Alesis ADAT-XT manual Adat Head Maintenance

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 even 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.

•Do NOT use any other type of head cleaning cassette. They are abrasive and will damage or wear out your heads.

•Do NOT use head cleaning cassettes that require any kind of liquid.

•Do not use the Black Watch cassette any more often than necessary. Over- cleaning the heads wears them down, reducing their life span.

•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 cleaning, 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.

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