Vintage Computers

markamft · Post by **markamft** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:42 pm

My wife has a G4 (I think) sitting in the closet loaded with OS9. She kept OS9 for a long time beciuse she liked the OS9 Quark (she's a graphic designer) better. She might sell it.

The mouse and keyboard are in the basement. It's been idle for about a year or so, I'd guess. I'm in Long Island...

Post by **meatballfulton** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:43 pm

Macs built after January 2003 cannot boot OS9. Most MIDI programs won't work properly with Classic (OS9 runing on top of OS X). So for laptops that means some kind of G3 and for desktops some but not all G4s (my G4 iMac was bought in April of 03 and won't boot OS9).

When I reached this decision this year over one critial app that was never ported to OS X I ended up buying a Toshiba laptop for $400 because it was far cheaper than a suitable used Mac laptop. Yes, I have been dragged into the Windows world at last

I loved my Atari ST but after 15 years it was beat to c**p and wouldn't boot reliably. I can't say I miss that tiny B&W screen and (by today's standards) sluggish response but for MIDI sequencing it still ruled. I continued to use mine with MTP long after I switched to Macs for the rest of my home uses. All good things must come to an end

MarkyG · Post by **MarkyG** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:51 am

vanitypolice wrote:what might I run on an atari ST?

With an Atari ST, your best bet is to run Notator. It's the ST's predecessor to Logic and is great for MIDI.

:||CHAMBER||: · Post by **:||CHAMBER||:** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:38 am

MarkyG wrote:
vanitypolice wrote:what might I run on an atari ST?
With an Atari ST, your best bet is to run Notator. It's the ST's predecessor to Logic and is great for MIDI.

all the ST is good for is MIDI sequencing. it can't run softsynths or do really anything with sound processing like you could do on a Mac running Metasynth or MAX/MSP or all of the other apps that were on OS9

vanitypolice · Post by **vanitypolice** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 10:20 am

:||CHAMBER||: wrote:
MarkyG wrote:
vanitypolice wrote:what might I run on an atari ST?
With an Atari ST, your best bet is to run Notator. It's the ST's predecessor to Logic and is great for MIDI.
all the ST is good for is MIDI sequencing. it can't run softsynths or do really anything with sound processing like you could do on a Mac running Metasynth or MAX/MSP or all of the other apps that were on OS9

yeah, exactly. if i were going to record exclsively to tape maybe, then I', go for this supposed rock solid midi capabilities of the ST. However, I'm more interested in computer Audio.

Hey Long Island, how much do you and your wife want for the G4? It's a desktop right?

RealitySage · Post by **RealitySage** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:21 am

I had an Amiga with Dr. T's software that ran my sequences mostly without a hitch. Dr. T's software worked well with its SMPTE lockup to run my analog multitracks. That was actually very advanced for 1990 and affordable. At the time no Mac or PC could touch it. Plus there was very cool video software like Video Toaster. With an Ensoniq EPS library of thousands of samples, and along with my still beloved M1, I had a blast and great results. The only thing I dreaded was the "Meditation Guru" prompt that popped up when the system crashed which wasn't very often. Mostly when I tried to do too much too fast. The Amiga had a Motorola 68030 chip and ran at about 29 megs.

fingerbib2000 · Post by **fingerbib2000** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:27 am

those 80's computer all sound a bit cold and digital to me, i'd recommned an analogue solution instead:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine

artfulideas · Post by **artfulideas** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:32 pm

All I can say, is that in my opinion, the new intel chips are really ruining apple's reputation for me.
Most of my apps, even updated universal binary ones like reason 3.0.5, but especially rosetta emulated ones, ran slower on my 1.66 ghz intel duo core mac mini than my 1.42 ghz g4 ibook!!!
I sold it recently, and went "back" to my g4.

moogplayer · Post by **moogplayer** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:02 pm

The mirrored doors G4 Powermacs (1ghz and higher) won't boot in OS9. Earlier models will run it no problem

I just bought a G4 667mhz a few months ago on ebay for $175 + shipping. Running OS9, installed a Digidesign 001 card and Pro Tools 5.2. I can get 24 tracks under this setup. Very solid. It's the center of my studio

Yoozer · Post by **Yoozer** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:14 pm

:||CHAMBER||: wrote:i don't know if everyone here has trouble with reading comprehension

You notice this only now?

