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Alesis ADAT-XT User's Manual

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1. Using the 8 channel proprietary digital bus you can also bounce tracks between machines in the digital realm Not only does this result in a perfect copy but one that is perfectly synchronized with the original This means you can make perfect safety backups and archives of recordings One creative way of using a multiple ADAT system though it can be done with just one XT is to dedicate two tracks of one machine for stereo mix down Since these mix tracks are always in sync with the rest of the system you can execute a seamless punch at any time For example you could mix down different sections of a recording independent from one another making changes in the mix as you go along Each slave XT can have its own tape offset with respect to the master machine Combine this feature with the ability to bounce tracks in the digital domain and you have the ability to perform cut and paste style assembly editing SYNCHRONIZING MACHINES ADAT XT Reference Manual 55 Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT XT Operation 56 Synchronization requires a dual male 9 pin D connector cable for each slave to be synchronized Use only Alesis cables Alesis Sync Cables are available in three different lengths 8 30 and 30 from your dealer Other types of cables may cause incorrect commands to be received and erratic sync performance This connection should be made while power is off but the machines do not ne
2. 76 The expected head life for each ADAT varies according to a number of factors Given optimum conditions tape quality tape care and operating environment head life for the average ADAT will always be better than if your ADAT is abused placed in bad environmental conditions and used with badly maintained tapes Properly cared for your heads should last for thousands of hours You should not subject your ADAT to environmental extremes humidity or moisture of any kind dust dirt extreme temperatures extreme temperature fluctuations or any kind of physical abuse drops shocks Under no circumstances should you remove the top or bottom cover of the ADAT You already know that there are NO user serviceable parts inside However you ADAT XT Reference Manual Appendix B Troubleshooting should also be aware that it is extremely easy to damage your heads and other sensitive parts of your ADAT Do not open up your ADAT to clean the heads What it comes to is this ADAT is a very sophisticated piece of digital technology It is going to be used for your important projects so take the best care of your ADAT and your ADAT heads possible ADAT HEAD MAINTENANCE The heads of each ADAT are pre aligned at Alesis No user adjustment is necessary Over the course of time depending on the quality of the tapes used and the environmental conditions where the ADAT and its tapes are stored head cleaning may become necessary Unlike analog or e
3. RECORD LED lights and the REC LEDs for those tracks in record ready will stop flashing and remain lit If no tracks are in record ready when recording takes place the RECORD LED will flash to indicate that pressing any of the RECORD ENABLE buttons will initiate recording on the selected track To make a recording Use the REWIND or FAST FWD button to locate to the desired tape position Either the REWIND or FAST FWD LED will light depending on which button was pressed indicating that the transport is moving in that direction The TIME counter will indicate the current tape location status while the transport is in motion j When you ve arrived at the desired tape address press the STOP button The STOP LED lights Hold PLAY and then press RECORD Both the PLAY and RECORD LEDs will light to indicate you are recording To goin and out of record on the individual tracks while record mode is engaged press any of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 Record enabled tracks will have their REC LED lit If no tracks are record enabled during recording the RECORD LED will flash f To punch out without stopping press PLAY The RECORD LED turns off while the PLAY LED remains lit To punch out and stop the transport press STOP The RECORD and PLAY LEDs turn off the STOP LED lights Ip Note When recording for the first time be sure the Auto Input function is off When recording o
4. To bounce audio from one track to another Press and hold TRACK COPY The TRK COPY icon will light in the display j While holding TRACK COPY select a source track up to 4 by pressing any of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 The INPUT LEDs for the selected track s will light Note You can t select a track that is already in record ready REC LED lit as a source track if its RECORD ENABLE is pressed its INPUT LED won light while holding the TRACK COPY button Release TRACK COPY and choose a destination track up to 4 by pressing one of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 The REC LEDs for the selected track s will light Note You cannot select a source track as a destination track if its RECORD ENABLE is pressed its REC LED wont light Use the REWIND FAST FWD or LOCATE 0 through LOCATE 9 buttons to move to the section of tape which holds the audio you wish to copy f Simultaneously press RECORD and PLAY to initiate recording The RECORD and PLAY LEDs will light and recording will begin When you are finished press STOP The STOP LED will light and the transport will stop 10 While the TRK COPY icon is lit indicating that Track Copy mode is selected you will not be able to record any audio being fed to the analog or digital inputs To record from the analog inputs you must press the ANALOG INPUT button the ANALOG icon will light in the display DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS If neces
5. from there in 5 dB increments This means the 15 dB icon will be the only level marking that is correct in this mode The meters actual range will be from 18 0 dB to 12 5 dB However the MAX icon at the top of each meter will still indicate clipping To activate Fine Meter mode Simultaneously press both PEAK MODE and PEAK CLEAR buttons The TIME counter will momentarily display FinE db and the dB stepped markings will appear on the left side of the meters To exit Fine Meter mode press either PEAK MODE or PEAK CLEAR The dB stepped markings will turn off Note The Peak Hold function is disabled off wnen Fine Meter mode is enabled RECORDING A BENCHMARK TAPE 40 We recommend that you format and record a new tape with any signal such as a test tone in a single pass with no overdubs during the first week of operation Store this tape in a safe dry location and don t use it for any other purpose Such a benchmark tape is useful to determine if the error correction rate is increasing over time because the heads need to be cleaned or if a tape is defective see page 75 ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 RECORD ENABLE To record enable a track press the track s RECORD ENABLE button When you press a track s RECORD ENABLE button for the first time the track s red REC LED will flash indicating the track is in record ready and its INPUT LED will light
6. 2 and 3 determine the in and out points After setting both Locate Points 2 and 3 press the AUTO REC button to enable this function the AUTO REC icon will light To execute a take rewind to a position before_Locate Point 2 then hold RECORD and press PLAY just as you would to record normally When the Locate 2 position is reached recording will begin When the Locate 3 position is reached recording stops while the transport continues To execute an Auto Record take Record enable the track s you wish to record on see page 41 j Press AUTO RECORD The AUTO REC icon will light J If AUTO REC is pressed when the Locate 2 position is set beyond or at the same position as the Locate 3 position the TIME counter will momentarily read invALid indicating that this is not possible and you will not be able to enable the Auto Record function until you change either Locate 2 or 3 s position Rewind the tape to a position prior to the Locate 2 position Hold PLAY and then press RECORD The PLAY LED will light and the RECORD LED will flash Upon reaching the Locate 2 position recording will begin on any record enabled tracks and the RECORD LED will light solid If no tracks are record enabled when the Locate 2 position is reached the RECORD LED will continue flashing and no recording will take place At any time before the Locate 3 position a track may be record enabled which will cause the tra
7. 55 Overview 55 Synchronizing Machines 56 Master Slave Interaction 56 Achieving Lock57 Independent Slave Mode 57 Formatting Multiple Tapes 57 Master Format Enabled Complete Format 57 Master Format Enabled Format Extend 57 Master Format Disabled 58 Master Format Disabled Format Extend 58 Bouncing Tracks Between XTs 59 Reassigning Channels to Different Tracks 59 Making Digital Backups 60 Recording Digital Audio from Other Sources 61 Digital Clock Considerations 61 Tape Offset 62 Combining XTs and ADATs 63 XT Transport Speed 63 Sample rate vs Pitch Control 63 Input Monitoring 63 Phase Inversion 64 Connections 65 6 APPLICATIONS 67 Overview 67 Combined Multitrack Mastering Deck 67 Computer Control 69 MIDI Systems Virtual Tracking 69 MIDI Machine Control Virtual Remote Control69 Libraries and Archives 70 Modular Recording 70 Using Track Copy as a Digital Router 71 Calculating Tape Offset Using the Locates 71 APPENDIX A DIGITAL RECORDING CONCEPTS 73 Analog Recording Basics 73 Digital Recording Basics 73 Why S VHS 74 APPENDIX B TROUBLESHOOTING 75 Trouble Shooting Index 75 Re initializing 75 Checking Software Version 76 Error Rate Display 76 About Error Rate Readings 76 ADAT Head Life 76 ADAT Head Maintenance 77 Tape Maintenance Safe Tape 78 ADAT XT Reference Manual 7 Index Maintenance Service 79 Cleaning 79 Maintenance 79 Obtaining Repair Service 79 APPENDIX C ERROR
8. CODES 81 Steps To Take Before Calling For Help 83 APPENDIX D SPECIFICATIONS 84 GLOSSARY 86 INDEX 91 ADAT XT Reference Manual Setting Up Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 SETTING Up UNPACKING AND INSPECTION Your XT was packed carefully at the factory The shipping carton was designed to protect the unit during shipping Please retain this container in the highly unlikely event that you need to return the XT for servicing The shipping carton should contain the following items ADAT XT with the same serial number as shown on shipping carton Power Cable Optical Cable XT remote control unit This instruction manual Blank S VHS ST 120 cassette Alesis warranty card J It is important to register your purchase if you have not already filled out your warranty card and mailed it back to Alesis please take the time to do so now AC POWER HOOKUP With the XT off plug the female end of the power cord into the XT s POWER INPUT socket and the male plug end into a source of AC power It s good practice to not turn on the XT until all other cables are hooked up The XT works with any AC voltage from 90 to 250 volts 50 to 60 Hz This eliminates the need for transformers or voltage switches Your XT was supplied with the correct power cord for your country or local area however only the following alternative power cords are approved for use with ADAT e For 90 120 VAC 50 60 Hz operation in the US Canada and or Japan use Alesis
9. E Input Play Q Input E Input Q Input Record ADAT XT Reference Manual 39 Chapter 4 Basic Operations METERS The XT provides two buttons for meter display options PEAK MODE and PEAK CLEAR METERS PEAK PEAK MODE CLEAR PEAK MODE BUTTON The PEAK MODE button selects the peak hold mode of the eight level meters Each time the PEAK MODE button is pressed the peak meters switch between three possible Peak Hold modes Continuous Momentary and Off The currently selected mode may be determined by observing the peak meters themselves e Continuous Each track s peak LED indicator will remain lit until the PEAK CLEAR button is pressed or the Peak Mode is changed e Momentary Each track s peak LED indicator will remain lit for about two seconds e Off No peak indicators will be held on any tracks PEAK CLEAR BUTTON The PEAK CLEAR button is used to remove any track peak LED indicators which remain lit while either Continuous or Momentary Peak Mode is selected see above This button will have no effect if the Peak Mode is turned Off FINE METER MODE The XT provides a special mode which rescales the peak meters for more specific readings This is necessary when making very fine level adjustments such as when recording test tones When Fine Meter mode is enabled the meters are rescaled around a center point of 15 dB middle point of the meters and goes plus and minus
10. Olu 29s 03 Relative Time reflects the current tape position relative to where you set the Relative 0 00 00 00 position This is similar to resetting the tape counter on a cassette deck However the XT gives you the option of reading the actual tape position ABS Time or the tape position relative to the location you marked as 0 00 00 00 Relative Time J Before you start recording for the first time be sure the TIME counter is set to ABS Time to avoid confusion For more information see page 35 ADAT XT Reference Manual 15 Chapter 2 Your First Session With The ADAT XT 16 TRANSPORT BUTTONS During recording and playback the following transport buttons are used frequently Get familiar with them by using them while watching the TIME counter RECORD REWIND High speed reverse Press with PLAY to initiate review mode FAST FWD High speed forward Press with PLAY to initiate cue mode STOP Stops transport and disables recording While the transport is stopped this button toggles between threaded LED is lit and unthreaded modes LED is flashing PLAY Starts playback Initiates recording when pressed with RECORD Stops recording when in record mode while continuing to play Press with FAST FWD to initiate Cue mode Press with REWIND to initiate Review mode Press with PLAY to initiate recording RECORDING Recording takes place only on tracks that are in record ready When you start recording the
11. Relative times will be offset from one another However that offset will remain constant until the next time the relative zero position is reset LOCATE 0 If the LOCATE 0 button is pressed the transport will immediately begin locating to the 0 00 00 00 time location of the tape If the TIME counter is in ABS mode when LOCATE 0 is pressed the absolute 0 00 00 00 position is located If the TIME counter is in Relative mode when LOCATE 0 is pressed then the relative 0 00 00 00 position is located LOCATE 0 is different from the other LOCATE buttons in this respect it may wind the tape to different locations depending whether the TIME counter is in ABS or REL mode All the other locate points represent the same actual physical position on tape regardless of whether the display is in ABS or REL mode The LOCATE 0 button is also used to set the relative zero time When this button is pressed while holding SET LOCATE the relative tape counter is reset to zero 0 00 00 00 Once this occurs you have changed the Relative Time zero point and the display will automatically change to Relative Time mode REL icon lit ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 SETTING LOCATE POINTS There are two ways of storing Locate Point memories manually or on the fly To store a Locate Point memory on the fly Press PLAY to engage playback Alternatively the transport may be engaged in either Rewind Re
12. UL CSA power cord 7 41 0001 e For 240 VAC 50 Hz operation in England use Alesis Power cord 7 41 0004 e For 220 VAC 50 Hz operation in Europe and Scandinavia use Alesis EU power cord 7 41 0002 e For 240 VAC 50 Hz operation in Australia use Alesis AS power cord 7 41 0003 The XT s IEC spec AC cord do not substitute any other AC cord is designed to feed an outlet that includes three pins with the third round pin connected to ground The ground connection is an important safety feature designed to keep the chassis of electronic devices such as the Alesis ADAT XT BRC and Al 1 at ground potential Unfortunately the presence of a third ground pin does not always indicate that an outlet is properly grounded Use an AC line tester to determine this If the outlet is not grounded consult with a licensed electrician When AC currents are suspect of being highly unstable in VAC and Hz a professional power conditioner should be used J Alesis cannot be responsible for problems caused by using the XT or any associated equipment with improper AC wiring AVOIDING GROUND LOOPS In today s studio where it seems every piece of gear has a computer in it there are many opportunities for ground loop problems to occur These show up as hums ADAT XT Reference Manual 7 Chapter 1 Setting Up buzzes or sometimes radio reception and can occur if a piece of equipment sees two or more different paths to ground as shown below s
13. audio portion of tape past 0 00 00 00 the tape will be formatted from that point upon entering record mode this is called Format Extend see page 31 RECORDING WHILE FORMATTING Audio can be recorded while formatting a tape just in case you need to record something immediately and have no formatted tapes available To place a track into record ready press the RECORD ENABLE button s 1 8 for the track s to be recorded before turning on the Format function When a RECORD ENABLE button is pressed the INPUT LEDs for the selected track s will light and the REC LEDs will flash Pressing RECORD ENABLE again takes the track s out of record ready While formatting record ready tracks will be recorded with audio from the inputs analog or digital depending on the Input Select setting see page 37 However audio will not be recorded until the audio portion of tape is reached 0 00 00 00 Tracks not in record ready safe will be recorded with silence while formatting FORMAT EXTEND It is possible to extend the formatting on a tape that has only been partially formatted When performing a format extend you must enter format mode before the end of the previously formatted section by punching in The XT begins time stamping from ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 the last valid time stamp it reads from tape This insures continuous time stamping when a tape plays from beginning to end To extend
14. between these modes To store locate points on the fly Press PLAY FAST FWD or REWIND to set the tape transport in motion j Press or hold SET LOCATE The LOCATE icon will appear in the display immediately followed by a flashing dash While holding SET LOCATE or within two seconds after releasing SET LOCATE press one of the LOCATE 1 through LOCATE 9 buttons The current tape position is transferred into the selected Locate Point To edit locate points Press the EDIT VALUE button The EDIT icon will appear in the display along with one of three icons appearing below it LOCATE TAPE OFFSET or TRACK DELAY Use LOCATE 0 through LOCATE 9 buttons to select a Locate Point Memory The LOCATE icon will appear if not already present and a number from 0 to 9 will appear to its right to reflect the button you have pressed Hold EDIT VALUE and use the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons as a numeric key pad 0 9 to enter the tape position you wish to set for the selected Locate Point Enter the tape position from left to right Example To enter 0 05 00 00 you would hold EDIT VALUE and type LOCATE 5 LOCATE 0 LOCATE 0 LOCATE 0 LOCATE 0 Use the s and t buttons to fine adjust the Locate Point address as desired To recall a locate point Press one of the LOCATE 1 through LOCATE 9 buttons Either fast forward or rewind will engage as indicated by either bu
15. briefly flash the selected Tape Length setting This is to remind you that you are using a non standard setting e f using more than one XT ADAT you must make sure all connected XTs ADATs are loaded with tapes of the same length J It is important that the Tape Length setting and the actual tape s length are the same Never use a shorter tape length than what you have indicated on the XT Below is a list of the four S VHS tapes which can be used with the XT with their European equivalents and approximate recording times Rec Time Note European tapes are actually slightly longer than their US equivalents Therefore you may get a few more minutes of recording time if using European tape J If using tapes longer than the standard ST 120 when locating for the first time past the 39 minute position the transport will slow down but not stop and then speed up again Each time thereafter that you locate beyond this point the transport will not slow down This safeguard is suited for the unlikely event that a longer tape length is erroneously selected to avoid damage to the tape J If the XT is connected to a BRC and the tape length is set from the BRC the individual XT slaves will retain their tape length setting after power down 52 ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 FOOTSWITCH CONTROLS The XT provides two footswitch jacks LOCATE PLAY LRC REMOTE and PUNCH IN OUT Both accept any
16. create the same effect as having the tape moving by at rates not physically possible with today s tapes and transports Safe A track mode When a track is safe it is not ready for recording Sample Rate A digital representation of an analog signal created by checking or sampling the analog voltage a fixed number of times per second The greater the number of samples the more accurate the representation of the analog signal The CD uses a sampling rate of 44 1 kHz it checks the analog signal 44 100 times per second Sample Rate Conversion Sample rate conversion is the process by which audio originally recorded at one sample rate is converted to another sample rate The audio is converted by shifting its pitch up or down and then played back at the new sample rate SMPTE LTC Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers SMPTE and Longitudinal Time Code LTC A standard for LTC was specified by the SMPTE and has been adopted ADAT XT Reference Manual 89 Glossary N lt xs 90 by the motion picture and television industries A complete description of LTC can be found in The Time Code Handbook by Walter Hickman SMPTE timecode is the standard sync reference for professional audio and video post production S PDIF Interface Similar to the AES EBU interface but created by Sony and Philips with consumer applications in mind The optional Al 1 from Alesis offers both the consumer S PDIF interface and professional
17. edited The VU meters will also show a bar graph representation of the current delay values for all eight tracks See page 46 When this icon appears it indicates that the Auto Record function has been turned on See page 48 This icon indicates that the Rehearse function is turned on See page 50 This icon indicates that the Auto Play function is turned on See page 48 This icon indicates that the Auto Return function is turned on See page 48 When this icon appears it indicates that the XT is slaving to an external timecode source coming from the master ADAT in a multiple ADAT system See Chapter 5 When this icon appears it indicates that the transport is properly engaged in either playback or recording When the XT is a slave in a multiple ADAT system this icon will light to indicate that the tape is properly synchronized and the audio is sample locked to the timecode of the master ADAT machine See chapter 5 The CLOCK group of icons indicates which clock source is being used The CLOCK SELECT button lets you toggle through the various options including INT 48K internal clock at 48kHz INT 44 1K internal clock at 44 1 kHz and DIG external clock source connected to the DIGITAL IN connector on the rear panel Additionally if the XT is being used as a slave in a multi ADAT system the EXT icon will light indicating that the XT is deriving its clock from the master ADAT in the system See page 44 The INPUT MON group i
18. first without recording over anything In other words you can measure twice or more and cut only once ADAT XT Reference Manual 21 Chapter 2 Your First Session With The ADAT XT PITCH CONTROL The Pitch function controls the speed of the tape and thus the pitch of the audio recorded on tape The XT s Pitch control has a range of 300 to 100 cents when using a sample rate of 48kHz and a range of 200 to 200 cents when using 44 1kHz Use the PITCH s and t buttons to control the amount of pitch change When either button is pressed once the PITCH icon lights in the display and the TIME counter immediately displays the current amount of Pitch change The Pitch amount is displayed both as a percentage and as cents s 00 00 00 00 Percentage Cents To set the Pitch amount Press and hold either PITCH s or t After holding for more than two seconds the Pitch amount will start either increasing or decreasing depending on which button was pressed TRACK DELAY 22 The XT allows you to delay the playback of any track in relation to the other tracks and the TIME counter by a maximum of 170 milliseconds This can be very useful when some tracks are slightly off or when you need to move a particular instrument to get it in the pocket or when you just want to create an interesting effect like copying a track and delaying the copy To delay a track Press EDIT VALUE The EDI
