The Alesis ADAT format, repair XT20 player, transfer digital audio to an HD24 multi-track recorder.

The Alesis ADAT format, repair the XT20 player and transfer digital audio losslessly to an HD24 recorder, with proper synchronisation of 8 channels.
Now we have the Tascam DTRS to ADAT signal converter too: • Tascam IF-TAD converte...
Audio and video transfers: www.video99.co.uk/
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Music “Let It Run” with permission, copyright Cristie/MacFarlane.

[@woksrandomchannel]

I lusted an ADAT when seeing it on display at music store. Such beautiful hardware.

[@video99couk]

I was using my XT20 machine with the HD24 recorder just two days ago. The competing DTRS format was in some ways better because it supported up to 24 bit where the XT20 was only 20 bit maximum.

[@telesniper2]

Isn't it though?

[@nickdryad]

Brilliantly explained. I love your attitude to the plastic film removal. The fact that you’re going to be looking after the machine is most reassuring. I’ve seen so much gear that’s just been terribly abused.

[@video99couk]

Still have the HD24 and it's still in super condition. I've given up on FTP though, I now take the hard disk out and dump the data from that using software which can handle the strange disk format.

[@confusedobjectives1070]

This doesn't usually happen - first youtube tutorial I watched to try revive an ADAT which has been sitting for over 5 years. Error 20 - followed every step here including accidentally removing same drive belt and unbelievably this works ! Amazing - thanks

[@confusedobjectives1070]

Error 02! not 20 - have lots of old recordings to check out now! cheers again

[@ThriftyAV]

I wanted an ADAT recorder very much in the 1990s (or the Tascam DA-88), but settled on cassette multi-tracking due to budget issues and moved on the an all-in-one Yamaha AW16G in the mid-2000s. Good job getting the ADAT fixed! Interesting workflow dubbing from a vintage ADAT to the slightly less vintage HD24 to get all 8 tracks at once.

[@video99couk]

Soon I hope to have the Tascam converter so I can use the HD24 to dub 8 tracks digitally from DTRS too.

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

NO!! You don’t have to remove those rack ears!! I like your desoldering vacuum gun. Definitely a great tool to have, if you ever need to kludge some through hole components. Thanks so much for sharing things about ADATs I just got my first ones! A whole lot of 9 of them, all sold as is for parts, and I’ve already fixed three of them and have them working! One each of the Xt, Xt20, and a black face, and two Xts and four Xt-20s to go!! So indeed, videos like yours have been very helpful for me!! I got the BRC Remote Control, so as long as I can keep fixing the other six and mix /match the different models by matching their specs to match the lowest spec’d machine (just the same as how you did with your 24 HD machine setting it to 44.1 kSamples/second), I ought to have 72 tracks, possible. So THANK YOU, for sharing ALL of your experience there, as I have never owned an ADAT but I used them a few times in high school in 1997, a friend had two xt-20s. GREAT HELP!!

[@telesniper2]

I've always found braids work better, but if it works for you, ok.

[@zx8401ztv]

Hope your having a happy xmas, thankyou for your smashing videos. Have a great 2020 :-D

[@video99couk]

Lovely Christmas, thanks. I have another video shot, just the editing to do. Another half a video shot too. May also do a bit of a Christmas Special if the weather lets us.

[@nickfatsis9607]

Beautiful machines those, I have the XT20 as well, such a well built machine, I also have the BRC that controls it, the BRC will control a total of 16 XT20 machines giving you a whopping 128 channels!!

[@Ashad2012]

And unfortunately all the nightmares that go along with trying to use 128 channels of ADAT tape.

[@phylliscarr3067]

Awesome fix! Thanks for helping!

[@njm1971nyc]

Those odd little things (that look like little motors) under each reel table are actually the reel brakes. Little solenoid plunger things with felt pads. (I just disassembled mine, after it started spilling tape after hitting Stop in Rew/FF). Didn't find anything wrong with the brakes, and confirmed they are working, but after reassembly it's working properly again! Bit of a weird mechanism, especially the belt driven capstan! Seems quite well made though, even if it is a bit "1980"! Definitely not a deck I recognize from any VHS video deck.

