12 to +12 each track, is it possible?

The R20 cannot transpose, change the key, or change the pitch of any audio after it's recorded to a track.

@@GazRendar Do you know a multitrack recorder that can do this?

No, you can't. You could apply a send effect after you record the audio and use the effect to modulate the pitch, but the best you'll do there is like, select an auto-wah. If you are thinking of like, applying auto-tune after recording, no, the R20 can't do that.

@@GazRendar I mean change and transpose scale of sound after recording is it possible?

Nah. I totally get what you are saying, but that analogy is pretty extreme. I think it's more like a bike that has worn down handle grips and lacks a kickstand. Without MIDI sync the bike is still totally functional and you can definitely ride it from point A to point B, but it would be a lot nicer if it had a kickstand and was more comfortable to hold onto. Until about 3-4 years ago I barely knew what MIDI sync was. I've made entire rock albums on multitrack recorders that didn't have any MIDI inputs or USB ports. You don't need MIDI sync if you are in a band with guitar players, bass players, (acoustic) drums, and a vocalist. Now if you are a hardware synth player, then a good budget multitrack recorder with MIDI sync doesn't exist. Not one that also easily records other acoustic instruments anyway. You could get a 1010 Bluebox or a TX-6, but those are going to cost you $550 and $1200 to have some syncing functions and they won't let you easily record guitar and bass and drums. You'll still need a mixing board for that. Or I guess you could go with an MPC One or something, but that's not cheap and the audio multitracking on it can be kinda "eh." Right now I can do some work arounds to sync my compact synths to the R12 or R20, but it's not nearly as good or easy to use as direct MIDI sync. I would love to see Tascam or Zoom step up and deliver a true flagship multitracker that has USB and 5-pin MIDI ports with a built in piano roll, synth sounds, along with all the usual features for guitar/bass/drum/vocalists and release it with a sub $700 price tag. I think there would be a great market for that if they did it well. Until then, I don't think there is a good modern unit out there that's still in production that get the job done for synth players and acoustic instrument players. You're stuck going with a DAW and a good interface that has combo jacks and MIDI I/O.

I totally understand. Any new piece of gear takes a while to learn so that you can use it, and then takes a long time to master it. I've been using multitrackers for over 25 years, since I was about 13-14 years old. I've been using DAWs for the past 10 years or so. In my opinion, dedicated multitrackers are much easier to "just use" if you play an instrument like guitar, bass, drums, or are a singer. You can simply plug in a guitar and start recording within 30 seconds of turning on the device. Most multitrackers are that easy to record...mostly just plug something in and hit the REC button. Layering tracks with different instruments gets more complex, though, and that takes time and practice no matter what platform you use. In my opinion, the R12 (or larger R20) are some of the easiest multitrackers to use to record tracks...and then copy and paste and slice audio into separate parts. It will still take a little time, though. But the touchscreen is the easiest interface I've used for something like that. I'm not sponsored or endorsed by Zoom. Tascam makes good stuff too, and I've liked their products when I've used them. If you are on the fence about your ability to learn how to use an R12 or R20, I've made plenty of videos about both devices. Here are two playlists of my demonstration videos: R12 ua-cam.com/play/PLJfZ2yw2Bc7YLLe-DMUdiy0ZhrdQIbqkC.html R20 ua-cam.com/play/PLJfZ2yw2Bc7apzujemOKk8aiTRfJvZfmR.html

@@GazRendar dude! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! This is super helpful info!

Happy to help...best of luck figuring out a good, personalized solution for you to go from playing something, to recording something, to layering those songs in your head, piece by piece, track by track.

I have the R12 I got it about six months ago I actually got mine at a music store. They had used sound equipment for sale and I picked it up for 100 bucks practically brand new it definitely takes some getting used to, but I do enjoy using it still learning some of the features on it it’s been a nice addition to my little Home garage studio

Happy to help!

