Hey everyone, 1) I later developed the song idea heard in this video into a full track (real singer with band): floydsteinberg.bandcamp.com/track/2 and 2) thanks for your feedback on this video, which obviously has an annoying, high-pitched noise in the segments where I talk to the camera. I ran this through a spectrum analyzer and found the noise is most likely a spike at 12.000 hz - and I can clearly hear it when I isolate it and turn the speakers up. Problem is, coincidentally this is exactly the frequency of my tinnitus so I wasn't able to pick it up while editing with usual speaker / headphone volume. The noise wasn't caused by a groundloop as I assumed in some comments, but by a fan running in the background. As only the close-up segments are affected, I won't reupload the video. Again what learned, as we say 'round here. ;-)
Thanks for the suggestion! It's something I'll have an eye (ear?) on from now on - though, in my defense, it was more of a weird coincidence with that fan running in the other room while recording.
Wow, I’ve had mine for over a year and just now learning about this feature. The synth engine is allot better sounding then I was expecting. For $300 bucks this thing has allot of bang for your buck.
@@mr_floydst If the R8 would have had copy and paste or at least file insert, it would be perfect, but they screwed it up there. Perhaps the R24 is more usable?
OK, I wasn't too sure where this was going... but at about 8:50, I started to get into the sweet vibe of your song, kind of reminded me of a mix between an old Amiga game, and an Italian 80's Post Apocalyptic adventure film. I like the look of this device, overall.
Thanks! I think the song is really defined by the vocal track. I'll have to finish it one day. And whoever selected the sounds for the R20 had some strong 80s nostalgia. :-)
Thank you very much! There's a finished version of that song (real singer, spanish guitar band) over on Bandcamp if you're interested: floydsteinberg.bandcamp.com/track/2
First thank you for making such a great step by step tutorial. Starting from nothing to buying an R20 and an Akai MPK mini plus, this video really helped me get started. I do not think I could have figured it all out so quickly if I was just reading the manuals. I am a show me and I'll learn kind of person. Zoom should at least thank you for your efforts explaining the R20. A fat check would be nice for you. Anyways this was just great for me!
It's a great home studio. If only they had kept the batteries, the 24 tracks, the mastering effects, the microphones, the 8 XLR combined inputs, the 48 and 96khz options the R24 had, than this would have been a killer machine.
@@mr_floydst maybe they'll get it right in the next iteration. Regarding the synth, is it just preset? If so, how many are there, or did you go through the lot? Also, is there any way to edit them? It's obviously an FM sound source. Makes me think of my old Yamaha FB01 from way back.
Haha, imagine this: "Hey, that DSP chip we use for the mixer/recorder even provides a GM MIDI synth with 200+ preset sounds as a gimmick, so we could even put a Synthesizer into the gadget!" -"OK, but only 20 sounds, you know, because..., anyway, just do it so!" - "OK, which sounds should we choose?" - "just take the first 20..." - "But, then we won't have drums!" - "Well, take the first 19...and the drums". This is such a typical Chinese engineering design choice. Good luck making music just with pianos, organs, brass ensemble and bass sounds 🙃 And the Drums, of course.
"Boss, shouldn't we have at least one synth lead sound, too?" - "OK...lets drop the first one. I suppose no one needs an acoustic piano. Then we can include the Synth Lead 1 sound , at least".
It's one of many strange decisions ;-) Though it's not a GM module, it's a 4 operator FM synth plus a sampled drum kit. Would have been nice to have an editor for the sounds, for what it is, the synth sounds quite nice.
@@mr_floydst I'm afraid there isn't an editor as the whole synth is just a gimmick from the DSP chip and provided as is. But it makes me wonder, if they decided to use this feature at all, why the hell did they restrict it to 20 sounds? Who decided this like " ah, no, this is too much knob turning at this point" ?
Ah, interesting, I didn't know that! Got to look it up. :-) I agree, what where they thinking. I mean this could be fixed with a patch: //max_intruments=20; ;-)
Who did you get to do the vocals? I thought this was a great reveal of the Zoom R20. Nice little surprise. Amazed to hear you have tinnitus in the frequency some of the babies are complaining about. I think this was a great video and thanks for sharing this little gem!
