PEAVEY DIGITAL SYNTH

One of the most talked about products at Frankfurt was the Peavey DPM3 digital synthesizer, shown in prototype form. Peavey are not known in this country as a hi-tech instrument manufacturer, but the DPM3 could put them on the map in a major way. The synth is based around two 8-bit processors, one 16-bit processor, and three 24-bit processors, which carry out all of the synthesis functions in software: an update to the DPM3 is thus just a floppy disk away.

The DPM3 is 16-voice polyphonic (multitimbral of course), through the use of 32 digital oscillators. The brochure speaks of "unique aftertouch capabilities" but tantalisingly refuses to elaborate on just what these unique capabilities are. 110 drum samples are provided to form a percussion section, and a 9-track sequencer is also included which can hold 20,000 notes of performance data. To complete the package, a dual multi-effects processor is included, which offers reverb, delay, EQ, chorus, flange, distortion, exciter effects, and so on. One to look out for.

Also from Peavey comes the Autograph equaliser and the Multifex effects processor. The Autograph is a 28-band programmable graphic equaliser, which can store 128 EQ curves in memory, and the Multifex is a 16-bit effects processor containing four independent effects in a single 1U package, which can be configured in a variety of ways, in series or parallel. No prices were available.

Peavey UK, (Contact Details).

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NEW 'CLASSIC' SHURE MICROPHONES

It's now over 20 years since Shure launched the SM58 and SM57 microphones. The rest, as they say, is history. But now Shure have decided that technology has advanced sufficiently in that time for new versions of these classic mics to be released.

The Beta 57 and Beta 58 are the new models, which retain the balance and feel of their classic forebears whilst offering higher output levels, lower handling noise, and a hyper-cardioid polar response. Both should be as rugged as their predecessors, except the Beta 57 - which will be more roadworthy due to a substitution of aluminium for plastic for the grille. Despite the introduction of the new mics, Shure will continue to manufacture the SM57 and SM58, though they will now be available at a lower price.

HW International, (Contact Details).

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STATE OF THE ART

Only weeks after the original became available in the UK, ART have already produced a new version of their splendid Multiverb. The Multiverb II is identical to the four-effects-at-once original, except that it adds the facility to control effects parameters (like reverb decay time or effects level) in real time with MIDI controllers. Also new is the Multiverb EXT, which takes the Multiverb II's facilities and adds sampling and longer delay times (up to two seconds in stereo).

As if all this wasn't enough, another new release is the Studio Super Effector, the "ultimate in simultaneous effects processors": up to nine effects at once, reverb, delay, exciter, noise gates, overdrive, up to two octaves of pitch transpose... if you want it, it'll do it, and if it can't do it you don't need it anyway!

After the assault of all these multi-effects units, ART's new 'studio quality' dedicated delay units seem positively staid: the Delay System V and VII are, respectively, sampling and non-sampling high quality studio-oriented delay lines. No prices available.

Harman UK, (Contact Details).

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ALESIS MIXER - THE FACTS

Alesis, the well known purveyors of hi-tech, hi-spec, low-priced digital goodies, provided another major point of interest at Frankfurt in the form of two new products: the 1622 16-channel mixer and MEQ230 graphic equaliser.

Following early rumours about an Alesis mixer, the smart money was on something with 12 channels, onboard effects, and automation - a sort of DMP7 or perhaps mini-SSL for under £500. However, the pundits were surprised to be presented with an apparently 'conventional' 16-channel rackmount console, albeit a rather well equipped one. Each channel of the twin bus desk features six effects sends feeding four stereo returns, channel inserts, and 100Hz and 10kHz EQ.

Where the 1622 is unusual is in its audio quality and price: it is claimed to be quiet enough for the mixer to be used as an auxiliary mixer in large professional studios, yet will be available for a very reasonable £799. This has been achieved by employing a revolutionary construction technique called Integrated Monolithic Surface Technology.

