Compiled and written by Eddie Ciletti | adat S-VHS format |
ADAT HD24 Reference Manual 3 Welcome! Thank you for making the Alesis ADAT HD24™ a part of your studio. Since 1984, we've been designing and building creative tools for the audio community. We believe in our products, because we've heard the results that creative people like you have achieved with them. One of Alesis' goals is to. ALESIS ADAT-XT Reference Manual - Nice People Productions One of Alesis' goals is to make high-quality studio equipment available to everyone, and this Reference Manual is an important part of that. Page 5 Superb sonic performance was a base-line objective for Alesis. Page 1 ALESIS ADAT XT20 Reference Manual.; Page 2 This chapter also discusses the difference between “threaded” and “unthreaded” tapes. Chapter 2: Your First Session with the ADAT-XT20. This section provides a brief tour of the XT20, 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. Join Date Apr 2001 Location Boston Age 60 Posts 530 Thanks 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Rep Power 0.
This is a common issue on all ADAT´s ( Blackface,XT,XT20,LX20 )Please only use Fader8 Clean, a high professional lubricant spray for Pro Audio applications!
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introduction to ADAT transfer
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once onto Super VHS (S-VHS) tape.
At Greatbear, we carefully restore and digitise 16 and 20-bit ADAT 8-track tapes, as well as sessions with higher track counts spanning multiple tapes.
ADAT machines
Like DTRS recorders, ADAT tape recorders use a video tape transport but running at a faster speed. Unfortunately most ADAT machines used a consumer tape transport that was not particularly rugged, often causing tape lacing problems which will damage tape. Only the later M20 and Studer ADAT machines used a much higher-quality transport that lasts well.
The ADAT format was based on a VHS transport, but even so - spares will not be available forever and key spares like the upper and lower head drum, while generally long-lasting will wear and need replacement.
Our ADAT machines include:
- Alesis ADAT XT
- Alesis ADAT M20
- Alesis ADAT LX20
ADAT format variation
ADAT (S-VHS) open shell: tape width 12.7 mm (½ inch)
Alesis LX20 Type II and Alesis XT Type I ADAT machines
ADAT (S-VHS) cassette dimensions: 18.7 × 10.2 × 2.5 cm(71⁄3 × 4 × 1 inch)
ADAT risks & vulnerabilities
While ADAT machines use standard S-VHS tapes, there are some issues which are specific to this multitrack digital format:
- The tapes run at around 4 times the standard VHS tape speed, so transports can wear out quickly.
- While expensive new, most ADAT machines used a transport common to domestic VHS machines, which do not respond well to heavy use.
- Direct digital transfer is preferable for making transfers, but this can be tricky without specialist hardware - especially when transferring multiple session tapes (16, 24, 32, 48 track sessions)
ADAT recording history
The first ADAT machine was released in 1991 and had a major impact on the recording industry and home recording. Like the DA models released by TASCAM, a major benefit was that they could be synchronised with other machines, allowing for people to build their recording capacity 8 tracks at a time.
Alesis Adat Xt Service Manual Transfer Switch
ADAT’s use of ½ inch S-VHS video tape meant that the larger tape width was less susceptible to damage than the 8mm Hi8 tapes used by the DA-88 and DTRS. The S-VHS tapes could record 40 minutes and because 8 tracks of audio require a large amount of bandwidth, the tape moved up to three times the speed of the average VHS tape.
ADAT is still used in some industries and the recording industry, even if it has to a large extent been replaced by Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs).
Alesis Adat Xt 20
ADAT subsequently referred to the Alesis ADAT HD24-XR, which featured hard disk recording rather than the traditional tape-based ADAT (now considered obsolete), but this machine too has now been discontinued.