4 ms·

Something I always thought odd; why would just _having_ MIDI ports make the ST popular with musicians? Getting an Amiga MIDI adapter was super cheap and easy...

Something I always thought odd; why would just _having_ MIDI ports make the ST popular with musicians? Getting an Amiga MIDI adapter was super cheap and easy... although most early Amiga MIDI and stave-notation software (Sonix, Music-X, DMCS) fell out of favour as trackers stormed on the scene; most Amiga musicians preferred to use the Amiga as a sample sequencer than as the controller of other MIDI devices. Is it really just default ports? If the Amiga had had a line in port rather than required an external sampler, would it have been known as "the sampling machine"? The Amiga did famously form the backbone of 1990s NTSC broadcast television production as the Video Toaster, but that was because the Amiga chipset was able to genlock with an external video signal, i.e. it was an inherent feature of the machine rather than the default ports and peripherals it came with.

MagerValp 4y ago
Put yourself in the shoes of the developer of a midi sequencer in the 80s. You could target the Atari, where midi ports are standard and everyone with an interest in music is a potential customer. Or you can target the Amiga where there’s no standard, effectively forcing you to source or develop a midi dongle yourself to sell with the software, increasing the price by at least $20 or $30, and adding complexity and development costs up front.
- amiga386 4y ago
  That's a good point. Something being a noted feature of the device would encourage people to develop software for it. The DSP in the Atari Falcon was a big draw as well. Commodore did eventually promote a standard library for MIDI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga_MIDI_Driver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga_MIDI_Driver) in 1990, perhaps too late to take anything from the lead the 520ST had gained
rasz 4y ago
640x400@70Hz monitor (not 100Hz as OP claimed) was the second part of the puzzle. You want as much readable non headache inducing (interlaced Amiga) text on the screen for music sequencing. Not to mention Atari ST _with_ that monitor was still substantially cheaper than naked Amiga 1000.
- Cockbrand 4y ago
  Whoa, I was very sure that the SM124 did 100Hz, but you're right. I stand corrected! And I agree that the combination of the great monochrome monitor and the built-in MIDI made the ST much better suited as a music production machine.

MagerValp 4y ago

Put yourself in the shoes of the developer of a midi sequencer in the 80s. You could target the Atari, where midi ports are standard and everyone with an interest in music is a potential customer. Or you can target the Amiga where there’s no standard, effectively forcing you to source or develop a midi dongle yourself to sell with the software, increasing the price by at least $20 or $30, and adding complexity and development costs up front.

amiga386 4y ago
That's a good point. Something being a noted feature of the device would encourage people to develop software for it. The DSP in the Atari Falcon was a big draw as well. Commodore did eventually promote a standard library for MIDI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga_MIDI_Driver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga_MIDI_Driver) in 1990, perhaps too late to take anything from the lead the 520ST had gained

rasz 4y ago

640x400@70Hz monitor (not 100Hz as OP claimed) was the second part of the puzzle. You want as much readable non headache inducing (interlaced Amiga) text on the screen for music sequencing. Not to mention Atari ST _with_ that monitor was still substantially cheaper than naked Amiga 1000.

Cockbrand 4y ago
Whoa, I was very sure that the SM124 did 100Hz, but you're right. I stand corrected! And I agree that the combination of the great monochrome monitor and the built-in MIDI made the ST much better suited as a music production machine.