Fostex vintage multitracker voor cassettes, mid nineties. Analoog klooien in de oefenruimte! ;) Resetknopje van de tapecounter ontbreekt, werkt verder naar behoren.

Google zegt: De Fostex XR-5 is een compacte, analoge viersporen cassette multitrack recorder en mixer, populair voor lo-fi, tape-loops en experimentele muziek, met functies zoals track bouncing, punch-in/out, aux sends/returns, en een dubbele snelheid (normal/high) voor variabele pitch en effecten. Het apparaat combineert een 4-sporen cassette deck met een mixer, ideaal voor het opnemen van meerdere instrumenten en het creëren van complexe arrangementen op een eenvoudige manier.

Uit een recensie uit 1995:

The musician on a budget will find a comprehensive, no‑nonsense machine, offering just enough facilities for the more ambitious beginner, whilst remaining relatively simple to use.

You'll notice one thing right away: the XR5 is very light, though construction seems sturdy enough. As with any cassette multitracker, the XR5 is divided into two sections: the tape transport, and the mixer. The transport offers double‑speed operation (recording on up to two tape tracks at once), Dolby B noise reduction, and clunky mechanical (rather than soft‑touch electronic) controls. The mixer is a deceptively simple 4‑in/4‑out affair, although, rather unusually, the XR5 really scores on the output front — apart from the main stereo out, there's a separate stereo monitor output (so you can feed your mastering deck monitor amp independently), a mono foldback output, and individual outs for each tape track, which allow you to add an external mixer at a later date.
Each mixer input features the following, from bottom to top:
Input jack socket.Input fader.Level switch (Inputs 1 and 2 only): High, ‑10dB; Mid, ‑30dB; Low, ‑50dB.Channel select switch: selects signal from tape or mixer input.Foldback knob: turn left to monitor the input jack signal, and right to monitor tape playback.Pan pot, for stereo placement and track assignment.Low EQ, 100Hz, +/‑10dB.Hi EQ, 10kHz, +/‑10dB.Aux send: turn left for aux 1 and right for aux 2.Aux send select switches, for using auxiliaries on main channel or foldback signal.Insert point (Inputs 1 and 2 only).
Global controls include a master fader and level controls for the two aux returns and monitor output (with a switch for selecting the option to monitor the foldback, main mix or both together); a varispeed control offers a shift of approximately two semitones up and three down. You'll also spot a noise reduction defeat switch (global) and a pair of record select buttons. All that remain are the meters (they can monitor all four tape tracks or the overall mix plus two aux sends), a mechanical tape counter, and the tape compartment.
So far the XR5 looks like — and certainly is — a straightforward, and well‑featured machine. However, since it is aimed at the entry‑level market, it may be worth pointing out where the budget cuts have struck. First of all, the transport offers double speed only, so you won't be able to play back normal‑speed tapes, as you can with many other 4‑tracks. The XR5 does offer a tape sync facility. Input 4 is used to record a code, and individual output 4 is used to play it back. There doesn't seem to be any way to disable noise reduction on track 4 (unless you use the global noise reduction defeat switch), but neither does it seem to impede the use of a sync code. Also lacking are a return to zero facility, and rehearsal modes.

Using the XR5 is not difficult, but if you're new to multitracking, check out the manual, which explains all basic multitrack techniques — plus a few advanced ones — quite clearly, although it's cluttered up with some over‑busy diagrams. Recording is as simple as plugging a signal into an input, setting the level, selecting which tape track you want to record onto and pressing record.

Kan eventueel worden verzonden.