ZOOM MRS-1044 (NON-FUNCTIONING)

ZOOM MRS-1044 NON FUNCTIONING

The MRS1044 is housed in a smart silver‑coloured plastic case about the size of an open copy of SOS — very portable. The 10 audio tracks are configured as six mono and two stereo. As only two tracks can be recorded simultaneously, recording a full band performance with multiple microphones is not an option; the MRS1044 is therefore going to be more appealing to those happy to build up their recordings track by track. In common with many other digital multitrackers, each audio track has ten virtual tracks available to it, one of which is selected for playback. These certainly increase the flexibility of the system, and can be used to store alternative takes or as destination tracks for track bouncing and mixdown.

In terms of layout, the left‑hand portion of the control surface contains (from top to bottom) input selection and level controls, an effects selection panel and the rhythm section buttons. The latter section includes eight velocity‑sensitive pads for real‑time playing of the MRS1044's internal drum or bass sounds (more on this below). The middle section is dominated by the LCD display and faders. There are faders for the stereo drum track, the mono bass track, the mono audio channels one to six, the stereo audio channels 7/8 and 9/10, and the master output. The LCD does the usual job of providing level meters (switchable between pre‑ and post‑fader) and feedback for other operations such as project management or effects editing. Directly above the master fader is a vertical strip of five buttons that access the two bands of available channel EQ, the two effects send levels (the first dedicated to chorus and delay treatments and the second to reverb), and the panning for a selected track. The right‑hand side of the unit is dominated by a combination of editing buttons and cursor keys, a data wheel and the transport controls.

All the connectivity is provided on the rear panel. This is listed in full in the 'MRS1044 Specifications' box, but two features are worth highlighting. Commendable is the inclusion of switchable phantom power on the two XLR inputs. Phantom powering is a feature which is unusual on a machine at this end of the market — given some of the very respectable, and extremely affordable, condenser microphones now available, this ought to make high‑quality acoustic recordings possible.

On the other hand, a serious downside for many potential purchasers will be the lack of any connection for data backup as standard. However, there is an expansion slot on the side of the unit, into which an optional USB or SCSI card can be inserted for this purpose — see the 'Backup Options' box for further details.

The MRS1044's operating system allows up to 1000 Songs to be created on the internal hard disk. The general mode of operation would be to create a new Song, enter a rhythm part using the internal MIDI drum and bass patterns and then record the various audio parts, adding effects and EQ as required. The finished mix would be created either by bouncing to a pair of virtual tracks or by transferring to another recorder via the analogue or digital outputs.