What are you using your Atari for?

[David Etheridge]

Hi folks,
I was wondering what members of the Atari forum are using their computers for: Sequencing, Audio, a combination of both, triggering softsynths and VSTs on PCs or what?
Do we have TT and Falcon users here and are you using rare and exotic goodies like the Falcon Mk X (whatever happened to them?)
In other words, what setups are you using?
I'll start things off with my own setup.
I have a total of five Ataris: 3 STEs with 4 meg each, a Mega STE with my infamous tower hard drive system, and a venerable STFM as backup.
The MegaSTE is used for archiving and articles for mags (I like the perversity of writing on the Atari, and then bunging a floppy into my Mac for e-mailing to editors!).
The studio is run by one of the STEs (the others are backup until I work out the space to run two in tandem for 100+ MIDI channels).
This runs Notator with Log 3 and Unitor 2, and I'm running all 96 MIDI channels!
Here's the list of gear being run:
Yamaha DX5 master keyboard.
12 Kurzweil 1000 modules, which seems like overkill, but basically comprises four each of the Pro 1, 2 and 3 modules chain linked for extra polyphony (or at least they will when they've been upgraded by the Synth Service centre).
These run through a Mackie LM 3204, allowing for even more to be added at a future time!

Roland MKS70 module (JX10 in a box)
Emu Morpheus
Roland D550
Technics WSA1R
Kawai K5M
Kawai K1
Korg DW8000
OSCar
Roland TR707 and Boss DR660 drum machines
A Digitech VHM5 Vocalist
Lexicon LXP1 and 5 FX,
LEM FX24
Roland DSP2000 (actually supposedly a hi-fi add on, but a brill programmable 20 bit reverb unit )
and a humble Midiverb 2.
All this lot currently runs through a Behringer MX8000A (which doesn't have as good an EQ as my original and venerable Seck 18/8/2).
The whole setup sounds superbly powerful, and the Atari is always reliable, being linked to a Fostex 80 for audio using the Unitor for SMPTE. All this lot keeps me warm in the winter!
I'll point out that the EMU, D550, WSA1, K5 and K1 have been added a few years ago, and the most expensive one then was the WSA1R at £265 -and I was GIVEN the DW8000!

So that's me at the moment - how about you?

Best wishes,

Dave.

[WiredUp]

These days I don't do much midi work but I use the atari to access a huge amount of song ideas and files from the mid 90's.
I still think Notator is the finest sequencer around. Now if only a new up-to-date version appeared I would be very chuffed.

[Walter_M_Fish]

hi Dave

currently using my souped up 4 meg STE (with Veloce plus board, with 4 EXTRA meg of TT fast RAM) running at 16Mhz...zippy eh?

i got my Compact flash hard drive sorted out at 128meg.. there is now NO noise whatsoever from my ATARI set up, and i am VERY pleased with that! the load and save times are almost instant, and its not even a new fast CF card!!!!

im also running a Roland VS2480 HD recorder for audio syncing the ATARI to this via MTC.

i have 7 (i think?) midi outs running to a yamaha GM Rack, an AKAI S3000XL, AKAI S5000...

this is the back bone of my gear for writing with..

i write on Guitar and play parts in via a Roland Midi Guitar convertor, work out arrangments on Cubase, track guide audio to the 2480 if need be and then build up extra parts on cubase and the 2480

ive been running this set up for a while now but its only since just before xmas that i went SILENT with the CF card, and the differance has been VERY good to experiance.

im currently very tempted to buy some form of a mac purely to run as a soft sampler in order to gain access to some of the great orchestra librarys avalible.... still havent decided yet though.... mainly cos it might add some nise back into the room

Rod

[Deano]

Still working the old-fashioned way here. STE running Cubase is the heart of our studio. A couple of hardware synths, an Emu ESI32 and a couple of FX units are all we use most of the time. Any vocals and live instruments are recorded to DAT then sampled and played via midi. Very primitive I know but it works for us and I can't see any pressing reason to change yet. I've tried more modern audio sequencers but they just seem too complicated and cumbersome. With the very limited amount of time I get in the studio I'd rather make music than wade through manuals trying to find out how to achieve something I can do in a few seconds on the Atari. A recent addition is a 20" vga monitor which is great leap forward. ( I can't believe I spent all those years peering at that tiny faded hi-res screen.
I'm very interested in the idea of a compact FLASH hard drive. How is that done? I have got a hard drive but because of the racket it makes it just never gets turned on and we end up using floppies.
For me it's as near as you can get to a perfect music computer. It is silent, does almost everything I could want, hasn't crashed for about two years of daily use and I haven't had to upgrade any software for 10 years.

