About HDRC
Events
Technical Overviews
Reference
Doug Kramer [[email protected]]
Sun Jan 2 15:41:49 2000
Would someone please explain or point me to a page that describes technically how ORB drives would be significantly more reliable than Iomega Jaz drives. I've had one too many Jaz failures to rely on them. Anyone had an ORB disk go bad?
Kent [[email protected]]
Wed Jan 5 12:33:43 2000
My shipment of V3.04 chips for the HDR-6 are here. If anyone wants to get one or more I am charging what it cost me only. $9.99 per chip plus $1.50 Shipping. Please email me for details.
Scott [[email protected]]
Wed Jan 5 23:28:46 2000
Thats a killer deal on the 3.04 chips! I just paid 35$ for a similar chip for my sampler.If you have a hdr6 and its below 3.01, youd be crazy to not get this chip!I know Im getting mine! Im tired of having to reset the settings every time I power up! Thanks Kent!
Lex [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 6 21:24:20 2000
Does anybody has experience wit LogicAaudio on the Mac and syngronize use of the HDR6?
VNO [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 6 22:47:35 2000
Way to go kent! I am so proud of the community members. There are alot of you out there who need upgrading, Kent is the man to see if you need the current version for your HDR-6/8. By the way Macworld 2000 is going great! I ran into Herbie Hancock just as I predicted. He thought the HDRs were cool and snagged some shots with his camcorder, he said, he would take a picture for the HDRC the next day.
Scott [same]
Fri Jan 7 05:46:36 2000
Sorry to rain on anybodys parade, but I dont think these chips will work right with the hdr8. The digital mixer and eq are quite a bit different than on the hdr6. If youre not using the digital mixer on your hdr8, they MAY work, but dont hold your breath...I will be testing this out as soon as my chips arrive. My money is on them not working (well enough to recommend).....
Jamesgray [[email protected]]
Fri Jan 7 22:30:32 2000
I would love to get new bios for my HDR8, for persons interested in the PV1600X controller, in traveling thru a maze of links starting with www.peavey.com their is a guy who has created a program to duplicate the functions of a PV studiomix on the 1600x so this may include Midi machine control and that would allow it to control Vestax HDR. The problem I have is that I have computer problems and I am waiting for software to arrive and trying to learn a hell of alot of software at once to make my studio function. So be patient with me, but I am happy to share my findings with you. I also have information on a mod to double the memory of the PV1600X I just bought the studiomix and I think it is a hot combination to tie a HDR with computer sequencing and audio recording
Jamesgray [[email protected]]
Sat Jan 8 14:30:51 2000
The Peavey1600X can be used to control a Vestax HDR. I posted on www.peavey.com and Anthony @ Peavey says that you use preset 06 Transport Control for the MMC commands. I assume the HDR digital mixer is controlled by CCC commands. I have more PV 1600X info, but email me if you are interested.
Scott []
Wed Jan 12 03:01:19 2000
Heres some new findings...1) The hdr6 3.04 does not work correctly with the hdr8. Basically, it turns the hdr8 into a messed up hdr6. You can only record on tracks 3-8, and the digital mixer is that of a hdr6, fed thru the hardware and interface of a hdr8. ***2)I tried a Maxtor8.4 gig hard drive in a hdr8 (OS version 2.07). Does not seem to work very well. Only tried playing back audio previously recorded on a different machine, and tracks came up on the wrong #s. Created several "song" areas, and after about an hour or so of recording time on the hard drive (Many "songs"), the first song came up again, the next and so on, basically looping the entire drive. Back to the drawing board...***3) Ive got 2 hdr8s with orbs up now. So far, except for a few annoying glitches, it works well.
Shawn [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 13 10:52:48 2000
I noticed on the postings here that there are some v3.04 chips for the HDR-6 available now. Well, to try to be as brief as possible, we purchased an HDR-6 and used it about 2hrs before it started fluking out. Unknowingly, just before they dropped warranty service in Colorado, we sent it in 3x for repair and they sent it back each time saying it was fixed. However, it keeps doing the same weird things as before: Sometimes, it comes on but just stays on the "OEr301" screen and no buttons work. Other times, it will take information recorded on, say track 4, and start playing it sequentially back thru all 6 channels, like it's alive or something - doing its own thing! :) And sometimes, you'd record on a track and it plays just fine, but a few minutes later it would think the track was blank, as if you didn't record at all. So I'm trying to clarify - was there big trouble with certain revisions of the software, like v3.01, or is this possibly a bigger problem than the OS? Thanks for all the help! Shawn hijax muzik production
Shawn Oliver [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 13 12:44:09 2000
Well, just an update. I talked with John-Paul Bertsch, and he said he would fix it (with the exception of anything major) and update the OS to 3.04 for $60.00 with a 1 week turnaround! Can't beat that. If you have a problem with yours, I found his contact info at www.bertschelectronics.com. Shawn hijax muzik production PS- If the drive proves to be bad, can I just buy the IDE version of the ORB drive, plug it in and go? Or is there more to it than that?
