Firstly, now that the new look H&SR is firmly under way, I hope that any fears you might have had about the direction of the magazine have been dispelled; the reaction that we've had so far has been very positive.

This month, we take a look at what may well be the two most significant pieces of recording equipment to appear this year; the Roland and Yamaha MIDI-controlled digital reverbs. Though these are still not what could be called cheap, they are yet another indication that the cost of professional quality studio gear is steadily falling. It's nice to see negative inflation operating in at least one area.

Last month I mentioned that we would be reporting on any newsworthy products that came to our notice during the British Music Fair, held this year at Olympia. The show was undoubtably a great success for us in terms of the interest shown in our stand and we had numerous in-depth chats with many of our readers, but on the other hand, the number of recording orientated products on show was very limited with only Atlantex giving this sector of the market the representation that it deserves. Perhaps some manufacturers still don't realise that most recording enthusiasts are also musicians. Most of what was there we had already seen at the APRS show but there were one or two surprises tucked away in odd corners which we'll be reporting on in due course.

You may also have noticed that this issue of H&SR feels a little bit heavier than it did last month and that is due to the fact that we have had to run more pages in order to get everything in. At the beginning of each year, we always get a preview of the new products due to appear in the shops but it is also traditional that these are never actually available until around August which leaves us in suspense for most of the summer. Well, that time of year has finally come round and we are inundated with so much interesting equipment that it is hard to know what to look at first. It's rather like Christmas come early but the catch is that we have to send all the toys back once we've checked them out.

Finally, we are planning to run a series of articles on arranging and producing music because the majority of bands who record at small studios need advice in this vital area and the only person there to help is the engineer - and that's you.