Have Fostex come up with another potential big seller?

Fostex were amongst the first companies to design and manufacture affordable equipment specifically for the home studio. The cassette multitracker examined here is their latest offering in this field; an update on the successful 250 Multitracker. It includes features such as fast tape speed, switchable Dolby C noise reduction, the ability to record on all four tracks at once, auto stop, a mixer with 2-band sweep EQ and an attractive price tag.

Construction

The Fostex 260 measures 95 x 420 x 415mm and weighs 6.2kg so it's portable, although I wouldn't like to carry it much further than out to the car. The casing is made of a tough black plastic and the white legend is easily readable. In terms of ergonomics, the front panel is sensibly laid out and attractive; in fact the appearance of this unit is considerably better and more stylish than its contemporaries in my opinion.

Colour coded knobs are used throughout and these have a smooth action with clearly visible pointers and all the buttons on the mixer section have a white ring round the base which disappears when the button is depressed. This seems to be a new Japanese trend and one which British manufacturers might do well to emulate.

Mains power is supplied via a fixed lead and all the controls feel sturdy, with the exception of the faders which are a bit on the wobbly side!

Inputs and Outputs

Starting with the front edge, there are four inputs (mic or line level), one for each track, two parallel-wired phones sockets and a Punch In/Out socket for an optional remote, all of which are on ¼" jacks. All the other sockets are standard hi-fi pinjacks (phonos) and are located along the top of the mixer section; clearly visible and easily accessible, so you don't have the bother of peering round the back or lifting the machine up when making connections.

From left to right along the top edge we have Tape Outs 1 to 4 which are independent direct outputs from tape, Monmix L and R which can be used as foldback outputs or a stereo send, Line In 5 and 6 which are two extra line inputs (could be used as effects returns), Stereo Out L and R, Monitor L and R to which you can send signals from the Monmix, Stereo Out and Aux Send, Aux Send 1 and 2 and Buss In L and R which are inputs to the stereo master buss just before the master Output fader.

Tape Deck

The tape deck is of a fairly standard construction for this type of unit with two heads (erase and record/playback) and two motors, (one FG servo-controlled DC capstan motor) and one DC reel motor, and it is designed for use with high bias cassettes. The cassette well has a tinted plastic cover which is lifted manually for the insertion of cassettes and cleaning of the heads. Beneath the deck are the Record Track buttons 1 to 4 which have red status LEDs; these flash when you're in record standby mode and shine constantly when in record mode.

The tape transport system uses logic controls operated by microswitches, and comprises Rewind, F-Fwd, Play, Record and Stop. The Record control has an LED to indicate status; when the machine is in record standby (ie. one or more of the Record Track buttons are depressed along with the Record button but the tape is not playing) this LED flashes green, turning to constant red when both Play and Record are pressed. To indicate where you are on your tape, there is an LCD counter display with a zero reset. Also available is an auto stop system (selected with an On/Off switch) with which you can search and stop in Rewind or F-Fwd at two different points, one being the zero set by the Reset button and the other being one set by a Memory button. The otherwise helpful manual omits to tell you that this also operates when you are in both Play and Record, which can be useful on some occasions and annoying on others: especially as it's difficult to tell if the On/Off button is depressed or not. Tape speed is 3¾ips, variable by ±15% with a Pitch control and this knob has a click-stop zero position.

Above the tape deck are four LED bar graph meters in an attractive smoked plexiglass housing and these can be switched between Mixer and Recorder; as you might guess the latter position is used to set your input levels for recording on tracks 1 to 4 while the former indicates your stereo output.

"The 2-band sweep EQ section allows a surprising amount of control over the sound, as the ranges employed span a large part of the audio spectrum."

Mixer

The mixer comprises four identical channels. Each one is switchable from Input to Trk (track) so that you can use the mixer both for recording and mixing down. The input gains for each channel are altered by Trim controls which compensate for differing mic and line levels. This control is redundant when mixing down; the level off tape is preset. The level onto tape and the level of the track on mixdown is controlled by a fader, and each channel has a Mute button which switches out the signal going into that channel.