Thank you very much! The R20 is good value for the money - thing is, the R24 is better value for the money and Zoom has a lot of half-baked great ideas in the R20 currently. I hope they fix it in a patch. Vocals? See ua-cam.com/video/L41yTiVd7nw/v-deo.html ;-)
Thanks for another great video Floyd! Watching you adjust the EQ levels on the touchscreen of a hardware mixer was 🤯 and almost painful to watch! with all the actual **hardware** knobs and faders available on the device - what were the Zoom designers thinking!?!?
Thanks for watching :-) Yes, the touch screen is a both blessing and a curse. Arranging parts is much quicker, but fine tuning sliders? No way. I mean they have 8 sliders on the device, you could easily remap them to on-screen sliders in software. Everything about the R20 feels half-baked. Audio quality is great, though.
@@mr_floydst though you just described most Zoom gear I've encountered - lots of possibilities, just not all there yet. Audio quality is great, though! And great video...I think I'll spring for one because I like how limited and analog it is vs. Logic Pro & the conundrum of all the options.
Zoom is obviously testing the waters here but these sounds are solid, totally usable, very neutral. They've been compared to general MIDI but that's not at all fair. Man I hope they make a better version of this Zoom R20. It's already so damn good.
One of my viewers pointed out the sound chip used in the R20 has a full set of FM tones that for whatever reason Zoom only allowed access to the first 20. Oh wait. Because it's the R20. Haha.
I think creating a convincing grand piano sound with a 4 operator fm synthesiser just isn't possible. I agree they should add an editor or at least the ability to upload some configuration files.
I was thinking this unit would have the boring old PCM sampled romplers we are accustomed to but NO!! An FM Yamaha SYNTH!! Ala DX7 style!!! THAT is rare to find as an add on feature today! Now the question is, can you edit the presets? The drum sounds are sampled so that FM synth is a nice surprise.
Thanks for watching! The iTrack Dock is a great piece of kit - but in my case, the R20 fits in better (it's also a mixer and audio interface for my synth setup which can't be seen in this video).
is the high pitched electrical interference noise coming from the unit? This video is unwatchable for me because of the high pitched electrical ringing. I was interested in seeing you review this device too. :(
For capturing the audio, I had to connect another recorder to the R20. I guess this created a ground loop I didn't hear. Is the noise there throughout the entire video?
@@humanwaveform Thanks for specifying! Then it is as I thought - using an external recorder created that problem and I can't hear that high pitch, or my equipment can't play back that pitch. Will check this, and perhaps re-upload.
When you program in midi drums... but no mention of looping....? For live input of notes. The r20 has no loop function??? Stop and rewind is the only option?
Does anybody know? Can you do all recording through headphones only, so no amplified noise can be heard by neighbours? How is the R20 on hiss/background noise? Thanks, in advance, if you can help me.
Hi, thanks for watching. As long as the instruments you're recording are relatively silent (synths, electric guitars...) you can monitor them on headphones. In my experience, the preamps on the R20 are superb. I didn't measure the signal to noise ratio, but even if you adjust the volume of a recording on a computer later, you will get no notable noise (given your recording was leveled properly)
@@mr_floydst Thank you. The noise of my guitars doesn't bother the neighbours unless it's amplified so this should work. One more thing. The R8 has built in speakers. What advantage does that give? Thanks.
Hey Floyd Quick Question and I do realise this video went up quite a while ago but I notice you have xlr going in to the R20 are they coming from 1/4 mono jacks on Synth's ... I have just ordered the R20 and Cannot find any clear info via google and the manual has this line 'Use INPUTS 3-8 to connect mics and keyboards' which is kinda muddy explanation ... Thanks in advance Floyd 👌👌
Hi, I just bought some 6.35mm to XLR adapter cables to connect all my synths. This gives you 4 stereo or 8 mono inputs for your synths. If you want to use Guitar or Mics, the 2 sockets on the left come with "high sensitivity" and 4 of the inputs will support phantom power.
@@mr_floydst Thanks Floyd I have ordered the exact same cables 6 of them wont have room for a mic may have to go Mono on one of the synths if I want to sing hehehe < I can NOT see that happening hahaha 😊Again Thanks Floyd 👍
There's an option for that in the project menu. You can tap the cogwheel and select it, specify where the render should be stored (USB drive or SD card) and then it renders the song to a single WAV file.
