At Winter NAMM 2011, Zoom announced the R8, a portable music-production unit that takes the design features of Zoom's R24 and puts them in a more compact, manageable size. Like the R24, the R8 features four production tools, 8-track playback, and 2-track simultaneous recording using SD memory cards. The R8 is a digital multi-track recorder, an audio interface, a control surface, and a pad sampler.

Small enough to fit into a guitar case or gig bag, the R8 delivers flexible and portable multi-track recording solutions. About the R8, Rob Garofala, National Accounts Sales Manager for Samson (Zoom's U.S. distributor), says, "More than ever before, Zoom users have all the tools necessary to create studio-quality recordings on-the-go."

With a sampler function that consists of 24 built-in voices, the R8’s built-in drum sounds can be triggered using 8 pads and 3 bank keys to assign sounds to each track and create loops. In addition, you can use the unit’s drum machine to create original backing beats or output a metronome for tempo control.

The R8 comes with a 2 GB SD card and supports up to 32 GB SDHC cards, for a maximum of 100 track hours. According to Zoom, using SD media for recording not only makes the R8 lighter and more portable, it also ensures increased reliability with no concern for a crashing hard drive.

Using the unit's USB audio interface, you can take your R8 into your studio and record additional tracks. When you’re ready to mix, use the R8’s control surface capabilities to manage each function of your choice of DAW software. The R8 additionally offers 150 pro-quality guitar and studio effects to further enhance your recordings.