>> s='ASC2007252381128.0000.T88.ch04.sac E'; % sample input record
>> fmt='%s %*s'; % read a string, skip a string
>> textscan(s,'%s %*s') % read it..
ans =
{1x1 cell}
>> ans{:}
ans =
'ASC2007252381128.0000.T88.ch04.sac'
>>