The technology involves constructing the electronics of the whole console out of a monolithic composition of multi-layer glass epoxy circuit boards, providing alternate layers of shielding as well as buss conductors which are both resistive and capacitive, all on a surface a few thousands of an inch thick. Precision injection mouldings of graphite fibre-reinforced polymers provide extra shielding, mechanical support and structural detail. In short, this means that rather than laboriously building the circuitry out of expensive discrete components, the whole thing can be stamped/moulded in one go, and the resulting equipment sounds far cleaner.

The other current product of Integrated Monolithic Surface Technology is the MEQ230 dual 1/3 octave precision room equalisation system (£199). This is a 60-band (30 bands of 1/3 octave per stereo channel) graphic equaliser.

Last year's Alesis HR16 proved a justifiably popular drum machine, though its sounds were a little on the traditional side for some people. A new version, the HR16B, therefore provides an excellent complement to the HR16 by offering a quite different set of sounds: more aggressive and modern, many of the sounds combining up to four or five separate drum samples. Operational details remain identical to the HR16 but cosmetically it is identifiable by its black casing.

Sound Technology plc, (Contact Details).

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TASCAM STEREO MIXER

Tascam have introduced a new compact mixer with stereo inputs, the M06ST (f299 inc VAT), based on their M06 6 into 2 mixer. The unit has stereo inputs for two phono decks, as well as four stereo line input pairs. Each of the six input channels features trim, high and low EQ, cue send level, balance control, a 60mm fader, and input select switch.

Teac UK, (Contact Details).

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AKAI'S NEW WAVE

Having already released their S1000 stereo 16-bit sampler in all its various versions, and the S950 as a successor to the S900, Akai were demonstrating their Version 2.0 software for the S1000 at Frankfurt. This includes a time-stretch facility, which enables a sample to be extended or shortened in length without a corresponding pitch shift. Also now available for the S1000 are two new types of sound disk: the Workstation and SWM disks. Workstation disks allow access to a powerful multi-channel, multitimbral instrumental set-up, complete with ready programmed stereo mix and individual output assignment. Ideal for the muso with an aversion to programming, in fact! They come in a variety of musical styles: Dance, Funk, Rock, Classical, Fusion, New Age etc. The SWM disks turn the S1000 into a kind of digital synthesizer - SWM stands for Sample Wave Mixing. The disks contain a whole range of very short, single cycle samples of waveforms, which are then available for looping and processing in the S1000. Short attack transients are also included on the SWM disks to provide a variety of attack sounds to go with the looped sustain. Now where have I seen that idea before?

An unexpected and slightly unusual Akai product that was brand new at Frankfurt was the U5 Trackman (£199), a Walkman-style personal multitrack cassette recorder. The compact Trackman looks alarmingly like a pocket 35mm camera - certainly enough so to get you arrested outside the Kremlin should you foolishly choose to do a spot of recording there. It's not quite a full cassette multitrack: what it does is to allow you to listen to the stereo tracks of a pre-recorded cassette whilst you record two more of your own on the same tape. Built-in echo, chorus and distortion effects (similar to those on the Tom Scholz Rockman) can be added during recording. A neat concept.

Akai UK, (Contact Details).

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TOA NEWS

Amongst TOA's new products are a range of 2-way speakers. The F-series consists of the F500 and F600 speakers, which sounded unbelievably meaty at Frankfurt, and will be available in both Sound Reinforcement and Weatherproof versions. The moulded polypropylene enclosures of the F-series optimise both the acoustic properties and ruggedness of the cabinet. The F500 is an 8" 2-way design with a compression driver and CD horn, while the F600 has a 12" woofer and compression driver/CD horn.

If you need a mixer to go with your new speakers, TOA would probably politely suggest that you take a look at their CX consoles, which come in 12/4/2 and 16/4/2 configurations.

A product of interest to anyone who already owns a TOA MR8T 8-track cassette recorder is the MR8A (£199), a rackmount assign/patchbay which allows bouncing and mixing, and generally makes the MR8T an altogether more useful, more flexible piece of kit. The MR8T itself, meanwhile, has dropped in price. TOA say that as a result of increased production, they are able to reduce the unit cost of the special heads required to fit eight tracks onto a single cassette tape, and the MR8T will now set you back only £950 inc VAT.

TOA Electronics UK, (Contact Details).

