Yamaha MD8 headache

[koji]

anybody have the same problem with their MD8?.. it goes like this.. the MD-DATA disc wont eject when u want to eject it.. the display says ERROR No.(?).. and when u read the manual it means "FATAL ERROR, bring it immediately to the nearest Yamaha dealer(Yupangco in this case)".. so thats what i have been doing for 3 times already.. they fix it up then it works for a while then back to the old problem.. ayaw ko nang dalhin for the 4th time(waste of time & money).. im beginning to think its a design problem.. ive always been a fan of yamaha pro-audio equipment pero sa sobrang inis ko mukhang lilipat na ako sa barangay-roland.. well anyway thanks for any help.. peace bros..

[KitC]

Are you using the same MD media when this happens or it happens with different media?

[koji]

i bought 5 new pcs of Sony MD-DATA and it happened to everyone of them so im beginning to suspect is has something to do with the mechanism of the drive.. nainis na talaga ako kaya pang live takes(kaso sobrand hassle dude) ko nalang sya ginagamit.. im thinking of getting a Boss BR series na nga lang e.. any comments on the Boss BR series?.. im just a beginner to this home recording stuff so i would really appreciate ur advice.. my setup is like this.. for drums sound and keyboard sounds i use a QY700 straight into the MD8.. then i record the bass, rythm and lead guitar live separately into the MD8.. im sori if it looks amateurish nagsisimula palang kasi ako e.. any inputs from u wud be highly appreciated.. more power bro!..

[KitC]

It's time to consider that the laser head on the MD is going bad (strangely enough, MDs are magneto-optical). Might be time to consider a replacement if repairs are going to be expensive.

The Boss BR recorders are nice; they use flash ram so no moving parts which add to more durable and energy efficient operation. The only caveat is the flashram media but some recorders have burners while others have usb ports to allow data transfer to a pc for archiving. My only 'plaint is that you are limited to the quality of the converters on such devices, but if you can live with that limitation, then use whatever floats your boat.

[koji]

thanks a lot for your valuable inputs.. can you recommend a better digital recorder-mixer other than the BOSS BR-series?.. on a P40K max budget..

[KitC]

Depends on your needs, dude, like how many simultaneous inputs you require. someone is selling an Akai DPS12 in the classifieds for cheap and that can be nice although... I'll leave you to research a bit on that.

Of course, the Korgs, Rolands and Yahamas are nice, as are the cheaper Zooms, but my beef with these machines is that you can't swap out a converter for something better and the software... well, you live with what you have until they stop updating the firmware. Buit in fx are adequate for demos, but don't go expecting to make your master on these boxes.

That said, use any that does what you need. Some even come with drum patterns, like the Korgs (D8 I think?) For 40k you should be able to get a good box, but stay away from old technology like zip drives. If possible go for those that write to memory cards, and if possible, one that writes to .wav or mp3 so you can edit in your pc later.

[koji]

thanks a lot for the help bro.. i'l keep them in mind when i choose a replacement.. more power dude..