[Walter_M_Fish]

hi Deano

RE CF HD try the zip as main HD thread.

Rod

[mint]

I'm writing DNB using a 14meg rack mounted Falcon with 128meg CF card. I've taken the fan out so its silent.It's running CAF 2.07 with additional digital ins and 8 outs.Sitting in the rack next to it is a Cheetah MS6, Novation super bass station, Roland JD990 and Yamaha A4000 controlled with an evolution MK249C2 and monitoring through a Nobels MX42 line mixer Technics SUV50 amp and Warfdale 30.2'sCurrently everythings out of action while I seek some replacement knobs for the A4k and a nice quiet HD with maybe some sort of manual cut out switch. Also need to fit the perfect keys interface so I can use a KVM and switch between the Atari and the Acorn...

[Neo-Classical Guitar Man]

Bugger, I cannot compete with your Falcon! One day I will have a Falcon when both the money is available and the urge is strongest, although I still fancy adding some form of audio input to my Atari STe like the Replay 16. Maybe there is a DIY way of doing it? This would be more for pleasure and hobby purposes rather than full blown pro stuff.

NCGM

[Fuji Ed]

Hello fellow Atarians,

Im currently using 2 4 meg STe's in my setup. Theres some great kit listed in this thread. Its making me drool and giving me some nice future upgrade ideas for STephanie and STella.

At the moment, all my stuff is written on one ST, with the other being brought out of retirement to sample the odd YM sound off. Great fun indeed.

Mint:

Your A4000, Ive got a link for replacement knobs on another machine. If I recall correctly, they work out at about £30 for a set of 5. I will post the link when Im at the other computer. Also, theyre only suitable for the A4000 and A5000, but the same company also supplies the type needed for the A3000 if anyone else is interested.

I've been meaning to get a replacement set for my A5000. Have you tried Servisol on them? It worked wonders for me and breathed life back into mine.

Neo:

I saw something about DIY sampling on the ST a long time ago. No links unfortunately. I'm pretty sure it was in an ST mag about 15 years ago and involved a project build cartridge. But honestly, Id go for a 2nd hand Akai, Emu or Yammy sampler off ebay. Your ST will love you for it!

Regards to all,
Ed

[mint]

Hi ed, any info on obtaining knobs would be great. I've phoned a few companies but they were unable to supply the alps part that i quoted. I've soaked my existing knobs with deoxit, which helped but not very much.

[Fuji Ed]

Hello Mint,

ALPS, yes thats the ones. The name had slipped me. I should be able to post back on this one later in the week.

Im now hoping the company I sourced isnt one of the ones who couldnt supply them for you! They do advertise them though, so fingers crossed.

Ed

[Tim.]

although I still fancy adding some form of audio input to my Atari STe like the Replay 16.

NCGM. I was just looking through a huge box full of Atari stuff and found a cartridge marked “ST Replay - for the Atari ST - Microdeal – made in England” and the original Microdeal ST Replay floppy dated1987 … couldn’t find the manual… I haven’t used it for well over ten years so I don’t know if it still works. If it’s of interest to you, pm or email me.

Some other things I found in the box:

Steinberg Twenty Four v3 manual, two floppies and dongle.

C-Lab Notator SL v3.1 manual – no dongle (exchanged it years ago for the PC one) but I guess I must have the floppies somewhere…

STFormat cover discs. 69 of ‘em right from disc one, dated 1988 (I also still have four binders full of the mags too)

Oh, and that was just one box…there are even more boxes of floppies, manuals, assorted bits of hardware and other Atari related stuff. I have fond memories of “Spectre”, the small bit of hardware that turned the Atari into a Mac… I still remember the manual as being the most entertaining and hilarious one I’ve ever read.

Ahem, confessions of a one time Atari fanatic

Tim ;o)

[Fuji Ed]

Hello again Mint,

heres what I dug out of my other computer:

********************************************************
>>To: a-list at ampfea.org
>>Date: 09 May 2002 16:20
>>Subject: knobs

I have successfully replaced the knobs on my A5000. The exact replacement part was Alps EC11B-15242. In Sweden you can buy those from www.elfa.se, the price is around $5 per knob. Note that the A3000 does _not_ use the same knobs. It seems to use EC11B-15244, but I am not sure.

A friend of mine did the actual soldering (I didn't trust myself to do it properly), and he found the process "pretty simple". YMMV. Anyway, for around $25 and a bit of patience, my sampler feels like new.

>>>>Manush
********************************************************

Is that one of the companies you tried? Theyre a Swedish company, but when you copy and paste the part # into their site, it seems they will supply them to pretty much anyone and anywhere.

Am hoping this will let you get back on track with the A4k.