19. forward or rewind to get to the same location as the sequencer Once this is done the XT should resume playback which is when timecode is sent to the timecode interface which converts it into MTC which causes the sequencer to go into play In essence the sequencer is always locking to the XT s timecode while the transport commands you issue from the sequencer act as remote functions LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES The XT is superb for archiving purposes such as speeches and broadcasts stereo mixes or libraries of stereo samples The XT can record over eight hours of mono material by recording approx 60 minutes on each track using ST 180 tape Over four hours of stereo mixes or samples can be recorded by mixing down to four sets of stereo pairs 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7 8 MODULAR RECORDING 70 Collaborations work particularly well with a system or two or more XTs and or ADATs You can record your tracks onto the master machine then do a premix onto two tracks of a slave machine which is of course perfectly synchronized to the master Send this tape to your partner who adds parts on the other tracks When the tape comes back just pop it into one of your machines and your partner s parts will be in sync with the original tracks you laid down You may wish to include documentation with your tape which indicates the Track Delays values Tape Offset amount and or Locate Point positions so your partner can recreate the same parameter setti
20. functions of the XT with the exception of synchronization and digital audio are explained here in detail If you are already familiar with multitrack recording concepts you may not need to read this chapter Instead use the Operational Reference chapter to look up specific functions and how to access them TAPE FORMATTING Formatting a tape is a simple yet necessary operation before recording can begin This process involves recording sample rate information in the data section and time stamping the tape with a highly accurate time reference which because of its single sample resolution has greater resolution than SMPTE timecode Formatting a tape is what allows for accurate synchronization autolocation and auto recording functions as well as accurate TIME counter readings You can either format a tape completely before recording or format while you are recording for only as long as you need to or you can extend the format of a tape that was not completely formatted to begin with J Formatting a tape erases the audio on all 8 tracks Be sure to label your tapes clearly so you don t accidentally erase something valuable We recommend that you completely format your tapes from beginning to end FORMATTING CONSIDERATIONS e Blank tapes will automatically be rewound to the beginning before formatting e Before formatting select the sample rate that you will be using either 48 kHz or 44 1 kHz See page 44 for more information e To
21. in the display While holding the ANALOG INPUT button the channel input indicators will show the number of analog inputs that are currently selected There are three selections possible Two inputs four inputs or eight inputs This allows you to record from a 2 or 4 bus mixing console without repatching e To choose 2 input mode Press either the channel 1 or 2 RECORD ENABLE buttons while holding ANALOG INPUT This will cause both the channel 1 and 2 input lights to light up indicating that only input channels 1 and 2 will be used If any of tracks 1 3 5 or 7 are record enabled they will receive their input signal from the analog input of channel 1 If any of tracks 2 4 6 or 8 are record enabled they will receive their input signal from the analog input of channel 2 e To choose 4 input mode Press RECORD ENABLE button 3 or 4 while holding the ANALOG INPUT button This will cause channels 1 through 4 INPUT LEDs to light up indicating that only input channels 1 thru 4 will be used In this case channels 5 through 8 receive their input from channels 1 through 4 respectively e To choose 8 input the most common mode Press RECORD ENABLE button 5 thru 8 while holding the ANALOG INPUT button This will cause all eight track INPUT LEDs to light In this mode each track receives its signal from its own input J In 2 input mode inputs 3 8 are disconnected and cannot be recorded or heard In 4 input mode inputs 5 8 are similarly
22. is formatted or not 58 ADAT XT Reference Manual Multiple ADAT XT Operation Chapter 5 RECORDING DIGITAL AUDIO BOUNCING TRACKS BETWEEN ADATS Tracks can be bounced between machines in a multiple ADAT system by using the digital bus The digital bus is connected in much the same way as the sync cables and should be done in the same order Refer to the section entitled Digital In Out on page 27 in chapter 3 for more information on connecting the digital bus It is also possible to bounce tracks within a single XT without the need for connecting the digital bus See page 38 in chapter 4 for more information If the DIGITAL INPUT button is pressed the XT will record from the DIGITAL IN connector and the analog inputs will be ignored both balanced and unbalanced Alesis proprietary multi channel digital bus carries the 8 tracks of a source XT or ADAT These 8 channels are routed in a one to one relationship to the 8 tracks of the target XT which can record the digital audio Note that to create an exact sample accurate digital copy from a master to a slave both master and slave machines must have their DIGITAL INPUT button s enabled This is necessary so that the master knows you are making a digital copy and will offset its digital output so that it matches that of the slave machine J If DIGITAL INPUT is selected and there is no optical input the DIGITAL icon located in the INPUT icon group will flash When bounci
23. is 44 1 kHz However for accurate TIME counter display it is better to set the pitch to 0 and change the clock rate see page 44 ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 TRACK DELAY Track Delay lets you delay individual tracks up to 170 ms in order to achieve a more desirable feel For example if the bass track is anticipating the beat you can push it back so it s in the pocket by delaying it a few milliseconds If you need one track to play back earlier than the others try offsetting all other tracks by the same amount This will make the remaining track appear to be playing ahead of the others Track Delay times are set individually per track or for a group of tracks in the Track Delay Edit page Track Delay for all eight tracks may be turned on and off without altering the Track Delay settings of each track To turn Track Delay on and off If Edit mode is currently on EDIT icon lit press EDIT VALUE to exit Edit mode The EDIT icon should be off j Press the TRACK DELAY button The TRACK DELAY icon will light indicating that Track Delay values are in effect Press TRACK DELAY again The TRACK DELAY icon will turn off indicating that Track Delay values are disabled To set the Track Delay amount Press EDIT VALUE to turn on Edit mode The EDIT icon will light j Press TRACK DELAY The TRACK DELAY icon will light if not already turned on Press one of th
24. magnetic fields Such as speakers high humidity dust and so on You should always practice SAFE TAPE e At the end of every session you should rewind the tape all the way to the leader stop eject the tape remove it from the ADAT and place it in its protective case This cuts down on the amount of dust that can enter the transport and keeps wear on the tape at a minimum e Don t leave your tapes near speakers power amps or other potential magnetic fields such as televisions or electrical devices e Don t subject your tapes to extreme temperatures or wild temperature fluctuations e Don t expose your tapes to high humidity moisture or high dust levels e Don t leave your tapes on the dashboard of your car In fact never leave ADAT tapes in a car EVER Keep them with you at all times e Certainly no matter how tempted you are to open the shutter to see what is inside NEVER TOUCH THE TAPE The magnetic particles on your ADAT tape need to be preserved in the condition in which they were recorded The oils from your fingers WILL damage your tapes as well as get on the heads and damage them Never turn off the ADAT power while the tape is threaded This leaves the tape bent around the rollers and head Press STOP until the tape is unthreaded before turning off power Practice safe tape at all times because you can never retrieve lost data If you are archiving your tapes make sure they are stored in environ
25. on the slave machine Ip Sy Press STOP on the master XT after backing up is complete Both machines will stop If a tape is in very bad condition you may have difficulty copying it from the master XT to a slave If the error count is so high that the XT momentarily loses sync during playback all following slaves will be taken out of record automatically In this case put the new tape into the master and the damaged tape in the slave and copy from the slave to the master RECORDING DIGITAL AUDIO FROM OTHER SOURCES Recording digital audio onto the XT from a source other than an ADAT Compatible device requires a digital audio interface like the Alesis Al 1 The Al 1 converts either AES EBU or S PDIF digital audio protocols into the Alesis Multichannel Optical ADAT XT Reference Manual Multiple ADAT XT Operation Chapter 5 protocol which the XT uses and vice versa Refer to the User s Manual of the digital interface you are using for more information When recording digital audio into the XT from another XT or ADAT in a multiple ADAT system the XT recording the audio is already synchronized with the other machines so the digital audio is sample locked when recorded This is because all slave machines are automatically set to External Clock mode EXT icon lights in the CLOCK icon group However when recording digital audio from some other source it is necessary to have the XT synchronize to the incoming digital audio T
26. point that has not been formatted Rewind the tape to the beginning Press play If the tape is formatted the message will change to LEAd for 15 seconds then dAtA for 2 minutes prior to the beginning of the audio section If these messages do not appear the tape should be formatted Serial Buffer Full Not seen very often FULL occurs when a slave XT is slow to sync to the master XT The serial buffer within the micro controller has become full of data This could be the result of unlike versions of software within each unit Sometimes the problem is related to the sync cable itself It is recommended that only shielded and grounded cables be used as sync cables Finally this error may occur in slave machines that are playing damaged tapes The edges of the tape have become damaged If only one tape is found to cause this problem don t use it If the problem is seen with several tapes the machine should be taken in for service Contact Alesis for service Tape Load Error This may be a problem with the TAPE LOAD or insert switch This can be caused by labels that have been applied to the cassette outside of the designated area If this error message is displayed with only one tape the cassette may be at fault If the message is displayed with several tapes with and without labels you should contact Alesis for service Tape Threading These error codes are usually related to tape threading Eject the tape and load it aga
27. recommended only for studios where master tapes will be exchanged between units or sent out of house e Digitally bounce one of the stereo tracks to the other ADAT so that both sides play back from the same machine e Most importantly it is better to plan recording sessions so that stereo tracks reside on the same physical tape in a multiple ADAT system CONNECTIONS ADAT XT Reference Manual Multiple ADAT XT Operation Chapter 5 If you are replacing one or more of your ADATs with XTs and have been using the short 8 sync cables you will need to use 1 meter cables or longer to make the connection between ADATs and XTs This is because the SYNC IN and SYNC OUT connectors have been moved on the XT rear panel to the opposite side and the shorter cables will no longer reach ADAT XT Reference Manual 65 Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT XT Operation 66 ADAT XT Reference Manual Applications Chapter 6 CHAPTER 6 APPLICATIONS OVERVIEW This chapter is designed to give you an idea of the multitude of applications for the XT These applications are not broken down into great detail Therefore where applicable you will need to refer to other sections of this manual for instructions on how to setup the XT for a particular job COMBINED MULTITRACK MASTERING DECK The XT can serve as a combination 6 track multitrack recorder and 2 track mastering deck Record your audio onto tracks 1 6 then run them through a mixer usi
28. record on or erase format a S VHS cassette the write protect tab located on the spine of the cassette must be intact If you try to record on a tape that has had the write protect tab broken off the PROTECT icon in the display will light and the XT will not record on the tape This prevents accidental erasure of valuable recordings To record on a tape that has had the tab broken off use the Write Protect Override feature see page 31 J Caution f you re format over a previously formatted tape do not stop in the middle of re formatting Reason When the tape transitions from the newly formatted section to the previously formatted section there will be timing discontinuities and the audio will do unpleasant things Also during that transition the tape will be non functional and you will not be able to record anything over it When in doubt either re format the entire tape from beginning to end or back up a bit and perform a format extend see page 31 e The only way to stop formatting is to press STOP punching out is not sufficient e Tapes can be bulk erased with a video tape eraser e In a multiple XT setup where one is the master and the other XTs are slaves there are a few other considerations See Multiple ADAT Operation in chapter 6 COMPLETE FORMAT To format or reformat erase an entire tape Insert a fresh blank tape ADAT XT Reference Manual 29 Chapter 4 Basic Operations Be sure the tape is completel
29. s This is because when locating the ADATs will move slower than the XT The result is the XT will locate to a specific tape position stop and wait for the ADAT s to get there before going into play SAMPLE RATE VS PITCH CONTROL The Clock Select function on the XT is another addition not found on the original ADAT This function allows you to instantly choose between 48 kHz or 44 1 kHz sampling rates as well as lets you select a digital clock for applications involving the recording of digital audio from a non ADAT source The XT also writes sample rate information when formatting a tape This way the XT automatically knows which sample rate a tape was formatted with although either sample rate may be used Example When playing back a tape that was formatted at 48 kHz and the Clock is set to 44 1 kHz the 44 1K icon will flash to indicate that you are using 44 1 kHz but it isn t the original sample rate used when the tape was formatted The same goes when you playback a tape formatted using 44 1 kHz with the Clock set to 48 kHz the 48K icon will flash It is important to remember that on the XT the Pitch Controls are supplemental to sample rate selection With the original ADAT you had to pitch down a tape in order to playback at a 44 1 kHz sample rate This is no longer necessary on the XT due to the addition of the Clock Select function If you play back a tape that was formatted on an original ADAT it will not have any sample
30. s tape or line inputs Alternatively a multi pin connector can be used with the XT s 4dBu analog inputs and outputs see Chapter 3 Mixer Inputs Bus Outputs 0000 O OUTPUT OUTPUT LOCATE PLAY PUNCH LR REMOTE IN OUT aaa INPUT NORMALING The XT has eight 10 dBV analog inputs but you can choose between three different Input Modes 2 Input Mode 4 Input Mode and 8 Input Mode These can provide three different analog audio input hookup options and are available for both 10 dBV and 4dBu analog inputs e 2 Bus Mixer Connect the mixer s two bus outputs to the XT s INPUTS 1 and 2 Select 2 Input Mode on the XT by holding the ANALOG INPUT button and pressing either Track Select buttons 1 or 2 notice that the INPUT LEDs for tracks 1 and 2 remain lit until you release the ANALOG INPUT button 4 Bus Mixer Connect the mixer s four bus outputs to the XT s INPUTS 1 through 4 Select 4 Input Mode by holding the ANALOG INPUT button and pressing either Track Select buttons 3 or 4 notice that the INPUT LEDs for tracks 1 through 4 remain lit until you release the ANALOG INPUT button 8 Bus Mixer Direct Outputs Connect the mixer s eight bus outputs or 8 direct outputs to the XT s INPUTS 1 through 8 Select 8 Input Mode by holding the ANALOG INPUT button and pressing any Track Select button from 5 8 notice that the INPUT LEDs f
31. selected digit will flash While still holding the EDIT VALUE button you may press any of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons to enter a specific numerical value for the currently selected digit The selected digit will replace the previous once and will stop flashing and the next digit to its right will be selected flashing so you may continue entering digits using the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 INPUT SELECT There are three buttons for input select options These three buttons are labeled ANALOG INPUT DIGITAL INPUT and TRACK COPY These determine what signals will be recorded on the XT The currently selected input mode is indicated in the lower right corner of the display ANALOG DIGITAL or TRK COPY INPUT SELECT ANALOG DIGITAL TRACK INPUT INPUT COPY While any of the Input Select buttons are being held the channel record and input status indicators no longer indicate the current record or input status and the REC icon turns off As long as one of these buttons is being held the tracks INPUT LED is used to indicate channel selection for that particular function and the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 are used to select and de select channels see page 41 ANALOG INPUT Pressing the ANALOG INPUT button once selects the analog inputs both unbalanced and balanced for recording and monitoring the ANALOG icon will light in the INPUT icon group
32. the format on a partially formatted tape Use FAST FWD REWIND and or PLAY to locate to the section of tape just before where formatting was discontinued Press FORMAT The FORMAT icon lights Press PLAY to engage playback When the LOCKED icon appears in the display hold PLAY and press RECORD The EXT icon lights The XT reads the time reference from tape from the formatted portion and begins formatting starting from that time onward Exception If the tape is already formatted but is in the leader or data sections of the tape i e prior to time 0 00 00 00 entering format mode will automatically rewind the tape to the beginning and start reformatting While rewinding the TIME counter will read FO which means format over and the REWIND LED will flash This indication is telling you that the XT must format over from the ead beginning portion of the tape WRITE PROTECT OVERRIDE If necessary you can still record on a tape which has had its write protect tab removed or damaged The write protect tab located on the cassette spine can be removed when you want to protect the information on an important tape from accidental erasure The XT scans for the presence of a write protect tab when a tape is inserted If no tab exists recording is prevented You can however tell the XT to ignore the absence of a write protect tab and permit recording to take place anyway To override the Write P
33. to enter Edit mode The EDIT icon will light j Press TAPE OFFSET The TAPE OFFSET icon will light and the TIME counter will display the machine s current Tape Offset value s Ou OO OOs OO Use s and t buttons to fine tune the Tape Offset value Alternatively you may select a specific digit by holding EDIT VALUE and using the s and t buttons The selected digit will flash f While still holding EDIT VALUE press any of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons to replace the selected digit with The next digit to the right is automatically selected so you may continue entering digits Ip To change the current value from a positive offset to a negative offset hold EDIT VALUE and press SET LOCATE The offset digits will remain exactly the same However this step will toggle between positive and negative values by either displaying a or not D To reset the Tape Offset amount to 0 00 00 00 press both s and t simultaneously 62 ADAT XT Reference Manual Multiple ADAT XT Operation Chapter 5 COMBINING XTS AND ADATS XT TRANSPORT SPEED The XT s transport speed has been improved to be four times faster in engaged mode than the original ADAT Because of this and other unique features it is recommended that you make the XT the master ID 1 in your system and your ADAT s should be the slave s Until you need more than 8 tracks you may want to avoid inserting tape s into the slave unit
34. tracks D A or Digital to Analog Converter The device that converts digital signals back into an analog format so that they can be heard ADAT XT Reference Manual 87 Glossary I 0 a AS 88 Fiber Optical Connector A device that transmits signals through light instead of conventional wire Advantages include higher speed and the ability to carry multiple chanels of information over a single thin cable House Sync A video signal distributed to any device that requires a reference to maintain proper sync relationship with other devices The signal comes in several forms Blackburst results in a black video screen when fed to a video monitor Color bars are the standard reference for adjusting video equipment Color bars can be seen on many stations just before they come on the air Input An input is a path through which audio passes from one electronic device into another types of inputs vary in connector type level use Sends monitor mix and electrical characteristics impedance balanced or unbalanced They can be analog or digital MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface MIDI A protocol whereby various MIDI compatible products can communicate various musical and non musical messages such as notes controls etc MMC MIDI Machine Control MMC A subset of MIDI messages which correspond to tape machine s transport controls and other functions Mute Used as a verb to mute a channel me
35. using the XT Chapter 1 Introduction Deals with the necessary preparation before recording and playing including connections to external devices This chapter also discusses the difference between threaded and unthreaded tapes Chapter 2 Your First Session with the ADAT XT This section provides a brief tour of the XT shows you how to format a tape record and playback set locate points auto punch in and out bounce tracks and points out other various features Chapter 3 Connections Details rear panel connections like inputs and outputs footswitches and the ADAT Optical Digital Interface and proper hook up procedures Chapter 4 Basic Operations Covers the user interface of the XT and the way to use its basic control features how to read the display and how to navigate through and edit parameters Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT Operation How to lock together multiple ADAT Compatible devices and how to record and transfer digital audio between them Chapter 6 Applications Describes several real world examples of how the XT may be used Appendices Features an explanation of digital audio recording concepts trouble shooting maintenance and service information specifications a Glossary and an Index CONVENTIONS All front panel buttons LEDs display icons and rear panel connectors are referred to in this manual just as their names appear on the XT using all capital letters and in brackets Examples PLAY butto