If a completely clueless about synths-guitar player who just wants to make trancy stuff with a budget of $400 steps in, he'll have to buy several thousands of bucks worth of vintage gear because otherwise it's just not good enough

.

the Nord Modular Editor is the prime reason i'd like to do with as well. that beta version for OSX isn't very stable at all. i haven't programmed my Nord Modular is a very long time (i've almost been thinking of selling it because of this) oh if only my ex-girlfriend didn't accidently kill my PowerBook....

I'm thinking of picking up one of those nice little iMacs to do that job. A more dedicated editor is hard to get

.

madtheory wrote:Antares Infinity

Yeah, why they ever let that sink down - too bad. Are there any wave editors who can loop like this?

markamft · Post by **markamft** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:45 pm

Yes, it is a desktop. "Power Mac G4". The plastic swoopy one with the handles. No moniter. Hasn't been plugged in for about a year; just sitting in the closet. Worked great and I had to be convinced to upgrade; my wife's main client went to OSX and file swapping became tricky. Also Firefox doesn't support OS9.

Never thought about what it's worth. Name a price and I'll do some research.

Weighs a ton. I'm about 60 miles from Manhattan.

Mark on Long Island.

Alex E · Post by **Alex E** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:08 am

My dad uses a mac from like, around 1993 or 1995, (Somewhere around that time.) Just for controlling virtual instruments on his new pc, and for MIDI sequencing. It's a very cool setup!

:||CHAMBER||: · Post by **:||CHAMBER||:** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:39 am

Yoozer wrote:
:||CHAMBER||: wrote:
the Nord Modular Editor is the prime reason i'd like to do with as well. that beta version for OSX isn't very stable at all. i haven't programmed my Nord Modular is a very long time (i've almost been thinking of selling it because of this) oh if only my ex-girlfriend didn't accidently kill my PowerBook....
I'm thinking of picking up one of those nice little iMacs to do that job. A more dedicated editor is hard to get .

i've actually had the same thought. ideally i'd just have one computer dedicated to the Nord. so, power up the Nord, turn on the computer and have the Editor boot upon startup. the original iMac or even the clamshell iBooks would be perfect and i'd imagine they are incredibly cheap at the moment (actually a red iMac to match the Nord would be cool.) then i'd use my G4 for multitracking and editing/mutating sounds in OS9 and be set.... the only catch is i really need the cash for a new machine for standard day to day stuff. i want a MacBook so badly... i'm stuck right now on OS 10.2.8, i can't even run the current version of Quicktime or iTunes...

Post by **madtheory** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 11:18 am

Yoozer wrote: I'm thinking of picking up one of those nice little iMacs to do that job. A more dedicated editor is hard to get .

madtheory wrote:Antares Infinity
Yeah, why they ever let that sink down - too bad. Are there any wave editors who can loop like this?

The iMacs are lovely, but a bit noisy. I fitted a quiet fan, drive and insulation to my G3 a while back. It's as quiet as the mac Mini now. You should probably do the same with an iMac. QuietPC.com

Yes, Infinity is brilliant. I like the side effect of getting infinite perfect loops out of anything. The side effect is that you can turn anything into a pad sound. It's amazing with bell sounds for example. You can kind of do the same thing with GRM tools.

They dropped it because nobody needs to loop samples anymore, because memory is no longer an issue. I assume the ROMpler developers are still using it though.

Post by **meatballfulton** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 7:58 pm

:||CHAMBER||: wrote:ideally i'd just have one computer dedicated to the Nord. so, power up the Nord, turn on the computer and have the Editor boot upon startup. .

I do this now with my Motif ES, the onboard PLG150-AN board can only be deep edited by computer so I have a laptop plugged into the Motif's USB Port that boots into the Yamaha editors (one for the Motif, one for the PLG).

I don't even have the laptop connected to a network, no worries with viruses and hacking.

Vintage Computers

Old Macs

Old G4