Yes, it's time for the yearly Turnkey Hands On show once again. But this year, things are looking that little bit different.

We would cover the Hands On show in H&SR as a matter of course, of course; it's the only major show that caters for the home recordist. But this year it promises to be a bigger, better and more interesting affair than usual. There will be the lectures, seminars and discussions, just as usual, but with a wider scope than you might expect. In addition there'll be 4- and 8-track workshops, live recording, product launches and rumour has it that 'Personalities' will be there! And of course where the equipment's concerned, you can get your hands on.

So let's take a look at the programme. On the Saturday, the show kicks off at 10.30 with Dave Ward (of Gateway Studio) holding forth on the interconnection, wiring and planning of a studio. At 12.00 the 'agony column' will start, and (hopefully) the answers to all your recording problems and questions will be at hand. By 1.30, though, Dave Ward will have returned to host the '16-track master class', in which he will discuss advanced production techniques and give advice on troubleshooting. It will be demonstrated using the B16 and E16 machines.

Have you ever heard the Turnkey shop jingles on their 01-637 0700 line? No? Well anyway, the man responsible for them, Simon Renouf, will be at the show in person at 3.00 on the Saturday to talk about 'Ideas in Sound'. They say he's a creative genius... By 4.30 we are back to production techniques, and the popular 'Stretching 8-track' seminar that has received so much support in the past. Topics covered will include MIDI, sequencers, timecodes and generally anything that will increase the capabilities of your 8-track. The day winds to a close at 6.00.

Sunday starts at 10.30 with Dave Whittaker talking on 'Direct to Disk Recording' on the Synclavier, complete with demonstrations. Following this, will come a home acoustics workshop (at 12.00) which may feature one of the aforementioned 'big names'. It will be concerned with getting the best out of your home studio's acoustics. You may come armed with your problems. At 1.30, our esteemed Editor has a chance to shine as he takes the limelight for another 'agony column' session. More queries answered. Finally, Dave Ward returns at 3.00 with a discussion of video lock-up: SMPTE, what it is and how it works, home video demos and a look into the future of video. Closedown is at 4.00.

Well, those are the official functions of the weekend, but there will be a lot more going on. Akai, Fostex and Yamaha will all be represented, and who knows, Tascam may also be revealing their new Porta Two. There will also be an opportunity to 'tune up your demos' using equipment from the likes of ART, Alesis and Electrospace, and if you're happen to have a run-down Revox on you, you can get that 'tuned up' too by the Turnkey engineers. So, all in all it promises to be a packed weekend. Needless to say H&SR staff will be on hand with a collection of issues for your delectation. See you there.

Further details are available from: Turnkey, (Contact Details).