Alesis ALESIS M20 4.9 LOCK OUT FORMATTING (SAFE MODE), 4.10 BULK ERASING, 4.11 RECORDING A BENCHMARK TAPE

Formatting Tape, Chapter 4
4-6 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06
4.9 LOCK OUT FORMATTING (SAFE MODE)
You may lock out the format option to prevent accidental formatting. This remains in effect,
even if you insert different tapes, until the setting is changed. To lock out formatting:
Operation You press… You see…
Select safe function Edit button, then
Format button
until display
shows Page 2
(Format Safe)
Display says “Format Safe:” and
format safe status (on or off)
Select format safe
status Up or Down Arrow button to
choose On or Off
respectively
Selected format safe status
4.10 BULK ERASING
You can bulk-erase M20 tapes with a video tape eraser.
4.11 RECORDING A “BENCHMARK” TAPE
Alesis recommends 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.