Atari ST Forum — Music, Art, 68000 Computing | 6502ish
Atari ST Forum
Built-in MIDI. 68000 speed. An art and music scene.
In 1985 Atari made one decision that shaped the next decade: they put MIDI ports on the back of a consumer computer. Nobody else did that. Ensoniq SQ-80s and Yamaha DX7s could plug straight into a 520ST without an expensive interface card, which is why Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield, and every early house producer you've heard of ended up running Notator or Cubase on an ST. A huge slice of 1980s and 1990s electronic music was sequenced on this hardware.
The music story is the headline but the ST was a proper general-purpose computer:
- Motorola 68000 at 8 MHz — the same chip as the early Macs and Amigas
- 512 KB to 4 MB RAM depending on model
- 320×200×16, 640×200×4, or 640×400 mono video modes. The mono monitor is genuinely beautiful, a high-res black and white at a refresh rate that doesn't flicker.
- GEM desktop from Digital Research — drop-down menus and icons years before Windows caught on
- Cubase, Notator/Logic, Steinberg — the software ecosystem for MIDI work was unrivaled
Picking a model:
- 520STfm — budget entry; 512 KB, fine for period-authentic use
- 1040STf / 1040STe — the practical everyday machine; 1 MB RAM, internal floppy
- Mega ST / Mega STe — separate keyboard, real desktop form factor, blitter chip on later boards
- Falcon 030 — 32-bit upgrade with DSP. Small library but fiercely loyal following; rare and expensive.
Demoscene note: ST demos are their own art form. The rivalry with the Amiga scene — people like The Union, TCB, Paradox — drove hardware-pushing tricks on both platforms. ST demos tend to be more austere, more technical; Amiga demos went for spectacle.
Buying in 2026: working 1040STf units are $150–350 on eBay, Mega STs a bit more, Falcon 030s routinely hit $700+. The floppy drive belts fail and are the first thing to replace. SD-card drive replacements (Gotek with FlashFloppy) are the standard mod.
Emulate with Hatari. The Atari ST forum is where the music people and the demo people actually overlap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the Atari ST so popular for music?
Because MIDI ports were standard on every ST. No expansion card, no dongle — plug a synthesizer straight into the back. That single decision routed a huge slice of 1980s and 1990s electronic music production through ST hardware. Cubase, Notator (which became Logic), and Steinberg were all born on it.
Which ST model should I buy?
1040STf or 1040STe for the practical everyday machine — 1 MB of RAM and an internal floppy drive. Mega ST or Mega STe if you want a separate keyboard and a real desktop form factor. Falcon 030 if you specifically want 32-bit and DSP, but be ready to pay — they routinely go for $700+.
Does the ST run PC software?
No. The ST uses Motorola 68000; IBM PCs use x86. Different instruction sets entirely. The ST does have some limited PC emulation software (PC-Ditto, Spectre GCR for Mac emulation) but nothing approaching native speed.
What OS does it run?
TOS (The Operating System), usually with the GEM desktop from Digital Research. GEM was Windows-before-Windows — drop-down menus, icons, mouse-driven — years before Microsoft caught on.
What's the ST demoscene?
ST demos are their own art form — more austere and technical than the Amiga's spectacle-first style. Groups like The Union, TCB (The Care Bears), and Paradox pushed the hardware in ways the commercial games rarely did. Start with Union Demo, Syntax Terror, and Dark Side of the Spoon.