The EQ section for each channel comprises four controls; two marked LF controlling the lower frequencies, one of which sweeps from 80Hz to 1.2kHz and the other boosting or cutting by up to 15dB, and two marked HF (high frequency) sweeping from 700Hz to 10kHz, ±15dB. The cut or boost controls have a centre detente at zero.

Above each EQ section is a switch marked Mix and Trk, which determines whether the output from the channel goes to the tape deck or to the Stereo Out. In the latter position the Pan control situated next to this switch positions the output of that channel in the stereo picture for mixdown. Each channel has two Aux Sends. Above these are the Rec Input buttons, L and R which control the routing of signals to left or right (used when bouncing) and the Monmix section which comprises a level and a pan control for each channel. The Line Ins 5 and 6 are independently adjusted for level and pan. Finally there are four switches enabling you to select what you want to appear at the Monitor Out jacks and the Phones jack: Monmix, Aux Send 1, Aux Send 2, or Stereo, in any combination. If when performing drop-ins you select Monmix and Stereo together, you can monitor what's on tape at the same time as your input signal, which enables you to rehearse before punching in. The overall output level control for the stereo master buss is controlled by a Stereo Masterfader.

In Use

This unit is fairly straightforward to use and comes with an unusually helpful manual which takes you right through the recording process, so even beginners will find it user-friendly. The controls are well spaced out so you won't need a magnifying glass to read the legend or a pair of tweezers to turn the pots and the front panel is angled for maximum visibility and ease of operation. Also gratifying is that the tape transport controls have a smooth action.

Having a 2-band sweep EQ section allows a surprising amount of control over the sound, as the ranges employed span a large part of the audio spectrum. Recording quality is very good and both crosstalk and noise are minimal, largely due to the implementation of the highly successful Dolby C noise reduction system. Toppy sounds retain their crispness and there is none of that dulling of tone that you get when using a DBX equipped cassette machine.

Punching in or out is not totally silent though, there is a very quiet thump recorded onto tape. You may find this imperceptible if you drop in on a beat, which is good practice anyway, but it's inadvisable to try to get round this by using the Record Track buttons as this records an unacceptable click onto tape.

The monitoring facilities on the Fostex are really very good indeed: definitely the best available at present in a unit of this type and price range. There is a good selection of different inputs and outputs available, enabling you to record several sound sources at once without needing an external mixer. It's very useful indeed having the two auxiliary sends and returns and a separate monitor mixer, which means you don't have to set the EQ section flat when playing back a test recording.

Conclusions

The Fostex 260 has all the features you'd expect from a good 4-track cassette-based recorder/mixer including a 2-band sweep EQ section, two auxiliary sends, stereo foldback, fast tape speed, pitch control, four LED bar graph meters, and Dolby C noise reduction... plus unexpected extras like the two position auto stop. I especially liked the fact that there is a separate monitor section which doesn't go through the EQ, and also that you can switch the mixer section from input to tape, allowing you to EQ both onto and off tape. It's also equally useful to be able to monitor the Monmix, Aux 1, Aux 2, or the Stereo Out, or any combination of these through the Monitor Out or with headphones.

The Auto Stop facility is very easy to operate, although the On/Off button could have done with some sort of status indicator. Ergonomically the Fostex 260 is a very good design with its angled main panel and uncluttered layout, and it has stylish good looks to boot. In the sound department everything is fine bearing in mind the reservation concerning the slight drop-in thump. This is unlikely however to be a serious problem and indeed, later production models may be entirely free of it but it is something to be aware of. Fostex seem to have made no compromises in designing this stylish machine and it deserves to sell as well as its predecessor, the 250.

The Fostex 260 costs £699 including VAT.

Further details are available from Turnkey, (Contact Details).