XT 20?

  • Thread starter Thread starter dobro
  • Start date Start date
dobro

dobro

Well-known member
I'm getting tired of tracking with my computer, and I'm looking at alternatives, one of which is ADAT.

How reliable is it tracking? How often do you lose a take because it screws up?

What's the major downside of using ADAT?

How portable is it?

Can you hear any difference between 20-bit ADAT and 24-bit hard disk recording? No, right?

Can I have one for Christmas if I'm good?
 
XT20s.... they're GrrreeeEEAAAATTTT!!!!!!!!!!! (I have 3...) :)

Only downside is regular maintenance (it's to be expected - it's tape-based!), and having to format tapes before use (although you can buy pre-formatted.) Tracking is flawless, sync is very reliable (unless time-code on tape goes).

It's rare but you can get glitches requiring a soft-reset of the unit (s/w init). I've never lost a take or punch-in in about a year of use.

The A/D converters are very, very good - transparent and not at all grainy.

The unit is as portable as a piece of 3-unit size rack gear can be!!

And you'll have to ask Santa himself if you want one... I assume you've been good all year?!?!?! (I may stick up for ya if you ask nicely!!!) ;)

Bruce
:)
 
Yeah...

What Bruce said! You will be very happy with an XT-20. And you shouldn't have any sync problems or any of that if you run two or more.

The maintnance is not too bad on them either. Every 300 on head hours you will put out some money, if the transport system is a good one.

Ed
 
Okay, I've read lotsa posts from people saying how much they like their ADAT, and I'm warming up to the idea. I'm still not clear about getting an ADAT talking to my computer, though. What's required? A special soundcard? If so, I'm probably shagged, since Gadgetlabs have just done a nosedive, and that's the card I'm using. Also, what's lightpipe, and is it necessary? Sorry to be so uninformed - I've been doing some homework, honest. :D
 
The Lightpipe is Alesis' proprietary spec for 8-channel digital I/O via fibre-optic cable. Many other manufactures have adopted or provided for its use in their own cards and I/O units since it's a very convenient way of transferring 8 channels of digital data - not to mention supporting the wide ADAT user base.

Bruce
 
Hm, okay. But do you need a special soundcard to get digital information moving between the ADAT and the computer?
 
Uh huh...

Yes Paul, you will need a soundcard that has the ADAT Lightpipe digital I/O on it. There are a few around. I wouldn't recommend the Alesis PCI card....:(

Here is one to check out. I have seen the card work, and it seems to work well. http://www.frontierdesign.com/ It is only like $340.

Good luck.

Ed
 
So, $340 for the card and another bomb for the XT20, and me not an engineer getting other people to pay for my gear. Hmmm...
 
Using ADAT's w/ ProTools;)

Dobro,

I have spent years bashing ADATs. I have hated them from the very begining. I started out recording to one inch reel to reel, I never liked having to wait for the machines to lock up and never thought they sounded good. I was once an assistant on an Ozzy Osbourne session and the producer was sending tapes to and from London and LA without any clones or back-ups. He didn't want to waste studio time making clones. Needless to say one day a tape got eaten in the 1st machine. Oops.

Fast forward 4 years. I now use ProTools every day at my studio. I needed a way to communicate with the outside, non-protools world. ADAT was the fromat I chose. I have the ADAT Bridge from Digidesign and 2 ADAT LX 20's I go back and forth (through lightpipe) between formats constantly.

An Example:

I have a client in San Francisco (I'm in LA) that I just started working on an CD with. We recorded for 3 days in SF. I flew home to LA, dumped 48 tracks of 20bit/ADAT into PT and was off and running. The artist then called and said she had an idea for a few more parts. I quickly made her a single tape with stem mixes <drums>,<piano>,<gutiars>,<Vocals>. She only has two ADAT machines but now she can create her own rough mix from the stems and still have the other tape to record to. If any of the ideas work I can have the tape fedex'd down to LA and load it seemlessly back into the original session.

Just one example of combining the two formats.
best of luck.
j
 
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