36. will need to remove the screw on feet from the bottom of the XT if any equipment will be mounted directly below it MOUNTING ON A SHELF OR NON RACK ENCLOSURE To mount the XT on a shelf or other flat surface Alesis recommends using the attached screw on feet to avoid scratching the shelf s surface with the deck s bottom Please observe the general comments on thermal considerations given under Thermal Considerations in Rack Mounting no matter where or how the deck is mounted AVOIDING ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE Like all tape machines the XT uses magnetic tape that can be sensitive to electromagnetic interference Generally this is not a problem but avoid mounting the XT next to devices that generate strong magnetic fields such as power amplifiers monitors and video display devices speakers etc ADAT XT Reference Manual Your First Session With The ADAT XT Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2 Your First SESSION Wir THE ADAT XT POWER UP AND T APE INSERTION Connect the power cord which accompanies the XT between the three prong power socket on the back panel and an AC outlet receptacle Please note that there are grounding considerations to be aware of See pages 7 9 for more information J The XT can produce a transient audio signal during power up and power down When turning the XT on or off be sure to keep monitor levels low Turn the XT s power on by pressing the POWER button At power up the display will briefly lo
37. 1 and consequently a digital clock is received by the master XT the master XT will synchronize to the incoming digital clock the XT s DIG clock will stop flashing and remain lit If your digital audio source does provide a means for synchronizing to an external clock you must connect the last slave ADAT s SYNC OUT to the Al 1 s SYNC IN Next you must connect the Al 1 s WORD CLOCK OUT connector to the digital audio source s WORD CLOCK IN connector and adjust its clock parameter so that it is synchronizing to the incoming word clock derived from the ADAT system DIGITAL CLOCK CONSIDERATIONS When switching between the XT s two internal clock sample rates 48 kHz and 44 1 kHz the reference base used for computing tape location is changed The result is that the same tape location will appear to have two different time addresses depending on the sample rate CLOCK you are using Since the XT cannot detect the sample rate of an external clock it is therefore necessary that you select between DIG 48K and DIG 44 1K to choose which reference base the XT should use to calculate tape positions by while syncing to the digital clock This is done by pressing the CLOCK SELECT button See page 44 for more information TAPE OFFSET When synchronizing multiple XTs it is possible to offset any of the slave units from the master The main reason for doing this would be for cut and paste style editing By bouncing audio over the di
38. 7 Footswitches 28 The XT Remote 28 ADAT XT Reference Manual 5 Index 4 Basic OPERATIONS 29 Tape Formatting 29 Formatting Considerations 29 Complete Format 30 Recording While Formatting 30 Format Extend 31 Write Protect Override 31 Reading The Display 32 Display Icons 33 TIME Counter amp ABS REL Button 35 Locate 0 35 Basic Editing 36 EDIT Value Button 36 A and Y Buttons 36 Entering Numeric Values 36 Editing Individual Digits 36 Input Select 37 Analog Input 37 Digital Input 37 Track Copy 38 Input Monitor 39 Auto Input Monitor 39 All Input Monitor 39 Meters 39 Peak Mode Button 40 Peak Clear Button 40 Fine Meter Mode 40 Recording a Benchmark Tape 40 Record Enable 41 Setting Levels 41 Transport Controls 42 Eject 42 Rewind Review 42 Fast Forward Cue 42 Play 43 Record Punch In or Out 43 Stop 44 Sample Rate Clock 44 Record Crossfade Time 45 Displaying Frames vs 100ths Seconds 45 Pitch Control 46 About Pitch Changing 46 Track Delay 47 Autolocation Controls 48 Absolute ABS Time vs Relative Time48 Locate 0 48 Setting Locate Points 49 Locating 49 Auto Looping 50 Auto Return 50 Auto Play 50 Loop Limit 50 Auto Record 51 ADAT XT Reference Manual 6 Index Looped Recording 51 Rehearsal 51 Tape Length 52 Footswitch Controls 53 Footswitch Controlled Punching 53 Footswitch Controlled Autolocating 53 Using the XT Remote 54 5 MULTIPLE ADAT XT OPERATION
39. 9 buttons to replace the selected digit with The next digit to the right is automatically selected so you may continue entering digits LOCATING Once you have stored one or more tape positions into the Locate Point memories pressing any of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons while Edit mode is not selected will initiate a locate to its respective address The TIME counter will momentarily display the selected Locate Point s address and the Locate Point s number 0 9 will appear in the upper right corner of the display the transport will either fast forward or rewind to the selected Locate Point s address ADAT XT Reference Manual 49 Chapter 4 Basic Operations AUTO LOOPING 50 Auto Looping is not a feature in and of itself but is made up of two important features that when used together provide a very useful tool These two features are Auto Return and Auto Play When both are enabled and set correctly a section of tape of any length may be continuously repeated AUTO RETURN When Auto Return is enabled and the transport reaches the Locate 4 point the end of the loop it will automatically rewind to the Locate 1 point the start of the loop Notice the arrow on the front panel connecting the LOCATE 1 and LOCATE 4 buttons To turn Auto Return on or off press the AUTO RETURN button The AUTO RTN icon will light when turned on If Locate 1 s position is after Locate 4 the AUTO RTN icon will flash a
40. AES EBU format for use with the XT S VHS Acronym for Super Video Home System an improved version of VHS with greater resolution and dubbing capabilities as well as improved sound Track An area of tape on which audio is recorded A track can be thought of as a picture of an output over time Unbalanced Audio Signals Signals that are carried on two conductor cables one hot and one ground Unbalanced connections save costs but are more prone to picking up hum and interference with low level signals VHS Acronym for Video Home System a video recording system introduced for consumer use and using standardized cartridges VITC Vertical Interval Time Code VITC is timecode information encoded in the vertical retrace interval of the video signal this is the time when the beam is getting back to the top of the screen The advantage of VITC is that the timecode value can be read when the video deck is paused and is accurate to the frame ADAT XT Reference Manual Index ABS REL Button 15 35 Absolute Time 35 48 ADAT 55 59 63 65 Al 1 61 Al 2 69 All Input 39 Analog Recording 71 Auto Input 39 Auto Play 19 50 Auto Record 20 50 51 Auto Return 19 50 Autolocation 48 Backup 60 Bandwidth 72 BRC 52 68 Chase 34 Clock 44 61 69 Copying Tapes 60 Crossfade Time 45 Cue 42 Data 30 Digital Clock 61 Digital Input 59 Digital Cecording 41 71 Display 32 Icons 33 Drum Time 75 Edit Value 36 Eject 42 Error Cod
41. ALESIS ADAT XT Reference Manual INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing the Alesis ADAT XT Digital Multitrack Tape Recorder To take full advantage of the XT s functions and to enjoy long and trouble free use please read this user s manual carefully How To USE THis MANUAL This manual is divided into the following sections describing the various modes of the XT Though we recommend you take time to read through the entire manual once carefully those having general knowledge about multitrack recorders should use the table of contents and index to reference specific functions while using the XT Chapter 1 Introduction Deals with the necessary preparation before recording and playing including connections to external devices This chapter also discusses the difference between threaded and unthreaded tapes Chapter 2 Your First Session with the ADAT XT This section provides a brief tour of the XT shows you how to format a tape record and playback set locate points auto punch in and out bounce tracks and points out other various features Chapter 3 Connections Details rear panel connections like inputs and outputs footswitches and the ADAT Optical Digital Interface and proper hook up procedures Chapter 4 Basic Operations Covers the user interface of the XT and the way to use its basic control features how to read the display and how to navigate through and edit parameters Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT O
42. Ce LOGKED Ca Ga Ga Ga Ca Ga Ce C2 INPUT MON 36 OS GS CS CS Co Co Co CL ALL AUTO BTE Co Go Co Co Co Co Joms INPUT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ANALOG EI Co C4 Co O7 oO Co DIGITAL INPUT CO OO OO Oe oes oes TRK COPY When in a typical play situation the display may look like this a D ca La I mE su 0dB m e e 4 Ce i Le Le Cue j gt C cS cS Ce CLOCK 15 Coe De Coe Coe De INT gt ES Ga EE Ca C2 gt CS Locken 48K 24 e ES CS Cea Ce Ce gt E LOCKED Co CG Ga Ga CG Co lt C INPUT MON 36 CS GS CS Cea CS GS Ge Ce AUTO 48 L Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co INPUT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ANALOG REC co co INPUT Cc co J The meters show the current level of each playback track Tracks 4 and 6 are both in record as indicated by the REC LEDs and monitoring their inputs as indicated by the INPUT LEDs The TIME counter directly above the meters shows the current tape position in this case relative to the user defined 0 00 00 00 point RELative Time The display example above indicates that the CLOCK is currently set to INTernal and 48KHz the AUTO INPUT MONitor is on and the Analog input is selected The icon indicates that a tape is detected and the LOCKED icon tells us that playback is engaged 32 ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 DISPLAY ICONS The following icons appear in the display at different times They indicate that the parameter f
43. EC LED will not light and noSovrcE will be temporarily displayed in the TIME counter e When Track Copy mode is enabled TRK COPY icon lit the All Input Monitor will not function If the All Input Monitor is on when Track Copy is enabled it will automatically be turned off ALL icon in the INPUT MON icon group will turn off See page 39 for more information about the All Input Monitor e Any track delays that you have programmed will be in effect 38 ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 INPUT MONITOR The Input Monitor controls consist of two buttons ALL INPUT and AUTO INPUT INPUT MONITOR ALL AUTO INPUT INPUT AUTO INPUT MONITOR This feature determines what you will hear from the XT s output jacks when a track is record enabled REC LED flashing tape or source The AUTO INPUT button toggles the Auto Input Monitor on and off When a track is monitoring its input signal its INPUT LED will be lit e When the Auto Input Monitor is off AUTO icon in the INPUT MON icon group is off all record enabled tracks will monitor the input signal and all other tracks will monitor the taped signal e When the Auto Input Monitor is on AUTO icon is lit it allows input monitoring of record enabled tracks while in record stop rewind or fast fwd but not in play The reason for having these two options is to accommodate different stages of the recording process Leaving the Auto
44. EL icon appears to the left of the TIME counter The counter will now read re Qu OOu OOs OO ADAT XT Reference Manual 35 Chapter 4 Basic Operations BASIC EDITING 36 EDIT VALUE BUTTON The EDIT VALUE button is used to turn Edit mode on and off When turned on the EDIT icon will light indicating you are now in Edit mode At this point you can press any one of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 TAPE OFFSET or TRACK DELAY Function buttons to view and or edit their respective parameter settings in the display The icons just below the EDIT icon in the display will indicate which feature is currently selected for editing when in Edit mode and which features are on or off when not in Edit mode When Edit mode is selected the TIME counter provides a display of the selected parameter s current setting The first time EDIT VALUE is pressed Locate 0 will be selected While the EDIT icon is still on you can press another Function button to access its parameter s Press EDIT VALUE again to exit Edit mode the EDIT icon will turn off Pressing a Function button now will toggle that function on or off The next time Edit mode is turned on the display will return to the last function you were editing before exiting Edit mode Function Button When Edit Mode is on When Edit Mode is off LOCATE OJ LOCATE Edit Locate Point address Execute a locate 9 TAPE OFFSET Edit Tape Offset amount Tape Offse
45. However should problems occur DO NOT attempt to service the unit yourself The full AC line voltage as well as high voltage high current DC voltages are present at several points within the chassis Service on this product should be performed only by qualified technicians THERE ARE NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE OBTAINING REPAIR SERVICE Before contacting Alesis check over all your connections and make sure you ve read the manual Customers in the USA If the problem persists call Alesis USA at 1 310 841 2272 and request the Product Support department Talk the problem over with one of our technicians if necessary you will be given a repair order RO number and instructions on how to return the unit All units must be shipped prepaid and COD shipments will not be accepted For prompt service indicate the RO number on the shipping label If you do not have the original packing ship the XT in a sturdy carton with shock absorbing materials such as styrofoam pellets the kind without CFCs please or bubble pack surrounding the unit Shipping damage caused by inadequate packing is not covered by the Alesis warranty Tape a note to the top of the unit describing the problem include your name anda phone number where Alesis can contact you if necessary as well as instructions on where you want the product returned Alesis will pay for standard one way shipping back to you on any repair covered under the terms of this warranty
46. Input Monitor off is the normal option and is what you would use when first recording tracks When performing punch ins and overdubs you will probably want to turn the Auto Input Monitor on so that you can hear what was recorded on tape for a given track right up to the point you want to punch in As soon as the XT punches into record mode the tape signal is replaced by the input signal so you can hear what s being recorded to tape After you punch out the monitor reverts to tape Typically Auto Input should be on when the Rehearse feature is used see page 52 ALL INPUT MONITOR When the ALL INPUT button is on ALL icon in the INPUT MON icon group is lit the Auto Input Monitor setting is overridden so that all tracks monitor their input signals regardless of their record enable status All eight track INPUT LEDs will be lit When All Input Monitor is off ALL icon is off the Auto Input Monitor setting determines track monitoring The All Input Monitor will automatically be turned off if Track Copy mode is enabled by pressing the TRACK COPY button see page 38 The following table indicates the status of tracks that are record enabled and tracks that are not depending on the status of the AUTO INPUT and ALL INPUT buttons Record enabled tracks W Tracks not record enabled Q Transport Auto Off Auto On Auto Off On Function All Off All Off All On Stop Pause E Input Rew F Fwd Q Input
47. J The XT provides two footswitch connectors using 1 4 mono T S jacks One labeled LOCATE PLAY LRC REMOTE allows locate and play commands the other labeled PUNCH IN OUT is for punch in out control LOCATE PLAY PUNCH LRC REMOTE IN OUT ee The two footswitch jack functions are designed to be used with any momentary single pole single throw footswitch either normally open or normally closed These should be plugged in prior to power up so that the XT can configure itself for the type of footswitch being used The Punch In Out footswitch and XT Remote both work in conjunction with the Rehearse and Auto Record features THE XT REMOTE 28 Both the LOCATE PLAY LRC REMOTE and PUNCH IN OUT footswitch connectors can be used to connect the hand held XT remote control unit to provide remote access of transport functions You can even connect two XT remote controls into the XT one in each footswitch jack If using a normally open footswitch the footswitch and remote control can be interchanged or used simultaneously with a Y cord without restarting the XT powering down and powering up However if using a normally closed footswitch the XT should be restarted after switching from footswitch to remote control or vice versa ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4 Basic OPERATIONS This chapter is designed for operators who may not have experience working with digital audio All
48. NTROLS The XT s six transport control buttons resemble those of a conventional tape recorder although there are several extra features RECORD J bii F 42 EJECT Press the EJECT button to eject the tape from the XT If the tape is moving it will stop before ejecting In a multiple XT system where there is one master and one or more slave XTs and or ADATs pressing EJECT on the master will eject the tapes on all machines pressing EJECT on a slave machine will only eject the tape on that machine The EJECT button will not operate while recording or formatting to avoid interrupting these processes REWIND R EVIEW Press the REWIND button to rewind the tape the REWIND LED lights When fully rewound the REWIND LED turns off and the STOP LED lights e Pressing REWIND while recording punches out before rewinding e Threaded tapes rewind at about 40 times normal play speed Unthreaded tapes rewind slightly faster e Pressing REWIND while holding the PLAY button initiates Review mode The tape rewinds at about 3 times normal play speed and you can hear chunks of attenuated audio so you know where you are on the tape The PLAY LED will be lit and the REWIND LED will be flashing Pressing the PLAY button alone returns the transport to normal play mode FAST FORWARD C UE Press the FAST FWD button to fast forward the tape the FAST FWD LED lights Upon reaching the tape s en
49. Next day service is available for a surcharge Field repairs are not normally authorized during the warranty period and repair attempts by unqualified personnel may invalidate the warranty Service address for customers in the USA Alesis Product Support 3630 Holdrege Avenue Los Angeles CA 90016 Customers outside the USA ADAT XT Reference Manual 79 Appendix B Troubleshooting Contact your local Alesis dealer for warranty assistance The Alesis Limited Warranty applies only to products sold to users in the USA and Canada Customers outside the USA and Canada are not convered by this Limited Warranty and may or may not be covered by independent distributor warranty in the county of sale Do not return products to the factory unless you have been given specific instructions to do so 80 ADAT XT Reference Manual Appendix D Specifications dv noFo FULL Er 0 Er1 Er4 Er 5 APPENDIX C ERROR CODES The following errors codes may appear from time to time in the TIME counter display Use this reference to learn the possible cause of the error code before attempting to contact Alesis Product Support Dew Sensor The unit has been subjected to overly high humidity Do not operate the unit Turn on the power without installing a tape This will allow the unit to warm up and disperse the moisture If the dv message does not go out after 2 hours contact Alesis for service No Format The tape is located at a
50. OP LED will flash indicating the tape is now unthreaded Pressing either PLAY or STOP will re thread the tape or by simultaneously pressing PLAY and RECORD to engage recording If the tape is threaded and no transport activity play record rewind etc occurs for 4 minutes the tape will automatically unthread itself to minimize tape wear A WORD ON ADAT s S VHS CASSETTE TAPE Alesis recommends you use only premium quality name brand S VHS cassettes We cannot overemphasize the importance of this We recommend using AMPEX 489 DM Digital Mastering Audio Tape or Alesis ADAT Mastering Audio Cassettes Other acceptable brands include Maxell XR S Black JVC XZ 3M Master Broadcast and ASD 40 and TDK SP Super Pro The cassette shell hubs rollers and tape guides in S VHS cassettes are precision devices that properly handle and protect the tape within them J Do not use inexpensive budget VHS tapes ONLY USE S VHS TAPES We do not recommend that you use inexpensive budget VHS cassettes While they may work technically their unpredictable quality and less than premium formulation will decrease the reliability of your recording Inferior tapes not only jeopardize the recordings made on them they may shed oxide and leave behind a coating of dirt that will interfere with future recordings even if you switch back to premium quality tape Defective tape may even clog the head requiring service Don t trust your work to anythin
51. Repeat steps 1 to 3 Does the problem recur 6 Try the tape in a different XT or ADAT If you are using a single ADAT system see if you can visit your dealer It does not make sense to send your XT in for service when there may be only a problem with for example some tapes that you are using If the same problems occur in another XT or ADAT then either the tape is faulty or it was formatted on an out of alignment XT or ADAT At this point you should call Alesis Product Support If the problem does not occur and the tape works fine then we need to look at your XT You need to call Alesis Product Support Whatever happens the answers to all these questions are useful information for our Product Support representatives The more we know the faster we can discover the cause of your problems You will help us isolate whether the problem lies in the XT the tape or somewhere else APPENDIX D SPECIFICATIONS Transport Recording Format ADAT Rotary head digital recording Tape Format S VHS cartridge ADAT XT Reference Manual 83 Appendix D Specifications Heads Approximate Recording Times ST 60 ST 120 SE 180 ST 160 SE 240 ST 180 SE 260 Fast Wind Rate Audio Number of Audio Channels Audio Conversion Record A D Playback D A Sample Rate Vari Speed Range Frequency Response Dynamic Range Distortion Channel Crosstalk Wow and Flutter Reference Level Analog Inputs Outputs Connectors Balan
52. SET LOCATE press LOCATE 5 when you get to the downbeat of chorus 2 f Press STOP ADAT XT Reference Manual 71 Chapter 6 Applications 72 Ip Press EDIT VALUE then press LOCATE 5 Edit Mode will now be selected The TIME counter will display a time for Locate 5 like 0 00 47 30 Write this number down or memorize it Press TAPE OFFSET while still in Edit Mode and enter the value that was displayed for Locate 5 0 00 47 30 To do this press and hold the EDIT VALUE button and press LOCATE 4 LOCATE 7 LOCATE 3 then LOCATE 0 then release EDIT VALUE Press EDIT VALUE to exit Edit Mode Press TAPE OFFSET to turn the Tape Offset function on ADAT XT Reference Manual Digital Recording Concepts Appendix A APPENDIX A Diciraz RECORDING CONCEPTS ANALOG RECORDING BASICS Digital recording works very differently from analog recording With analog recording tape containing millions of tiny magnetizable particles move past a record head The magnetic field around this head fluctuates according to the audio signal present at the tape recorder s input These fluctuations permanently rearrange the particles on the tape to form a pattern that is analogous to the original audio signal On playback the patterns on tape are read by a separate playback head or from the record head set up to read instead of record signals that converts the magnetic fluctuations back into an audio signal The
53. T icon will light in the display Press TRACK DELAY The TRACK DELAY icon will light just below the EDIT icon Choose a track to edit by pressing one of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 A number will appear to the left of the EDIT icon representing the track you are editing Use the s and t buttons to adjust the delay amount in 1 ms increments f Hold the EDIT VALUE button and enter a specific delay value using the LOCATE 0 thought LOCATE 9 buttons The TIME counter will display the selected track s delay amount 1 70 O ns Simultaneously the peak meter for the selected track will rise to indicate the amount of track delay you have selected 10 Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any other tracks you wish to delay D Press EDIT VALUE to exit Edit mode The EDIT icon will turn off Press TRACK DELAY to enable the Track Delay feature The TRACK DELAY icon will light indicating that track delays are now in effect If necessary repeat steps through f to edit the delay value of any track ADAT XT Reference Manual Your First Session With The ADAT XT Chapter 2 TRACK COPY J It is possible to copy the audio material from one track to another on the same tape within the XT without leaving the digital domain and without the need for any audio cables In fact you can copy up to 4 tracks at a time using the Track Copy feature For more information on using the Track Copy function see page 38
