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ALESIS M20 P R
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Important Safety Instructions and Compliance Notices ......................................vii
ii
Track Record Enabling and Monitoring..............................................................1
Digital/Analog Input Selection and Routing ........................................................1
Metering 1
Transport Controls and Basic Recording.............................................................1
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 iii
iv
M20 SMPTE Synchronization Overview ..............................................................1
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 v
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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND COMPLIANCE N
S
P
PRODUCT:
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 ix
I NSTRUCTIONS DE S CURIT I
S
Veuillez suivre ces prcautions lors de lutilisation de lappareil:
x ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
BEIM BENUTZEN DIESES PRODUKTES BEACHTEN SIE
BITTE DIE FOLGENDEN SICHERHEITSHINWEISE:
INFORMATION TO THE USER FOR CLASS A DIGITAL DEVICE (FCC PART 15, CLASS A)
INDUSTRY CANADA (DIGITAL APPARATUS) I ICES-003 ISSUE 2
xii
CE DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 1-1
CHAPTER 1
OVERVIEW, SETUP, AND B
1.1 M20 H
Overview, Setup and Basics, Chapter 1
1-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
1.2 UNPACKING AND INSPECTION
1.3 AC POWER HOOKUP
Chapter 1, Overview, Setup and Basics
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 1-3
1.4 LINE CONDITIONERS AND PROTECTORS
1.5 ABOUT AUDIO CABLES
1.6 BASIC AUDIO HOOKUP
1.7 USE THE RIGHT TAPE
1.8 PREPARING THE TAPE PRIOR TO USE
1.9 EJECT TAPE PROPERLY
1.10 B
1.11 OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
1.12 AVOID ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 2-1
CHAPTER 2
C ONTROL AND C B
2.1 ABOUT THE FRONT PANEL
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2.2 ABOUT THE REAR PANEL
2.2A PUNCH FOOTSWITCH
2.2B LOCATE/PLAY OR LRC REMOTE CONTROL JACK
2.2C ANALOG INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
2.2D TIME CODE IN AND OUT
2.2G VIDEO IN AND THRU
2.2H ADAT SYNC IN AND OUT
2.2I MIDI IN AND OUT
2.2J RS-422 IN (SONY 9-PIN)
