Editing ADAT

{{Short description|Digital audio tape format}}
{{About|the digital tape format|the digital audio transfer standard|ADAT Lightpipe|Indonesian law|Adat|the tRNA-specific ADA|adenosine deaminase}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox storage medium
| name          = Alesis Digital Audio Tape (ADAT)
| logo          = ADAT logo.svg
| image         = Victor XG180 S-VHS videocassette.jpg
| caption       = An [[S-VHS]] tape, which is also used for ADAT
| type          = [[Magnetic cassette tape]]
| encoding      = Lossless real-time
| capacity      = 
| blocksize     = 
| read          = Rotating head
| write         = Rotating head, helical scan
| standard      = 
| owner         = [[Alesis]]
| use           = Professional [[digital audio]]
| dimensions    = 
| weight        = 
| extended from = [[S-VHS]]
| extended to   = 
| released      = {{Start date and age|1991}}
| discontinued  = 
}}
[[File:ADAT-XT.jpg|thumb|An ADAT XT 8-channel digital audio recorder]]

'''Alesis Digital Audio Tape''', commonly referred to as '''ADAT''', is a [[magnetic tape]] format used for the [[Sound recording and reproduction|recording]] of eight [[digital audio]] tracks onto the same [[S-VHS]] tape used by consumer [[VCR]]s, and the basis of a series of multitrack recorders by [[Alesis]]. Although originally a tape-based format, the term ''ADAT'' later also referred to hard disk recorders like the [[Alesis ADAT HD24]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Cooper |first=Michael |title=Alesis ADAT HD24 |url=https://www.mixonline.com/technology/alesis-adat-hd24-369644 |website=MIX |publisher=Future plc |date=July 1, 2002 |access-date=December 20, 2023}}</ref> In 2004, recognizing the ADAT for "beginning a revolution of affordable recording tools," it was inducted into the first-ever [[TEC Awards]] [[TECnology Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=TECnology Hall of Fame 2004|url=http://legacy.tecawards.org/hof/04techof.html#23 |date=2004|access-date=December 20, 2023}}</ref>

==History==
[[Alesis]] announced the first ADAT model at the [[NAMM Show]] in [[Anaheim, California]] in January 1991, with the first ADAT recorders shipping over a year later in February or March 1992.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peterson |first=George |editor-last=Robair |editor-first=Gino |date=1999 |title=Alesis ADAT: The Evolution of a Revolution |publisher=Mixbooks |page=2 |isbn=0-87288-686-7 }}</ref> This original ADAT model recorded up to 8 tracks of 16-bit digital audio on a standard S-VHS tape cartridge.<ref name="muzines">{{cite magazine|last1=White |first1=Paul |last2=Mellor |first2=David |title=Alesis ADAT |url=https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/alesis-adat/9503 |magazine=Sound On Sound |publisher=SOS Publications Group |date=September 1992 |access-date=December 20, 2023}}</ref> Additionally, up to 16 ADATs could be connected to each other to record up to 128 tracks simultaneously with sample-accurate timing. This capability and the ADAT's low cost (it was originally introduced at {{usd|3995}}) were largely responsible for the rise of [[project studio]]s in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Petersen |first=George |title=In Memoriam: Keith Barr 1949-2010 |website=Mix Magazine Online |url=http://mixonline.com/news/keith_barr_obit_2508/index1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829053857/http://mixonline.com/news/keith_barr_obit_2508/index1.html |date=August 25, 2010 |archive-date=August 29, 2010 |access-date=September 25, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1991 Alesis ADAT Modular Digital Multitrack |url=https://www.mixonline.com/technology/1991-alesis-adat-modular-digltal-multitrack-383615 |website=MIX |publisher=Future PLC |date=September 1, 2006 |access-date=December 20, 2023 }}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| image1    = Alesis ADAT XT LRC Remote Control.jpg
| caption1  = LRC (Little Remote Control)
| image2    = Alesis BRC Master ADAT Controller.jpg
| caption2  = BRC (Big Remote Control) Master ADAT Controller
}}

Alesis produced several models of ADAT recorders. The original ADAT (later referred to as ''Blackface'') and the ADAT XT record 16 bits per sample (ADAT Type I). A later generation of machines—the XT-20, LX-20 and M-20—support 20 bits per sample (ADAT Type II). All ADAT machines use the same high-quality S-VHS tape media. Tapes recorded in the older Type I format can be read and written in the more modern machines, but not the other way around. Later generations are capable of recording at a sample rate of either [[44,100 Hz|44.1]] or [[48,000 Hz|48]] [[kHz]], common in the audio industry. Pitch control is available by varying the sample rate, and thus tape speed accordingly.<ref name="manual">{{cite web |url=https://alesis.de/sites/default/files/2018-04/adat_hd24_manual.pdf |title=ADAT HD24 Reference Manual |website=Alesis.de |publisher=Alesis |page=4 |date=August 2001 |access-date=October 24, 2022 }}</ref>{{Rp|42}}

With locate points it was possible to store sample-exact positions on tape, making it easy to find specific parts of [[digital recording]]s. Using ''auto play'' and ''auto record'' functions made it possible to [[punch in/out]] at predetermined points, rather than relying on human timing ability to start and stop recording at precisely the right instant.<ref name="muzines" />

ADAT machines could be controlled externally with the Alesis LRC (Little Remote Control), which could be attached to the ADAT with a [[Phone connector (audio)|1/4" tip/sleeve plug]], and featured the transport controls and most commonly used functions. Alternatively, the BRC (Big Remote Control) could be used, which included many more features that the stand-alone ADAT did not have.<ref name="manual" />{{Rp|4}}

==See also==
* [[Digital Audio Tape]]
* [[Digital Audio Stationary Head]]
* [[Digital Tape Recording System]]
* [[Multitrack recording]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Audio format}}

[[Category:Audio storage]]
[[Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1992]]
[[Category:Digital audio transport]]