54. TROL MIDI SYSTEMS VIRTUAL TRACKING Lately many sequencing software manufacturers have been integrating digital audio hard disk recording and playback into their sequencers However the XT can offer much of the same flexibility without the added expense of a new program or upgrade or the hardware that accompanies a hard disk recording system This requires a timecode interface such as Steinberg s ACI or JLCooper s DataSync 2 which will convert the XT s timecode which is recorded when a tape is formatted into MIDI Timecode MTC which a sequencer can synchronize to Connect the SYNC OUT from the XT or from the last slave in a multiple ADAT system to the SYNC IN of the timecode interface you are using Connect the timecode interface s MIDI OUT to the MIDI IN of you sequencer Set your sequencer to synchronize to the MTC being received from the timecode interface As you control the XT s tape motion with the transport controls the sequencer will automatically follow along letting you mix digital recordings with virtual MIDI tracks on a MIDI sequencer MIDI MACHINE CONTROL VIRTUAL REMOTE CONTROL Many of the computer based sequencing software programs today have implemented MIDI Machine Control MMC into their sequencers MMC is a specification implemented by the MIDI Manufacturers Association MMA and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee JMSC which details a set of messages that provide a universal way of having sequen
55. TY DIFFERENCES The original ADAT was designed to invert its analog input signal internally before the audio was sent through the A D analog to digital converter and recorded onto tape The digital representation of the data as stored on tape was therefore inverted relative to the analog input i e a positive voltage at the analog input is stored as a negative number on the tape When this digital signal was played back from tape the data was sent to a D A digital to analog converter and the analog signal output of the D A was inverted once again before going to the output jacks This resulted in the input to output phase being correct and no phase problems were experienced when using a single ADAT or a multiple ADAT system However neither the digital input nor the digital output was inverted Therefore if one transfers the ADAT s digital audio data to a DAT machine or hard disk recording system using the Al 1 or a similar digital interface the audio output from the other device would likely be out of phase with the ADAT since it probably does not invert the analog signal after its D A converters Although this in and of itself will not usually be a problem it may cause some confusion if multiple correlated audio signals are combined from multiple sources since there is a possibility that signals could become out of phase To prevent this from occurring the XT design has been improved so that the polarity remains constant from th
56. VERTISSEMENT Risque d explosion si cette pile est mal utilis e tel que introduite faussement dans l appareil ou remplac par une pile non equivalent ADAT XT Reference Manual 85 Glossary 86 GLOSSARY A D or Analog to Digital Converter The device that converts an analog audio signal to digital audio Once encoded all audio is stored or processed as a series of numbers rather than as the audio itself AES EBU Interface A two channel digital audio hardware software standard The AES EBU interface allows for data communication between professionally oriented digital devices such as digital signal processors hard disk recording systems synthesizers with AES EBU outputs digital audio workstations etc Autolocation The process of automatically rewinding or fast forwarding as necessary to find a specific point on tape Autolocation is usually initiated by pressing a button that tells the machine the point to which you want it to autolocate Automation Generally automation means using a machine or computer to perform or repeat one or more tasks In recording systems automation refers to the process of recording and playing back mixer movements such as faders and mute buttons In many sophisticated systems all controls can be automated Auto Loop A combination of two functions Auto Return and Auto Play which allows a specific section of tape to be played over and over again particularly useful for looped recordi
57. Y LRC jack or the PUNCH IN OUT jack depending on which one is not being used If connected to the master XT in a multiple ADAT system the XT Remote can control the entire chain of ADATs If using a normally open footswitch the footswitch and remote control can be interchanged or used simultaneously with a Y cord without restarting the XT powering down and powering up However if using a normally closed footswitch the XT should be restarted after switching from footswitch to remote control or vice versa ADAT XT Reference Manual Multiple ADAT XT Operation Chapter 5 CHAPTER 5 MuttipLe ADAT XT OPERATION OVERVIEW By itself a single XT provides a lot of flexibility However in a multiple ADAT system presents a whole new set of possibilities Keep in mind that since the XT is an ADAT compatible machine you can intermingle any number of XTs and ADATs together up to 16 machines total for 128 tracks see the section entitled Combining XTs and ADATs on page 63 When linking multiple XTs and or ADATs together the first ADAT in the chain is referred to as the master and the rest are called slaves Each slave is locked to the master and relies on the time reference from the master machine to keep the system synchronized Connections are easy to make one 9 pin D connector for each slave A slave will automatically detect a master and go into slave mode 6606 z 000060 eet S mme r
58. a the display will read dAtA then timecode starting at 0 00 00 00 and continuing to the end of the tape RECORDING WHILE FORMATTING You can record onto tape while formatting Simply press any of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 for any track s you wish to record on before pressing the FORMAT button Prepare your source material to start playback at 0 00 00 00 on the XT or later do not begin recording before 0 00 00 00 See next section for more information on setting levels and recording 14 ADAT XT Reference Manual Your First Session With The ADAT XT Chapter 2 MAKING A RECORDING Recording on the XT is very similar to most multitrack tape machines The process involves formatting a tape see previous tutorial putting one or more tracks into record ready adjusting record levels on your mixer setting the input monitor mode locating to the start tape address and engaging record In this tutorial we will be recording from the analog audio inputs at the start of the audio portion of the tape 0 00 00 00 For more information on this and recording from the digital bus see pages 37 through 41 of chapter 4 TRACK SELECTION AND SETTING LEVELS You ll find the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 for all eight tracks on the left side of the front panel beneath the display A track is considered safe when its REC LED is off in record ready when its REC LED is flashing and in record when its REC LED is li
59. and St 180 Below is a list of the four S VHS tapes which can be used with ADAT with their European equivalents and approximate recording times Rec Time Note European tapes are actually slightly longer than their US equivalents Therefore you may get a few more minutes if using European tape Refer to page 52 for more information about tape length 68 ADAT XT Reference Manual Applications Chapter 6 LOCKING TO VIDEO CODE ONLY MASTER A common application in the audio post production environment is locking to video using the timecode on the video tape as a locate reference and the video signal itself as a clock source This requires a synchronizer interface such as the Alesis Al 2 or BRC The connections consist of running a balanced 1 4 TRS cable between the Al 2 s SMPTE IN connector and the VTR s SMPTE OUT if timecode is recorded onto either the left or right audio track of the tape connect the cable to the proper channel s output connector and a BNC connector from the house sync being provided to the VTR such as a black burst generator or the VTR s video out to the Al 2 VIDEO IN The Al 2 s SYNC OUT to the XT s SYNC IN connector When the XT detects an on line Al 2 it will ID itself as a slave ID 1 and the Clock will automatically switch to External the EXT icon will light in the CLOCK icon group Refer to your Al 2 Reference Manual for more information COMPUTER CON
60. ans to turn off the audio for that channel Used as a noun mutes are the buttons which turn off a particular channel Mutes are usually non destructive though not always Mutes are often automated as part of mixer automation systems ADAT XT Reference Manual Glossary Oz DO Output A path through which audio passes from one device to another Types of outputs vary in connector type level use Sends monitor mix and electrical characteristics impedance balanced or unbalanced They can be analog or digital Oversampling The process of taking more samples than is required in order to more accurately reconstruct a digitized signal back into analog audio Post production Begins after the film or video location shoot and is the process of combining editing and processing audio elements into a final product to be married with the picture Punching The process of entering and or exiting the record function while the tape is playing This allows recording over specific pieces of tape such as recording over a section with bad notes as opposed to recording over the entire length of the track Record Ready A track mode often called armed When you want to record on a track you ready or arm the track When you push the record button all tracks that are ready or armed will go into record mode Rotary Head A type of tape head as used in the XT that spins at a high rate of speed in order to
61. apter 4 for more information MASTER FORMAT ENABLED COMPLETE FORMAT If the master s FORMAT icon is on performing a complete start to finish format and the slave tape is not already formatted e Ifthe slave s FORMAT icon is on the slave rewinds to the start of the tape and does a complete format along with the master e Ifthe slave s FORMAT icon is off the slave rewinds to the start of the tape and plays but the TIME counter reads noFO no format while flashing the FORMAT icon If the master s FORMAT icon is on performing a complete start to finish format and the slave tape is already formatted e Ifthe slave s FORMAT icon is on the slave rewinds to the start of the tape and does a complete format with the master e Ifthe slave s FORMAT icon is off the slave rewinds to the start of the tape and plays in sync with the master J If any channels are record enabled they will start recording at time 0 00 00 00 MASTER FORMAT ENABLED FORMAT EXTEND If the master s FORMAT icon is on and you are extending the format and the slave tape is not formatted e The slave plays but the TIME counter reads noFO no format while flashing the FORMAT icon ADAT XT Reference Manual 57 Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT XT Operation If the master s FORMAT icon is on and you are extending the format and the slave tape is formatted e Ifthe slave s FORMAT icon is on the slave autolocates to the same time as th
62. aring to the right of the ID icon will indicate the ID number of the unit 1 16 You can check the unit s ID without turning the unit on and off by holding SET LOCATE and pressing PLAY See chapter 5 This icon will light whenever edit mode is selected by pressing the EDIT VALUE button See page 36 Indicates that the transport is shuttling to a Locate Point 0 9 When in Edit mode this icon indicates that you are editing a Locate Point s address which will appear in the TIME counter A number from 0 to 9 will appear next to the EDIT icon to indicate which Locate Point is being edited See page 47 This icon indicates that you have the Tape Offset function turned on with a value that is not equal to 0 00 00 00 This function is only available when the XT is used as a slave within a multiple ADAT XT system When in Edit Mode this icon indicates that you are editing the Tape Offset amount which will appear in the TIME counter See chapter 5 ADAT XT Reference Manual 33 Chapter 4 Basic Operations 39 37 amp 38 34 AUTO REC AUTO PLAY AUTO RTN LOCKED DELLE INPUT MON ALL AUTO INPUT ANALOG DIGITAL TRK COPY This icon indicates that you have the Track Delay function turned on When in Edit Mode this icon indicates that you are editing a tracks delay amount which will appear in the TIME counter A number from 1 to 8 will appear next to the EDIT icon to indicate which track is being
63. biggest problem with analog recording is that the tape itself alters the sound originally recorded on tape Tape hiss is one problem it superimposes a low level rushing noise onto the audio signal Although there are ways to minimize noise such as noise reduction circuitry this colors the sound in the process of masking the noise Tape s frequency response is also an issue Tape has a hard time absorbing higher frequencies which can dullen the sound Moving tape faster allows the heads to magnetize more particles and extends the high frequency response but the tradeoff is increased tape costs and heftier transports to move bigger reels of tape DIGITAL RECORDING BASICS With digital recording the technology is very similar tape moves past a record head and plays back through a playback head However the signal recorded on tape is very different Audio signals entering each channel of the XT first pass through an analog to digital A D converter a device that takes 48 000 samples or snapshots of the signal level every second 1 Each sample is assigned a specific numeric value that corresponds to its level Analog Signal Digital Signal These numbers which represent coded audio are then converted into an audio signal that can be recorded on tape Fortunately recording a number on tape doesn t degrade the signal During playback a digital to analog D A converter reads the numbers from tape and outputs a correspo
64. ceable if the signal is sustained several dB above the limit Even though very short peaks above 0 may not last long enough to cause audible distortion you aren t capturing the signal in its original form As a result because of the XT s signal to noise characteristics it s better to err on the side of setting levels not quite high enough rather than having them distort especially during live recording when you don t get a second chance In the studio where you have more control over levels or are using compressor limiters it s OK to light up the MAX LED on the meter on the very loudest peaks as long as you re sure that signals aren t going beyond that point by using the meters on your console if they go beyond 15 dB However since 0 dB on the XT equals the maximum level the input reference level is set below 0 VU With the XT a O VU signal on a 4 dBu mixer plugged into the XT s 4 dBu connectors or a 0 VU signal on a 10 dBV mixer plugged into the XT s 10 dBV connectors will register 15 dB on the XT s meters Therefore you can run the mixer over 0 VU and still have 15 dB of headroom on the XT before distortion occurs Just remember that no matter what if the XT s meters indicate over 0 dB distortion is occurring or is on the verge of occurring J Be sure the output level of your mixer matches the inputs connected to the XT 4 or 10 ADAT XT Reference Manual 41 Chapter 4 Basic Operations TRANSPORT CO
65. ced Unbalanced Input Impedance Balanced Unbalanced Output Impedance Balanced Unbalanced Nominal Input levels Balanced Unbalanced Maximum Input levels Balanced Unbalanced 84 4 2 Read 2 Write Read before Write 22 minutes 40 minutes 54 minutes 62 minutes 40 x play speed Threaded Eight 18 bit linear audio 128 times oversampling single converter per chan 20 bit linear 8 times oversampling single converter per chan 44 1 48kHz Selectable 100 300 cents 48kHz 200 cents 44 1kHz 20Hz 20 kHz 0 5dB 92 dB A weighted 009 THD Better than 90 dB 1kHz Unmeasurable 15dB One ELCO connector in out Sixteen RCA jacks 8 input 8 output 10kW 10kW 150W into 600W Nominal 150W into 10k W Nominal 4 dBu 1 23V 10 dBV 3 17V 19 dBu 6 90V 5 dBV 1 78V ADAT XT Reference Manual Appendix D Specifications Digital Inputs Outputs Connectors Two EIAY fiber optical jacks 1 in 1 out Communications Protocol 8 Channel Serial Communication General Power Requirements 90V 250V AC 50 60 Hz Power Consumption 80W Operating Temperature 10 40 C for specified performance Operating Humidity 80 maximum with no dew condensation for specified performance Dimensions H x W x D 5 25 x 19 x 11 133 3 x 482 x 279 5mm Weight 20 Ibs 9 kg CAUTION Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced Replace only with the same or equivalent type A
66. cers and tape machines speak to one another not to mention tape machines talking to each other These messages include basic transport functions like Play Stop and Record Locate functions go to a specific tape location Track functions record enable input monitor track delay and many other types of messages However not all sequencers send out all these messages some even send only basic transport commands The total amount of control you have over your XT depends entirely on how much of the MMC specification has been implemented in the software you use First make sure your sequencer is receiving MTC from the XT see previous section In addition connect the MIDI OUT from your computer s MIDI interface to the MIDI IN of the timecode interface then connect the SYNC OUT of the timecode interface to the SYNC IN of the XT of the master in a multiple ADAT system Refer to the manuals for the timecode interface and your computer based sequencer for instructions on how to set them up for MMC applications ADAT XT Reference Manual 69 Chapter 6 Applications If your sequencer generates MMC commands you should be able to put your sequencer into play and have the XT follow along However don t be surprised if the XT does not immediately go into play When a PLAY command is sent from the sequencer the XT is issued a locate command telling it where the sequencer is positioned in timecode The XT may first have to fast
67. ck to immediately enter record and the RECORD LED will light solid Upon reaching the Locate 3 position recording will cease and the RECORD LED will turn off J Whenever the XT is put into play it requires a brief moment to locate the timecode reference on tape and lock If the Locate 2 position is reached while the AUTO REC icon is lit before the XT establishes a lock the punch in will not take place until a lock has been established after the LOCKED icon turns on LOOPED RECORDING The Auto Return and Auto Play functions can be used along with Auto Record to create a recording loop So you can record a take over and over until you get it right Simply set Locate 1 to a position several seconds before Locate 2 and Locate 4 to a position after Locate 3 Refer to page 50 for more information REHEARSAL With Auto Record turned on you can rehearse before actually recording or erasing what s already on tape If you engage Auto Record while Rehearse and Auto Input are enabled when the Locate Point 2 position is reached any tracks that are in record ready will be in input monitor mode and the RECORD LED will continue flashing When the Locate Point 3 position is reached any tracks that are in record ready may return to tape monitor mode The REHEARSE button turns Rehearse mode on and off the REHEARSE icon will light when enabled Note that if Auto Input is not enabled Rehease will have no effect on what you hear in your m
68. d the FAST FWD LED turns off and the STOP LED lights e Pressing FAST FWD while recording punches out before fast forwarding e Threaded tapes fast forward at about 40 times normal play speed Unthreaded tapes fast forward slightly faster e Pressing FAST FWD while holding the PLAY button initiates Cue mode The tape fast forwards at about 3 times normal play speed and you can hear chunks of attenuated audio so you know where you are on the tape The PLAY LED will be lit and the FAST FWD LED will be flashing Pressing the PLAY button alone returns the transport to normal play mode PLAY Press the PLAY button to play the tape PLAY LED will light The PLAY button by itself has no effect while playing but it will terminate recording While locating ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 pressing PLAY will cause the XT to start playing after it arrives at the corresponding tape location PLAY LED will flash to indicate deferred play mode Pressing PLAY while recording causes the XT to punch out recording stops and playback continues Pressing PLAY in any mode other than locating causes the transport to enter play mode and the PLAY LED lights J What occurs when you press PLAY after inserting a tape in the XT depends on whether the tape being played is formatted or not Formatted The tape plays normally and the tape counter shows elapsed time since the beginning of
69. disconnected To use all inputs 8 input mode must be selected DIGITAL INPUT To record from the digital input press the DIGITAL INPUT button the DIGITAL icon in the INPUT icon group will light The digital input can be used to record from another XT or ADAT compatible optical signal All eight channels will be received via the fiber optic connection see Digital In Out in Chapter 3 and the analog inputs will be ignored However by holding the DIGITAL INPUT button you may reroute incoming channels to record on different tracks Example Digital audio received on channels 1 and 2 can be rerouted and recorded onto tracks 3 and 4 For more information about recording from the digital input and digital track bouncing see chapter 5 page 59 TRACK COPY ADAT XT Reference Manual 37 Chapter 4 Basic Operations The TRACK COPY button is used to digitally bounce tracks within a single XT To digitally bounce tracks you must first press TRACK COPY the TRK COPY icon in the INPUT icon group will light Next select the source tracks select record enable the destination tracks and initiate recording The track copies will be an exact duplicate of the original i e it is exactly aligned with the original and is an exact clone While holding the TRACK COPY button the track s INPUT LEDs will indicate the selected source channel s While still holding the TRACK COPY button the source tracks may be selected and de selected by p
70. e master then format extension begins with the master e If the slave s FORMAT icon is off the slave autolocates to the same time as the master and plays or records in sync J To properly extend the format the master and slaves should be playing in sync before punching into format record MASTER FORMAT DISABLED If the master s FORMAT icon is off and initiates a RECORD command anywhere in the tape and the slave s FORMAT icon is off e Ifthe slave tape is unformatted the slave plays but the TIME counter reads noFO no format while flashing the FORMAT icon e Ifthe slave tape is formatted the slave autolocates to the same time as the master and plays or records in sync To properly punch in the master and slave should be in sync before punching Otherwise the master will punch in immediately but the slaves won t punch in until sync is achieved MASTER FORMAT DISABLED FORMAT EXTEND If the master initiates recording from the audio portion of the tape and the slave s FORMAT icon is on e Ifthe slave tape is unformatted the slave plays but the TIME counter reads noFO no format while flashing the FORMAT icon e Ifthe slave s tape is formatted the slave autolocates to the same time as the master and then format extension begins If the master initiates recording from the start of the tape and the slave s FORMAT icon is on start to finish formatting begins regardless of whether the slave tape
71. e analog to digital and back to analog domain Like the original ADAT the result from one machine or multiples of the same machine is the same The input to output phase is correct However if two cloned tapes copied digitally either with ADATs ADAT XTs or both are played back in sync on both an ADAT and an XT the outputs of the two machines will be out of phase relative to each other Since it does not usually serve any practical purpose to play the same signal from two different tapes with two different model machines simultaneously this should not present a problem for you This design improvement is only mentioned here to explain this possible situation should you happen to experience it Possible problem Let s say you had been using a multiple ADAT system and you recorded a stereo signal across two machines a stereo drum recording on tracks 8 and 9 where there is a common element to each track i e center signal If you replace one of these machines with an XT the result would be that the track being played back on the XT will be out of phase from the track played on the ADAT canceling the center signal Here are some possible solutions e Use a phase switch on your mixer if your mixing board provides this to invert the phase of the problem track to compensate e Wire your patchbay or ELCO cable to reverse the input and output polarity of the XTs in the system but use standard cables on the ADATs in the system This is
