It's like having a professional recording studio on your desk. The MRS-1266 has ten independent tracks plus a stereo Master channel. It has a full-function mixer section, programmable drum and bass machines and a huge array of effects. When inspiration strikes, you have all the tools you need to record, edit, mix and master your compositions. With 44.1 kHz sampling, 16-bit linear un-compressed data, 24-bit A/D D/A conversion and 24-bit processing, you are building songs on a professional level digital foundation.

Not even the pros get every track right the first time. With 10 Virtual "V-Takes" per channel, you get 10 chances per track to get it right. Select the best take from several sessions, choose a favorite set of effect and rhythm variations, and combine them for a final mix. With a 20 GB hard drive, you can record up to 60 hours of music, up to 1,000 songs or "projects," use all your V-Takes and still have memory left over.

For live recording, the MRS-1266 offers all-new flexibility. With 6 channel simultaneous input capability you can mic a rehearsal or performance with up to six microphones. Using virtual tracks, you can record 10 takes with a guide rhythm, and then pick the best take for each instrument for the final mix. Vocal groups can be evaluated objectively when they record on separate tracks. Elaborate drum and percussion recordings can be made. Record drums like the studio pros using six microphones, and mix them down to a stereo drum track.

Mess up a guitar solo? Flub the lyrics? No problem. Simply use the punch in/out to fix your mistakes. Specify precise start and end points using the Scrub and Preview functions, practice the lead using the rehearsal function, then hit record. You can compare your takes before and after, using the Capture and Swap function. If you are running out of tracks, "Bounce" everything to one empty track. Because it's digital audio, you won't lose any sound quality. Combine usable portions of a different takes, Copy/ Erase/ Exchange whole tracks, and Copy/ Move/ Erase/ Reverse just a specified part of track.

You can import sample phrases from pre-recorded drum beat or sound samples. Store up to 100 phrases per project. Cut and paste to create loops. Specify the start point, number of measures, end point and sound level, and you can modify the length of a phrase without changing the pitch. Thanks to Zoom's various editing features, you can drop loops in and out of songs quickly and easily.

Up to 13 tracks can be played back simultaneously, including 10 audio tracks, stereo drums, and a mono bass track. Track 1-8 has independent faders, track 9-10 are linked to one stereo fader. Two more faders are dedicated to drum and bass. Track parameters such as EQ and effect send level can be adjusted for stereo linked odd and even tracks, which correspond to a stereo source such as an external synthesizer.

Each track has parameters including a two band (variable frequency) EQ, a Chorus/Delay send level, Reverb send level, and L/R Pan controls. Pressing the solo switch will mute all other tracks except the specified one track.

Automation used to be a tool found only in high-end studios. Not anymore. Save your fader positions, effects patches, send-return effects and key status as a "Scene". Up to 100 scene settings can be stored for one project. Call them up anytime to compare and contrast. Or assign different scenes to different location markers in your project. The MRS-1266 will automatically switch levels and effects within your song during playback or mix-down.

The MRS-1266 comes with an awesome array of built-in effects. They are sub-divided into five major categories, or "algorithms": Guitar/bass, Microphone, Line, Dual input (i.e. guitar and vocal mic) and Mastering. Each algorithm is built from four major effect modules (compressor, pre-amp/drive, equalizer and modulation/delay). 94 different effects are selectable beyond that. Six effect types can be used simultaneously, and saved as effect "patches". Up to 280 patches can be stored for each project. You can insert your effects at different points in the signal path: at instrument level, track level or master track level. This gives you the option to record 'dry' and adjust the effect type and depth after recording. By using dual algorithms, you can simultaneously insert different effects on instrument combinations such as guitar + mic, mic + mic, or guitar + bass.

Send/Return allows you add an effect to all your tracks. All the effect algorithms, plus 30 pre-set effect patches are included so that any kind of hall, room, or studio sound can be simulated.

Mastering is the key to making a professional-sounding recording. By using the MRS-1266's mastering effects, such as a 3-band Compressor, 3-band EQ, a Normalizer, Dimension, Lo-Fi, and Resonance, you can add flavor and sound pressure to a master track that has been mixed down to stereo. These effects can also be routed as insert effects on each track.

A riff that is out-of-tune can't be fixed later--no matter how hard you try. The MRS-1266 has a built-in bypass line tuner that quickly and easily tunes you up.

It's tough to lay down a final drum track before you work out your melodies. With the MRS-1266, you create a temporary rhythm guide by choosing from the library of 400 factory preset patterns, and setting the tempo. Then specify a bass chord progression, and start recording your ideas. Once you have nailed a few tracks, you can fine-tune the rhythm tracks. Also, by importing SMF (Standard Midi File), you can use a variety of existing rhythm patterns.

Up to 10 songs -drum and bass patterns- can be stored in one project, and different rhythm arrangements can be assigned to each of the 10 V-Takes. You can choose step or real-time recording for creating original patterns; up to 20,000 steps/events can be recorded. With either method, the 12 key (full chromatic scale) pad bank makes recording drum or bass patterns easy. And with variable sensitivity, your playing sounds even more real.

Zoom has been making drum machines for years, and they are well known for having the best electronic drum sounds in the business. 127 drum sounds have been recorded as 16-bit linear PCM, 30 polyphonic. 26 varieties of ultra-real bass guitar sounds are also provided.

The MRS-1266 was designed with ergonomics in mind. All the functions and buttons are logically positioned. Level meters and tracking info is displayed on dedicated back-lit displays. The inputs and outputs you use the most-guitar/bass, headphone, sub-out, expression pedal, and foot switch--are all located on the front of the chassis.

The MRS-1266 has two balanced XLR terminals for low-noise mic input. Six 1/4 jacks are included for mic or line input. XLR Phantom power allows you to use high quality condenser mics. In addition to stereo RCA PIN jacks, an S/P DIF optical digital output is available, so that digital data can be transferred directly to DAT or Mini-Disk recorder. Any number of tracks can be assigned to the front panel sub-out for a separate monitor mix, or you can use the sub out for a second pair of headphones.

The MRS-1266 is fully MIDI compatible. With MIDI IN/OUT you can use external MIDI devices to program the 1266's drum and bass patterns, or use MIDI out to control external devices. By installing an optional USB interface, you can access all the data on the hard drive from Windows or Macintosh computers. Data back-up and data file storage, as well as data exchanges with DAW software, can be performed smoothly.