[@sejrec56]

Valuable video THANK YOU

[@resynthesizer4565]

I have two and a BRC. One is very low hours, the other I think needs and Idler and belts. Very noisy during FF/RW and stalls near end of tape. Ordered from E-bay, hopefully that'll do the trick. Will master to Alesis CD recorder.

[@dannylharper6889]

I have 3 ADAT's I want to transfer the data to Studio One 4 via Apollo 16 with ADAT connection.. can I transfer using all three ADATs synced together with one Adat optical cable going to Apollo interface? All three Adats have sync cables and optical cables, or will it only transfer only 8 tracks at a time?

[@pcallas66]

I know I'm definitely primitive when it comes to this. I took the first route of taking the analog outs and inputting them two at a time into my computer in Audacity panning the odd channels left and the even channels right and then splitting the tracks and making them mono (for the most part). The way that I sync them up is by using one of the tracks as a reference, such as a clunking noise that gets picked up by the mic, having that channel on until that passes, then turning the channel off. What I then do with that is expand the waveform as big as it will go and find the very first part of the waveform and highlight everything before it and delete it. When doing that for all of the tracks, they all line up perfectly. The problem I'm having with my ADAT is a preformatted tape works fine, but a brand new tape (and I've tried a couple different SVHS tapes) when I format it, it records errors and I've wasted roughly 45 minutes formatting it. During the formatting process there's no indication that there's an issue.

[@video99couk]

There may be a fault but it won't be easy to track down. Could be tape path, bad pinch roller or mechanical issue (though not too likely if pre-formatted tapes work OK). Could be worn heads. Could be an electronic fault.

[@pcallas66]

@video99couk I'm thinking electronic. Everything is super clean inside, guides look great to me and I'm thinking if tracks record good on a pre-formatted tape, the heads are probably OK unless there's a separate head for that. Thank you.

[@TunnelLeaf]

You know anything about a Er 4 code?

[@thejawshop-AdventureRecording]

These were my mainstay for years. I am curious if I can hook it up to a focusrite interface and optically get all channels into my DAW [using a mixing desk]? ThankYou!

[@video99couk]

If that interface has a ADAT optical input then you can do so digitally, but if not then you would have to use 8 analogue connections which is less than ideal.

[@MyPOLYSTAR]

Em termos mecânicos a Sharp,Siemens e Orion usaram essa mecanica.Um motor para cada função.

[@video99couk]

Probably designed this way because of the high tape speed. It makes for a simple design.

[@rsuryase]

Can you connect the hard drive to a computer directly for faster transfers? My XT20 is playing tape very slowly, any idea what could be the problem?

[@video99couk]

I saw a reference in the XT20 manual about slow playback, it can be caused by having mixed 44.1 and 48 kHz sample rates on a recording. You can use the pitch control to correct it. You can download the XT20 manual easily enough and follow it through. Yes, taking the drive out of the caddy and connecting to a PC would be quicker, and if I had a lot of recordings on the hard disk, I would do it that way. Perhaps the hard disk could be replaced by a CF card or similar with an adaptor, to make that process super-easy. I may look into that.

[@kretzschMusic]

Hey man wondering if I need a VHS tape to connect to another adat device? Or can I use the inputs and then adat without the vhs tape? Thank you very much

[@video99couk]

I'm not quite sure what you are asking. In general, machines like this can do E-E which means electrical to electrical, without physically running a tape.

[@BartekEVH]

My lovly LX-20 :)

[@gertzpalma]

THANKS!

[@bobjerome5390]

hi has any body ask you to move audio for a Yamaha d24 8 track mo recorder very hard to find i picked one up along time ago £30 pick up only £2000 new the man told me he was right i checked the price he was in a band went to a computer to mix down look ahead for any video's yes i know it's getting hard to find gear and place to put it all did see a zip 250 audio recorder some time ago bob

[@shoppingamericanarecording5808]

Great video. I am using an old XT and am thinking about getting an HD24. I mostly track live sessions and do some demos. One question you may be able to help me with. I have another XT 20 with low head hours but it has error 7 on playback. It formats tapes apparently ok. I've tried reseating some of the plugs but to no avail. The tape will play for a few seconds with an error rate of around 3000 to 5000, then it shows the error. I have read that it is probably the head and is irreparable. Any last throws of the dice I might try? Many thanks.

