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The MyAtari
team answer some more of your mail...
Hello folks!
i have recently
come across an atari 520st and i want to
make music on it. Aside from a midi keyboard,
what are the basics i would need? also,
how would i go about upgrading to 1040?
i am a beginner,
but i am really anxious to get making tunes
on my new friend.
Hi Paul
Glad you
want to make Music on Atari. Due to the
on-board MIDI ports, the timing is excellent.
For basics all you need is a MIDI keyboard
preferably that is multi-timbral. For beginners
I like to suggest the Yamaha PSR series:
cheap yet excellent sounds. However if you
want to CREATE sounds (synthesis) then you
need a real sythesizer. There are a lot
of fancy unites out there you can spend
a lot of money on.
The Yamaha
FM synths such as the DX7, DX7II as well
as modules such as the TX81Z are down in
price and would make excellent choices for
a synth. You could get a combo with a PSR
series for GM (General Midi) and a module
for synthesis. Roland MT32's are down in
price as well and with an Editor on the
Atari (such as the Caged Artist series)
you can create the most excellent analog
sounds I have heard.
However,
a 520ST which has not been upgraded may
present a problem with memory. A 520ST usually
has only half a meg. For most MIDI applications
you need at least a meg. However, there
may be some of the "left hand"
apps such as algorithmic generators and
sound editors which may work fine. For info
on upgrading go here:
The Atari
Quick Faq: http://pp.fishpool.fi/~q-funk/ST/
It will
also answer a LOT of newbie type questions.
I am not a hardware person myself, so I
always refer people to this excellent FAQ.
For software, all you need do is go to my
site, (*see sig*) read the DOWNLOAD FAQ
page and start downloading!
All the
best Atari-MIDI software is there including
some that many have not heard before and
are now coming out into the open. This is
due to my contacting the original programmers/companies
and they are now releasing them as freeware/shareware.
More to come as well (it NEVER STOPS!).
There
are more programs on the Atari-Midi file
sections and archives as well. Then the
next best thing is to join a USER group
such as the Atari-Midi mailing list. All
are musicians who use Atari. You can't go
wrong! Hope this helps! have Fun with your
Atari and the world of MIDI!
Tim Conrardy
Tim's Atari Midi World:
http://sites.netscape.net/timconrardy/index.htm
Atari-Midi
Mailing List:
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/atari-midi
Dear MyAtari,
I have several
520ST and 1040 ST computers as well as a
Falcon 030. What do I need to get these
systems connected to the internet?
Joseph Burke
We shall
soon be looking at this subject in detail.
A few years ago, an Atari enthusiast called
R. Golding wrote a "Users guide to
the internet for Atari" but I believe
it is now out of print. For the moment,
I recommend visiting the following web site,
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/rgoring/support/, for information
on getting your Atari online. Roy's site
contains all the software you need and instructions
on how to sign up to Zetnet or Freeserve.
Good luck!
MyAtari magazine,
How do you
add icons to the newdesk desktop of TOS
2.06 and above.
Brian Van
Tilborg
Load the
DESKICON.RSC from the boot drive into a
resource editor like Interface and away
you go!
hello all,
I came around
your excellent pages covering Atari material.
Have you ever thought of creating a book
on the history of Atari ? You could easily
start by assembling some of your current
material in one document. To make it as
complete as possible, I would open it up
to the public and welcome comments and additions.
Maybe other people want to write on this
topic as well?
I know companies
like Fatbrain (http://www.fatbrain.com) sell printed versions
of texts so you could actually make a real
book! I bet there are tons of material people
would like to submit. You could make this
book available in PDF so photos remain in
excellent quality.
There hasn't
been a single good book on Atari, material
is slowly disappearing, it should happen
soon. At least all material should
be assembled so maybe someone will take
on the challenge one day. With so many material
shattered around, the quickest and most
complete project would be if it was opened
up to everybody.
best,
Geert
How about
it? Anyone wish to take up the challenge?