@@mr_floydst compared to a 2001 xy100 it’s way worse than that, let alone an Integra 7, or Yamaha EX but the sounds are no better than a pocket operator in my opinion. I have pocket operators so I don’t need another basic synth sound.
Ah, ok! I thought you were referring to the sound quality of the video itself. I agree of course. These are the most basic FM sounds you could come up with, only saved by the effects section (Zoom's experience with effects shows - the tape delay sounds very good in my opinion)
I'm perfectly fine with that. However, critiscism can only be helpful when you provide information what it was that you disliked. Also, I developed the idea heard in the video into a full song later, sung by a real singer with an actual band, which can be heard here floydsteinberg.bandcamp.com/track/2 ;-)
7:05 just record, with no quantization at all, no midi clock, even on this maybe a good review, you can't even get the notes on the spot, maybe you tried 20 times to get it on video right. just throw all your gear on it with not one gear in sync. just like a 60-dollar recorder toy with no midi beat clock. or like a tape recorder from 40 years ago. this is only for unplugged gear, drums guitars voices, and a big finger to all electronic gear
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting! You're right, if you want electronic music precision, this isn't the right tool for you. Still puzzles me ZOOM doesn't add MIDI sync to this - I mean it does have MIDI IN. Overall, I'm a bit torn on this device - the R24, it's predecessor, was better value for the money, but the R20's recordings undeniably sound better (to me)
I have tried with zoom h8 to record a clock signal with a volca and kinda got it to work with a really loud pulse then outputting the track with clock to the microfreak then sending midi out from there to sync other synths. Wish zoom had sync. Some of the newer Tascam recorders have midi out with clock.
Hey everyone, 1) I later developed the song idea heard in this video into a full track (real singer with band): floydsteinberg.bandcamp.com/track/2 and 2) thanks for your feedback on this video, which obviously has an annoying, high-pitched noise in the segments where I talk to the camera. I ran this through a spectrum analyzer and found the noise is most likely a spike at 12.000 hz - and I can clearly hear it when I isolate it and turn the speakers up. Problem is, coincidentally this is exactly the frequency of my tinnitus so I wasn't able to pick it up while editing with usual speaker / headphone volume. The noise wasn't caused by a groundloop as I assumed in some comments, but by a fan running in the background.
As only the close-up segments are affected, I won't reupload the video.
Again what learned, as we say 'round here. ;-)
Thanks for the suggestion! It's something I'll have an eye (ear?) on from now on - though, in my defense, it was more of a weird coincidence with that fan running in the other room while recording.
Wow, I’ve had mine for over a year and just now learning about this feature. The synth engine is allot better sounding then I was expecting. For $300 bucks this thing has allot of bang for your buck.
It is! But sadly, it's also a step down from it predecessor (the R24) in many ways.
@@mr_floydst If the R8 would have had copy and paste or at least file insert, it would be perfect, but they screwed it up there. Perhaps the R24 is more usable?
@@0xbenedikt I'm afraid I can't remember - it's been too long since I used the R24. On the R20, copy&paste is easily done on the touch screen.
@@mr_floydst I have ordered a R12, let’s see how it’s like. Thanks for your videos!
OK, I wasn't too sure where this was going...
but at about 8:50, I started to get into the sweet vibe of your song, kind of reminded me of a mix between an old Amiga game,
and an Italian 80's Post Apocalyptic adventure film.
I like the look of this device, overall.
Thanks! I think the song is really defined by the vocal track. I'll have to finish it one day.
And whoever selected the sounds for the R20 had some strong 80s nostalgia. :-)
Excellent! 👍
Many thanks!
excellent. I really enjoy the song!
Thank you very much! There's a finished version of that song (real singer, spanish guitar band) over on Bandcamp if you're interested: floydsteinberg.bandcamp.com/track/2
First thank you for making such a great step by step tutorial. Starting from nothing to buying an R20 and an Akai MPK mini plus, this video really helped me get started. I do not think I could have figured it all out so quickly if I was just reading the manuals. I am a show me and I'll learn kind of person. Zoom should at least thank you for your efforts explaining the R20. A fat check would be nice for you. Anyways this was just great for me!
Thank you very much! Glad it was helpful.
I’ve always wanted something like this to exist.
It's a great home studio. If only they had kept the batteries, the 24 tracks, the mastering effects, the microphones, the 8 XLR combined inputs, the 48 and 96khz options the R24 had, than this would have been a killer machine.