2.2K METER BRIDGE/REMOTE PANEL OUT
EDITING M20 OPERATING P
3.1 THE KEYPAD
3.1A 0 THROUGH 9 BUTTONS
3.1B UP ARROW/YES/UPPER CASE
3.1C DOWN ARROW/NO/LOWER CASE
3.1F ENTER/NAME
3.1G SELECTING PAGES
3.1H SELECTING PAGE PARAMETERS
3.1I ENTERING PARAMETER VALUES
Editing M20 Parameters, Chapter 3
3-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
3.2 THE EDIT BUTTON
3.3 EDITING CONVENTIONS
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 4-1
CHAPTER 4
TAPE FORMATTING
Formatting Tape, Chapter 4
4-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
4.1 SAMPLE RATE SELECTION
Chapter 4, Formatting Tape
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 4-3
4.1A PULL-UP AND PULL-DOWN SAMPLE RATE SELECTION
4.2 WORD LENGTH SELECTION
Formatting Tape, Chapter 4
4-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
4.3 FORMAT A NEW TAPE
4.4 RECORD TRACKS WHILE FORMATTING
4.5 EXTEND A PARTIALLY-FORMATTED TAPE
4.6 END FORMATTING
4.7 CERTIFY TAPE FORMAT
4.8 REFORMATTING: CAUTION!
4.9 LOCK OUT FORMATTING (SAFE MODE)
4.10 BULK ERASING
4.11 RECORDING A BENCHMARK TAPE
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 5-1
CHAPTER 5
TRACK RECORD ENABLING AND M
5.1 TRACK BASICS
Track Record Enabling and Monitoring, Chapter 5
5-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
5.2 TRACK INPUT ENABLES
5.3 AUTO INPUT SWITCH
5.4 RECORD ENABLE
5.5 SAFETY MODE (ALL SAFE)
5.6 MONITOR INPUTS (ALL INPUT)
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 6-1
CHAPTER 6
DIGITAL/ANALOG INPUT SELECTION AND ROUTING
6.1 DIGITAL SOURCE
6.2 INPUT SELECT
6-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
6.3 TRACK OUTPUT SELECTION
6.4 INPUT SIGNAL ROUTING (ANALOG AND DIGITAL)
Chapter 6, Input Selection and Routing
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 6-3
6.4A ANALOG INPUT ROUTING
6-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
6.4B DIGITAL INPUT ROUTING
Chapter 6, Input Selection and Routing
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 6-5
6.4C RECORD-ENABLING THE DESTINATION TRACKS
6-6 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
6.5 AUX ROUTING (INPUT AND OUTPUT)
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 7-1
CHAPTER 7
M
7.1 METER MODE SELECTION
7.1A CLEARING PEAKS
Metering, Chapter 7
7-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
7.2 METER SETUP
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 8-1
CHAPTER 8
TRANSPORT CONTROLS AND B ASIC R
8.1 ABOUT THE TAPE COUNTER
8.2 S
8-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
8.3 P
8.3A PLAY BUTTON AND SYNC STATUS
8.4 JOG/SHUTTLE WHEEL AND SEARCH
8.4A JOG MODE
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 8-3
8.4B SHUTTLE MODE
8.4C SEARCH BUTTON
8-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
8.4D SEARCH MASTER
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 8-5
8.5 OTHER TRANSPORT BUTTONS
8-6 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
8.6 R
8.6A PUNCHING INTO RECORD
8.6B PUNCHING OUT OF RECORD
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 8-7
8.6C RECORD WRITE-PROTECTION
8.7 REHEARSE MODE
8-8 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
8.8 AUTO RECORD
8.8A SETTING AUTO RECORD PUNCH POINTS
8.8B ENABLE AUTO RECORD
8.8C SET AUTO PUNCH POINTS ON THE FLY
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 9-1
CHAPTER 9
A
9.1 ENTERING, SELECTING, AND EDITING LOCATION P
9.1A S
9.1B COPY TAPE LOCATION
Autolocation, Chapter 9
9-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
9.2 DEFERRED PLAY AND RECORD
9.3 PLAY-AFTER-LOCATE (AUTO PLAY)
9.4 LOOP BETWEEN START AND END LOCATE POINTS (AUTO RETURN)
Autolocation, Chapter 9
9-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
