Hello: I recently got an Alesis MMT8 for next to nothing (caveat emptor buy). All powerup indications look good. However, when I press RECORD and select a track number, then press PLAY, it displays COUNTDOWN with a count of '5'. Then it stops without doing a countdown; nothing more. I cannot see any signs of flakiness, bad power, or other indicators of hardware trouble. Even after reading the official user manual for setting up recording and then starting the record steps, I cannot see that I am leaving out any steps. Ideas are welcome.
MMT8 not recording
- Thread starter bhweb
- Start date
external sync
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I had not thought of that. I looked in the manual for the word "external" and did not find it, only references to tape sync. Perhaps it is because I have it connected to an Alesis HR16? I have used the HR16 a number of times for recordings and it works fine there, but had not synchronized it to anything else; it was a free-running drum pattern. Is there an MMT8 manual of sorts (third-party?) that goes into more detail than the Alesis one? Maybe I should verify that the PART memory areas are in fact, cleared out completely. I had also thought of hooking up the MMT8 to a more elementary form of input like a basic keyboard with just one MIDI note at a time. I guess I had thought that since the HR16 and MMT8 were designed to work together, that was the best connection for starters ...
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I had not thought of that. I looked in the manual for the word "external" and did not find it, only references to tape sync. Perhaps it is because I have it connected to an Alesis HR16? I have used the HR16 a number of times for recordings and it works fine there, but had not synchronized it to anything else; it was a free-running drum pattern. Is there an MMT8 manual of sorts (third-party?) that goes into more detail than the Alesis one? Maybe I should verify that the PART memory areas are in fact, cleared out completely. I had also thought of hooking up the MMT8 to a more elementary form of input like a basic keyboard with just one MIDI note at a time. I guess I had thought that since the HR16 and MMT8 were designed to work together, that was the best connection for starters ...
ashcat_lt
Well-known member
Look up Clock in the manual, though it’s pretty brief too and I’m not sure how much it helps. Is the HR16 connected to input? If so, does the mmt8 start when you hit play on the drum machine? What happens if you just disconnect the drum machine?
It’s been almost 30 years since I’ve worked with that combination of gear, and while I was pretty good with it back then, I’ve killed a lot of brain cells since.
It’s been almost 30 years since I’ve worked with that combination of gear, and while I was pretty good with it back then, I’ve killed a lot of brain cells since.
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Hello, Ashcat (I hope that the name is correct; if not, please excuse.) I disconnected the HR16 and connected a rather standard keyboard in its place. I also made certain that MIDI LOCAL ECHO was set to OFF on both sides. After changing the CLOCK setting on the MMT8 from "MIDI + INTERNAL" to "INTERNAL" (thank you!), I was able to start recording without a countdown. The MMT8 recording played back into the keyboard perfectly! That CLOCK setting must have somehow made a difference, and also the HR16 must have been generating some signals (timing, maybe?) of which I did not know. Now I am curious to find out why the previous HR16 to MMT8 connection got so hosed up in the first place! Oh, well, I think that for now, just getting more acquainted with a more basic MMT8-to-keyboard connection will get me some better understanding of the sequencer . Thank you for your ideas!