@@mr_floydst maybe they'll get it right in the next iteration.
Regarding the synth, is it just preset? If so, how many are there, or did you go through the lot? Also, is there any way to edit them? It's obviously an FM sound source. Makes me think of my old Yamaha FB01 from way back.
Me too. too bad it’s a piece of garbage. Great idea tho
Great rewievs you create, really like your channel and energy dear Floyd.😃💚🙏🎹 Love cheers.
Thank you kindly!
Those are some sick FM sounds.
Thanks for watching! Yes indeed (thanks to the high quality internal effects)
Haha, imagine this: "Hey, that DSP chip we use for the mixer/recorder even provides a GM MIDI synth with 200+ preset sounds as a gimmick, so we could even put a Synthesizer into the gadget!" -"OK, but only 20 sounds, you know, because..., anyway, just do it so!" - "OK, which sounds should we choose?" - "just take the first 20..." - "But, then we won't have drums!" - "Well, take the first 19...and the drums". This is such a typical Chinese engineering design choice. Good luck making music just with pianos, organs, brass ensemble and bass sounds 🙃 And the Drums, of course.
"Boss, shouldn't we have at least one synth lead sound, too?" - "OK...lets drop the first one. I suppose no one needs an acoustic piano. Then we can include the Synth Lead 1 sound , at least".
It's one of many strange decisions ;-)
Though it's not a GM module, it's a 4 operator FM synth plus a sampled drum kit.
Would have been nice to have an editor for the sounds, for what it is, the synth sounds quite nice.
@@mr_floydst I'm afraid there isn't an editor as the whole synth is just a gimmick from the DSP chip and provided as is. But it makes me wonder, if they decided to use this feature at all, why the hell did they restrict it to 20 sounds? Who decided this like " ah, no, this is too much knob turning at this point" ?
Ah, interesting, I didn't know that! Got to look it up. :-)
I agree, what where they thinking.
I mean this could be fixed with a patch:
//max_intruments=20;
;-)
Insanely cool video - loved every second of it - really enjoyable and useful
Thanks a ton!
Who did you get to do the vocals?
I thought this was a great reveal of the Zoom R20. Nice little surprise. Amazed to hear you have tinnitus in the frequency some of the babies are complaining about. I think this was a great video and thanks for sharing this little gem!
Thank you very much! The R20 is good value for the money - thing is, the R24 is better value for the money and Zoom has a lot of half-baked great ideas in the R20 currently. I hope they fix it in a patch.
Vocals? See ua-cam.com/video/L41yTiVd7nw/v-deo.html ;-)
Thanks for another great video Floyd! Watching you adjust the EQ levels on the touchscreen of a hardware mixer was 🤯 and almost painful to watch! with all the actual **hardware** knobs and faders available on the device - what were the Zoom designers thinking!?!?
Thanks for watching :-)
Yes, the touch screen is a both blessing and a curse. Arranging parts is much quicker, but fine tuning sliders? No way. I mean they have 8 sliders on the device, you could easily remap them to on-screen sliders in software. Everything about the R20 feels half-baked. Audio quality is great, though.
@@mr_floydst maybe that could be an update? hmmm
@@mr_floydst though you just described most Zoom gear I've encountered - lots of possibilities, just not all there yet. Audio quality is great, though! And great video...I think I'll spring for one because I like how limited and analog it is vs. Logic Pro & the conundrum of all the options.
Great vid as always Floyd
Thank you very much!
I hope in the futur updates they add multiple drum kits in the internal midi for finger drumming on drum pad midi controllers.
Hi, thanks for watching! Zoom isn't exactly famous for adding features in their FW updates. So far, they provided bug fixes only.
I definitely could make some music with this, kinda looks like Akai copied the touch screen DAW idea.
It's a nice and uncomplicated way of recording good-sounding multitrack music. Turn it on, arm a track, hit the record button, and there you go.
I wish my Tascam DP24 had such interface.
Zoom is making serious gear nowadays.
Absolutely! Thing is, the R20 is a step down from it's predecessors sadly. The R24 has much more functionality, but the R20 sound notably better.
Not bad for a built in synth
Thanks for watching - yes, it's not bad. Quite usable in fact.
Zoom is obviously testing the waters here but these sounds are solid, totally usable, very neutral. They've been compared to general MIDI but that's not at all fair. Man I hope they make a better version of this Zoom R20. It's already so damn good.
