Had an ST Mega 4 with C-Lab Notator, arguably the strongest MIDI sequencer software at the time. Notator evolved into Logic (or became basis for, at least there are some kind of relationship there). The Mega 4 was known for having rock solid built-in MIDI hardware. https://www.muzines.co.uk/blog/notator-hd/32
They made several. The 800 was the first that I had. Then another was the 1040, then the 1040st. The 1040 was like having a Mac, only it was color instead of B&W.
The 1040 also had the best timing in the world for MIDI as well. Kinda wish I still had mine.
Oh yeah. Was so much better than the Amiga and Commodore pcs at the time. At one point they kind of competed against Apple because they had color. I had 400, 800xl, 1024ST, mega ST
One of my best friends was in the Atari camp and I was in the Commodore camp. He liked MIDI, which wasn't an interest of mine. He also started out with an Atari 800 and just stayed with the company.
It’s certainly an odd beast! I used it for sampling and overdubbing audio back in the day. As Atari’s last ever computer when they were in financial dire straits, it’s got plenty of weird hardware bugs — it was also the first machine they made with computer-assisted PCB design…
(btw, they let software do the OCB routing not because they were on the cutting-edge of technology. Rather, they’d fired all the people who used to do that job to cut costs, heh)
The ST was the backbone of a lot of late 80's-90's electronic music. It helped usher in the age of 'bedroom' production in music. A pivotal piece of tech.
Indeed they did.. a few of them, actually. The ST was an amazing machine for its time.. even though I think overall they probably sold more of their 8-Bit machines (the 400/800/XL/XE systems).. my first computer was an Atari 800.. I loved those beeps during floppy loads.. lol. https://youtu.be/tzIksmZNjME
I loved it - wrote my PhD on it - at the time it was way cheaper than macs and had some great software with features still not easy with modern computers packages
I started with an Atari 65XE in the ’80s
-> then an Atari 1040STFM
-> then an Amiga 500
-> then generations of PCs
-> and finally, Macs starting with OSX Snow Leopard
They not only had these 16-bit machines; they had 8-bit computers (first one in 1979 with astonishing sound and graphics), which eventually became quite popular in Poland.
Comments
https://www.muzines.co.uk/blog/notator-hd/32
The 1040 also had the best timing in the world for MIDI as well. Kinda wish I still had mine.
#teamamiga
Top middle (with the pastel buttons) is an Atari XEGS. Has a detachable keyboard to use it as a computer.
Middle-right, a 1986 STM.
Bottom-right, a 1990 STE.
Bottom-left, a 1993 Falcon030z
Only ~10,000 made, of which very few survive in working and unmodified condition.
The TOS4 GEM Desktop was rather nice. Shame we never got to see future versions.
SUNLIGHT IS DEATH TO THAT OLD PLASTIC.
Growing up, my friends had an Amiga (which I loved), but I never met anyone who had an Atari computer.
I started with an Atari 65XE in the ’80s
-> then an Atari 1040STFM
-> then an Amiga 500
-> then generations of PCs
-> and finally, Macs starting with OSX Snow Leopard
Good old times! 😊
except the ST came about after Atari and Amiga got shuffled around with their corporate owners, it's complicated
I had one and loved it... I added more memory, etc., until I fried it by tinkering beyond my skills. Sigh.