72. e clock set to 48 kHz the 48K icon will flash If you play back a tape that was formatted on an original ADAT it will not have any sample rate information written on it since this is a new feature not found on the ADAT In this case the XT will assume the tape was formatted at 48 kHz Therefore if you had been pitching down such a tape on an ADAT to play at 44 1 kHz you must press the CLOCK SELECT button to manually change the clock to 44 1 kHz RECORD CROSSFADE TIME Crossfading is the process of fading out the original audio on tape while fading in the new audio when punching in or vice versa when punching out Whenever recording begins or ends the XT provides a smooth transition between the audio on tape and the audio being recorded This prevents gaps and or noises when punching in and out of record The Record Crossfade Time setting determines how long it takes for the audio to completely transition from the previous audio to the current audio when recording The default is 11 milliseconds but can be increased to 43 ms The faster crossfade time allows you to punch in and out quicker and is best used when the audio on tape ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 is similar to the audio you are recording The longer crossfade time allows for a smoother transition and is more useful when punching in new material that is very different from what is already on tape or when punching in low frequency signals Cros
73. e eight RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 The selected track s REC LED will light and the display will indicate the current Track Delay amount for the selected track Press a different RECORD ENABLE button to select another track 1 8 to edit aps 1 10 3 os Use the s and t buttons to adjust the amount of delay for the selected track f Alternatively you may select a specific digit by holding EDIT VALUE and using the s and t buttons The selected digit will flash While holding EDIT VALUE press any LOCATE button to enter a value The next digit to the right is automatically selected so that you may continue entering digits in this way Releasing the EDIT VALUE button deselects the digit and the selected digit will stop flashing Ip D To reset the Track Delay time to 000 0 ms press both the s and t buttons simultaneously or hold EDIT VALUE and press LOCATE 0 Repeat steps through D to edit the Track Delay times of any other tracks To set multiple tracks to the same Track Delay value If you need to advance a single track you can set all other tracks to the same delay value by selecting multiple tracks in step above Simply press and hold one RECORD ENABLE button while pressing others you wish to adjust to the same amount then proceed with steps through D ADAT XT Reference Manual 47 Chapter 4 Basic Operations AUTOLOCATION CONTROLS 48 The XT s autolocation controls consi
74. ed to be turned on in any particular order For more about connections refer to the section entitled Sync In Out in Chapter 3 After you ve connected multiple XTs and or ADATS together and turned them on the master s display will show ID 1 identifying itself as the number 1 machine in the system The second machine will display ID 2 the third ID 3 and so on The ID order is automatically assigned according to how the cables are hooked up You can re check a machine s ID at any time by holding SET LOCATE and pressing PLAY If a slave does not display an ID number on power up then it does not see anything connected to the SYNC IN jack Check the cables and connections If needed the machines will renumber their IDs if more XTs or ADATs are connected later Example Suppose you have three XTs hooked up so that machine 1 is the master and machines 2 and 3 are slaves If you turn on only machines 2 and 3 machine 1 will not be active so machine 2 decides it s the master ID 1 and machine three the only slave ID 2 If you then turn on machine 1 the machines will renumber themselves so that machine 1 becomes the master ID 1 and machines 2 and 3 become the slaves ID 2 and 3 respectively Note that in this example if machines 1 and 3 are turned on but machine 2 is turned off machine 3 will not slave to machine 1 because machine 2 is turned off so the sync signal cannot pass through it from 1 to 3 All slave XTs will au
75. en the INT and 48K icons are lit the internal 48 kHz clock setting is in use The default setting is internal 48 kHz INT 48k Changing the clock from 48kHz to 44 1 kHz or vice versa will change the reference point upon which the Pitch controls are based This will also cause the TIME counter to change the Locate Points see pages 48 amp 49 will be referenced to different time positions when viewed although they still correspond to the same physical tape positions as before To select the sample rate Press the CLOCK SELECT button Each time the CLOCK SELECT button is pressed the right side of the display will cycle through the following settings INT 48K INT 44 1K DIG 48K and DIG 44 1K For more info on DIG and EXT clock settings see chapter 5 It is recommended that you select the sample rate you want to use before you format a tape During the formatting process the sample rate information is written onto the tape This information allows the XT to know what sample rate the tape was originally formatted at When inserting a tape that was formatted at 48 kHz the XT reads the timecode from tape for a moment and automatically selects the 48 kHz clock setting If the clock is then manually changed to 44 1 kHz the 44 1K icon will flash to indicate that you are using 44 1 kHz but it isn t the original sample rate used when the tape was formatted The same goes when you play a tape formatted using 44 1 kHz with th
76. ependently on each slave for a number of reasons as detailed in the next section however simultaneous formatting on all slaves is possible Digital Input can also be set independently for the slave s since you may want to record via the analog inputs on some machines and via the digital inputs on others ACHIEVING LOCK ADAT XT Reference Manual Multiple ADAT XT Operation Chapter 5 In a multiple ADAT system the slaves will chase the master CHASE icon will light on the XT and can only enter record once they are in perfect sample lock Audio will not appear at the outputs of an ADAT until sample lock sync is achieved When an XT is in lock the LOCKED icon will light To achieve the fastest chase lock performance from a multi ADAT system use the Locate points whenever possible INDEPENDENT SLAVE MODE If the master XT is stopped each of the slaves will function independently For example press PLAY on one of the slaves and it will go into play mode or press the AUTO INPUT button on a slave etc the other slaves and the master will not respond to this command However any time you press PLAY on the master or initiate any transport function it will take over and control all the slaves FORMATTING MULTIPLE TAPES Formatting works similarly to formatting on a single ADAT However it is necessary to consider what the slave does when formatting is initiated on the master See the section entitled Tape Formatting in Ch
77. es 79 Error Rate 74 Fast Forward 42 Footswitches 28 53 Formatting 14 29 31 Complete 30 Extend 31 Recording while 30 Head Cleaning 74 76 ID 34 56 Inputs Balanced 24 Digital 27 Monitor 39 Select 37 38 Unbalanced 23 Lead 30 Locate 48 Locate Reference 69 Locked 34 57 Loop 19 LRC Remote 28 Meters 40 MIDI 69 Multiple ADAT System ADAT XT Reference Manual INDEX Formatting 56 Master 55 Slave 55 Optical 27 Outputs Balanced 24 Digital 27 Unbalanced 23 Peak Clear 40 Peak Mode 40 Phase 64 Pitch 21 45 46 Play 17 43 Power 7 13 Punch In Out 43 44 Record 43 Re initializing 74 Record Crossfade Time 45 RECORD ENABLE Buttons 15 41 Recording 16 Analog 37 71 Bouncing 38 59 Digital 37 41 71 Live 68 Track Copy 38 While formatting 30 Rehearse 51 Relative Time 35 48 Review Rewind 42 S VHS 11 68 72 Sample Rate 44 69 Set Locate 35 Signal Level 41 Software Version 75 Stop 44 Sync 26 55 Tape Length 47 68 Threaded 11 42 44 TIME Counter 13 15 Track Copy 38 Track Delay 47 Transport 15 42 44 63 Unthreaded 11 42 44 Video 69 Write protect 29 s and t buttons 36 91 Index 92 ADAT XT Reference Manual
78. formation see Tape Formaiting in Chapter 4 After completing the following exercise we recommend you perform a complete format J Formatting a tape erases audio on all eight tracks Be sure to check that the tape is either blank or contains unwanted material before formatting We recommend that you format your tapes completely from beginning to end SAMPLE RATE SELECTION Before formatting select the sample rate you will be using either 48 kHz or 44 1 kHz This is done by pressing the CLOCK SELECT button Each time CLOCK SELECT is pressed the XT will cycle between INT 48K INT 44 1K and DIG the section on the right side of the display labeled CLOCK will indicate the currently selected sample rate Note For more information about the DIG option Digital Audio Clock see page 44 FORMATTING A NEW TAPE To Format a new tape Insert a fresh blank tape The XT will acknowledge that this is an unformatted tape the FORMAT icon will flash in the display while the counter display reads noFO j Press the FORMAT button The word FORMAT in the display will stop flashing and remain lit The RECORD LEDs for tracks 1 through 8 will now be flashing Hold RECORD and then press PLAY If the tape was not completely rewound the XT will automatically rewind it to the beginning The XT then performs a complete format by recording 15 seconds of leader the LED display will read LEAd followed by two minutes of dat
79. g less than premium quality S VHS tape Accidents can happen so like computer floppy disks and hard disks your XT tapes should be backed up to prevent loss Back up your tapes to another XT or ADAT using the fiber optic digital connector see Making Backups on page 60 Treat your tapes as the precision fragile components that they are Do not expose them to extremes of heat cold or humidity in other words don t leave them in your car Never place tapes near magnetic fields such as power amps TVs monitors magnets etc and handle tapes gently ADAT XT Reference Manual 11 Chapter 1 Setting Up OPERATING ENVIRONMENT 12 THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS IN RACK MOUNTING The XT can be mounted in an equipment rack taking up 3 rack spaces or placed on a table or shelf When you install it keep in mind that heat is the major enemy of electronic equipment Please observe the following e The XT is designed to perform properly over a range of ambient temperatures from 10 C to 400 C 50 F to 1040 F in up to 80 non condensing humidity These are not absolute limits but Alesis cannot guarantee that the XT will meet its published specs or remain reliable if operated outside of these ranges e Always allow adequate ventilation behind the XT Do not seal any enclosure that holds the XT It is not necessary to leave an empty rack space above or below the XT unless it runs hot enough to affect equipment above or below it e You
80. gital bus to a slave machine which is offset from the master you can copy portions of audio to different sections of tape without having to re record the audio In addition the Tape Offset feature can be used even if the XT is the master machine in a multiple ADAT system This is important especially when using the XT with one or more original ADATs as slaves When offsetting the XT s ADAT XT Reference Manual 61 Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT XT Operation tape location the value is displayed and edited within a or 1 hour range since this is the maximum length of the XT s tape Example If you wanted to use the same take of the background vocals of a song from the first chorus for chorus 2 and 3 you could bounce those track s to another machine Then by offsetting the original machine the track s came from you could bounce back the vocals at the positions corresponding to the other choruses A good analogy is the type of cut and paste editing available on most computer based sequencers and word processors you copy a selection to an invisible clipboard and then paste it from the clipboard to any number of locations In the example above the first time you bounce audio you are using the track s on another machine as a sort of clipboard You can then bounce the material back from the clipboard track s onto the original tracks at any number of other positions on the tape Setting the Machine Offset Press EDIT VALUE
81. han one XT you can increase the recording time by manually placing the second machine into record just before the first machine is at the end of its tape Naturally the audio signals would need to be split and connected to both sets of inputs If you are using an Alesis BRC with a multiple ADAT system you can take advantage of a feature called continuous recording By splitting the system into two or into two sets of machines you can offset the second set by a specific amount of time Example A 35 minute offset would provide 5 minutes of overlap The second set of machines would automatically kick into record just before the first set s tape ran out Refer to chapter 5 for more details on connecting multiple ADATs refer to the BRC Reference Manual for more information about continuous recording Besides the typical 120 minute type of S VHS tapes which provide 40 minutes of digital audio recording time 160 minute tapes are also available which provide over 53 minutes recording time And the new 3 hour 180 minute tapes provide over an hour of digital recording time The XT must be setup for the length of tape being used This is done within the Main Function Menu To set the tape length Hold the SET LOCATE button and press the FORMAT button This display will briefly read St 60 j Repeat step 1 to advance through the available tape length choices The display will briefly read St 120 St 60 St 160
82. hielded cable Device B To AC power service One path goes from device A to ground via the ground terminal of the three conductor AC power cord but A also sees a path to ground through the shielded cable and AC ground of device B Because ground wires have a small amount of resistance small amounts of current can flow through ground and generate a voltage along the cable shield This signal may end up getting induced into the hot conductor The loop can also act like an antenna into which hum is induced or can even pick up radio frequencies Furthermore many components in a circuit connect to ground If that ground is dirty and contains noise it might get picked up by the circuit Ground loops cause the most problems with high gain circuits since massive amplification of even a couple millivolts of noise can give an audible signal Most ground loop problems can be solved by plugging all equipment into the same grounded AC source However it is important to make sure that the AC source is not overloaded and is properly rated to handle the gear plugged into it For really tough cases you may need to break the connection that causes the loop condition One way to do this is to simply break the shield of the shielded audio cable at some point usually by disconnecting it from ground at one jack The other end should remain connected so that the shielding properties are retained even if there is no direct path for ground P
83. his can be done differently depending on whether you are using a single XT by itself or a multiple ADAT system If using a single XT you must connect the Al 1 s ADAT OPTICAL OUT to the XT s DIGITAL IN using a single fiber optic connector Press the DIGITAL INPUT button on the XT and set its Clock Source to Digital press CLOCK SELECT until the DIG icon lights in the CLOCK icon group Now the XT will synchronize to the clock information which accompanies the digital audio coming from the Al 1 which is originating from the digital audio device connected to the DIGITAL IN of the Al 1 In a multiple ADAT system you have two choices synchronize the digital audio source to the ADAT system or sync the ADAT system to the digital audio source If the source does not have any kind of clock input i e it cannot be synchronized to an external clock you have little choice but to choose the later option This means you must connect the Al 1 s ADAT OPTICAL OUT to the DIGITAL IN of the master ADAT which of course has its DIGITAL OUT already connected to the next slave and so on You must then set the master s Clock Source to Digital press CLOCK SELECT until the DIG icon lights in the CLOCK icon group If no digital audio clock is detected i e when no digital audio is being received by the Al 1 the master XT s DIG icon will flash and it will continue using its own internal clock When digital audio is sent through the Al
84. his is the XT s time reference which is created when a tape is formatted REL Relative Time This is based on the XT s time reference of a formatted tape but is relative to where the tape was positioned when LOCATE 0 was stored J The Locate Points addresses are displayed in the format of the display mode you ve selected See the Autolocation section later in this chapter for more information about the difference between ABS Time and Relative Time e When no tape is present the counter will display e When an unformatted tape is played the display will read noFo and the FORMAT icon will flash The TIME counter in either Absolute Time or Relative Time modes indicates time code in hours minutes seconds 100ths of seconds minutes seconds hours 0 03 28 15 100ths of seconds LOCATE 0 Pressing the LOCATE 0 button will take you either to the absolute 0 00 00 00 position if ABS Time mode is selected or to the relative 0 00 00 00 position if Relative Time mode is selected The Absolute 0 00 00 00 position never changes since it is derived from the timecode that was written onto tape during the formatting process The Relative 0 00 00 00 position is user definable You can set the Relative 0 00 00 00 position at any time by pressing the SET LOCATE button followed by the LOCATE 0 button This automatically switches the TIME counter to Relative Time mode if not already selected the R
85. in If this error message is displayed with only one tape the cassette may be at fault If the message is displayed with several tapes with and without labels you should contact Alesis for service Drum Capstan This error points to the head drum and capstan servos The problem is caused by anything creating extra resistance in the tape path an unevenly wound cassette or a misalligned cassette shell You should fast forward and rewind the cassette from end to end to flex the tape then try the tape again If this error message is displayed with only one tape the cassette may be at fault If the message is displayed with several tapes with and without labels you should contact Alesis for service ADAT XT Reference Manual 81 Appendix D Specifications Er 7 Er 8 Er 9 no 900d tc Error 14 15 Error 17 CAL PG CAL brAc 82 Clean Heads If this error message is seen it may indicate that the heads are in need of cleaning See page 75 for information about cleaning your heads Sync Lost Error message 8 normally occurs when the tape reaches the end while formatting or recording It is caused by the fact that the XT cannot read timing data from the leader The error is caused by the unit losing sync If the unit is being run in the slave mode check the sync cable connection It is recommended that only shielded and grounded cables be used as sync cables Take up Reel This error indicates that the take up reel didn t m
86. in either mode you can quickly find the section you are looking for To engage Review mode Simultaneously press REWIND and PLAY The PLAY LED will light and the REWIND LED will flash j Press PLAY to resume Play mode The PLAY LED will remain lit while the REWIND LED will turn off Alternatively you can press STOP to stop the transport Both the PLAY and REWIND LEDs will turn off and the STOP LED will turn on To engage Cue mode Simultaneously press FAST FWD and PLAY The PLAY LED will light and the FAST FWD LED will flash Press PLAY to resume Play mode The PLAY LED will remain lit while the FAST FWD LED will turn off Alternatively you can press STOP to stop the transport Both the PLAY and FAST FWD LEDs will turn off and the STOP LED will turn on ADAT XT Reference Manual 17 Chapter 2 Your First Session With The ADAT XT LOCATING 18 Up to 10 tape positions can be stored for easy recall These are called Locate Points and can be stored either on the fly while the transport is engaged or when the transport is stopped Once a Locate Point is stored its corresponding tape position can be edited For more info about locating and editing Locate Points see page 48 Each Locate Points tape position will be shown in either ABS Time or Relative Time depending on which is selected The tape positions themselves however do not move when switching
87. ine so use only high quality cables These should be low capacitance shielded cables with a stranded not solid internal conductor and a low resistance shield Although quality cables cost more they do make a difference Route cables to the XT correctly by observing the following precautions Do not bundle audio cables with AC power cords Avoid running audio cables near sources of electromagnetic interference such as transformers monitors computers etc Do not place cables where they can be stepped on Stepping on a cable may not cause immediate damage but it can compress the insulation between the center conductor and shield degrading performance or reduce the cable s reliability Avoid twisting the cable or having it make sharp right angle turns Never unplug a cable by pulling on the wire itself Always unplug by firmly grasping the body of the plug and pulling directly outward Although Alesis does not endorse any specific product chemicals such as Tweek and Cramolin when applied to electrical connectors are claimed to improve the electrical contact between connectors ADAT XT Reference Manual 9 Chapter 1 Setting Up BASIC AUDIO HOOKUP J 10 When connecting audio cables and or turning power on and off make sure that all devices in your system are turned off and the volume controls are turned down The XT provides eight 10dBV analog outputs via phono connectors These should be connected to your mixer
88. ing similar to VCR maintenance Cleaning the heads with a cotton swab or rubbing in the wrong direction will destroy them Opening the case of your ADAT will void the warranty Maintenance of the ADAT should be based on the Interpolation Indicator or Error Count Display see p 74 or if the unit begins to behave erratically To determine if these symptoms are caused by dirty heads not a defective or worn tape keep a benchmark tape from the first weeks of operation set aside in a safe place see page 40 If the Interpolation Indicator lights frequently when playing back this tape it is likely that head cleaning is needed particularly if several hundred drum on hours have elapsed since the last cleaning see page 74 Call Alesis Product Support for more information about head cleaning and authorized Alesis Service Centers ADAT XT Reference Manual 77 Appendix B Troubleshooting DRUM TIME DISPLAY The XT keeps track of how long the head has been actively spinning against tape i e threaded in stop or play or cue review This can help determine how long it has been since the last time it was serviced or cleaned To display the head time counter 1 Hold SET LOCATE and press STOP The number of drum hours will briefly appear in the TIME counter TAPE MAINTENANCE SAFE TAPE ADAT tapes are no different than any standard tape they must be treated with care Never expose ADAT tapes to temperature extremes strong
89. ions see the section entitled Autolocation Controls in Chapter 4 To loop a section of tape Store the tape position where you want the loop to begin into LOCATE 1 Refer to the previous section for instructions j Store the tape position where you want the loop to end into LOCATE 4 Press AUTO RETURN to enable Auto Return In the right side of the display the AUTO RETURN icon will appear indicating that Auto Return is enabled The XT will now automatically rewind back to the tape position stored in Locate 1 upon reaching the tape position stored in Locate Press AUTO PLAY to enable Auto Play In the right side of the display the AUTO PLAY icon will appear indicating that Auto Play is enabled The XT will now automatically engage playback upon completing a locate f If necessary press REWIND to rewind the tape to a location that is before Locate 4 s position Ip Alternatively you can press LOCATE 1 to locate directly to its stored tape position D Press PLAY to engage playback The PLAY LED will light and the transport will go into Play mode When Locate 4 s position is reached the tape will automatically rewind back to Locate 1 s position and then automatically go back into Play mode J If the current Locate 1 position is set beyond the current Locate 4 position and Auto Return is turned on the AUTO RTN icon in the display will flash to indicate that Locate 1 or 4 will have to be set prope