Thanks for watching! They are good, but compared to the predecessor (R24), they removed a lot of stuff. (Sad face)
It sounds like they used a CASIOtone library! 😁👍
One of my viewers pointed out the sound chip used in the R20 has a full set of FM tones that for whatever reason Zoom only allowed access to the first 20. Oh wait. Because it's the R20. Haha.
I used to have casio watch in 1990s same sounds
you could _see_ the face twitch when he had to render each midi track to audio to proceed😹
;-)
Just tried the onboard sounds. No Grand Piano!? Only EP’s!
Bummer. Hopefully they will add some better quality patches or allow up to upload our own.
I think creating a convincing grand piano sound with a 4 operator fm synthesiser just isn't possible. I agree they should add an editor or at least the ability to upload some configuration files.
I was thinking this unit would have the boring old PCM sampled romplers we are accustomed to but NO!! An FM Yamaha SYNTH!! Ala DX7 style!!! THAT is rare to find as an add on feature today! Now the question is, can you edit the presets? The drum sounds are sampled so that FM synth is a nice surprise.
Unfortunately, the patches are fixed / static. It would be so cool to be able to change them, even by uploading XML files or something.
It’s a good device, but in my opinion to work on such a small desk, a iPad with a maybe Focusrite iTrack Dock is more comfortable!
Thanks for watching! The iTrack Dock is a great piece of kit - but in my case, the R20 fits in better (it's also a mixer and audio interface for my synth setup which can't be seen in this video).
@@mr_floydst how can you input synths to the xlr inputs?
is the high pitched electrical interference noise coming from the unit? This video is unwatchable for me because of the high pitched electrical ringing. I was interested in seeing you review this device too. :(
Can't hear any high pitched noise. Must be your hearing bud lol
For capturing the audio, I had to connect another recorder to the R20. I guess this created a ground loop I didn't hear. Is the noise there throughout the entire video?
@@mr_floydst it starts at nine seconds in. it just cuts in and out on the second timestamp whenever the camera is close up.
@@mr_floydst I should have watched for longer to see if it went away. re-watched now. Great review, thanks. :)
@@humanwaveform Thanks for specifying! Then it is as I thought - using an external recorder created that problem and I can't hear that high pitch, or my equipment can't play back that pitch. Will check this, and perhaps re-upload.
It wasn't mentioned but just to make sure, it's possible to switch the synth sound after recording your MIDI track, right?
Hi, thanks for watching - yes, you can change that as long as it's a MIDI track.
@@mr_floydst Thanks, logical. I also wondered where to watch your concert organized with Bo Beats?
@@electrosonicnebula That video is here: ua-cam.com/video/f0RB3Ml5td0/v-deo.html
When you program in midi drums... but no mention of looping....? For live input of notes. The r20 has no loop function??? Stop and rewind is the only option?
Hi, thanks for watching!
Yes, that's correct. At the moment, looping is not possible.
I wonder if that synth can recive midi sysex or cc to change algorithms, modulation, etc...
In theory, it can - but in reality, Zoom didn't implement that.
👍
🙇
Does anybody know? Can you do all recording through headphones only, so no amplified noise can be heard by neighbours? How is the R20 on hiss/background noise? Thanks, in advance, if you can help me.
Hi, thanks for watching. As long as the instruments you're recording are relatively silent (synths, electric guitars...) you can monitor them on headphones.
In my experience, the preamps on the R20 are superb. I didn't measure the signal to noise ratio, but even if you adjust the volume of a recording on a computer later, you will get no notable noise (given your recording was leveled properly)
@@mr_floydst Thank you. The noise of my guitars doesn't bother the neighbours unless it's amplified so this should work. One more thing. The R8 has built in speakers. What advantage does that give?
Thanks.
Hey Floyd Quick Question and I do realise this video went up quite a while ago but I notice you have xlr going in to the R20 are they coming from 1/4 mono jacks on Synth's ... I have just ordered the R20 and Cannot find any clear info via google and the manual has this line 'Use INPUTS 3-8 to connect mics and keyboards' which is kinda muddy explanation ... Thanks in advance Floyd 👌👌
Hi, I just bought some 6.35mm to XLR adapter cables to connect all my synths. This gives you 4 stereo or 8 mono inputs for your synths. If you want to use Guitar or Mics, the 2 sockets on the left come with "high sensitivity" and 4 of the inputs will support phantom power.
