ATEM Step Sequencer : Second Prototype
Here we go...
The first full-size ATEM Step Sequencer prototype was put together in July 2005. At the this point, the instrument was simply a ZEIT Step Sequencer in a smaller format. The number of sequences running at the same time had jumped from four to eight and each sequence had its own Low Frequency Oscillator but shared the Effects Unit.
The image on the right shows an early prototype with the nasty temporary sticky-paper decals that kept peeling off. These were quickly replaced with a gorgeous silk-screened finish.
The second ATEM prototype followed very quickly. This version had a better wiring harness and a significantly better finish. We found a company who could not only manufacture really nice enclosures but who could also lay down a much smoother powder coating, too. Alas, they couldn’t do the screen printing but they did recommend a small company in Middlesbrough who could. When we went to pick up the finished enclosure, we discovered that the company was actually a semi-retired guy working out of a scruffy workshop in the rough end of town. That said, the quality of his work was astonishing.
Moral of the tale : never judge a book by its cover.
With the wiring harness sorted and the menu system more or less in place, the customer was so keen to get his hands on the device that we shipped it straight away.
As before, the knobs did the bulk of the editing with switches beneath to select the step and change its state. A second bank of buttons took the user into the menu system. Below the menu select buttons were the sequence enable buttons, the sequence select buttons and the transport controls.
We added a nice, bright Vaccuum Fluorescent Display and a Data Wheel to make editing a breeze. The finished instrument was, I felt, a tight, well-specified machine that worked well.
Whilst we only made a few of these instruments, I'd always intended to keep one for myself but, alas I never did.