[@video99couk]

I'm no expert on the XT20 machine so I may not be the best person to answer this. However since this is essentially a VHS deck, some of the same things apply to it. So when a tape is running, make sure that the tape is flat along the tape path, that it's not curling up anywhere. If it does, then there may be a tape path fault or a worn out pinch roller.

[@shoppingamericanarecording5808]

@@video99couk thanks very much for taking time to reply. It is really appreciated. I learnt a lot from this video as I always wondered about the possibility of transferring ADAT recordings on an individual channel basis. Cheers

[@davidcain6039]

Hey man! I just got one of these and when I record a track it sounds really digitally distorted! Do you know what could be the cause?

[@MrDuncl]

Are you overloading the inputs ? Unlike analogue tape you cannot push a digital recording into the red. Doing so will cause distortion.

[@monsirto]

HD24 is a standalone 34 track recording solution. It renders the "master device" in this scenario completely redundant.

[@video99couk]

No. It drives the tape transport and sets the timing of the captured data to exactly the same as the tape. Then if there are multiple tapes in the set, they will all have the same time start.

[@hbmike47]

You can connect multiple HD24's together to do 128 track recording. It also has a track edit feature and you can move tracks between machines in a synchronized configuration. Master device certainly has meaning in this scenario and others.

[@ritterss1983]

When i studied at the university back in 2002, the teacher showed this ADAT tape machine to my class and claimed this machine is still in use in some audio recording studios.

[@video99couk]

I'm sure they were still in use around then, but probably coming towards the end since the HD24 was released around 2001. It performs the same functions and more, tapelessly. But it wouldn't have been cheap.

[@Aranjor34]

Hello, 8 channels of this device are sold, I want to buy it, but does it run 24 channel recording VHS tapes? If you could help with this situation, I would greatly appreciate it.

[@video99couk]

Each XT20 machine can record 8 channels on an SVHS tape. You can hook up to three of them together and they will record 24 channels, all synchronised together. I wouldn't recommend these as a multitrack recorder now, there are much better modern solutions.

[@rossknowles5608]

do you actually need to sync the machines? if you're just transferring the tracks id have thought cueing up the "player" to the start of the song (or before), setting the "recorder" so that the drive is ready, then manually starting the recorder and then starting the player after a couple of seconds would be it. side-stepping the "missed the beginning" issue caused by the player mechanisms delay. wouldnt it?

[@video99couk]

If the tapes are part of a multi-tape set, then it's important to synchronise them.

[@bobjerome5390]

there is alot of adat gear about in lock up's all over the place just waiting for that betacam decks you have done yet i have 2 betacam somewhere one as no sound sony 1800p bob

[@video99couk]

I've featured some Betacam decks but have more lined up for when I get a moment. What I want now is that Tascam IF-TAD interface.

[@mannywang795]

I have a adat master tape how can i hear the music from it. Adat player?

[@video99couk]

Yes you need an ADAT player like this.

[@VideoNash]

thanks

[@sammiichel5484]

Do you find solution to replace hard disk by another solution for connected directly in a PC ? I'm interested.

[@video99couk]

The machine has FTP included, but I've found that unreliable and slow. At the moment I am using a physical hard disk, which I then connect to a PC and use hd24connect software to transfer the files quickly that way. Note that hd24connect needs to be run as Administrator or it will not detect drives.

[@scottstrang1583]

I think Telarc used those Tascam tranports with outboard A/D's to record some of their classical albums.

[@video99couk]

Yes, that would be technically possible.

[@jamesbennettmusic]

Argh, the XT20... my college nemesis. They had a pair. Accidentally leaving a tape in overnight would either mean you wouldn't get it back out the following morning, or the machine would attempt to eject it, go wonky and get the tape stuck. No idea who the deck OEM was on those, I've only read that the higher end M20 model used a Panasonic mechanism. Surprised to see a capstan belt in there, not direct drive (I said that before didn't I...) Supposedly the A-D converters on the HD24's punched above their weight.

[@video99couk]

I left a tape in last night as it happens. Just ejected it fine. I think the problem with these decks was that mode switch, which is a pity because otherwise it looks quite robust. Alas the A/D converters in my HD24 will never be used!