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SR COMPACT LOUDSPEAKERS

New from Celestion are the SR Compact loudspeakers, the latest addition to their SR range. The SR Compacts provide 100 watts of power handling from a specially developed 5" driver. The driver's special coil/dome structure means that the loudspeaker is naturally time-aligned, and therefore avoids most of the phase and frequency abberations common on multi-way systems. That's what it says in the press release anyway! The SR Compacts are weatherproof, and are therefore suitable for non-permanent outdoor installations.

Celestion International Ltd, (Contact Details).

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YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE?

The sound of technology's inexorable onward march echoed loud through Frankfurt's halls last month, but it was refreshing to find that not all old synths curl up and die when the next one comes along. EMS have been making their Synthi A probably for longer than they care to remember, yet this distinctive monosynth is still going strong years after every other representative of the genre has disappeared. Despite its distinctly dated appearance, the Synthi A is a very versatile unit, and probably for that reason is still popular with many artists including Depeche Mode, Cabaret Voltaire and Jean-Michel Jarre.

EMS are not a single-product firm however, and at Frankfurt were also showing their popular analogue vocoder and the Soundbeam, a 'distance-to-MIDI convertor' - wave your hands, dance or throw frizbees, and the Soundbeam will interpret this as a stream of MIDI data, and send it to your favourite synth. Will they ever catch on in discos, though?

EMS, (Contact Details).

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FOSTEX DAT RECORDER

When almost every piece of hi-tech gear on the market is given a number rather than a name, it's inevitable that a few products will wind up with the same short, snappy little numbers to identify them. For this reason, the new Fostex D20 DAT recorder is in no way to be confused with the (not quite so new) Roland D20 synth.

The Fostex D20 is a DAT recorder aimed squarely at the professional user. Fostex have gone further than simply adding XLR connectors and rackmount ears to a domestic machine: the D20 can sync to SMPTE/EBU timecode, off-tape monitoring is possible through the use of a four-head recording system (a DAT first), and +/-10% pitch variation is included. AES/EBU digital inputs and outputs are included to allow the transfer of material to and from the D20 entirely in the digital domain.

Fostex doubtless hope that the recording you master onto their DAT player will at some point have involved their R8 (multitrack tape recorder), which is of course not to be confused with the Roland R8 (drum machine).

Harman UK, (Contact Details).

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KORG

Having released the outstanding M1 MIDI workstation last year, Korg are not quite resting on their laurels. Going more upmarket still, a (non-working) prototype of their new T1 was shown at Frankfurt: the T1 improves on the M1 by adding an 88-note wooden weighted keyboard, more memory and improved facilities for sonic expansion. The internal ROM wave memory has been expanded from four to eight megabytes, and with the addition of a disk drive, new waveforms can be loaded from disk as well as from ROM cards. The sequencer memory has been expanded from 7,700 to 56,000 notes!

If the T1 is a step up from the M1, then the M1R is perhaps a step sideways, being a rackmount version of the M1. M1 users who've found themselves frustrated by the machine's limited memory will be interested in a useful add-on produced by Cannon Research, a US firm. The Frontal Lobe is not, as the name might suggest, the ultimate result of the current trend for commercial organ transplant, rather it is a kind of turbocharger for the M1's sequencer, expanding the storage space by 15 times and adding features such as the ability to loop verses and choruses, and change from song to song from the front panel or footswitch.

Going back to Korg themselves, another of their launches at Frankfurt was the S3 Production Workstation - a keyboardless sound module/drum machine/sequencer/effects unit incorporating some of the S1 technology used on the elusive S1. Both the S1 and Q1, first shown at last year's Frankfurt Music Fair, have still not made their way into production, so let's hope that the S3 does a little better.

Korg UK, (Contact Details).

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YAMAHA NEWS

No great surprises were in store from Yamaha at Frankfurt. Their V50 synth, the rumoured M1 challenger, had generated a lot of pre-show speculation but in the event turned out to be another FM synth, based around two DX11s. However, it adds an 8-track sequencer, a 61-sound drum section, a multi-effects unit and disk drive, and costs around £1200. So, in many respects, it is a break from the DX tradition (and there's no 'X' in the name). The 4-operator, 8-note poly DS55 keyboard (£500) is pretty much in the same vein as the YS100 and YS200 - a home-oriented keyboard with some pro facilities.