90. ld be routed to tracks 3 and 7 and incoming track 5 would be routed to tracks 4 and 8 This scheme allows for copying a single incoming channel to multiple tracks e Ifall 8 channels are selected as source tracks no digital routing will occur as this gives a one to one relationship and is the power on default If no source channels are selected then digital silence will be input to any record enabled tracks MAKING DIGITAL BACKUPS ADAT XT Reference Manual 59 Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT XT Operation 60 XT tapes can be backed up for safety by copying all eight tracks to another XT or ADAT compatible machine via the digital bus The result is a perfect digital duplication of the original It s a good idea to make backups on a regular basis whenever you finish work for the day or complete a project The backup can either be sample accurate to the time reference or not This depends on whether or not the two machines are synchronized together via a 9 pin connector cable It is recommended however that you do have the Sync cables connected between the machines as described in the section entitled Synchronizing Machines on page 56 When making a backup the tape you are backing up is normally inserted into the master machine The tape you are backing up to is inserted into one of the slave machines This is recommended since the slave machine comes after the master machine in the system chain NOTE TRACK COPY is not used to make digi
91. lease note that not all hums and buzzes are caused by ground loops your cables must be of very high quality particularly with 10 dBV setups Refer to section 2 1 for more information 8 ADAT XT Reference Manual Setting Up Chapter 1 LINE CONDITIONERS AND PROTECTORS Although the XT is designed to tolerate typical voltage variations in today s world the voltage coming from the AC line may contain spikes or transients that can possibly stress your gear and over time cause a failure There are three main ways to protect against this listed in ascending order of cost and complexity Line spike surge protectors Relatively inexpensive these are designed to protect against strong surges and spikes acting somewhat like fuses in that they need to be replaced if they ve been hit by an extremely strong spike Line filters These generally combine spike surge protection with filters that remove some line noise dimmer hash transients from other appliances etc Uninterruptible power supply UPS This is the most sophisticated option A UPS provides power even if the AC power line fails completely Intended for computer applications a UPS allows you to complete an orderly shutdown of a computer system in the event of a power outage and the isolation it provides from the power line minimizes all forms of interference spikes noise etc ABOUT AUDIO CABLES The connections between the XT and your studio are your music s lifel
92. mentally stable conditions i e a cool dry place If you do archive your tapes you need to check them once a year Run each tape through your ADAT from end to end This will prevent buildup that can occur when a tape is left simply sitting Of course for your super sensitive or important material nothing beats making multiple digital backups Every year or so simply do another digital backup onto a brand new tape MAINTENANCE SERVICE CLEANING Disconnect the AC cord then use a damp cloth to clean the keyboard s metal and plastic surfaces For heavy dirt use a non abrasive household cleaner such as 78 ADAT XT Reference Manual Appendix B Troubleshooting Formula 409 or Fantastik DO NOT SPRAY THE CLEANER DIRECTLY ONTO THE FRONT OF THE UNIT AS IT MAY DESTROY THE LUBRICANTS USED IN THE SWITCHES AND CONTROLS Spray onto a cloth then use the cloth to clean the unit MAINTENANCE Here are some tips for preventive maintenance e Periodically check the AC cord for signs of fraying or damage e Unplug the XT when not in use for extended periods of time Do not leave tapes inserted halfway into the XT when not in use as this allows dust to enter the transport chamber Always leave tapes either fully inserted or remove them completely REFER ALL SERVICING TO ALESIS We believe that the XT is one of the most reliable digital recorders that can be made using current technology and should provide years of trouble free use
93. momentary single pole single throw 1 4 inch mono T S footswitch During power up the XT checks the footswitch to determine whether it is normally open or normally closed type and calibrates itself accordingly If you use a footswitch and its operation seems reversed make sure it is firmly plugged into the jack then turn off the XT wait a few seconds and turn the XT on again It will calibrate itself to work with the footswitch Either the PUNCH IN OUT or LOCATE PLAY LRC REMOTE jack can also be used for connecting an LRC Remote Control The PUNCH footswitch and the LRC cannot be used at the same time since they occupy the same jack unless you connect them with a Y cord However you can interchange them if you observe certain precautions see next section FOOTSWITCH CONTROLLED PUNCHING The PUNCH IN OUT footswitch is used to enable and disable recording e Ifa track or tracks is record enabled and the tape is playing pressing the punch footswitch puts the track s into record mode at the instant you punch This is equivalent to pressing PLAY and RECORD to enter record mode e Ifthe XT is already in record mode pressing the footswitch punches out of record the track s will remain record enabled should you need to punch in again later on and the tape will continue to play This is equivalent to pressing PLAY FOOTSWITCH CONTROLLED AUTOLOCATING The LOCATE PLAY footswitch has three functions e Ifthe transpo
94. n AUTO INPUT button EDIT icon etc When something important appears in the manual an icon like the one on the left will appear in the left margin This symbol indicates that this information is vital when operating the XT ADAT XT Reference Manual 3 ADAT XT Reference Manual Index CONTENTS 1 SETTING Up 7 Unpacking and Inspection 7 AC Power 7 Avoiding Ground Loops 8 Line Conditioners and Protectors 9 About Audio Cables 9 Basic Audio Hookup 10 Input Normaling 10 Threaded vs Unthreaded 11 A Word on ADAT s S VHS Cassette Tape 11 Operating Environment 12 Thermal Considerations in Rack Mounting 12 Mounting on a Shelf or Non Rack Enclosure 12 Avoiding Electromagnetic Interference 12 2 Your FIRST SESSION WITH THE ADAT XT 13 Power up and Tape Insertion 13 Formatting A Tape A MUST 14 Recording While Formatting 14 Making A Recording 15 Track Selection and Setting Levels 15 Time Counter 15 Transport Buttons 16 Recording 16 Playback 17 Reviewing and Cueing 17 Locating 18 Creating A Loop 19 Automated Recording 20 Rehearsing 20 Pitch Control 21 Track Delay 21 Track Copy 22 Display Brightness 22 3 CONNECTIONS 23 Analog Audio Unbalanced Inputs 23 Input jack characteristics 23 Typical input jack hookups 23 Analog Audio Unbalanced Outputs 23 Analog Audio Balanced Inputs and Outputs 24 Analog Audio Input Mode 25 SyncIn Out 26 Digital Audio In Out 2
95. n audio a channel is an internal audio path maintained separately from other audio paths of identical function Mixer input strips are examples of channels but an audio snake also has channels Chase Lock Chase Lock refers to a tape machine s ability to read incoming timecode locate its tape to the position indicated by the timecode and synchronize playback to the incoming timecode Clip In the analog world clipping occurs when the input to a circuit exceeds the gain of the circuit The circuit passes the signal at its maximum value All input values exceeding the maximum value are clipped The result is audio distortion In digital audio clipping occurs when the input to an A D exceeds the voltage represented by the maximum number the A D is capable of transmitting Crossfade A crossfade is a gradual dissolve between two portions of audio one segment of audio fades out while the other fades in When punching in on the XT the audio on tape is faded out while the new audio which is being recorded is faded in DAT Digital Audio Tape This term has come to mean specific digital audio tape recorders that use cartridges smaller than those of a standard cassette and which record two tracks of digital audio and sometimes timecode Digital I O Input and output connections where signals passed from one stage to another remain in the digital domain The XT has digital I O connectors that carry digital data for all eight
96. nce the PITCH icon lights in the display and the TIME counter immediately displays the current amount of Pitch change The Pitch amount is displayed both as a percentage and as cents After a few seconds the TIME counter reverts back to its normal mode s 00 00 00 00 Percentage Cents To set the Pitch amount _ If Edit mode is currently on EDIT icon lit press EDIT VALUE to exit Edit mode The EDIT icon should be off Press and hold either PITCH s or t After holding for more than 5 seconds the Pitch amount will start either increasing or decreasing depending on which button was pressed To immediately set the Pitch amount to 100 hold SET LOCATE and press s To immediately set the Pitch amount to 300 hold SET LOCATE and press t f To reset the Pitch amount to 0 simultaneously press both s and t Note This is not possible while recording ABOUT PITCH CHANGING Here are a few things to consider when chaning the XT s pitch One of the PITCH arrow icons will remain lit in the display to remind you that the pitch has been changed from standard pitch e The counter will not elapse in real time when the pitch is set to a value other than zero e When you change the pitch on ADAT XT the sampling rate will also change The lowest sampling rate is 40 4 kHz the highest is 50 8 kHz e Ifthe internal clock is set to 48 kHz but the pitch is lowered 147 cents the sampling rate
97. ncludes two icons ALL and AUTO The ALL icon will light whenever the All Input function is enabled by pressing the ALL INPUT button The AUTO icon will light whenever the Auto Input function is enabled by pressing the AUTO INPUT button See page The INPUT group of icons indicates which input source is being used The ANALOG icon will light whenever the Analog Inputs are selected by pressing the ANALOG INPUT button The DIGITAL icon will light whenever the Digital Inputs are selected by pressing the DIGITAL INPUT button The TRK COPY icon will light whenever the Track Copy function is selected by pressing the TRACK COPY button See page This is the Interpolation Indicator When it flashes it indicates that errors have been detected and corrected using an interpolation scheme It is a good idea to clean the tape heads and or make a backup copy of your tape if you ever see this icon light See Appendix C for more information ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 TIME COUNTER amp ABS REL BUTTON The TIME Counter found at the top left section of the display is used to indicate the current tape position s Ou 15u 48s 21 The ABS REL button toggles the TIME counter between Absolute Time mode and Relative Time mode The XT will indicate which Time mode is selected by either displaying ABS for Absolute Time or REL for Relative Time just to the left of the un Ok Olu 29s 03 ABS Absolute Time T
98. nd SYNC OUT connectors j Connect one end of a male to male 9 pin connector cable to the master s SYNC OUT jack Connect the other end of the cable to the first slave s SYNC IN jack For additional slaves connect one end of a male to male 9 pin D connector cable to the first slave s SYNC OUT jack and the other end to the second slave s SYNC IN jack Its SYNC OUT jack then connects to the third slave s SYNC IN jack and so on The following illustration depicts two XTs synchronized together 26 ADAT XT Reference Manual Connections Chapter 3 DIGITAL AUDIO IN OUT The Digital input and output carries all eight tracks on a single fiber optical cable This allows you to bounce audio between multiple machines within the digital domain This also lets you route digital audio between multiple XTs and ADATs and to ADAT Compatible products such as the QuadraVerb 2 Since the fiber optic connector carries the digital information for all 8 tracks it is also useful for backing up all tracks in one pass see Chapter 6 for more on digital audio Digital bussing requires a fiber optical cable included for each XT in the system or any other ADAT compatible product This connection can be made while power is on or off and the machines do not need to be turned on in any particular order Note To bounce tracks within a single XT it is no
99. nd the transport won t rewind as it passes through Locate 4 For Auto Return to work Locate 1 must be before Locate 4 AUTO PLAY The Auto Play function determines whether or not the transport will automatically go into play when a locate function is completed This function can also be used in conjunction with the Auto Return function see above to create a loop whereby a section of tape is played over and over To turn Auto Play on or off press the AUTO PLAY button The AUTO PLAY icon will light when turned on LOOP LIMIT There is however a built in safeguard that protects the tape and the XT s heads and transport from unnecessary wear and tear by automatically disabling the Auto Loop feature after completing 100 consecutive loops If this is not to your liking this safeguard may be disabled This is done by holding the SET LOCATE button and pressing AUTO RETURN However Alesis recommends doing so only when you absolutely have no other alternative The 100 loop limit will be enabled again once STOP is pressed While the Auto Loop feature is engaged you may have a loop count displayed temporarily by holding the SET LOCATE button and pressing AUTO PLAY ADAT XT Reference Manual Basic Operations Chapter 4 AUTO RECORD The Auto Record function lets you determine exactly where recording should begin and end beforehand so that the machine automatically takes you in and out of record Locate Points
100. nding level This creates a stairstep reconstruction of the original signal which is close to but not exactly the same as the original signal To complete the process this stairstep signal is smoothed by a low pass filter The result is natural sounding audio that sounds virtually unchanged from what was originally recorded 148 000 samples are taken per second at a sampling rate of 48 kHz 44 100 samples are taken per second at a sampling rate of 44 1 kHz ADAT XT Reference Manual 73 Appendix A Digital Recording Concepts Digital audio requires lots of numbers to represent an analog version of the same sound Analog signals may require at least 20kHz frequency response to reproduce audio faithfully Digital signals for the same 20 kHz audio requires a frequency response of several million Hertz Due to the way individual numbers are transmitted digital audio requires a wide bandwidth recording medium 2 WHY S VHS S VHS recording technology offers more than enough bandwidth to record eight tracks of digital audio S VHS tapes are built to higher standards than standard VHS tapes and can take the tape shuttling required by professional audio applications S VHS tape cassettes are also inexpensive compared to reel to reel tape readily available compact and easy to transport and store 2 Bandwidth is a measure of the lowest to highest frequency a signal path can handle 74 ADAT XT Reference Manual Appendix B Troublesho
101. ng audio from a master XT to a slave XT the slave does not need to have its Clock set to DIG since it is already getting accurate clock information from the master so it is sample locked to the digital audio it is recording REASSIGNING CHANNELS TO DIFFERENT TRACKS It is possible to reroute the channel track assignments so that any incoming channel of digital audio can be recorded onto any track or multiple tracks This is done by first holding the DIGITAL INPUT button and pressing any of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 to select which source channels you wish to record while holding the DIGITAL INPUT button the blue INPUT LEDs will light to indicate the selected source channels by default all eight INPUT LEDs will be lit Then after releasing the DIGITAL INPUT button use the RECORD ENABLE buttons to select the tracks you wish to record the source channels onto the INPUT LEDs return to their normal status e The selected source channels are re routed to the record enabled destination tracks in ascending order Example lf source channels 1 and 5 are selected and tracks 3 and 4 are record enabled then incoming audio on channel 1 will be routed to track 3 and incoming audio on channel 5 will be routed to track 4 f more destination tracks are selected than source tracks the source tracks will repeat cycle Example lf tracks 7 and 8 were added to the destination tracks of the previous example then incoming track 1 wou
102. ng the sub or group outs to send them back to tracks 7 and 8 Tracks 7 and 8 will contain the stereo master recording their outputs should then be connected back to the mixer s 2 track playback inputs Mixer Inputs Bus Outputs ae INPUT a Q OUTPUT il 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LOCATE PLAY PUNCH REMOTE IN OUT FE aie S In addition an external synchronizer connected to the XT s SYNC OUT can output SMPTE or MTC to simultaneously synchronize a MIDI sequencer to tape This way you can mix down not only the first 6 tracks from the XT but your virtual tracks on the sequencer as well all onto tracks 7 and 8 If you are using a multiple machine system with one or more XTs and or ADATs you can dedicate any two tracks in the system for a stereo mix Because all machines are perfectly synchronized to one another you can punch in and out of the mix itself This opens up all sorts of possibilities like changing the EQ effects and other mix settings for different sections of the mix ADAT XT Reference Manual 67 Chapter 6 Applications LIiVE LONG TERM RECORDING The XT is excellent for live recording because of its compact size and easy operation Eight tracks allow for recording audience sounds ambience and individual soloists as well as a stereo mix of the PA Of course multiple machines may be interconnected and synchronized to allow for more tracks When using more t
103. ng whe used along with the Auto Record function Auto Play A function whereby playback is automatically engaged upon completing a locate Auto Record A function whereby recording is carried out automatically The point where recording begins is determined by the Mark In point The point where recording ends is determined by the Mark Out point Auto Return A function whereby the transport automatically begins to rewind once reaching a certain point and returns to an earlier point The point at which rewinding begins is called the Auto Return End point The point that is returned to is called the Auto Return Start point Balanced Audio Signals Signals that are carried on three conductor cables with two of the conductors carrying the same signal 180 out of phase and third as ground Balanced connections usually cost more than unbalanced connections but are less susceptible to picking up hum and interference with low level signals Bounce ADAT XT Reference Manual Glossary Bouncing means taking audio from one track and placing it on another The term sometimes called bouncing down also describes the process of mixing several tracks onto one or two Bus A bus generally refers to any common signal pathway In a mixer a bus is usually a wire that is or can be made common to the outputs of any or all channels in the mixer Examples of buses include the main stereo mix sub mixes monitor buses and aux sends Channel I
104. ngs have been set to the default settings due to a problem with RAM memory or the backup battery Perform the automatic brake calibration see below If this message appears in the midst of normal operation more than once in every ten hours of operation perform the automatic brake calibration see Automatic Brake Calibration Procedure below Automatic Brake Calibration Procedure If the CAL brAc error message appears the internal braking system of the XT may need to be adjusted The intelligent transport software is capable of calibrating the XT s brakes automatically in a self test procedure This procedure may be performed as a regular maintenance procedure every 250 hours of head drum operation to see the hours on your unit hold SET LOCATE and press FAST FORWARD 1 Obtain a standard ST 126 length tape preferably an Ampex 489 such as that was shipped with your unit that has already been completely formatted from beginning to end Use a non essential tape i e don t insert your only copy of a master tape Do not use other lengths of tape such as ST 180 or ST 60 ADAT XT Reference Manual Appendix D Specifications 2 Turn off the POWER switch Hold REWIND and FAST FORWARD while turning the power back on again The display will read CALIbrAt Insert the tape into the transport At this time the unit will adjust the brake tension automatically The transport will shuttle back and forth for about 5 minutes During the o
105. ngs you were using Or if you re both using BRC remotes save your setup to the data section of tape this is called saving the Table of Contents or TOC This way you partner can pick up right where you left off ADAT XT Reference Manual Applications Chapter 6 USING TRACK COPY AS A DIGITAL ROUTER In a multiple ADAT system which combines one or more XTs and one or more original ADATs you can use the XT s Track Copy function as a way to reroute its digital output to different tracks on the ADATs Let s say you have one XT which is the master and one ADAT which is the slave When you normally record the digital output of the XT to the ADAT the tracks are transferred on a one to one basis In other words track 1 of the XT is recorded onto track 1 9 of the ADAT track 2 goes to track 2 10 and so on By using the Track Copy function on the XT any track on the XT can be sent on a different channel For example you could have track 1 transmitted as channel 8 which means you can record it onto track 8 16 of the ADAT In the following steps we will illustrate how to accomplish the above example Onthe XT press and hold TRACK COPY Press RECORD ENABLE 1 to select track 1 as the source track Release the TRACK COPY button Press RECORD ENABLE 8 to record enable track 8 on the XT f Press DIGITAL IN on the ADAT and press RECORD ENABLE 8 to record enable track 8 16 on the ADAT 2 P
106. ok like this Ad At Co CI BBD BW Co Sa D WB Co Co BW En Co BS Co Cc ET co Co Co CI Co Co co co Es In a few seconds the display will change depending on the status of the tape chamber e __ fa formatted tape is present the TIME counter will show the elapsed time since the beginning of the tape unless it is somewhere in the first two minutes of tape called the lead and data sections s Ou 15u 48s 21 e Ifan unformatted tape is present the FORMAT icon will flash and the TIME counter will read aS nO FO e If there is no tape the display shows ABS Insert the tape with the hinged door end first label side up until you encounter a slight bit of resistance Push gently on the center of the tape cassette until the XT draws the tape inward never force the tape into the cassette door ADAT XT Reference Manual 13 Chapter 2 Your First Session With The ADAT XT FORMATTING A TAPE A MUST Formatting prepares a tape for 8 channels of audio and adds a master timecode reference and sample rate information to the data section Similar to formatting a floppy disk to use on a computer or sampler formatting an XT tape time stamps the tape to single sample accuracy so that audio is referenced to an accurate time base This makes the synchronization process between XT and ADAT compatible machines possible and provides both accurate tape counter readings and intelligent autolocation functions For more in
