Alesis ADAT-XT Using Track Copy AS a Digital Router, Calculating Tape Offset Using the Locates

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:

¿On the 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.

ƒPress [DIGITAL IN] on the ADAT and press RECORD ENABLE [8] to record enable track #8 (16) on the ADAT.

ªPress [PLAY] on the XT.

DPress [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.

¿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 [SET LOCATE], press [LOCATE 5] when you get to the downbeat of chorus #2 .

ƒPress [STOP].

ADAT XT Reference Manual 71