The RTC1 (£630) is a nifty remote unit for controlling up to four DMP7/11 digital mixers simultaneously, and is expected to be available in March.

A new expander appeared in the form of the TQ5, a 4-operator unit based on the YS200. It is eight part multitimbral with 8-track sequencer, 10 digital effects, 100 preset and 100 programmable FM sounds. Another expander that may appeal to the semi-pro muso, despite being aimed at the home market, is the AVS10M voice expander, which includes 12 AWM sampled sounds, from brass and piano to human vocals. The unit offers reverb and pan effects, and voice, effect and keyboard assignment combinations can all be stored and recalled from memory. The RX8 drum machine, announced before the show, also put in an appearance. This features 43 editable 16-bit sampled drum voices, assignable audio outputs, and drum pattern storage in 20 songs of 999 bars each.

And finally, a little morsel for all you fact fans out there: did you know that last year Yamaha's worldwide turnover was almost $4 billion dollars?!

Yamaha-Kemble UK, (Contact Details).

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CHEETAH UPDATE KEYBOARDS

Cheetah have updated their popular range of low-cost master keyboards, both with the introduction of a new model and improvements to the old. The new model is the Master Series 7P. It features a full 88-note wooden weighted keyboard, velocity and release velocity sensitivity, eight independent keyboard zones, 26 velocity and release velocity curves, and a staggeringly low price tag of only £699.95 incVAT.

Meanwhile, the MK5V master keyboard has undergone a slight redesign, with a new keyboard and case: however, the price remains unchanged at £274.95.

Cheetah also launched their MQ8 MIDI sequencer/performance system (£249.95). Besides operating as a conventional 16-song, 8-track sequencer, the MQ8 can become a 'MIDI performance system'. In this mode of operation, live variation can be introduced into sequences by a MIDI input, and a range of pre-programmed effects can be added to a performance. The effects include Vector Chord, Echo, Embellish and Arpeggio.

Not shown at Frankfurt, though nearing completion, is the Cheetah MS800 PPG-type expander. Both the MQ8 and Master Series 7P keyboard will be available at the end of April.

Cheetah Marketing Ltd, (Contact Details).

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THE DIGITAL MUSE

A new player in the ST software field is The Digital Muse, who have just introduced their first music program in the form of the rather impressive Virtuoso sequencer package. In order to make the program as powerful and fast as possible, the designers wrote it entirely in machine code (no mean feat). The Digital Muse have developed their own exclusive multi-tasking operating system so that future software releases from them can be run concurrently with Virtuoso. Apart from all the usual functions you would expect from a sequencer, other features of the program include a very high resolution of 480 ppqn, 99 tracks, a tempo resolution of 0.01 bpm, extremely fast screen redraws, built-in word processor, full MIDI control, and disk access/formatting whilst the sequencer is running. A sensible touch is that the popular 'pianola' style grid edit page has the keys running horizontally across the screen rather than vertically down the side, making it much easier to comprehend. Available early March.

The Digital Muse, (Contact Details).

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HYBRID ARTS

At Frankfurt, Hybrid Arts were keen to promote the benefits of running several programs at once - their own software of course, and held in memory simultaneously using their Hybriswitch switcher program. The latest pieces of software to run under Hybriswitch are Ludwig, an 'autocomposer' program, and GenEdit, a generic synth editing program which allows the user to create a customised front end for any synth he/she wants to edit, allowing the same program to edit all of your synths. A Control Panel Construction Set is the clever part of the program, which allows onscreen knobs to be assigned to any of your synths' parameters - twiddle the screen knob and the assigned parameter is changed.

Hybrid Arts (UK) Ltd, (Contact Details).

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CASIO HOME TRUTHS

Despite Casio's usual flood of home-oriented products displayed at Frankfurt, there were several items of interest to the less domestically-minded muso. The FZ20M is a new version of the FZ10M rackmount sampler module, equipped with a better disk drive and SCSI port: expect to pay £1899 for yours when they become available this summer.