107. onitor mix TAPE LENGTH The XT can take advantage of the extra recording time on tapes longer than the standard ST 120 length You can use ST 180 tapes for over one full hour of recording time ST 60 tapes can also be used for shorter projects the XT ADAT XT Reference Manual 51 Chapter 4 Basic Operations automatically recognizes the shorter length of the ST 60 because the hubs used in the cassette are larger However there is no way for the XT to tell apart a ST 120 ST 160 or ST 180 tape since these all use the same smaller size hubs In this situation the XT assumes the tape length to be that of a ST 120 tape Therefore when using either ST 160 or ST 180 length tape you should set the tape length on the XT To set the tape length Hold the SET LOCATE button and press the FORMAT button This display will briefly read St 60 Repeat step to advance through the available tape length choices The display will cycle through the following choices St 120 St 60 St 160 and St 180 The tape length setting is not reset when a tape is ejected However if you power down and up again the tape length setting will revert to T 120 e f connected to a BRC and you set the tape length from the BRC the XT remembers the tape length setting even after power down e Ifyou insert a tape while the Tape Length setting is set to something other than St 120 the display will
108. onnector NN Additional grounds r S h j e f X and Y ELCO is a registered trademark of Elco Corporation a Kyocera Group Company 24 ADAT XT Reference Manual Connections Chapter 3 ANALOG AUDIO INPUT MODE The XT lets you choose one of three Input Modes for both the Unbalanced and Balanced inputs 2 Input Mode Input 1 feeds Tracks 1 3 5 and 7 Input 2 feeds Tracks 2 4 6 and 8 4 Input Mode Input 1 feeds Tracks 1 and 5 Input 2 feeds Tracks 2 and 6 Input 3 feeds tracks 3 and 7 Input 4 feeds tracks 4 and 8 8 Input Mode Each Input feeds its own track The reason for these three modes is to take equal advantage of 2 4 and 8 bus mixing consoles If you have two buses connect them to inputs 1 and 2 If using four buses connect them to inputs 1 through 4 To select the appropriate Input Mode hold the ANALOG INPUT button and press one of the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 The INPUT LEDs located along the bottom of the display below the VU meters will light up to indicate the Input Mode you have selected While holding ANALOG Result INPUT LEDs lit for INPUT Press 1 or 2 to select 2 Input Mode Tracks 1 and 2 Press 3 or 4 to select 4 Input Mode Tracks 1 through 4 Press 5 6 7 or 8 to select 8 Input Mode All Tracks 1 8 When using a 2 bus mixer connect its two out
109. or tracks 1 through 8 remain lit until you release the ANALOG INPUT button ADAT XT Reference Manual Setting Up Chapter 1 THREADED VS UNTHREADED Analog audio recorders typically move tape past the heads at anywhere from 1 7 8 to 30 inches per second Higher speeds result in a higher bandwiath or an ability to record high frequency signals The XT s digital audio signals require much higher bandwidth than analog audio signals In addition to moving the tape faster than standard S VHS VCRs the XT increased the head drum speed for increased bandwidth In contrast to analog multi track recorders the tape and rotating heads of the XT remain in contact when the tape is stopped This allows for going into play or record faster as well as cue and review functions that let you monitor the tape audio in fast forward or rewind When the tape is unthreaded the STOP LED will be flashing the head is not spinning and it takes slightly longer to go into play or record This is because the tape moves away from the head automatically after being stopped for 4 minutes in order to prolong tape and head life When a tape is threaded rewinding or fast forwarding will operate 40 times faster than normal play speed Cue and review functions are not possible while the tape is unthreaded When the tape is threaded and stopped the STOP LED will remain lit you can manually unthread it by pressing the STOP button The ST
110. or which they are named has been selected or turned on These icons are ABS REL TS PITCH TH 45 EDIT gt LOCATE gt TAPE OFFSET This icon lights whenever Absolute Time mode is selected by pressing the ABS REL button This icon lights whenever Relative Time mode is selected by pressing the ABS REL button The PITCH group of icons relates information regarding pitch change Whenever the Pitch setting is above 0 the upper triangle will appear Whenever the Pitch setting is below 0 the lower triangle will appear When either PITCH buttons s or t are pressed the PITCH icon will appear indicating that the TIME counter is now displaying the current Pitch setting using two values Percentage and Cents C See page Indicates whether Format mode is turned on or off The FORMAT icon will flash whenever an unformatted tape is inserted If the FORMAT button is pressed the FORMAT icon will light If the FORMAT button is pressed again the FORMAT icon will turn off See page 29 This icon will light when performing a format extend See page 31 This icon will light whenever a tape is inserted which has its write protect tab removed indicating it cannot be recorded on This however can be overridden using the Protect Overwrite function See page 31 This icon will light whenever a tape is inserted If connected to a multiple ADAT system the ID icon lights when the XT is turned on The number appe
111. ore errors have Clean the tape heads lights flashes been detected corrected Make a backup copy of your tape 48K or 44 1K icon flashes Tape was formatted at If desired press CLOCK different sample rate than SELECT to use original currently selected sample rate Error Message in display Several possible See Appendix C Error Codes RE INITIALIZING If your unit behaves erratically or freezes the first step is to power down the unit and power it back up again If this steps do not solve the problem you must re initialize the software To re initialize the XT hold down both RECORD and PLAY while turning on the POWER switch This will reset all parameters to their default settings ADAT XT Reference Manual 75 Appendix B Troubleshooting CHECKING SOFTWARE VERSION The current software version may be determined by holding SET LOCATE and pressing FAST FWD The XT will momentarily indicate the current operating software version installed in the TIME counter ERROR RATE DISPLAY The TIME counter has a secondary mode which when selected will display only the minutes and seconds of the tape position and the error rate while the transport is engaged in play or record This error rate is viewed as a count of the number of sync block errors per 14 drum revolutions every 280ms Since there are 30 sync blocks per sector 8 sectors per track and two tracks per revolution the maximum number is 6720 If
112. oting APPENDIX B TROUBLESHOOTING TROUBLE SHOOTING INDEX If you are experience problems while operating the XT please use the following table to locate possible causes and solutions before contacting Alesis customer service for assistance Symptom Cause Solution The display does not light No power Check that the power cable when the POWER switch is plugged in properly is turned on FORMAT icon flashes Tape is not formatted Format the tape or reinsert The record enabled tracks Cables are not Check your audio cables meters do not indicate connected properly or are shorted input levels DIGITAL INPUT is Press ANALOG INPUT selected Can t change the sample If slave in a multiple Set the sample rate clock rate clock source ADAT system EXT clock source on the master XT is selected automatically Pressing AUTO REC Locate Point 3 s position Set Locate Point 3 past displays invALid is before Locate Point 2 Locate Point 2 AUTO RETURN icon Locate Point 4 s position Set Locate Point 4 past flashes is before Locate Point 1 Locate Point 1 When used as a slave ina No ADAT master is Check sync cables Power multiple ADAT system detected down the Master only then doesn t follow the master restart TIME counter does not Edit mode is turned on Press EDIT VALUE to show tape position turn Edit mode off Interpolation indicator One or m
113. ove after PLAY or RECORD was engaged This can spool tape out of the cassette so the XT stops the tape immediately It s possible that the take up reel of the tape is jammed try a blank or unimportant tape to see if the error recurs The idler wheel that turns the take up reel may need cleaning or replacement No Time Code The XT is reading control track pulses but no helical scan time code Usually a video tape has been inserted into the XT Format the tape in the ADAT format Error 10 through 13 and 16 are not used Crossfade buffer state or channel error This indicates a problem with the RAM buffer used for crossfading Reinitialize the XT using the procedure on p 75 If the problem recurs the unit must be serviced End sensor error One of the optical sensors used to detect the clear leader at the head and tail of the tape cartridge is not working or is blocked temporarily If the error recurs on other tapes the unit needs to be serviced This error message may appear when you turn on power to the XT If the display also reads CAL brAC there may be something wrong with the battery backup of RAM or the RAM was accidentally scrambled If no other error messages occur during operation and the Interpolation Indicator see p 34 is not flashing playback and recording are still possible However do not format any blank tapes on the XT until the PG is reset If this message appears during the turn on cycle the brake setti
114. peration How to lock together multiple ADAT Compatible devices and how to record and transfer digital audio between them Chapter 6 Applications Describes several real world examples of how the XT may be used Appendices Features an explanation of digital audio recording concepts trouble shooting maintenance and service information specifications a Glossary and an Index CONVENTIONS All front panel buttons LEDs display icons and rear panel connectors are referred to in this manual just as their names appear on the XT using all capital letters and in brackets Examples PLAY button AUTO INPUT button EDIT icon etc Ok When something important appears in the manual an icon like the one on the left will appear in the left margin This symbol indicates that this information is vital when operating the XT ADAT XT Reference Manual 1 ADAT XT Reference Manual INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing the Alesis ADAT XT Digital Multitrack Tape Recorder To take full advantage of the XT s functions and to enjoy long and trouble free use please read this user s manual carefully How To USE THis MANUAL This manual is divided into the following sections describing the various modes of the XT Though we recommend you take time to read through the entire manual once carefully those having general knowledge about multitrack recorders should use the table of contents and index to reference specific functions while
115. peration the tape will half eject twice This is normal 5 The display should briefly read PaSS before ejecting the tape fully and returning to the ADAT XT start up screen The brakes have now been recalibrated If the CAL brAc message appears again shortly after a brake calibration has been performed there may be something wrong with the tape being used Check operation with another tape If the message persists the unit must be professionally serviced Note If these errors occur only with a certain tape or display once in a while it s probably not cause for concern Errors 1 through 3 and 9 can indicate conditions that may damage a tape the other errors won t damage the tape or the machine Backup the data from that tape to another machine if possible and continue working from the backup copy STEPS TO TAKE BEFORE CALLING FOR HELP If an error message is displayed or if an ADAT starts behaving strangely then please follow the suggested steps below 1 Stop the tape playing or recording Does the error go away 2 Rewind the tape a minute or two Press PLAY Does the error recur 3 Eject the tape Place it back in the XT and press PLAY Does the error recur 4 Turn down the volume of any mixer or amplifier you have connected to the outputs of the XT Turn the power of the XT off wait a minute and then re power the XT Repeat steps 1 to 3 Does the error come back oa If it does then try a different tape
116. press PLAY and RECORD The PLAY LED lights the RECORD LED flashes and the transport will engage Play mode When Locate 2 s position is reached the XT will automatically punch in PLAY RECORD and track REC LED s stop flashing and remain lit Recording will continue until Locate 3 s position is reached at which point the XT will automatically punch out returning to play mode PLAY LED lit RECORD LED off track REC LEDs flashing D Press STOP to stop the transport 10 J If none of the tracks are in record ready all eight REC LEDs off when the punch in point is reached the RECORD LED will continue flashing instead of lighting solid J If a record is initiated past Locate 2 s position but before Locate 3 s position then record is entered immediately If the record is initiated after Locate 3 s position then the record command is ignored and the transport is left in play mode REHEARSING By pressing the REHEARSE button the REHEARSE icon will light in the display you can run through the Auto Record process without actually recording anything However the input monitors on the tracks that enabled for recording will switch from tape to input when the punch in occurs and back to tape when the punch out occurs this requires that the Auto Input function be turned on see page 39 The RECORD LED will continue flashing throughout the punch in and out This way you can try out your punch locations
117. puts to the XT s unbalanced inputs 1 and 2 and select 2 Input Mode Anytime you want to record on an odd number track you will route the signal s to bus 1 or left Likewise to record onto an even number track route the signal s to bus 2 or right By simply putting the desired track into record the proper signal will get there although not directly connected to the track s input jack When using a 4 bus mixer connect its four outputs to the XT s unbalanced inputs 1 through 4 and select 4 Input Mode Anytime you want to record on tracks 1 or 5 you will route the signal s to bus 1 Likewise to record onto tracks 2 or 6 route the signal s to bus 2 and so on ADAT XT Reference Manual 25 Chapter 3 Connections SYNC IN OUT The two DB 9 connectors marked SYNC IN and SYNC OUT are used for synchronizing two or more XTs together or a combination of XTs and ADATs This requires a male to male 9 pin D connector cable for each additional machine in the chain In such a system you are basically treating all connected machines as though they were a large multitrack unit The first XT or ADAT in the chain is called the master and all other connected units are referred to as slaves However each slave can also be used independently when the master machine is stopped For more information about using multiple XTs and or ADATs refer to chapter 5 To synchronize multiple XTs and or ADATs Locate the SYNC IN a
118. rate information written on it since this is a new feature not found in the original ADAT The XT will automatically select the 48 kHz setting in this case Therefore if you had been pitching down such a tape to play at 44 1 kHz you must press the CLOCK SELECT button to manually change the XT s Clock to 44 1 kHz INPUT MONITORING The original ADAT was designed so that when you were monitoring a track s input signal what you heard was the actual analog input being fed directly to the analog output the signal did not pass through the A D and D A converters There was an advanced feature whereby if you held SET LOCATE and pressed ALL INPUT it would then allow you to monitor the input after the converters so as to hear exactly how the signal would sound when played back from tape The ADAT XT lets you monitor the input signals through the converters at all times Because of this there is an extremely minimal delay as the digital audio passes through the converters buffers If you were to listen to both the original signal on your mixer and the tape return of the same signal coming back from the XT the delay of the signal coming from the XT would cause some phase cancellation when combined with the original signal Therefore it is important that you either monitor the original signal or the tape s input signal on your mixer but not both ADAT XT Reference Manual 63 Chapter 5 Multiple ADAT XT Operation 64 POLARI
119. repatching e To a combination of direct outputs and bus outputs Some situations require a combination of the two approaches Example Consider a live gig you want to record with two vocal mics four mics on drums two direct feeds from guitar and bass amps and one direct feed from keyboards The vocals bass guitar and keyboards could be taken direct and go to five XT tracks The four drum mics can be mixed to stereo within your mixer sent to the submix outs then go to two XT tracks The remaining XT track could be used to record audience sounds or capture one of the instruments in stereo if applicable ANALOG AUDIO UNBALANCED OUTPUTS The 10 dBV outputs use RCA jacks and carry signals at a nominal 10 dBV level These should be connected to your mixer s channel line inputs or tape returns The unbalanced outputs wiring scheme is similar to that of the unbalanced inputs see previous section ADAT XT Reference Manual 23 Chapter 3 Connections ANALOG AUDIO BALANCED INPUTS AND OUTPUTS The 4 dBu balanced line inputs and outputs use an ELCO multipin connector The balanced in out connector wiring scheme is as follows ET Ne NC OUTPUTS AE 5 Larger Key Notch B Note The larger of the two outer key notches is at the bottom J Both the unbalanced and balanced inputs and outputs may be used simultaneously Pin out letters are referenced to the alphabetical designation on a standard 56 pin ELCO c
120. ress PLAY on the XT D Press PLAY and RECORD on the slave ADAT CALCULATING TAPE OFFSET USING THE LOCATES The Alesis BRC provides a way of setting tape offsets using any of the 20 Locate memories in a song This means you can set a Locate at one point another Locate at another position then have one of the slave ADATs offset by the amount of time between those two Locate positions The XT allows you to set a Tape Offset by entering a time reference For example if you were to set a Tape Offset of 5 minutes 0 05 00 00 and the rest of the ADATs were at 0 03 23 15 the XT would be at 0 08 23 15 But let s say you don t know the time difference i e the offset amount between two sections of music For example let s say you wanted to bounce the vocals from the chorus 1 section of a song on an XT to a slave ADAT then bounce them back to the XT while it was offset to the second chorus To do this the XT needs the exact offset time between these two positions in the song So how many minutes seconds and hundredths of a second away is chorus 2 from chorus 1 Here s a way to find out by using the Locate Points amp Play the tape s back from just before chorus 1 Press and hold SET LOCATE When you get to the downbeat of chorus 1 press LOCATE 0 This sets the TIME counter to 0 00 00 00 and automatically selects Relative Time mode the REL icon will light to the left of the TIME counter While still holding
121. ressing the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 Releasing the TRACK COPY button will return the channel REC and INPUT indicators and RECORD ENABLE buttons to their normal status At this point you may record enable the destination tracks see next section When copying tracks The source tracks will be recorded onto the destination tracks in ascending order Example If source tracks 1 and 3 are selected and tracks 5 and 6 are record enabled then track 1 will be copied to track 5 and track 3 to track 6 e If more destination tracks are selected than source tracks the source tracks will repeat cycle Example If tracks 7 and 8 were added to the destination tracks of the previous example then track 1 would be copied to tracks 5 and 7 and track 3 would be copied to tracks 6 and 8 This scheme also allows for copying a single track to multiple tracks e Since no more than 4 tracks may be copied within a single machine a maximum of 4 source tracks will be allowed This means that if 4 source tracks are already selected then no other tracks can be selected until one of the 4 tracks is de selected e A digital source track cannot be selected as a digital destination track i e digital source tracks will not be allowed to be record enabled when Track Copy is enabled e f no source tracks are selected you will not be able to place any tracks into record ready If user attempt to record enable a track the track will not be enabled R
122. rly before this function will operate 20 ADAT XT Reference Manual Your First Session With The ADAT XT Chapter 2 AUTOMATED RECORDING So far all of your recording has been done manually you pressed the transport buttons when you wanted to start and stop recording Auto recording stops and starts recording automatically at predetermined times This is useful when you want to precisely punch in to a specific place on one or more tracks In this section we will be storing the punch points called Punch In and Punch Out on the fly while playback is engaged You can however manually modify the precise Punch In and Out points Auto Return and Auto Play described in the previous section help make Auto Recording more functional For more information see page 51 To automatically punch in and out Store the tape position where you want to begin recording into LOCATE 2 Refer to page 18 for instructions j Store the tape position where you want to end recording into LOCATE 3 Press AUTO RECORD to enable Auto Record In the right side of the display the AUTO REC icon will appear indicating that Auto Record is enabled Note If Locate 2 s position is past Locate 3 s position the TIME counter will temporarily read invALid Press REWIND to rewind the tape before Locate 2 s position f Record enable the track s you wish to record on The selected tracks REC LEDs flashes Simultaneously
123. rotect function Hold the SET LOCATE button and press RECORD ENABLE 1 The TIME counter will briefly display s Pr Ot O FF The PROTECT icon will turn off indicating that Write Protect is being overridden Repeat step 1 to switch Write Protect Tab Check back on The TIME counter will briefly display s Pr Ot On The PROTECT icon will turn on indicating that Write Protect is in effect Note This override will automatically be deactivated when you eject a tape or turn the power off ADAT XT Reference Manual 31 Chapter 4 Basic Operations READING THE DISPLAY The XT s display serves many functions It shows the current level of each of the eight audio tracks it shows the current tape position numerically in hours minutes seconds and 100ths of seconds and shows the current modes of the many parameters available It also is used as a window for editing parameters such as pitch track delay tape offset and locate points With all segments lit which would not happen in normal operation the display looks as follows i oof lt CFORMAT EDIT wif a OOvnOOwOOs00 s ED REL H M S m PROTECT D TAPE OFFSET 0B Ce Ce o Ce Ce o e Ce J170mS PURER DELAY 4 S Do bos Co Cos Dos Cos Cos CAUTOREC REHEARSE SE SSeS eS borewm Gio Coe Coe Coe Coie Cole Ce Cle Ce CHASE CLOCK 15 Ce Coe Coe Coe Cole Cle Cle Cle 85ms INT EXT DIG co CS co CS CS Co CS Ce 48K 44 1K AT Cea CS Co Co Co
124. rt is currently stopped pressing the Locate Play footswitch is the equivalent to pressing the PLAY button e Ifthe transport is currently playing or recording pressing the Locate Play footswitch causes the transport to punch out of record fast wind to the Locate 1 point this may be entered by pressing SET LOCATE followed by the LOCATE 1 button see page 47 and then either Stop or Play depending on the setting of the Auto Play function e Ifthe XT is in the process of locating pressing the Locate Play footswitch will stop the transport ADAT XT Reference Manual 53 Chapter 4 Basic Operations USING THE XT REMOTE 54 The XT hand held remote provides the following functions e Transport functions Rewind Fast Forward Stop Play and Record e Autolocation functions Locate 1 Locate 2 Locate 3 Locate 4 Set Locate and Auto Loop e Track functions Auto Record and Rehearse All buttons function as if pressed from the XT s front panel The AUTO LOOP button which does not exist on the XT front panel toggles both Auto Play and Auto Return functions on and off simultaneously with one button press Note If you wish to enable the Auto Play function without the Auto Return function being enabled i e without looping you can initiate a deferred play with the Play button that is press any of the LOCATE 1 LOCATE 4 buttons followed by the PLAY button To use the XT Remote plug it into the LOCATE PLA
