AT700

Get the highlights.

Seventeen modules. Three VCOs, noise and ring mod, two filters, two VCAs, two LFOs, sample and hold, envelopes and the output module, wired as in 1976.

The 717A sequencer. Three channels of twelve steps or 36 in series, with a time divide, a hold and a gate on every step.

Two filter families. The 703E OTA low-pass that loses bass with resonance, and the 703B multimode; both self-oscillate in tune.

A duophonic keyboard. The 701A sends the lowest and the highest key; Settings turn it into an 8-voice polysynth.

What 1976 didn't have. MIDI, host sync for the sequencer, polyphony, two VCF-1 models and presets with their cables.

The film.

AT700 rendered in 3D, in three shots. The sound is the engine playing Berlin Twelve, a 717A sequence.

Three oscillators, two filters, 1976 levels.

The three 702 oscillators share one saw core for four simultaneous waveforms, with strong and weak sync. Two filter families sit side by side: the 703E, four OTA stages that lose bass as the resonance rises, just like the original, and the 703B state-variable with high-pass, band-pass and low-pass.

The output module has a two-spring reverb, an eight-stage phase shifter, two VU meters and a standard oscillator to tune by. Everything runs in volts, as the hardware did: 10 V audio, 1 V per octave, +15 V gates.

VCOs: 3 × 702: sine, triangle, saw and pulse at once, PWM, ranges LO to 2', strong and weak sync, 1/10 attenuators
Filters: 703E 24 dB OTA low-pass with voltage-controlled resonance, 703B 12 dB high-pass, band-pass or low-pass; both self-oscillate in tune
Amplifiers: 2 × 704 with linear (10 %/V) or exponential (10 dB/V) response
Envelopes: 705A dual ADSR, 2 ms to 10 s or 0.2 ms to 1 s, gate+trigger, gate or external gate
Modulation: 2 LFOs (delay or pulse width), sample and hold, ring modulator, white and pink noise, envelope follower and integrator, mixer, two multiples
Output: spring reverb, three-channel panner, phase shifter, VU meters, standard oscillator 110 Hz to 1.76 kHz
Keyboard: 701A, 61 keys, duophonic: CV1 lowest key, CV2 highest; portamento, bender, pitch

17

modules on the Main Console

137

jacks, with stacked plugs and multiples

36

steps on the 717A in series

31

presets with their cables

Hear it.

Every clip is the engine on its own, playing a factory preset from a MIDI file written for it. Nothing added afterwards, only the level matched across clips. Download the MIDI and play it through the preset yourself.

Tomita Brass
Three saws per voice through the 24 dB filter, six voices, spring reverb.

0:18 MIDI
Berlin Twelve
The 717A plays twelve steps; channel B opens the filter on the accents.

0:20 MIDI
Tomita Whistle
No oscillator: the filter self-oscillates, follows the keys and glides.

0:20 MIDI
Sync Sweep
VCO-2 synced to VCO-1; ADSR-1 sweeps its pitch on every note.

0:09 MIDI
Ring Bells
Two sine VCOs into the ring modulator, a long decay and the spring.

0:14 MIDI
Ensemble Strings
PWM from LFO-2 through a multiple, then the 8-stage phaser of the output module.

0:18 MIDI
Sheffield Bass
Two detuned saws and a sub pulse, eighth notes at 118 BPM.

0:17 MIDI
Thirty-Six Steps
Channels A, B and C in series: one melody of 36 steps.

0:19 MIDI

Seventeen modules, wired at the factory.

The Main Console comes with its internal buses: the VCOs reach the filters through their waveform selectors, the filters reach the amplifiers, the amplifiers reach the reverb, the panner and the phaser. Patch cords add what the buses don't: sync, the sequencer, the second key voltage, the envelope follower. 137 jacks, ten of them in two multiples.

The 717A sequencer.

Three channels of twelve steps, or one melody of 36 in series. Every step has its own time divide and fine, a hold switch for rests, a manual button, a gate output and an analog input that turns the registers into level controls.

Clock. 2 to 200 steps per minute, a control voltage input, an external clock, or your DAW's tempo.
Series. A, A-B, A-B-C or manual; stop or repeat; a step selector sets the length from 1 to 12.
Master controller. Start, continue, stop and end, each with a control pulse input, plus start and end pulse outputs.
Pulse shaper. Turns any signal into gates with a threshold and a 0 to 3 second switch-on time.