I have noticed a lag after I record multiple takes on the same track that seems to get progressively slower. I get a longer spinning wheel after I hit stop. But personally I haven't hit an upper limit on takes, however, it wouldn't surprise me if there is some limit on takes/total size before the meta data file in the project folder breaks and can't handle it anymore. I'll be on the lookout for it and if I wind up recreating that error I'll try to film it for a video post. Thanks!

Kinda depends on what you are referring to. On playback, you don't have great options other than you can adjust the tempo on the fly by turning the main knob. You can drop notes into the sequencer as quarter notes or half notes, or as triplets. Those are options in the menu. In terms of timing, if you plan out your patterns ahead of time you can change the pattern lengths to essentially generate the times that you want. So you can trim a pattern down from 16 steps to 12 steps to basically create a 3/4 time signature pattern. String several patterns like that together and you can make a song in 3/4 time. Or you can increase a pattern to 20 steps in length and kinda give yourself multiple bars in 5/8 time. So if you do the math you can give yourself some timing flexibility. While I don't demonstrate that exactly, it's easy to see how it can be done in this short video: ua-cam.com/video/LWWF3nHy2fw/v-deo.html There just isn't a real way to change time signature type playback for note divisions during live playback. You have to game plan it more when you sequence your patterns ahead of time.

On my Roland fantom I have Note type under step record 1/8, 1/4,1/4t, 1/16, and so on. I was looking the same in S-1.

I'm sorry, I might have misunderstood your question. The S-1 does have the ability to change the note type during step recording. You have to hold down SHIFT and MENU, then cycle through until you get to the PSCL submenu. The steps are obviously sixteenth notes by default. But you can change them to 1/8 or 1/32, or quarter note triplets or 8th note trips or 16th note trips. That works during step recording. I just don't think you can be playing a pattern live and change a pre-existing note while diving into that sub menu. I think it only works during the step recording phase.

@@GazRendar perfect thank you, exactly what I was looking for.

I do get a lot of questions about bouncing on the R12. I should probably make a full demonstration video about that. I do briefly discuss mixing down on the R12, and how the iterations of mixes get named on the SD card in this video: ua-cam.com/video/PkqoL7d35dw/v-deo.html It's around the 14-15 minute mark.

@@GazRendar Thanks for the reply. You're one of the few that explains how to use R12 extensively. My excuses for the long reply, but maybe it'll help you for the follow up video's. Maybe I should describe my use-case and what I (try to) use now. I like to record DAW-less. Every instrument on it's own track. That way I can use good 'ol Audacity on a computer to do the necessary extra work like maybe adding an effect or two (reverb), mixing to stereo etc. Audacity is easy to use and does not take the fun out of producing music like a DAW does. At the moment I have a 4-track Tascam recorder. However, I *NEED* a click-track to keep all the hardware at the same tempo. The click-track is simply an audio track that I recorded from a drum computer or synth that outputs a sync signal (which the synth can even convert to Midi!). That's pretty difficult to do w/ the Tascam (possible via a workaround). Some of the Zoom multi-track recorders have a separate output for the click-track just like the cassette based Portastudio's from the 80's and 90's. Now for problem nr. 2. The Tascam uses some sort of incomprehensible way to divide the SD card into a hidden partition and a partition with a folder named "WAVE" where the multi-tracks are "exported" to. However, they always have the same name and are not placed in separate sub-folders with the project name. That is: you can export _only_ the 4 tracks from one single project/song to the the hidden partition and they are always named "track001.wav" to "track004.wav". If you "bounced" tracks to another project to record more than 4 instruments to separate tracks then you have to fiddle with renaming the "track00x.wav" files, exporting another project, etc, etc. So how does bouncing and file management exactly work on an R12? I see that you made some very good and informative video's on how to do basic editing on the R12 (and R20). But that's not the only thing that people might want to use a multi-track recorder for. I, for instance, plan on doing no editing whatsoever on the R12. I want to synchronize devices via a click-track and I want to separately record (dry) instruments and the wet signal from an effect pedal (reverb etc.). Like they did in the seventies on multi-track tape. Best of luck w/ you channel!

