Makinga Recording; Track Selection And Setting Levels; Time Counter - Alesis ADAT-XT20 Reference Manual

M
AKING
Recording on the XT20 is very similar to most multitrack tape machines. The
process involves formatting a tape (see previous tutorial), putting one or more
tracks into record-ready, adjusting record levels on your mixer, setting the input
monitor mode, locating to the start tape address and engaging record. In this
tutorial, we will be recording from the analog audio inputs at the start of the
audio portion of the tape (0:00:00.00).
T
RACK
T
IME
ADAT XT20 Reference Manual
A R
ECORDING
S
ELECTION AND
You'll find the RECORD ENABLE buttons ([1]–[8]) for all eight tracks
on the left side of the front panel, beneath the display. A track is
considered "safe" when its [REC] LED is off, in "record-ready" when its
[REC] LED is flashing, and in record when its [REC] LED is lit solid.
To record-enable a track:
Choose a track to record on, and press the track's associated
RECORD ENABLE button [1]–[8]. The selected track's [REC] LED will
flash to indicate it is in record-ready.
Send an audio signal to the track(s) you have placed into
record-ready.
Adjust the levels on your mixer so that the "average" level is at -15 dB
on the peak meters of the XT20 and the loudest section never goes
beyond 0 dB. Digital audio recording is different from analog recording,
and therefore requires a different method when setting levels. For more
information, see Setting Levels on page 48.
To take a track out of record-ready (safe), press its associated
RECORD ENABLE button again. The selected track's [REC] LED will
turn off to indicate it is safe.
C
OUNTER
Before recording, you should familiarize yourself with the transport
buttons, and the 7-segment TIME counter in the top left corner of the
display. Ordinarily, the TIME counter will show Absolute (ABS) time,
which is the exact time reference being read directly off of the
formatted tape. The tape position is displayed as hours:minutes:
seconds.hundredths-of-a-second. (This counter may be changed to show
30 frames per second, see page 60 for more information.)
0 15
ABS
H
Pressing the [ABS/REL] button will toggle the display between ABS
Time and Relative Time. The display will either indicate ABS or REL
to the left of the TIME counter.
0 01
H
REL
Relative Time reflects the current tape position relative to where you
set the Relative 0:00:00.00 position. This is similar to resetting the
tape counter on a cassette deck. However, the XT20 gives you the option
of reading the actual tape position (ABS Time) or the tape position
relative to the location you marked as 0:00:00.00 (Relative Time).
Your First Session With The ADAT XT20: Chapter 2
S L
ETTING
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M S
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M S
EVELS
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