Kent [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 13 13:22:29 2000
Actually Shawn you CAN beat that. I sell the chip for $9.99 plus shipping. It doesn't take a brain surgery degree to install it. I even have the directions for installation. This would have only cost you about $11.50. IDE hard drives are a dime a dozen. I myself have found great drive deals at ebay for $20.00 and the drives work fine. $60 to install a chip I think is ridiculous. $60 for nothing major. You can do the minor stuff yourself. $60 is what it would cost (or at least to start for "something major") Plus you have to pay shipping to and fro.
mike [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 13 21:26:03 2000
This site is very cool!!! Ive got 3 hdr6 .Does anybody know where I can get a scsi card for the hdr6 ,and can you actually get them configured to work with a mac g4??? Ive been using these for years and know em real well. will help anybody that needs some help cause thats what this site is all about thanx. email your phone # cause its much faster ......
Shawn Oliver [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 13 21:28:51 2000
It wasn't the silly chip - I changed the OS chip in my Kurzweil no problem. Nor is the hard drive an issue. It's the fact that he'll go thru it with a fine tooth comb, check everything out for a mere $60, and warranty the work. After spending $2000+ for our HDR6 in the beginning, then finding out the hard way that Vestax had conveniently skipped town (actually, the Continent), today's discovery that there is actually a guy in North America who will fix these is surely great news to anyone with a sick HDR. I understand you're trying to sell your chips, Kent, but I have no guarantee that replacing mine would solve our problem. However, in one week I won't care. I'll be recording... :) Shawn
kent [Quent10195]
Fri Jan 14 16:26:30 2000
Good luck Shawn. It wasn't about selling a chip - because I am not selling them for profit. I just have extras. The HDR-6 is not as complicated to fix as everyone thinks. Mike. When I spoke to Greg at Vestax (in November 1999) he found a the SCSI interface in the warehouse. I don't know if he still has it but you can call the office in Hollywood FL and ask him.
JamesGray [[email protected]]
Fri Jan 14 20:55:18 2000
I am interested in putting a bigger hard drive in my HDR8. I have read all of the posts on this site and am asking for recomendations. I have several extra computer power supplies and want to know if anyone has sucessfully swapped PS in an HDR8? The goal is a big IDE primary drive and an ORB or archieving and 2nd drive. Any advice or opinion is appreciated. Suggestions for drives appreciated too.
Scott [[email protected]]
Sat Jan 15 04:47:39 2000
Hey Shawn,Thats cool that JP Bertsch will fix the hdr6 for 60$. I think its a good deal. Its probably not the chip, maybe a hard drive, maybe not. If it was me, Id put in a hard drive, and if that fails, send it in. But for 60$ with warranty you can't really go wrong.****James, what is the OS version of you hdr8? I have 2 hdr8s with Orbs. They were working alright for a while, then last night they were both giving me problems. You should wait and let me use this setup for a while, the jury is still out on this one. You should buy some large drives from a local place ( where they accept returns with no restock fee) and try them out. Let us all know what you find out. Thanks and everybody peace out.