[@hbmike47]

@@video99couk I do believe they are Apogee converters. I might be able to verify that today since I have one half apart.

[@hbmike47]

Wavefront AL1101 with TL084 op amp on the input side and Wavefront AL1201 with MC33079 op amp on the output.

[@rsuryase]

Can you make a video about the companion software HD24tools?

[@video99couk]

I've used the HD24Connect part of this software to pull data from a hard disk, because the network connection of the HD24 is slow and unreliable. However, though I got it to work just once, I've never been able to get it to work again. I'm always informed that there are no drives to connect to. This is very frustrating. If ever I get it working again, I could do a video at least about that aspect of the HD24tools software.

[@Pm-qp6tb]

@@video99couk hello oh yes please if you find a way to read the HD 24 on pc with the right driver let us to know Cheers

[@bobjerome5390]

hi check to see if i still had my alesis HD24 my paper work says they are £400 about payed low price's for my 16 black face units from £5 to £25 each as some needed atot of work there was starting bidds of £5 and just did not sell

[@video99couk]

This HD24 which is as-new and boxed cost that sort of figure. I've forgotten what I paid for the XT20 and AI-1 interface but suffice to say that this kit will probably never pay for itself, but is fun to work with.

[@soundguydon]

I know I'm a year-and-a-half late to the party, but what about connecting it to a DAW and record all 8 tracks simultaneously? I believe my interface will accept an ADAT signal. Excellent vid as always though -- I remember working for a theatre that had a group of ADAT machines, but by the time I worked there, they'd moved on to DAWs. They just sat in a rack, unused and collecting dust (made me a bit sad, really.)

[@video99couk]

That might be a route, I will look into it. What model DAW has the ADAT input?

[@Nord72]

For example Ensoniq Paris with MEC and an ADAT card has I/O and on a single PC/MAC you can use up to 8 cards with 8 MECs with inside almost countless ADAT cards....incredible flexible system. I only have one EDS1000 plus 2 I/O if and the 16 chs controller, mainly use with ASIO driver.

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

ADAT is a repairman's dream machine and only repair men should own them if they get it to play once then put it away so they can repair it again when they try to use it next time the florescent vacuum displays are highly sought after as they can't be repaired

[@video99couk]

It's old equipment now and failures are to be expected. Fortunately I can keep this kit going, and also Tascam DTRS machines which are of a similar vintage and also break down.

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

@@video99couk I would love a ADAT machine i have everything from Reel to Reel cassette multi tracks. But the 90's equipment are verging on unrepeatable i have a Fostex 1624 mk2 similar to Alesis HD you have a great machine but the fostex is quite rare florescent display went out and i have been going thru everything on it suspect a power supply component. but so many IC's and processors very difficult and time consuming. I really appreciate your video as it's great to see old equipment working.

[@bobjerome5390]

hi to all out there this unit will run on sata drives you got to have the case with the ide-sata a up date the f ware somewhere finding the case's that the drives go in may be a pain i still using ide drive's there's a 500gb in side my mate got out of a dvd recorder unit he all way getting them as the dvd recorders get handed in a lot a not working i just do a check on them

[@IlBiggo]

I recently ordered a super-cheap IDE->SATA converter ( www.aliexpress.com/item/32861190497.html ). It set me back a whole $2.50 or so, and it's working beautifully. Of course a full-size hard disk won't fit into the caddy anymore (but you could modify one of those converters: it's a small PCB with connectors you can just remove, and then solder all the cabling directly on the pcb). I put a 2.5" 2TB disk in, getting an astonishing 160 hours recording time. photos.app.goo.gl/dtrMWTYPLzCbW5748

[@bobjerome5390]

you lucky man for so low hours some get 1000 hours plus

[@bobsbits5357]

hi man it's better to record all 8 channel at once in to a computer i had all 24 tracks having 3 pci ports is the only thing i have a old p3 1.7ghz with 6 pci ports i keep running just in case there was a 8 track recorder used by itv lonlon 1 of 2 run at 500mhz i have one scsi drives in side save file as wav files and i can pull hd and play back files same as the yamaha d24 scsi and akai dd8 plus decks

[@video99couk]

Something like a RME DIGI9636/52 PCI card then would allow 8 channels to be recorded at once?

