A1200 for music production?

[Fern]

Hey guys!

I used to own an A1200 many years ago but never really got into the hardware too deeply. Now I'm looking to get my paws on one again mainly for lo-fi sampling and sequencing applications (I love the 8-bit PCM sound!) and would really appreciate some advice on how to beef the hardware up a bit. Software I'll work out for myself (with luck..) nearer the time, when I start putting the bits together!

I've done a little bit of digging and I've come up with what I THINK I need, which mainly involves a CPU upgrade and more RAM to improve overall performance and speed, and to allow plenty of space in memory for loading PCM sample banks. An internal HDD would also be useful but I'm pretty sure I can handle that part on my own.

I was looking at trying to pick up the Blizzard 1230 with FPU chip and a RAM board as it seems to be a pretty popular board and (I hope!) not too hard to get hold of. I'd really like to keep the A1200 in it's original case, I think it's the biggest, meanest one I can stuff in before cooling becomes an issue...

One concern I do have is nuking the power supply once all this stuff is running... is it worth modding an ATA PSU? Or can I handle the system's power requirements using the A500 power brick? I read they were basically the same thing but the 500 could give more juice.

Anything major I've overlooked? I love the vintage microcomputer sound and can't wait to get stuck in, but at the same time I don't want to be too hasty and break things.

[Buleste]

A 1230 will be fine even with the old 1200 PSU. Have a look on Amibay for any sampling hardware you might need. Also have a look on sites like BTTR as they might have some samples or software on there. Oh and welcome to the site.

[Fern]

Thanks for the welcome I'll check out amibay, also having a mooch around on SoftwareHut, they seem to have loads of neat stuff.

[Buleste]

I wouldn't bother trying software hut as they don't have most of the stuff they are advertising in stock. If you do try them then email them first to check availability. Amigakit is about the only retailer left in the UK for new hardware but software is generally available for free on the net.

[Puni/Void]

Hi Fern,

Welcome to the Classicamiga forum. Hope you will enjoy your stay.

The Blizzard 1230 is an excellent accelerator for the Amiga 1200. I've used one myself for several years and I've never had any problems with it. I've got the mark IV version with FPU and 16MB of RAM, which I believe is the last version they produced in this series.

After installing such an accelerator, you will immidiately notice a huge increase in performance. Especially Workbench will be a fun to work with.

I second the recommendation about Amibay. I'm sure you'll be able to track down some of the stuff you are after from this site.

Amigakit in the UK is also a great alternative for new stuff. Have shopped there a couple of times and the service is excellent. There's also Vesalia in Germany if don't mind purchasing from abroad. They have a wide selection of goodies.

Good luck in your hunt!