As little as six months ago, the idea of a Midi Product Guide such as the one below would have been almost unthinkable. There simply weren't sufficient numbers of compatible items to go round, and it seemed there was a danger that the new interface was not going to be as widely accepted as was necessary if it was to be a success.

Today, however, the situation is very different. It would appear that the marketing men of the world's electronic musical instrument manufacturers have all decided simultaneously that MIDI is now almost obligatory — the vital ingredient that every newly-introduced piece of equipment must include somewhere within its specification.

Of course, some companies have entered the MIDI race more wholeheartedly than others. A quick glance at the lists below will tell you that Roland have well-nigh twenty MIDI devices either currently available or coming shortly, whereas Korg have only one. All that means is that the wider acceptance of MIDI as an interface standard has happily (for Roland) coincided with a whole batch of new instrument releases. It's expected that most of the major manufacturers will soon be incorporating the new system with as much gusto as Roland — there are few anti-MIDI dissenters in the ranks of contemporary musical instrument designers.

Another interesting point is the degree to which manufacturers and private individuals have been developing MIDI retro-fit kits for synths and other instruments no longer in production. Such developments are of course entirely in keeping with MIDI's claim to being the first truly universal, non-supercedable interface, and if the modification is carried out properly it'll certainly breathe new life into what might otherwise have become an obsolete piece of equipment. If you are thinking of getting your equipment updated, however, do make sure that your MIDI spec is the same as everybody else's (as far as that's possible at the moment) and bear in mind that any work you have carried out will almost certainly invalidate remaining manufacturer's warranty commitments.

Happy MIDI shopping!

In addition, several computer-based systems such as those manufactured by Fairlight, Octave-Plateau, PPG, E-mu Systems, Kurzweil and Passport Designs are also MIDI-compatible or will be in the near future.

Thus far, MIDI retro-fits for the following keyboards have been announced as being available, though it should be noted that with the exception of the Poly 61 and OB8 mods, none of these are carried out in the United Kingdom. The keyboards are: Korg Polysix and Poly 61; Memorymoog; Oberheim OB8; Roland Juno 6, Juno 60 and Jupiter 8; and SCI Prophet 5 and Prophet 10.