Best of luck,
Ed

[TImellis]

Hi, managed to get another Atari monitor after the original expired (after 14 years of use), and my trusty old 1040ST with no mods whatsoever apart from a Unitor in the side, is still giving me excellent service.Running Notator, I use it to transfer songs which have accumulated over the years,on floppies, mainly piano accompaniments, for my wife's singing lessons. She doesn't play.A long midi lead plugs into a Phillip Rees Midi Merge, and then into the Mac which is connected through an AMT8 to my electric piano. I don't always need to record the files onto the Mac as they can be played directly from Logic Pro 6 in the Mac in Midi Sync mode, recorded through the desk on to (I can hardly bear to say it) cassettes. What latency? :bouncy:These songs were recorded up to 14 years ago.
Timellis

[mint]

Cheers Ed, i'll get some of those ordered up soon.

Hello again Mint,

heres what I dug out of my other computer:

********************************************************
>>To: a-list at ampfea.org
>>Date: 09 May 2002 16:20
>>Subject: knobs

I have successfully replaced the knobs on my A5000. The exact replacement part was Alps EC11B-15242. In Sweden you can buy those from www.elfa.se, the price is around per knob. Note that the A3000 does _not_ use the same knobs. It seems to use EC11B-15244, but I am not sure.

A friend of mine did the actual soldering (I didn't trust myself to do it properly), and he found the process "pretty simple". YMMV. Anyway, for around Hello again Mint,

heres what I dug out of my other computer:

********************************************************
>>To: a-list at ampfea.org
>>Date: 09 May 2002 16:20
>>Subject: knobs

I have successfully replaced the knobs on my A5000. The exact replacement part was Alps EC11B-15242. In Sweden you can buy those from www.elfa.se, the price is around per knob. Note that the A3000 does _not_ use the same knobs. It seems to use EC11B-15244, but I am not sure.

A friend of mine did the actual soldering (I didn't trust myself to do it properly), and he found the process "pretty simple". YMMV. Anyway, for around 5 and a bit of patience, my sampler feels like new.

>>>>Manush
********************************************************

Is that one of the companies you tried? Theyre a Swedish company, but when you copy and paste the part # into their site, it seems they will supply them to pretty much anyone and anywhere.

Am hoping this will let you get back on track with the A4k.

Best of luck,
Ed 5 and a bit of patience, my sampler feels like new.

>>>>Manush
********************************************************

Is that one of the companies you tried? Theyre a Swedish company, but when you copy and paste the part # into their site, it seems they will supply them to pretty much anyone and anywhere.

Am hoping this will let you get back on track with the A4k.

Best of luck,
Ed

[justdave]

My atari is currently gathering dust in the garage, along with all my old copies of ST Format and a large box full of games + random software. Reading all this made me all nostalgic and I thought I'd post. For the record it's an Atari STFM with 1meg of ram, no HD, no add on stuff. If it had a firewire input I'm sure I'd use it. If anyone wants it and would make use of it then they're more than welcome to it, assuming they don't go for a fortune on ebay.

dave.

[richardkasika]

Hey all! I had an atari through out eh 80's and early 90's and it died then I switched to Windows. My atari was running C-Lab Creator. I absolutely loved that software and have been haunted ever since switching to Windows (now using Cakewalk Sonar and am loving it). I may be a little bit behind, but please advise: Is Atari still alive? Do they have any new compters? were they taken over by some other company? Do they have an official website other than the forum kind? Thanks, I'll appreciate any help with this.

[David Etheridge]

Hi Richard,
Atari is long gone due to all sorts of silly activities by the company.


Many of them were described as they happened in the Atari column in SOS at the time. You may be still able to access the articles using the search button on the SOS site.

Look at the FAQ for all Atarians posting here on this forum for links to which sites are supporting Atari.
Things are still up and running in Atariland. Tim's Atari MIDIworld now has 700+ members, all happily using Ataris, so there's stil help advice and support for the venerable STs.

Best wishes,

Dave

[mal7921]

Most of my Atari collection is visible at http://soundworks.uk.com/Atari and yes, the Falcon AND the TT are still in use, as is the Mega2.

Most of the studio runs on the Cubase SX laptop and Nuendo workstation, but the Atari's have uses as musical scratchpads, each with their own mini setup so I can power on and just run.

It's amazing just how creative you can be when you have limits!

Once an idea has been worked out, it's transferred to the main rig(s), where the finishing touches are added.

[Fuji Ed]

Hi Mal7921,

WOW! Thats a very nice Atari collection! Wicked online info too.

Cool to hear your still using them along with your newer setup. Thats gotta be the way to get the best of everything!

Yup, I definitly agree, working with limits can bring great results!

