Tutorials and Applications, Chapter 15

15-2 ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06

active, so machine 2 decides it’s the master (ID 1) and machine 3 the only slave (ID 2). If you
then turn on machine 1, the machines will renumber themselves so that machine 1 becomes
the master (ID 1), and machines 2 and 3 become the slaves (ID 2 and 3, respectively).
Sync signals cannot pass through a machine that is turned off. For example, if machines 1
and 3 are turned on but machine 2 is turned off, machine 3 will not slave to machine 1
because the sync signal cannot pass through machine 2.
MASTER/SLAVE INTERACTION
Pressing any of the Transport, Auto Rec, Auto Input, Pitch, All Input, or Locate buttons
automatically triggers the same functions on the slave machine(s).
To minimize confusion, Alesis recommends initiating all operations from the master,
including transport control functions. When you press Play on the master, the slave(s) will
locate to the same time code point and begin playing once sync is achieved.
Pressing Eject on the master ejects all slaves’ tapes as well. To eject only the master’s tape,
press and hold Peak Clear, then press Eject on the master.
When recording or punching in on the slaves, initiate recording on the master but do not
record-enable any master tracks (unless, of course, you need to record tracks on the master).
Any record-enabled slave tracks will go into record, while the master will simply play. This is
why record enable is an independent function for each slave.
There are two other functions where the slave(s) act independently:
•Formatting is initiated independently on each slave, however, simultaneous formatting
on all slaves is possible.
•Digital Input is independent for the slave(s) as you may want to record via the analog
inputs on some machines and the digital inputs on others.
ACHIEVING LOCK
In a multiple-ADAT system, the slaves will “chase” the master (the M20’s Chase indicator
lights) and can only enter record once they are locked. Audio will not appear at an ADAT’s
outputs until it is locked, as shown by a lit Locked indicator. For the fastest chase-lock
performance in a multi-ADAT system, use the Locate points when possible to go to different
points on the tape.
INDEPENDENT SLAVE MODE
If a slave M20 is taken offline (Online button is off), its transport can be controlled
independently. Example: Press Play on the offline slave and it will play, but the other slaves
and master will not respond. When the slave in placed online again, it will respond to
transport commands from the master.