AT700 717A sequencer running — The 717A running Berlin Twelve.

What the System-700 doesn't do.

A Settings page adds what a studio expects today, without touching the console.

Polyphony. Up to 8 voices: the voice modules are duplicated for every key, while the LFOs, sample and hold, output and sequencer stay shared.
MIDI. Notes play the 701A, pitch bend moves the bender, and velocity, mod wheel and aftertouch come out of jacks on the keyboard panel. MIDI learn on every control.
Host sync. The 717A can follow your DAW's tempo and transport: DIVIDE 1 is a whole note.
Two VCF-1 models. The 703E 24 dB low-pass of the known consoles, or the 703A 12 dB multimode of the 1976 manual.
Views. Sequencer, console, keyboard, or the three cabinets at once; cables keep hanging between them.
Presets. 31 factory patches with their cables, your own, and a random patch.

AT700 Settings page — The Settings page: voices, character, sequencer clock, MIDI and system.

Brass, whistles, Berlin and thunder.

8

Leads and brass

Tomita brass, a whistle from the filter alone, a flute, sync sweeps, glides and duophonic fifths.

3

Bass

Saw and pulse basses for synth-pop and a sub pulse.

5

Keys, strings and bells

Ensemble strings with the phaser, pads, tine keys, clavi and ring-modulated bells.

5

Sequences

Patched on the 717A: Berlin, transposed from the keys, 36 steps in series, rests and filter sequences.

7

Effects and drones

Random computer, sample and hold, surf and wind, lasers, thunder, spring drips and a space drone.

3

Drums

Kick, snare and hi-hat from the filters, the noise and the envelopes.

Tech specs.

Sound engine

Main Console: 3 × 702 VCO, 708A noise and ring modulator, 703E and 703B VCFs, 2 × 704 VCA, 711A output module
712A monitor and voltage processor, 2 × 706 LFO, 709A sample and hold, 707A amplifier, envelope follower and integrator, 705A dual ADSR, 716A mixer, 710A multiples
Spring reverb, 8-stage phase shifter, VU meters, standard oscillator
1x, 2x or 4x oversampling

Control

701A keyboard: 61 keys, duophonic (lowest and highest key), portamento, bender
717A sequencer: 3 × 12 steps or 36 in series, divide and fine per step, hold, analog inputs, pulse shaper
137 jacks at 1/4 inch with the console's internal buses

Extensions

Up to 8 voices, MIDI notes, pitch bend, velocity, mod wheel and aftertouch jacks, MIDI learn
Host tempo and transport for the 717A
703E or 703A as VCF-1, VCO drift, key CV droop
Sequencer, console, keyboard and full views

Formats

VST3, Audio Unit (macOS) and standalone app

Minimum

macOS Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later), or Intel Core i5 quad-core from 2017 or later, with macOS 11 Big Sur or later.
Windows PC with Intel Core i5-6500 (6th generation, 2015) or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, or better, with Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
4 GB of RAM, a 1280 × 800 screen and a 64-bit host for VST3 or Audio Unit, or the standalone app.
Disk space: 78 MB on macOS (all formats), 26 MB on Windows.

Measured CPU load

Setting	Apple M4	AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
Duo, one voice of the console, 2x	1.7 %	3.5 %
6-voice strings with phaser and reverb, 2x	6.1 %	13.6 %
8 voices, every voice module, 4x	16.1 %	34.9 %

Percentage of one CPU core at 48 kHz, sound engine only. With the editor open, the interface adds about 8 % on the M4. Hosts run each instrument on one core, so single-core speed is what counts.

Download AT700 1.0.2.

Free, no account, no activation, no telemetry.

macOS

macOS 11 or later. Apple silicon and Intel in one universal binary. VST3, Audio Unit and standalone app. 57 MB.

Download for macOS

How to install

Unzip the file.
Copy AT700.vst3 to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3.
Copy AT700.component to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components.
Rescan plugins in your DAW. In Ableton Live: Settings, Plug-Ins, Rescan.

Windows

Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. VST3 and standalone app. 19 MB.

Download for Windows