JamesGray [[email protected]]
Sat Jan 15 15:46:45 2000
Scott, I lost both copies of my manual for the HDR8, I just emailed Vno to try and purchase another copy, so I remember I have to format the drive for the song first, but I am absolutely lost without the manual, so will have to wait before trying a new Hard drive, I wonder if you put both ORBS inside or have one of VNO's enclosures? I think VNO makes excellent sense in us exchanging ORB disks between us for music collarboration. I have been making a big technilogical hurdle reconfiguring my studio for digital audio. I bought the HDR8 without a manual from Musicians Friend and it took me 6 months to get a manual from them. So will crack open HDR and see what ver I have, thanks for the tip Scott James
Scott []
Tue Jan 18 08:16:32 2000
HI James, Its really easy to put in a hard drive. Open the machine up, and you'll see where the current hard drive is. See how the ribbon cable and power cable hook up to the drive? All you have to do is detach the cables from the hard drive, remove the 3 screws that hold the hard drive mounting plate down, the mounting plate swings up , and then you remove the screws holding the current hard drive down, Reverse process to install the new drive. EASY! Just make sure youre not carrying a static electrical charge when handling the new drive.***Warning: the tiny screws holding the cover on the hdr and the hard drive mounting plate down are made out of some totally cheap shit metal (I think its called Tinsel). I dont know how many of these @#%$%#$%$%$s have stripped out on me, and I had to drill 'em out. So buy a good set of screwdrivers like the kind they sell to work on computers, and be ready to get out the drill (be careful where the metal filings go). HINT: When screwing the machine back together, dont tighten the screws much. Also , throw away all partially stripped screws, or youll be drillin' em' out next time you open the machine!***My orbs are inside the hdr8s right now. Just to test them out. I am using an external rack tray and caddy with hard drives for my V8s. It makes a regular hard drive removable, and it works great!I plan on making something similar to mount my orbs externally. Let meknow if you cant find that manual anywhere. What operating system version is in your hdr8?
JamesGray [[email protected]]
Tue Jan 18 23:30:34 2000
I removed my IBM (orginal)hard drive for fun, for the record it had 3 screws each side and I took off the screws on the top and side of the unit, the rack ears come off with the enclosure top. The plate holding the hard drive has 3 screws each side for a total of 6 screws. Their is a big chip inside that says ver 2.07 which I assume is the bios version. A couple of questions in my mind. First of all the IBM drive does not have that little plastic do-hicky that designates it as a primary or secondary drive. Do we need to set the drives as primary or secondary? The other question is that it looks real simple to swap the power supply out and I wonder if anyone has ideas or experienced success in doing this. I appreciate Scotts help to me and I hope it is interesting to others too. I share this computer with teenagers,but I hope to post something next time about intergrating an HDR with a Computer DAW James
JamesGray [[email protected]]
Tue Jan 18 23:48:09 2000
The comment about the teenagers means I have trouble getting online, I wonder if I have the latest bios ver (2.07) and I had a factory manual, made a copy of it and both are lost, so have been looking for a month. Does someone have my address? (joke). Even tho I am heavily commited to recording onto my computer, I am considering using my HDR's for tracking intially, also they are alot more portable for remote recording. Check the WWW.emu.com for "Launch _Pad" they are surplusing, I think they do MMC. Altho if you mount your HDR within arms reach, just pushing the buttons can be very convienant even if old fashioned. I really like VNO idea of swapping ORB disks among us for collaboration, but then again we could do it with a hard drive also. I really appreciate all who post here, I have been frustrated, but I am not allowed to say why, but you have given me ideas and hope James
Scott []
Wed Jan 19 00:57:46 2000
Hello! James, you set the jumpers on your hard drives for master or slave . It doesnt matter which connector on the ribbon cable either goes to.** Yes 2.07 is the operating system. Thats whats on my hdr8s too. Does anyone out there have a more recent OS chip for the hdr8? This chip does not seem to allow for larger hard drives. ** I was wondering the same thing about the power supply. I bet it would be easy to put in a better one. Does anyone out there know what the requirements would be for a better power supply? ** I like recording on the hdrs better than on the computer. Theres too many other distractions on my computer, the internet, video games, and it crashes too much (once is too much for me). The hdrs are like a tape recorder, which I can relate to. Im not going into VISUAL mode, Im using my EARS with the hdrs. They have a fairly simple interface, they rarely if ever crash, the mixers are awesome and can be automated...When I get on my computer, Id rather blow some demons head off with a shotgun, know what I mean?
Jim McDonald [[email protected]]
Wed Jan 19 07:58:57 2000
Reading the latest posts may ave answered this question, but is there a newer BIOS for the HDR8 than 2.07? If so, does anyone know where to get it or for that matter just the code that can be burned to an eeprom? I have access to a eeprom burner and could probably burn several if the code is available. Also, has anyone had any experience backing up to a program such as Cubase to do the final mixing with effects (I love Direct X effects) and then to Soundforge for mastering? I'm a little new to using an HDR having previous experience using Cubase. But I agree that using a computer to do your tracking can be VERY distracting. Mixing on the other hand...
