Sound Designer II

Sound Designer II by Digidesign followed Sound Designer in 1990, and is the software sample editor for the Sound Tools hardware package, and forerunner to Avid Technology's Pro Tools. Again this was a port from the Mac version which was introduced in 1989. To note, the Sound Tools package included:

-Sound Accelerator expansion card containing a Motorola 56001 DSP for the Atari Mega ST

-External stereo ADC

-Of course the Sound Designer II software

Sound Tools also provides a digital link between your Atari and hardware sampler, allowing faster transfers than the also supported MIDI. As such, the Sound Tools package is often argued as being the first Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) when it arrived on the Mac in 1989, the same year however as the ADAP II on the ST.

Sound Tools, the ADAP II and seemingly DAME for the ST can lay claim to being the first affordable D2D recorders for any home computer, and therefore forerunners of DAW technology. However at this time none offered true multitrack recording. Sound Designer II with the Sound Tools hardware can record stereo sound in real time directly to your Atari's hard disk. Sound Tools was made with the Atari Mega ST in mind, specifically referring to the Atari Sound Accelerator to be fitted to the Mega ST. Via the Sound Tools analogue and digital input / output boxes, Sound Designer II is capable of 16-bit stereo sample frequencies of up to 48 kHz.

Overview

Name: Sound Designer II (Sound Tools)
Type: D2D Recorder
Bit Depth: 16-bit
Sample Rate: 1 to 48 kHz
Sound Quality: Stereo
Hardware ADC: Yes
ADC Connection Type: Via fitted DSP to the Atari Mega ST's Mega Bus