Hi guys
Just wanted
to say that I cane across the link to myatari.net
on the Atari 8bit newsgroup tonight and
have just read both issues "cover"
to "cover". It's great to see
such a professional site with great content
dealing with a subject which has been close
to my heart for many years. I really felt
that the Atari scene was about dead in the
UK (especially the 8 bit scene) but what
I saw has changed my mind. I look forward
to the 16Mb memory upgrade - you're right
it's not needed but it would be a *HUGE*
amount of fun !!!
I'll have
to dig out some of my collection and send
you a few shots of it! Thanks for the mag
and I hope it keeps going.
Paul
Great
to hear from you Paul and thank you for
you words of praise.
Hi Matthew
"MyAtari"
looks great and I'm glad to see there's
still a vibrant Atari community out there,
even if we have become a sort of underground
movement in recent years! I was very downhearted
when ST Format and the other mags finally
closed, but you can't keep a good machine
down.
I would be
interested in contributing to the magazine
- how about a music and sequencing column
or series? I don't know what your readership
would be interested in, but I'm open to
suggestions!
Cheers,
Paul Westerman
You are
quite right Paul, you can't keep a good
machine down ;-) I am glad to hear that
you'd be interested in contributing a sequencing
column to MyAtari, I look forward to receiving
the first installment. If you have any suggestions
for Paul or are able to contribute an article
of your own, please e-mail me at matthew@myatari.net
Dear Matthew,
Ever since
Feb 28th 2000, the date entered in documents
by my Protext word processor is one day
in advance of the actual date. This
is in spite of the Atari Falcon system clock
and date being correct. Is there any
way of correcting?
Alan Jackson
I am afraid
this sounds like a software bug. Protext
must use a non-Y2K friendly method of working
out the current date. Since you mention
the date February 28th 2000, I can only
assume that Protext did not understand that
the year 2000 was not a leap year! Sorry,
I don't think there is a way round this.
If any of our readers can help Alan, please
e-mail me at matthew@myatari.net
Hi Matt,
Do you know
where I can get that an Atari T-shirt from?
Adam Scorr
Atari
T-shirts can be purchased from several web
sites including:
Matthew,
I wanted
to congratulate you for your great e-zine
and for the awards it received.
Pascal
Thanks
;-)
MyAtari,
My local
second-hand music equipment shop's got a
1040 STe for sale for £80. As far
as I know this is without a monitor or any
external peripherals. I think it may have
1Mb of RAM and come with a copy of Cubase.
I want to use it for MIDI sequencing but
I'm worried 'cos this sounds like a lot
to pay for such a machine to me. Is it a
fair price?
What specifications
and accessories should I reasonably expect
at this price? What's the best version of
Cubase that would run on this machine? What's
the maximum amount of RAM that can be fitted
to a 1040 STe, is it easily available and
at what price? What options do I have for
fitting a hard drive if it doesn't already
have one?
I'm sorry
to bombard you with so many questions! Could
you give me a prompt reply please as I'll
probably need to snap it up quickly if it's
worth buying
Cheers,
Rupert de
Renzy-Martin
Second-hand
STE machines are still quite rare as most
Atari musicians swear by them (not at them!).
If it's properly refurbished and/or comes
with a 2-3 month warranty and the copy of
Cubase is legitimate complete with manual
and dongle then £80 is reasonable
price.
The best
version of Cubase that will run on a 1040STE
is v3.1 (although v2 isn't half bad). A
1040STE already has 1MB of memory , however
it is possible to fit up to 4MB (with 4x1MB
30-pin plug-in modules (usually SIMMs))
into a standard machine. If you wanted to
fit an external hard drive, you would have
to take the SCSI route in conjunction with
a host adaptor such as the popular Link
97.
Second
opinion:
I do not
know the equivalent money amounts as I live
in the USA, but a 1 meg 1040STE with Cubase
(that is the Dongled version) seems good.
For a monitor, you can get a cable from
Best Electronics or from Mario Becroft that
allows you to hook up a VGA monitor to an
ST. There is also EBAY which you can get
used Atari MONO monitors (not the color
as Cubase will not work with it). Also if
you have an STE, you might be able to upgrade
to 4 megs with regular SIMMS. Check the
Atari Quick Faq at http://pp.fishpool.fi/~q-funk/ST/ on this. Cubase
is meant to work on a 1 meg machine, but
the more memory the better! Timing on Atari
machines are excellent. You can also now
get lots of music software from my site
that will enhance Cubase.