9.5 SET PRE-ROLL
Chapter 9, Autolocation
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 9-5
9.6 SET POST-ROLL
9.7 FOOTSWITCH-CONTROLLED LOCATION
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 10-1
CHAPTER 10
V
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 11-1
CHAPTER 11
SMPTE, SYNC, AND OFFSET F
11.1 CLOCK SOURCE
11-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
11.2 SMPTE R
11.3 TIME CODE SOURCE
11.3A INTERNAL
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 11-3
11.4 CHASE REFERENCE
11-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
11.5 REFERENCE COUNTER
11.6 SMPTE C
11.6A SET SMPTE OFFSET VALUE (PAGE 1)
11.6B SET SMPTE CHASE MODE (PAGE 2)
11.6C SET FLYWHEEL DURATION (PAGE 3)
11.6D PARK AHEAD (PAGE 4)
11-6 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
11.7 INTERNAL GENERATOR
11.7A GENERATOR MODE (PAGE 1)
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 11-7
11.7B TIME CODE START REFERENCE (PAGE 2)
11.7C ABS/START OFFSET (PAGE 3)
11.7D USER BITS (PAGE 4, OR PAGE 3 IF THE PAGE 2 VALUE
11.8 TAPE OFFSET
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 11-9
11-10 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
11.9 TRACK DELAY
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 11-11
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MIDI F
12.1 MIDI DEVICE (PAGE 1)
12.2 MMC OUTPUT (PAGE 2)
12.3 MTC FOLLOW GEN (PAGE 3)
12.4 SEND SYSEX DUMP? (PAGE 4)
12.5 RECEIVE SYSEX DUMP? (PAGE 5)
12.6 SEND SOFTWARE? (PAGE 6)
12.7 LOAD SOFTWARE? (PAGE 7)
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 13-1
CHAPTER 13
UTILITY MENU
13.1 DIGITAL OUT (PAGE 1)
13.2 ONLINE SOURCE (PAGE 2)
13.2A ONLINE BUTTON
13.3 ONLINE CONTROL (PAGE 3)
13.4 ONE-BUTTON RECORD (PAGE 4)
13.5 INPUT MONITOR (PAGE 5)
13.6 CROSSFADE TIME (PAGE 6)
13.7 TIME CODE OUTPUT LEVEL (PAGE 7)
13.8 REWIND/FAST FORWARD TC OUTPUT (PAGE 8)
13.9 UNTHREAD TIMEOUT (PAGE 9)
13.10 SEARCH ENABLE (PAGE 10)
13.11 LOCATE BEFORE PLAY (PAGE 11)
13.12 MUTE UNTIL LOCK (PAGE 12)
13.13 DYNAMIC PUNCH (PAGE 13)
13.14 TRACK GROUPS (PAGE 14)
13.16 LOAD DATA FROM TAPE? (PAGE 16)
13.17 TAPE TYPE (PAGE 17)
13.18 ID STATUS (PAGE 18)
13.19 USER BITS (PAGE 19)
13.20 ERROR RATE (PAGE 20)
13.21 FRONT PANEL SOFTWARE VERSION (PAGE 21)
13.22 SOFTWARE VERSION (PAGE 22)
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 14-1
CHAPTER 14
THE LRC REMOTE CONTROL
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 15-1
CHAPTER 15
TUTORIALS AND APPLICATIONS
TUTORIAL 1: MULTIPLE M20 OPERATION
O
SYNCHRONIZING MACHINES
AUTOMATIC ID RENUMBERING
MASTER/SLAVE INTERACTION
ACHIEVING LOCK
INDEPENDENT SLAVE MODE
FORMATTING MULTIPLE TAPES
MASTER FORMAT ENABLED, COMPLETE FORMAT
MASTER FORMAT ENABLED, FORMAT EXTEND
MASTER FORMAT DISABLED
MASTER FORMAT DISABLED, FORMAT EXTEND
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 15-5
TUTORIAL 2: MAKING DIGITAL BACKUPS
DEALING WITH DAMAGED TAPE
MAKING A 16-BIT COPY FROM A 20-BIT MASTER
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 15-7
TUTORIAL 3: RECORDING DIGITAL AUDIO FROM OTHER SOURCES
DIGITAL CLOCK CONSIDERATIONS
15-8 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
TUTORIAL 4: COMBINING M20S AND ADATS
M20 T
SAMPLE RATE VS. PITCH CONTROL
INPUT MONITORING
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 15-9
POLARITY DIFFERENCES
15-10 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
TUTORIAL 5: SETTING UP INPUTS
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 15-11
TUTORIAL 6: UPDATING M20 SOFTWARE
TUTORIAL 7: USING THE M20 WITH UNBALANCED INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 16-1
CHAPTER 16
M20 SMPTE SYNCHRONIZATION OVERVIEW
16.1 SYNCHRONIZATION BASICS
MASTER OR SLAVE?