[@zx8401ztv]

Ahh mode switch madness :-D, optical ones are better but the dust finds it's way in. Do you remember the computer data backup to vhs casette fad? What a palaver :-D

[@video99couk]

Danmere Backer I think I had. I of course backed up to Beta, not grotty old VHS, but the whole thing was a disaster.

[@zx8401ztv]

Yes it was a waste of space, funny how watching your videos brings back memorys from way back :-). Thankyou for your videos.

[@bobsbits5357]

hi looks like they are going to be like u-matic it unrd price's i picked alot of them up in the past of silly low price's £25- £50 they are lot more now M-AUDIO did a light pipe card bad thing it's a pci card there still good adat card's out there on ebay

[@bobjerome5390]

hi if you got some cash a M-AUDIO ADAT card for the computer is the best way to move files if you have the right pic ports akai hard drive re corders us scsi 18g max i have some 16bit 20 bit decks i love them great with the big remote you need ear plugs i have 8 working decks

[@video99couk]

Apart from the slow FTP operation though, the HD24 route works really well too.

[@jamesbennettmusic]

Supposedly you can hook the IDE drive up to a PC and use this to read the files directly: ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/hd24tools/

[@video99couk]

Yes, that works. Sometimes!

[@olanclark1664]

ABG/PAR 1996

[@spankedbywife1018]

adat format tape

[@hbmike47]

Wow, it sure took awhile for you to figure out the HD24 is in control. You should NOT touch the XT unit when they are synced.

[@video99couk]

Didn't take that long did it? I now also have the interface which allows for capture from the DTRS format too. At one point I was able to bypass the slow FTP problem by accessing the hard disk directly with software, but that's a bit fickle and doesn't always work.

[@hbmike47]

@@video99couk Someone came up with this nice little device that you can plug onto the end of the HD24 caddy and gives you a firewire connection then read the drive directly. Was that what you were referring to? Probably depends on that firewire chipset. Anyway, I just am looking at one on my bench right now, and it has a bad PSU. Those supplies are apparently a weak spot, and expensive to replace. Probably the entire value of the unit by the time it's said and done. One of the "other benefits" of the HD24 are those A/D converters. They are sweet sounding. The HD24 also has track edit. It's a bit to get your head around, but if you have a bunch of HD24's all recording and synchronized, you can pull a track from one device and copy/move it into another. Amazing how they came up with this ecosystem of standalone digital storage devices that you can track, edit, and master with and not need a computer.

[@video99couk]

@@hbmike47 I was using hd24connect.exe with a SATA to USB carrier. I've replaced one of the hard disks with a SATA laptop drive and an IDE to SATA interface. I got it to work a treat once, but can't seem to get the hard disk to be recognised by hd24connect.exe any more. I wouldn't mind the slow FTP operation so much if it didn't have a habit of crashing. So it's not like I can just leave it downloading a heap of data overnight. Can the bad power supply be repaired I wonder? The other thing which fails a lot on these is the main display, and without that you can't navigate the menus so it's hopeless.

[@hbmike47]

@@video99couk the PSU can be repaired of course, or replaced with an inexpensive computer supply and a buck converter to create a 8.5 VDC regulated bus. The PSU doesn't supply 5 VDC. That's left to individual regulators on each board. I did some further digging and I think the problem is actually leaky electolytics on the I/O boards. The machine runs fine if I leave the I/O boards. Disabled. I pulled things apart and saw that some caps were already changed in the past. They had different markings. There were some I saw swelling out the bottom. At this point, it's not worth doing paying someone for the repair from a financial standpoint. 100+ caps on I/O boards, and should check the main board too. I can confirm though that the A/D converters are the Wavefront AL1101/AL1201 chipset. 64x oversampled.. nice!

[@video99couk]

@@hbmike47 Useful to know. I'm glad my machine was new old stock when bought about 2 years ago, so hopefully won't give me trouble for a while.

[@bobjerome5390]

hi sorry to send this the meter unit go in this model you can get them at £400 so never buy a unit of ebay with bad meter units

[@video99couk]

Yes I gather that the whole display panels have to be replaced, though you can just about work the machine without them. Fortunately mine is virtually zero hours so hopefully will not fail.