ADAT recorders introduced affordable digital multitrack recording to project and professional studios in the early 1990s. Developed by Alesis, the ADAT format used S-VHS tape to deliver eight tracks of digital audio in a compact and scalable system. By linking multiple machines together, studios could achieve sixteen or twenty four track digital recording at a fraction of the cost of traditional large format systems.
Throughout the 1990s, ADAT machines became central to home studios, commercial facilities and broadcast environments. Their modular design, optical digital connectivity and compatibility with emerging digital mixers made them a defining technology of the project studio era. Today, ADAT recorders represent a pivotal stage in the transition from analogue tape to fully computer-based digital audio workstations.
