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ARRANGE+ − ZOOM · ↑ ↓ SONG
From the late '80s, Cubase lived on the Atari ST. Songs were saved as .ARR (one arrangement) or .ALL (the whole song: every arrangement and its settings). Its predecessor, Pro-24, saved songs as .SNG. A lot of music is still sitting on those floppies.
Modern Cubase can't open them. Steinberg's own route is Cubase SE 3, SL 3 or SX 3, from 2004–2005: import the files there, save them as a project, then open that in a current Cubase. That needs:
Even then, songs made on the Atari often arrive without their parts unless they first go through Cubase VST 5 as well.
No dongle or no license, and your songs are stuck.
atari2cubase reads the Atari files directly and writes DAWproject and MIDI files that Cubase 14, Bitwig, Studio One and other modern DAWs open. You don't need old software or a dongle, and your files never leave your computer.
I made music in Cubase on the ST myself, and wanted those songs back.
— Robert van Raamsdonk
Got your songs back? Buy me a coffee.
When a song fails, Report this failure sends me the file. An AI takes it from there: the atari2cubase bot (Claude, by Anthropic).
Your file is used only for this, and is never published.
Got a song file where you know which Cubase and which computer saved it? Send it to me, and I can map that version for certain and build it into atari2cubase. Thanks a lot for your help.
Another Cubase can still be read when it saves the way one of these does; atari2cubase then says "Cubase 2.x" or "Cubase 3.x".
A file from any Cubase you know the version of (1.x, 2.x, 3.x, Score, Lite, Cubeat, Cubase Audio), saved on an Atari ST, STE, TT or Falcon, a Mac or a PC.
It is read on this computer to show what atari2cubase finds in it. Nothing is sent until you attach it in the form.
Inspector play parameters (transpose, velocity, compression, delay) are applied to the notes, as Cubase did on playback; Raw keeps the events as recorded. Each song shows what was applied or left out.
Each run and the INFO window name the Cubase that saved the file, as far as its bytes tell ("Which Cubase saved it", below): Cubase 2.0, Cubase 2.0 or 2.01, Cubase 2.01 or Lite, Cubase 3.1, Cubase Score, Cubase 3.1 or Score, Cubase VST (a song saved on a PC), or, for a file that saves the way they do but is not recognised further, Cubase 2.x or Cubase 3.x.
atari2cubase is made for Atari files. A file saved by Cubase on a PC (Windows) is recognised and named as such (PC in the format): one that reads is converted with a note to check the result, one that does not fails with that reason instead of "Unknown file format". Audio tracks (Cubase VST) are left out, with a note that names them and the audio files the song uses: the audio is not in the file.
Tempo and time signatures come from the mastertrack. Where a file was saved with the transport's MASTER switch off, Cubase itself played at a fixed tempo instead: that tempo is reported, not used.
Not converted: Inspector program/volume, drum maps, MIDI Manager events, score data, group tracks that are muted, and the rest of a song file (drum maps, quantize and groove presets, MIDI setup).
Damaged .ARR and .ALL files (part of the file lost or overwritten, as on a failing floppy) and arrangements in an unknown layout are read as far as they go. Tracks and parts whose bytes check out are kept, and so is the mastertrack if it is found. The run says what is missing, which can be the header (track mutes), the tempo track (120 BPM and 4/4 are then used), group parts, and the parts and tracks in the lost bytes. The format is shown as "recovered".
Pro-24 songs (.SNG) carry over the same way: tracks with their names, MIDI channels and mutes (of its 24 tracks, those without parts are left out), parts, the parts that share their events (Pro-24's copies) as ghost parts, notes, controllers, pitch bend, aftertouch, the mastertrack and the notepad. Each part's transpose and velocity offset are applied. Not converted: program and volume, a small per-part value that may be a delay, the drum map and the other settings.
“Fantastic.”
— Anonymous