Yeah...you can pretty much do all that with the R20 or R12 if you are creative. There is no MIDI clock to keep synths or drum machines in sync, but as you eluded to, you can record a click track to the R20 and use that to keep other devices in sync. You have to get the recording at just the right levels where the sync click is clipping, but not too high/not too quiet. With some trial and error it's doable. I've been working on a project with 5 Pocket Operators that has taken over a month so far and I'm filming it. If I can figure out how to finish this tough transition part in the song I hope to edit together a how-to video to work with a sync track. Although I didn't film the how-to, I used that kind of technique to sync 3 Pocket Operators and record to the R20 in this short video a year ago with a stereo panning effect in the bass line and I like the way the music turned out: ua-cam.com/video/kjK_vrp8TnU/v-deo.html When you record on the R12 or R20, the tracks are stored as 24-bit/44.1kHz .WAV files in the project folder. They have the track names. You can simply bring those to computer and do your mixing and mastering there. It usually works seamlessly, but some oddball stuff can happen if you string a bunch of audio regions onto a single track. Occasionally it sounds fine on the R20, but then you bring it over to a computer and the timing of the .WAV files from the separate tracks is off. This also can happen if you wind up doing many takes on a track over and over. In that case, you can use to render/export feature on the R12/20 for each track. That tends to clean it up with multiple takes or regions on a single track. I often find mastering on the R20 or R12 is the most consistent way to handle any kind of export. You can only mix down/master to a stereo file, though. But I like the real time control over the faders and I can apply an effect during the mix down if I want. Any mix down file or export file ends up in the AUDIO folder of the SD card with the project name and a 01, 02, 03 sequence applied to the end of it. You can't name those .WAV files on the R20 itself, but it's still easy to take the SD card out, put it into your computer, and figure out how to work with the .WAV files there for editing and mixing.

Yes. The mix down file is just a stereo .WAV file that is saved in the AUDIO folder. So if you have 2 open tracks in your project, you can just import the stereo track into those two tracks. Or simply open up a new project and then import the mix down stereo file in there to listen to it. This video demonstrates how to import mono and stereo .WAV files into a project on the R20, but it's basically the same thing on the R12: ua-cam.com/video/JMmjrkenS8s/v-deo.html

@@GazRendar ok ! Thanks a lot.

You're welcome and thanks for watching! The combo jacks on the R12 are good. They grip 1/4" or XLR plugs but you don't need an excessive amount of force to pull them out. They are what you expect them to be. They are not like the ridiculously tight R20 combo jacks.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'll try!

I use an R20. I might be able to answer your questions about compression.

@@rothloaf1980 Hello, thank you, what parameters do you use to compress standard in the R20? You deal with the other question at the time of recording or after editing the compression, Regards

@@jorgehernaz I usually don't compress the track when I record it. I do use the individual track's limiter (under "track settings) set at -2db to keep from hitting the zero. Recording compression makes tracks sound dull when mixing, unless mixed with a direct signal, like one trk of uncompressed dry guitar, plus one trk of compressed guitar ... During mixdown I use "optcomp, blackopt, or LMT-76" which act like multiband compressors. You can separately dial how compressed the lows and highs are in the mix. I used to record live jazz and classical music so I record the natural sound without compression or fx, then compress individual tracks, if necessary, at mixdown. Hope that helps. Feel free to respond or ask anything else. Audio nerds unite!😃 Edit: "parameters": i usually set compressors at the 20-30 marks, with quick releases of 3-10ms. On the R20, tracks lose high end if over 30, but I do go higher on kickdrums.

@@rothloaf1980 tremendous, thank you very much!

You can import from an SD card, or from a thumb drive connected to the USB-C port. You cannot import while the R20 is connected to a computer via USB, or while it's connected to an iPad via bluetooth. For more on importing mono and stereo .WAV files: ua-cam.com/video/JMmjrkenS8s/v-deo.html

It's a $7 stylus from amazon. Any disc based stylus for capacitive screens should work. More details here: ua-cam.com/video/lwf71awiqmg/v-deo.html

@@GazRendar Thank you!