Hope this
helps
Tim Conrardy
http://sites.netscape.net/timconrardy/index.htm
Hi MyAtari,
I have noticed
that the TT's, MegaSTE's, and Falcon include
a "LAN PORT" on them. I suspect
this is just a 10BT port, am I correct?
Also, I do
not own any of the above listed currently,
however am looking into getting one for
a few networking tests I am conducting for
a project I am working on, which is the
best model to purchase for just plain and
simple pure networking... I do not wish
to be a gamer or application working on
it.
Thanks!
Scott Weaver
I'm afraid
not, the LAN port found on the Mega STE,
TT and Falcon are in fact an AppleTalk LAN
port. Using STiNG as your TCP/IP stack,
you can build a small network using any
of the available ports. Good luck!
Matthew,
Is it possible
to advise on what the following messages
mean.
Program returned
68000 exception ( # error 69 )
this happens
after about 30 - 45 mins when launching
a new prg to the current application eg
luna, aniplayer, papyrus etc
program returned
basic error ( # error 1 )
this happens
when using a beta of NVshell a front end
for the NView TTP.
I do not
seam to remember any errors until the ram
board was replaced, except when memory was
short.
Regards
Thomas
Thomas,
Error 69 is a MagiC specific error which
I used to get when running HiSoft BASIC
2.1. I was never able to track down the
problem but managed to avoid the problem
by not running HB. Does it always happen
after 30-45 mins? or is it only when a new
program is launched?
I suggest
that you try your RAM upgrade in a friends
machine if possible before asking for a
replacement. Please send us more details
about how and when your problem occurs and
I shall see what we can find out.
Hi guys!
Good job
and like the content, especially the interviews.
Thanks!
Keep it up.
Lyndon
Glad to
hear it. We are always keen to hear from
our readers, you likes and dislikes... Please
send your comments and suggestions to matthew@myatari.net
To MyAtari,
Are there
any sites showing the in-development shots
of Wolfenstein 3D for the Lynx, such as
those included on the recently released
S.I.M.I.S cart?
Also, is
anyone ever gonna take up AvP & finish
it off, if they did then they could make
a fortune on it, being one of the most highly
anticipated handheld games for any format,
so why don't they?!
I would very
much appreciate your help on this one?
All the best,
Many Thanx
As far
as we are aware, there are no plans for
Wolfenstein 3D or AvP to be released on
the Lynx platform. I agree it is a shame
as they are both excellent games which deserve
to see the light of day. We can only hope
that Infogrames decides to finish their
development.
Hi Matt!
First, congratulations
on the magazine's new look! it is really
nice; but you leftout the counter! WHY?
It is the very first thing I look at (i
like to see it grow ad grow). Now, the question:
how may I reach Tim Conrady's page? I tried
a search, I typed in the url found in his
article (you forgot the "summary",
eh?), but nothing happens: every link to
sites.netscape doesn't work. May you help
me?
Keep the
good work going!
Paolo
Thank
you Paolo, I am glad you like our new look.
With regards to the counter... when we launched
the new look, we did (and are) experiencing
some teething troubles with the perl scripts
on our site. This has meant that our subscribers
form, tell a friend form and others on our
site are not working as we would like. I
am attempting to rectify these problems
as quickly as possible. Thank you for your
support. To reach Tim's excellent Atari
site, click on the link below.
http://sites.netscape.net/timconrardy/index.htm
I would like
to thank all our readers who have taken
the time to e-mail us over the last few
months, your support is greatly appreciated.
I would also like to thank our team of experts
for their support and enthusiasm!
Send you
suggestions, comments and questions to matthew@myatari.net
Please note
We
regret that due to the volume of letters
and e-mails received by the magazine, personal
correspondence cannot be guaranteed. All
letters and e-mails received are assumed
for publication unless stated otherwise. |
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Issue
11