Cheers,
Ed

[Cannibal Gymnastics]

Alright, reading the other threads I realise I'm not very technically minded at all, just kind of stumbling through managing to make some music along the way!
I started using the Atari about 5 years ago when a mate showed me Cubase (all I wanted is to midi some drums). I soon got hooked and ended up buying 4 STs second hand as this guy was selling everything together. Only got one left now, its an 4160 and for a while I used that and some hardware to do music. Last year I got a PC as I was getting frustrated as a lot of the stuff I wanted to do was messing about with samples and my sampler isn't that friendly to use.
Now I've started getting the hang of the PC I've brought my Atari out again and want to use it with the PC as I've got some odd little sequencers on it and a couple of programs that use the soundchip to create synth sounds. Having trouble midi syncing it up to cubase on the PC at the moment though (but I won't use this thread to ask about that).
I also use it when the PC gets a bit much and I want to get back to basics and knock something out.I also find it satisfying trying to push it as much as I can. My midi set up is:
Atari St 4160
Yamaha TX81Z
Akai S2000
Alesis SR-16
And of course the PC.
Anyway, you've probably heard of all these but heres where I get some of my programs:

http://www.cow-net.co.uk/

I recommend the Charming Chaos sequencer!

[mal7921]

Hi Mal7921,

WOW! Thats a very nice Atari collection! Wicked online info too.

Cool to hear your still using them along with your newer setup. Thats gotta be the way to get the best of everything!

Yup, I definitly agree, working with limits can bring great results!

Cheers,
Ed

Thanks, there are 2 other machines to add to them, a 260ST and a 520ST+, though I rarely get time to update the pages these days (2 year old daughter, full time job, maintaining my site and other peoples while doing music leaves little time for sleep(!)).

The collection is not yet complete, still after a Mega STe, and that real rarety (Though some do exist) the STE+ (With built in 286 processor and hard drive for running DOS).

Currently my ST Book is the pride of my collection, though I just missed out on an ST Pad (STylus). Damn you eBay!

[hadey]

Around cgristmas I went a bit ebay crazy and bought an Atari 520fm and an Akai S2000.
So my set up is as follows:
Atari ST, cubase 2
Akai S2000 w/10 outputs,scsi zip
Phatboy
Tascam 788
Korg Poly 800
Kawai midi keyboard
Berhinger MX2804 desk
A mountain of fx pedals
PC P4, with M-audio delta44
PC P2, Soundblaster
some guitars

Basically I'm trying to set up a system where I can do a gig with it, so it'll be the ST driving the S2000 and tascam788, maybe the korg too if I can get round to programming some sounds into it (fab for bass tho!. Use the fahatboy to bend and twist the s2000 and I'm away!

I'm in desperate need for a midi merge tho, as I have a problem where I can't close the midi loop as my keyboard only has a midi out, not too much of a problem but I think it's the reason why the 788 isn't syncing properly, it takes a while for it to cotton on it's suppose to be doing something..

Not been able to do much so far for the lack of DD disks, but good old ebay sorted me last night, ah 2 quid for 20 DD's, bargain!

laters...

[Pop Fodder]

Reminiscences, yay!

I used a variety of ST machines for music up until late 2000 when I bought a Mac (new millenium, new platform...I think that was the rationale). No expansion or interfaces, just a big MIDI daisychain and careful channel allocation. Audio was handled by recording onto minidisc or DAT, then sampling into an expanded Yammy A3000 and triggering the samples via MIDI; a technique I've already seen mentioned on this thread, and one that worked faultlessly!

My sequencer was Breakthru 2, which was based on Sequencer One (a freebie with ST Format). The killer features of Breakthru were its "Diamond-Drag" MIDI editing, and its internal sample playback capability (samples were recorded using an 8-bit cartridge called Stereo Master- a cutdown Replay 16?). Before that I used a program called Quartet, which was a notation-based 4-part sample tracker.

At university, bored, I got into customizing my ST by taking the cover off and spraying it different colours to replace the nasty 80s beige...(pre-iMac!)

I still have three STs- a purple 520FM, blue1040FM and green1040E- on a shelf in my studio. They very occasionally get powered up to feed 90s MIDI into Logic, but these days they work well as art and are much admired by visitors.



Atari+A3000=no crashes. Got an A5000 now, and it too needs new knobs. Soldering, yikes.

[forumuser669739]

Got two Atari ST's at the moment. One is used alongside C-labs Notator (the hub of all sequencers). The other is used with Steinberg's Avalon and the Akai S950 - mainly for lo-fidelity effects.

[TonyHoult]

I have an old Atari 520STM with an external floppy drive.... I'd love to say I still use it for music but it reality it acts as a very efficient door wedge!!!

Tony

http://www.captive.co.uk