@@mr_floydst Thanks Floyd I have ordered the exact same cables 6 of them wont have room for a mic may have to go Mono on one of the synths if I want to sing hehehe < I can NOT see that happening hahaha 😊Again Thanks Floyd 👍
I'm really sad,that no normal Piano Sound is included. Is it possible to change tempo and beats from 4/4 to 2/2 f.eg. in the same Song?
It's an FM synth, so getting a realistic piano sound is nigh impossible. That change is not possible, I'm afraid.
Had the R12 and it was a great mixer - recorder for the money . Seen this and was set until I seen all inputs are XLR . 🤦♂️
Thanks for watching! The R20 has 2 combo inputs (6,35mm and XLR) and 6 XLR only.
@@mr_floydst ah missed that , still 20+ years I got enough cables not adding to the cost lol
Greetings, can Protect be exported in mp3 or wav only?
Hi, thanks for watching! That's WAV only.
I can't find anything on mixdown. What has to happen to mixdown?
There's an option for that in the project menu. You can tap the cogwheel and select it, specify where the render should be stored (USB drive or SD card) and then it renders the song to a single WAV file.
Who did the vocal? Nice song.
Thanks. This is a plugin, EMVoice, and the patch name is "Keela". These are deep sampled real singers. ua-cam.com/video/L41yTiVd7nw/v-deo.html
Very Casio CZ similar sounds
These sounds are the most basic FM sounds. I wish ZOOM would provide an editor. ;-)
It is impossible so play 5/8 or 7/8 or any other complex rythm. Are they stupid?
This is a recurring theme in modern electronic music toys. "95% of the crowd really only need 4/4, 16 step, 4 bar loops. So let's omit the rest".
Zoom is so determined not to put 5-pin MIDI dins on their products. "You won't be able to sync it to your exernal gear, hahahah"
I'm a bit puzzled why they are so unwilling to add that feature. The R20 even has the USB MIDI port.
Zoom R24+Yamaha PSS-780=R20 aka pen-pineapple-apple-pen
:)
It’s a cool concept, too bad the sounds suck! Lol
You're not the first one to say that but aaah I can't hear it. Can you please be more specific? That would help a lot, thanks
@@mr_floydst compared to a 2001 xy100 it’s way worse than that, let alone an Integra 7, or Yamaha EX but the sounds are no better than a pocket operator in my opinion. I have pocket operators so I don’t need another basic synth sound.
Ah, ok! I thought you were referring to the sound quality of the video itself.
I agree of course. These are the most basic FM sounds you could come up with, only saved by the effects section (Zoom's experience with effects shows - the tape delay sounds very good in my opinion)
@@mr_floydst your videos are all great Floyd! Haven’t seen one I stopped halfway yet, and I do that with a lot of them!
The track isnt very good, sorry i know people like yes men but its just not good. BUT i enjoyed the demo and appreciate it
I'm perfectly fine with that. However, critiscism can only be helpful when you provide information what it was that you disliked.
Also, I developed the idea heard in the video into a full song later, sung by a real singer with an actual band, which can be heard here floydsteinberg.bandcamp.com/track/2 ;-)
7:05 just record, with no quantization at all, no midi clock, even on this maybe a good review, you can't even get the notes on the spot, maybe you tried 20 times to get it on video right. just throw all your gear on it with not one gear in sync. just like a 60-dollar recorder toy with no midi beat clock. or like a tape recorder from 40 years ago. this is only for unplugged gear, drums guitars voices, and a big finger to all electronic gear
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting! You're right, if you want electronic music precision, this isn't the right tool for you. Still puzzles me ZOOM doesn't add MIDI sync to this - I mean it does have MIDI IN. Overall, I'm a bit torn on this device - the R24, it's predecessor, was better value for the money, but the R20's recordings undeniably sound better (to me)
* btw I just played that bass line on the spot, with some mistakes that I fixed in the sequencer (as can be seen in the video) ;-)
I have tried with zoom h8 to record a clock signal with a volca and kinda got it to work with a really loud pulse then outputting the track with clock to the microfreak then sending midi out from there to sync other synths. Wish zoom had sync. Some of the newer Tascam recorders have midi out with clock.