DIGITAL TIMING REQUIREMENTS
16-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
16.2 THE ONE CLOCK PRINCIPLE
16.2A HOUSE SYNC
16.2B GENLOCKED TIME CODE
Chapter 16, SMPTE Synchronization Overview
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 16-3
16.3 REFERENCE COUNTERS VS. CLOCK SOURCES
16.3A LOCATION REFERENCE
16.3B REFERENCE CLOCK
16-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
16.3 OFFSETS IN THE M20
16.3A SMPTE CHASE OFFSET
16-6 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
16.3B INTERNAL GENERATOR ABS OFFSET
16.3C TAPE OFFSET
Chapter 16, SMPTE Synchronization Overview
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 16-7
16.4 SMPTE TIME CODE RATES AND TYPES
16.4A DROP FRAME
16.4B AUTO-DETECTION OF SMPTE RATES
16-8 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
16.4C VITC (VERTICAL INTERVAL TIME CODE)
16.4D MTC (MIDI TIME CODE)
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 17-1
CHAPTER 17
T IME CODE T
17.1 GENERATING TIME CODE ONTO A VCR
Time Code Tutorial, Chapter 17
17-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
17.2 SYNCHRONIZING WITHOUT A T/C TRACK
Chapter 17, Time Code Tutorial
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 17-3
17.3 RECORDING A TIME CODE TRACK
17.3A RECORDING SMPTE FROM ABS TIME
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CHAPTER 18
M T
18.1 ADAT HEAD CLEANING
18.1A HEAD CLEANING CASSETTES (OPTIONAL)
18.1B MANUAL HEAD AND TAPE PATH CLEANING
Chapter 18, Maintenance and Troubleshooting
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 18-7
18.2 ADAT HEAD LIFE
18.2A HEAD ALIGNMENT
Maintenance and Troubleshooting, Chapter 18
18-8 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
18.3 TAPE MAINTENANCE: SAFE TAPE
18.3
18.3B CARE OF ADAT TAPES
Chapter 18, Maintenance and Troubleshooting
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 18-9
18.4 MAINTENANCE/SERVICE
18.4
18.4B MAINTENANCE
18.4C REFER ALL SERVICING TO ALESIS
Maintenance and Troubleshooting, Chapter 18
18.4D OBTAINING REPAIR SERVICE
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 A1-1
APPENDIX 1
M20 HIDDEN FUNCTIONS
POWER-ON BUTTON COMBINATIONS
MISCELLANEOUS BUTTON COMBINATIONS
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M20 Software Version 2.00
M20 ADDENDUM 2.0 MA-3
ADVANCED FUNCTIONS
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 A2-1
APPENDIX 2
USING THE M20 DATA SECTION OF TAPE
GENERAL DATA SECTION CONVENTION ON THE M20
M20 LOCATE POINTS AND SMPTE OFFSETS
BRC M20 SONG START / SMPTE START OFFSET
AND LOCATE POINT MAP
BRC M20 PARAMETER MAP
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ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 A3-1
APPENDIX 3
M20 TRANSPORT & S
Appendix 3, M20 Transport & System Error Messages
A3-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
Messages
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 A3-3
Appendix 3, M20 Transport & System Error Messages
A3-4 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
Messages
ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 A3-5
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M20 ADDENDUM 2.1 MA-1
M20 MAJOR FEATURE UPDATE: VERSION 2
RS-422 (SONY 9-PIN) SLAVE OPERATION
RS-422 TRACK ARM: ON/OFF
RS-422 MAPPING: 1-2, ODDEVN, (LOCAL)
M20 ADDENDUM 2.1 MA-2
ID 1 OFFLINE WITH THE CADI REMOTE
CADI TAPE AND REFERENCE COUNTER INDICATIONS
WHEN ID 1 IS OFFLINE
STORING LOCATE POINTS WHEN ID 1 IS OFFLINE
M20 ADDENDUM 2.1 MA-3
TAPE TC DETECTION IN FAST WIND MODES
TAPE TC IN THE TAPE COUNTER
FIXED MODE TIME CODE GENERATION: TC START REF: F
DIGITAL SCRUB: DIG SCAN: ON/OFF, NN dB
I/O C
SMPTE CHASE WITH THE STOP BUTTON
TAPE TC UPDATING WHEN IN INPUT MODE
VARI-SPEED AND PULL-UP/DOWN
MIDI T
NEW UTILITY PAGE ORDER
CADI
CASSETTE AUTO-INJECT
DECK STANDBY MODE
AUTO-PARK AFTER FORMATTING
DEFERRED EJECT
NEW RS-422 DEVICE ID
IMPROVED SMPTE CLOCK SOURCE RECOGNITION