125. s It is possible however to switch the XT s TIME display so that it counts in a 30 FPS format instead of 100ths second This is done by holding SET LOCATE and pressing RECORD ENABLE 4 Repeat this process to toggle back and forth between these two modes When set to frames per second mode the TIME counter will briefly read d1SP FPS When switched back to 100ths of a second mode the TIME counter will briefly read d1SP rEG This feature is designed for the sole purpose of aligning the displays of the XT and the BRC The selected mode also affects how the Locate Points are displayed and edited on the XT ADAT XT Reference Manual 45 Chapter 4 Basic Operations PITCH CONTROL PITCH SET 46 The Pitch function controls the speed of the tape and thus the pitch of the audio recorded on tape It displays speed as percentage and as cents A cent is 1 100th of a semitone For example if a song is originally recorded in the key of C then played back with the pitch raised 100 cents it will be in the key of C The XT s Pitch control has a range of 300 to 100 cents when using a sample rate of 48 kHz and a range of 200 to 200 when using 44 1 kHz The Pitch controls will not function while locking to an external clock i e while the XT is slaved to another ADAT or is locking to an external digital clock The PITCH s and t buttons control the amount of pitch change When either button is pressed o
126. sary the brightness of the XT s display may be adjusted to allow more suitable viewing under various lighting conditions To adjust the display brightness Hold the PEAK CLEAR button j While still holding PEAK CLEAR press either PITCH s or t to dim or brighten The display will immediately respond by either dimming or brightening depending on which button was pressed ADAT XT Reference Manual 23 Connections Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3 CONNECTIONS ANALOG AUDIO UNBALANCED INPUTS INPUT JACK CHARACTERISTICS The XT includes eight unbalanced phono jack inputs These are compatible with low impedance unbalanced 10 dBV outputs typical of equipment such as mixers synthesizers samplers direct boxes etc D The unbalanced input jack wiring convention is as follows Signal Tip Ground Sleeve Tip Sleeve TYPICAL INPUT JACK HOOKUPS The input jacks are typically hooked up in one of three ways To the console s direct tape outs these patch a single channel directly to tape bypassing most mixer circuitry This is preferred when the signals going to tape require none of the mixer s features effects grouping routing etc e To eight mixer bus outputs You can use the mixer for grouping premixing effects etc This puts more circuitry between the input signals and XT although since most routing can be done at the mixer you ll seldom need to do any
127. sfading always begins at the punch point and continues for the amount of time you have specified To set the Crossfade Time Press and hold the SET LOCATE button j While holding the SET LOCATE button press the RECORD button This will advance Crossfade setting to its next value in this case it is 21 ms The TIME counter will briefly read FA d E 9 1 While still holding SET LOCATE each time you press RECORD will advance the Crossfade setting to the next value Select either 11 ms 21 ms 32 ms and 43 ms These time values assume a playback rate of 48kHz and are therefore not exact if the Pitch amount is changed or an external clock source is used If the Clock is set to 44 1 kHz the available crossfade times are actually 12 ms 23 ms 35 ms and 46 ms although they will not be labeled this way To select the sample rate 48 kHz or 44 1 kHz see previous section DISPLAYING FRAMES VS 100THS SECONDS If you are using the XT with the BRC you will notice that the BRC s TIME display uses the hours minutes seconds frames format while the XT normally uses the hours minutes seconds 100ths second format This may cause some confusion when locating to a specific position on the BRC since the XT will show a slightly different value when looking at the last two digits of the TIME counter The XT will locate to the same physical position that the BRC displays it is simply displaying 100ths second instead of frame
128. st of 10 Locate Point memories which can be set either manually or on the fly and recalled instantly AUTO RETURN Se En En En IN OUT AUTO Ly RECORD EDIT VALUE Each Locate Point s address can be displayed and set using either Absolute or Relative Time Generally Absolute Time and Relative Time will differ in their values The XT however maintains a constant offset between them This makes it possible to locate to various tape positions using either time reference ABSOLUTE ABS TIME VS RELATIVE TIME The TIME counter indicates where you are on the tape by using a time reference There are two ways of displaying the time reference off tape Absolute ABS the actual time reference or Relative the same time reference but relative to a different zero point The Relative Time 0 00 00 00 point is set by holding the SET LOCATE button and pressing LOCATE 0 or by editing the Locate 0 point Use the ABS REL button to select between Absolute Time and Relative Time modes one of two icons ABS or REL will appear to the left of the TIME counter When the display is in Absolute Time Mode ABS icon lit the display reflects the actual tape time When in Relative Mode REL icon lit the display reflects the tape s time reference relative to the 0 00 00 00 position Once you hold the SET LOCATE button and press LOCATE 0 to establish a new 0 00 00 00 position on tape see below Absolute and
129. t necessary to connect the optical network To connect the digital optical network Locate the DIGITAL IN and DIGITAL OUT connectors Remove the connectors plugs if present and store for later use j Connect one end of the fiber optic cable into the DIGITAL OUT jack of the first machine in the system Remove the clear plastic tube covering each end of the cable if present The cable is non polarized so either end can be inserted into the optical output Connect the other end of the fiber optic cable to the DIGITAL IN of the second machine in the system For each additional machine connect one end of an additional fiber optic cable to the second machine s DIGITAL OUT jack and the other end to the third machine s DIGITAL IN jack Its DIGITAL OUT jack then connects to the fourth machine s DIGITAL IN jack and so on f Finally connect one end of a fiber optic cable to the last machine s DIGITAL OUT jack and the other end to the first machine s DIGITAL IN jack This last step creates a loop and thus makes the digital bus accessible to all machines that are connected to it J When connecting more than two machines always connect the optical cables in the same order as the sync cables 1 to 2 2 to 3 etc so that the digital routing will work correctly ADAT XT Reference Manual 27 Chapter 3 Connections FOOTSWITCHES
130. t on off TRACK DELAY Edit Track Delay settings Track Delay on off s AND t BUTTONS Once a function is selected the s and t buttons are used to increment or decrement its setting by single values By holding either button the increment or decrement value increases its speed By simultaneously pressing both buttons the selected parameter is reset to 0 ENTERING NUMERIC VALUES If EDIT VALUE is held while in Edit mode you may use the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons as a 10 digit keypad from 0 to 9 to enter a specific numerical value for the currently selected parameter in the display Numbers are entered from left to right Examples f LOCATE 1 is pressed using this method to edit Track Delay time displayed as XXX X ms the display would show 1 ms If a LOCATE 5 is now entered the display shows 1 5 ms If the EDIT VALUE button is released at this time the display shows 001 5 ms and that would be the new Track Delay value Likewise if this method is used to edit a Locate Point X XX XX XX and the sequence of numbers were entered as follows LOCATE 1 LOCATE 2 LOCATE 3 the display would successively show 1 12 1 23 If the EDIT VALUE button is then released the display would show 0 00 01 23 and that would be the Locate Point s value EDITING INDIVIDUAL DIGITS You can also select a specific digit in the display to edit by holding the EDIT VALUE button and pressing either s or t the currently
131. t solid To record enable a track Choose a track to record on and press the track s associated RECORD ENABLE button 1 8 The selected track s REC LED will flash to indicate it is in record ready j Send an audio signal to the track s you have placed into record ready Adjust the levels on your mixer so that the average level is at 15 dB on the peak meters of the XT and the loudest section never goes beyond 0 dB Digital audio recording is different from analog recording and therefore requires a different method when setting levels For more information see Setting Levels on page 41 of chapter 4 To take a track out of record ready safe press its associated RECORD ENABLE button again The selected track s REC LED will turn off to indicate it is safe TIME COUNTER Before recording you should familiarize yourself with the transport buttons and the 7 segment TIME counter in the top left corner of the display Ordinarily the TIME counter will show Absolute ABS time which is the exact time reference being read directly off of the formatted tape The tape position is displayed as hours minutes seconds hundredths of a second This counter may be changed to show 30 frames per second see page 45 for more information s Qu 15u 48s 21 Pressing the ABS REL button will toggle the display between ABS Time and Relative Time The display will either indicate ABS or REL to the left of the TIME a On
132. tal tape backups from machine to machine Track Copy is only used to copy between tracks on the same machine To make a backup tape amp Connect a male male 9 pin D connector cable between the SYNC OUT of the master XT and the SYNC IN of the slave XT This synchronizes the two machines the master XT becomes the master ID 1 and the slave machine becomes the slave ID 2 j Connect a fiber optic cable between the DIGITAL OUT of the master XT and the DIGITAL IN of the slave XT This routes the digital audio from the master XT to the slave machine Connect a fiber optic cable between the DIGITAL OUT of the slave XT and the DIGITAL IN of the master XT This routes the digital audio back from the slave XT to the master machine Insert the tape to be backed up into the master XT Insert a blank tape into the slave machine Press the DIGITAL INPUT button on both the master XT and the slave XT The DIGITAL icon will be lit on both machines D Press all RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 on the slave XT The RECORD LEDs for tracks 9 16 all eight of the slave machine s tracks will flash Be sure that the RECORD ENABLE buttons are switched off for tracks 1 8 of the master XT and the write protect tab or record tab is removed open Press both PLAY and RECORD on the master XT Since this is the master machine ID 1 it will simply enter play since none of its tracks are in record ready while engaging record
133. the tape Unformatted tape The XT will detect the lack of a format and flash the FORMAT icon while reading noFO in the TIME counter Tape transitions from a formatted to unformatted section while playing back The XT will detect the lack of a format and flash the FORMAT icon while reading noFO in the TIME counter e Tape transitions from a formatted to unformatted section while recording The XT will detect the lack of a format and stop RECORD P UNCH IN OR OUT Use the RECORD button to enter or exit record mode and to format a tape There are two methods of entering record mode You can first enable the tracks you wish to record on and then engage recording using the PLAY and RECORD buttons Or you can engage record mode and then use the RECORD ENABLE buttons to place tracks in or out of record If no tracks are enabled for recording and record mode is engaged the RECORD LED will flash to indicate that pressing any RECORD ENABLE button will immediately initiate recording on that track To start recording e Hold PLAY and press RECORD to cause any record enabled track to enter record mode This is recommended for punching on the fly e Hold RECORD and press PLAY to cause any record enabled track to enter record mode This is recommended for initiating recording when the tape is stopped or for punching on the fly To punch out and stop the transport simply press STOP There are three
134. this display mode is selected during any other mode than play or record the number will always read 0000 To view the error rate display 1 Hold SET LOCATE and press RECORD ENABLE 3 The TIME counter will briefly read ed SP E rr When PLAY or RECORD are engaged the TIME counter will change to show minutes and seconds on the left and a 4 digit error rate counter on the rate 2 Repeat step 1 to return the TIME display to its normal state The TIME counter will briefly read s dj SP r E9 and will then change back to show hours minutes seconds and 100ths of a second ABOUT ERROR RATE READINGS A new perfect tape on a clean machine will normally read 0000 with occasional flashes up to 0005 or 0010 Errors of 3 or below are 100 correctable and the odds are that significantly higher readings will also be 100 correctable Many new tapes out of the box from some manufacturers have readings up to 100 Readings above 1000 however are guaranteed to cause some interpolation to take place Therefore readings up to about 10 15 aren t anything to worry about unless accompanied by the Interpolation indicator but they do show you that there is something less than ideal about current conditions If readings rise above 20 you should take action see page 75 If your brand of tape has a typical error rate above 20 that s acceptable but you want to look out for increases above the usual ADAT HEAD LIFE
135. tomatically be placed in External Clock mode the EXT icon will be lit in the CLOCK icon group The CLOCK SELECT button will not function on the slave XTs since External Clock is their only option Simultaneously each slave s CHASE icon will light whenever it is chasing the location of the master MASTER SLAVE INTERACTION Pressing any of the transport buttons PLAY STOP etc or AUTO REC LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 ALL INPUT AUTO INPUT PITCH s or t will automatically trigger the same functions on the slave machine s as well Alesis recommends that you always initiate operations from the master including all transport control functions to minimize confusion When you press PLAY on the master the slave s will locate to the same timecode point and begin playing once sync is achieved indicated by the LOCKED icon being lit Pressing EJECT on the master ejects all slave s tapes as well To eject only the master s tape hold SET LOCATE and press EJECT on the master When recording or punching in on the slaves initiate recording on the master but do not have any master tracks record enabled unless of course you need to record tracks on the master Any tracks that are record enabled on the slaves will go into record while the master will simply play This is why record enable is an independent function for each slave There are two other functions when the slave s act independently Formatting is initiated ind
136. tton s LED When the locate function is complete the transport will stop and the STOP LED will light If you wish the transport to automatically go into play after the locate function is complete turn on Auto Play see next section To set the Relative 0 00 00 00 position Locate 0 Press PLAY FAST FWD or REWIND as required to move the tape to the position you wish to regard as 0 00 00 00 Relative Time Remember ABS Time is the timecode being read from tape Setting the Locate 0 position is always done in Relative Time Press SET LOCATE immediately followed by pressing LOCATE 0 The current tape position is stored into Locate 0 and the TIME counter will se On OOu 00s 00 ADAT XT Reference Manual Your First Session With The ADAT XT Chapter 2 ADAT XT Reference Manual 19 Chapter 2 Your First Session With The ADAT XT CREATING A LOOP The Auto Return function causes the XT to automatically rewind back to a specified tape position Locate 1 when playback or recording has reached a specified position Locate 4 Both Locates 1 and 4 are assignable to any tape position using the methods described in the previous section The Auto Play function is used to automatically engage playback whenever a locate function is completed By using both the Auto Return and Auto Play functions a loop can be created whereby the same region of tape is repeatedly played back For more information on related funct
137. unless Auto Input is on and the transport is in play indicating you will be able to monitor that track s input If the transport is put into record mode see Transport Controls in this chapter recording will begin on this track the track s REC LED will stop flashing and remain lit To disable record ready press the track s RECORD ENABLE button once again The track s REC LED will turn off RECORD ENABLE buttons can be turned on or off while you are in record mode SETTING LEVELS Unlike analog tape recorders where signals routinely exceed 0 dB with no apparent ill effects O dB on the XT represents the maximum possible signal level Signals above 0 dB will be clipped and lead to digital distortion Because of the limitations of analog tape there is always a tradeoff between noise level and distortion More level improves the signal to noise ratio but also increases distortion This distortion increases linearly which is why signal to noise is often specified for a certain amount of distortion typically 3 You can always record with hotter levels or softer levels but either more distortion or more noise will result with analog you can t have low noise high levels and low distortion With digital recording there is a much wider dynamic range and distortion does not increase with increasing level Yet once a digital system runs out of headroom and hits O dB that s it the onset of distortion is immediate and very noti
138. ven video tape recorders the actual sound quality of an ADAT recording will not be affected until there is quite a bit of dirt on the drum and heads When the Interpolation Indicator the sunburst at the end of the location display starts appearing frequently even on brand new tapes we recommend that you bring your ADAT to an authorized Alesis Service Center for cleaning If the indicator is not appearing and the unit is performing normally there is no reason to clean the heads Periodic or preventative maintenance should not be over done to prevent premature wear on the headstack If head cleaning is necessary and you are unable to bring your ADAT to a service center you may try using a DRY VHS head cleaning cassette We recommend 3M VHSHC Black Watch Head Cleaner Video Cassette or 3M ASD HC Digital Audio Head Cleaning Cassette e Do NOT use any other type of head cleaning cassette They are abrasive and will damage or wear out your heads e Do NOT use head cleaning cassettes that require any kind of liquid e Do not use the Black Watch cassette any more often than necessary Over cleaning the heads wears them down reducing their life span e Do NOT attempt to clean the heads yourself unless you are a skilled technician experienced in the maintenance of video cassette recorders Information for such technicians is available from Alesis Product Support ADAT head cleaning requires different materials and procedures from analog head clean
139. ver previous material also known as punching turn the Auto Input function on Use the AUTO INPUT button to turn Auto Input on and off The AUTO INPUT icon will light in the display when Auto Input is on See page 39 for more info ADAT XT Reference Manual Your First Session With The ADAT XT Chapter 2 PLAYBACK There are several ways to quickly play back your recording You ll use the transport buttons first To play back a recording Press REWIND to locate back to a tape position before you engaged recording The REWIND LED will light and the TIME counter will roll backward to indicate the current tape location status while the transport is in motion j Once you have arrived at the desired tape address press the STOP button The REWIND LED will turn off and the STOP LED will light Press PLAY The PLAY LED will flash briefly and then will light to indicate play mode has been engaged Press STOP to stop playback The PLAY LED will turn off and the STOP LED will light REVIEWING AND CUEING When you are trying to locate a particular section of a recording it is often helpful to use the review and cue modes on the XT Review mode lets you play the tape in reverse at a speed 3 times faster than play while hearing fragments of audio Cue mode on the other hand plays forward at a speed 3 times faster than Play mode while also letting you hear chunks of audio By listening to the audio
140. view Fast Forward Cue Record or Stop mode i e the transport does not have to be in Play mode to store Locate Points in the following manner it is simply the most practical way to do it Press and or hold the SET LOCATE button The LOCATE icon will light and a dash will begin flashing to its right Immediately press one of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons The current tape location will be stored into the Locate Point memory you selected If LOCATE button is not pressed within 2 seconds after releasing SET LOCATE the flashing dash will disappear and none of the Locate Point memories will be changed To store multiple Locate Points you may continue holding the SET LOCATE button and press any of the LOCATE buttons when the desired tape positions are reached To edit a Locate Point memory Press EDIT VALUE to enter Edit mode The EDIT icon will light Press one of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE 9 buttons to select a Locate Point address The LOCATE icon will light the selected Locate Point s number 0 9 will appear next to it and the address of the selected Locate Point will be displayed in the TIME counter Use s and t buttons to fine tune the Locate Point s address Alternatively you may select a specific digit by holding EDIT VALUE and using the s and t buttons The selected digit will flash f While still holding EDIT VALUE press any of the LOCATE 0 LOCATE
141. ways to exit record mode punch out yet have the transport continue to play use whichever method is most natural to you e Press PLAY e Hold RECORD and then press PLAY e Use the RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 to take tracks out of record STOP The STOP button performs three functions Stop the transport Push STOP to stop any function involving tape motion A lit STOP LED indicates that the tape is not moving and is threaded A flashing STOP LED indicates that the tape is not moving and is unthreaded e Thread Unthread the tape While the STOP LED is lit press STOP to unthread the tape STOP LED flashes While the STOP LED is flashing press ADAT XT Reference Manual 43 Chapter 4 Basic Operations STOP to thread the tape STOP LED is lit Entering play or record more will also thread the tape if it was previously unthreaded e Punch out When recording pressing STOP will exit record mode and stop the transport SAMPLE RATE CLOCK J The XT records digital audio in a similar manner as a DAT recorder or digital sampler You may select between two sample rates when using the XT s internal clock 48 kHz and 44 1 kHz Select the sample rate to match the balance of the recording system you are connected to The currently selected sample rate is indicated by the CLOCK group of icons in the display When the INT and 44 1K icons are lit the XT is set to an internal 44 1 kHz clock Wh
142. y rewound j Press the FORMAT button If the tape was unformatted the FORMAT icon will have been flashing prior to pressing it Once pressed the FORMAT icon will stop flashing and remain lit to indicate that formatting will begin if the XT enters record mode Also all eight REC LEDs will flash to indicate all eight tracks will be recorded Pressing the eight RECORD ENABLE buttons 1 8 has no effect while the FORMAT icon is lit Hold RECORD and press PLAY The XT briefly enters play mode to achieve proper speed and check if the tape is formatted The XT performs a complete format by recording 15 seconds of leader the LED display will read LEAd followed by two minutes of data the LED display will read data then time reference starting at 0 00 05 00 and continuing to the end of the tape Lead Data Audio 02 00 00 02 15 00 00 00 00 40 00 00 If an unformatted tape is not at the very beginning it will automatically be rewound to the beginning However if any formatting is detected while rewinding the transport will stop rewinding and leave the tape at this position ready for a format extension see next page 30 e Ifthe tape has been previously formatted and is in the data portion before 0 00 00 00 the tape will be automatically rewound to the beginning of the tape and the XT performs a complete format e Ifthe tape has been previously formatted and is in the

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