JamesGray [[email protected]]
Wed Jan 26 20:52:43 2000
I noticed when checking out my hard drives on my HDR8 the space behind the panel where the additional cards go. I wonder if this space could be used for an ORB so that the Orb can be mounted internally. If someone gets dimensions for an orb email me and I will open it up and check it out
Kent [quent10195]
Thu Jan 27 02:15:44 2000
I found someone interested in buying my AD-2. I am now selling my only FX-1 if anyone is interested let me know before I post on ebay. I recently purchased 4 external effects.
Kent [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 27 02:17:03 2000
Installation and operation booklet included. Works with HDR-6 and HDR-8.
Rico [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 27 06:54:02 2000
To all who inquired: We have a lot of product in stock from drives to fans, we do not have the following: HDR-8 owners manual and V3.04 upgrade eproms.
Kent [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 27 11:45:27 2000
I still have upgrade EPROMs V.3.04 for the HDR-6 for anyone who needs them. I am selling them at cost.
Scott [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 27 17:18:31 2000
James, I think I tried putting an orb in that spot, but it wont fit.*** Kent, what do you want for the fx card? Why are you choosing external fx over the card? Did you ever see if the fx returns are enabled, using the card, when the hdr containing it is a slave? Can you use the card and external fx at the same time?***To All: I have the hdr8 manual, and will send you a copy for a small fee.The hdr6 chips Kent has work great (they were cloned off of one of my chips). We are still looking for hdr8 chips to clone, namely, version 3.04. So if you have one, fork it over, and we will make it worth your while. Thanks Scott
Vno [vno @You know!!!]
Thu Jan 27 19:54:09 2000
That is what I call close a community. I know there are a lot of you who need upgrades for your HDRs. Kent is the man to talk to, good looking out.
matt [chickenwi@hotmail]
Thu Jan 27 21:28:56 2000
ive got the hdr-v8 to go to cakewlk ...24 bit at 44.1hz....its so good souding ...the digotal i.o. sounds way better than the analog ...well tying to help///matt
Bill [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 27 21:31:56 2000
Kent, got the chip and it works fine. Thanks again man. To all those upgraders with the HDR6, just remember to back up song for all your stuff on the disk before upgrading, I tried to do without, and it goes wild....so back up, upgrade, restore, I guess that works, does it Scott?
Kent [[email protected]]
Thu Jan 27 23:00:32 2000
Scott, When I originally bought the FX-1 I thought that through the digital connection I could send tracks from my other HDR-6 to the internal effects process. I can, but only from the host. Since I now have (4) HDR-6s. I would need three more FX-1s. And since the FX-1s are next to impossible to come by and the fact I just purchase other external FX units I figure I'd sell it. VNO, would you happen to have the upgrade sheet that Vestax put out with the V 3.04 chip. It's a one page sheet that list the new capabilities of that chip. I have the upgrade sheet that came with the V 3.01. I would like to learn what the improvements or additions were in the V 3.04 chip. If you have this sheet I would like to get a copy.
Scott [[email protected]]
Sat Jan 29 04:48:57 2000
Matt:What do you mean you got it to go to Cakewalk? Did you take audio off the hdr and put it in Cakewalk? Did you have any problems? How did you hook it up? ***Bill: I put in my 3.04 chips without backing up. No problems. I have changed many chips this way and had no problems. The wiring inside the hdrs is fragile, and that HAS caused me problems, when opening them up. Needless to say, Backing up your data is always a good idea. But Im one of those who dont do it enough, and Ive lost a few things, mainly by recording over stuff I thought was backed up. Its a VERY good idea to keep a detailed recording log, and back up your data regularly.***Hey Kent: What my question was was if you use the hdr with the fx card installed, as a Slave to another hdr, do the fx returns work? If you use external fx on a hdr SET TO SLAVE, the sends work, but the returns dont. The returns only work on the master hdr. (This applies in this case only to the hdr6, and not nessessarily the other hdrs).Anyway, this would be good to know. ***As Ive already said here, external (and possibly internal)effects dont show up at the digital out of the V8, and that really sucks.*** I am working on getting a 3.04 chip cloned for the hdr8. But dont hold your breath...See ya Scott
matt []
Sun Jan 30 19:34:55 2000
i mean that the resolution on the hdr is well not goood enough for me ... so i run it to the computer for editing i have a digital mixer and two 20 bit sound cards so ..i get 16 tracks bussed into the mixxer to mix down to the hrd as a two track ..and too cdr for play back ...the anolog to digital coverters on the hdrv8 are 18 bit and the korg 1212's are 16 so i run the anolog in that way ...plus the hole system runs at 48kzh so it is not compadable ..it dosnt lock to in coming signal its 44.1 or nothing ...matt