The new VZ8M is about half of a VZ1M: 8-note polyphonic, multitimbral IPD synthesis, in a 1U rackmount case and retailing for £499. For those looking for expanders on an even tighter budget, one of Casio's new home keyboard expander modules could be of interest, in much the same way that the Yamaha EMT10 and Roland MT32 were. The CSM10P (£229) is a 16-note polyphonic piano sound module, with five preset sounds: piano, harpsichord, vibraphone, electric piano and pipe organ.

A new version of the DG100 digital horn was shown: the DG800 is finished in snazzy matt black, and is otherwise different from its forebear only in that it includes an auto-accompaniment feature. Also new is the PG310, a cut-down version of the PG380 MIDI guitar controller (breathtakingly demonstrated by Stanley Jordan at Casio's Frankfurt promotional bash), which omits the Floyd Rose tremolo system of its big brother.

Casio Electronics UK, (Contact Details).

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SOUND TOOLS FROM DIGIDESIGN

Digidesign have put several of their recent highly acclaimed Mac-based digital audio products together to produce the Sound Tools Digital Recording and Editing System. The system consists of the 16-bit Sound Accelerator card, AD In analogue-to-digital convertor, and Sound Designer II audio editing software - all you need is a Macintosh II or SE as a host computer. Sound Tools provides two channels of direct-to-disk digital recording, with extensive editing facilities. Recording time is limited only by the size of the hard disk used, and at under $3500, Sound Tools is the cheapest digital audio recording system on the market. It's obviously not intended to appeal to potential Synclavier buyers, but it'll probably give almost everyone else in the field a nasty shock. Also now available from Digidesign is the ST version of their Turbosynth program.

Sound Technology plc, (Contact Details).

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STEINBERG LAUNCH SUCCESSOR TO PRO-24

Steinberg's major launches at Frankfurt were their MROS multi-tasking real-time music operating system, and a new professional spec, professional price Atari sequencer called Cubit (£499).

Cubit allows recording on 16 sets of 64 tracks (that's a staggering 1024 in all), and takes advantage of MROS's 384 ppqn resolution to provide very precise control over note placement. Drum Edit, Score Edit and Key Edit pages are featured, and graphic display and editing of MIDI Controller data is provided. For synchronisation to the outside world, MIDI Time Code is fully implemented and Cubit can lock directly to SMPTE/EBU timecode. Simultaneous recording on four tracks is possible. Although Cubit will not be available until April, you can obtain a demo disk of the program now through SOS Shareware: turn to page 66 for details.

Also new is Avalon, Steinberg's answer to Blank Software's Alchemy universal sample editor. A range of samplers are supported, and Avalon can work on both stereo and mono samples. A resynthesis facility is included, along with all the regular sample editing features: cut/copy, loop and auto-loop, sample level optimisation, crossfade, digital EQ and time compression. An optional D/A card is available for the Mega ST which will allow audio monitoring of the samples processed by Avalon, and transfer sounds in the digital domain via an AES/EBU interface. Although Steinberg are known as an ST software house, Pro24 is now available for the Commodore Amiga. According to figures released at the show, Pro24 has now sold over 35,000 copies worldwide. Who said there's no money in software?

Evenlode Soundworks, (Contact Details).

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ROLAND'S REAL WORKSTATION

It now becomes clear why Roland didn't call their D20 a 'workstation', though they could certainly have been excused for doing so: they were saving the label for an altogether mightier instrument, which has now materialised in the form of the W30 (£1599). Naturally, Roland are claiming it's the only 'workstation' worthy of the title but there's more to this than just marketing: the spec is pretty impressive. The W30 includes a 61-note aftertouch sensitive keyboard, 3.5" disk drive, 16-track sequencer and 16-bit sampling capability. The 16-note polyphonic, eight part multitimbral voices are output via eight independent jacks.

Besides allowing user sampling, the W30 has an onboard ROM wave memory, filled with a whole disk's worth of tone data. A good range of instrument sounds are therefore available on the W30 at all times, regardless of what other sound data has been loaded. Data disks from Roland's S-series of samplers, and sequence disks from their Micro Composers can be read and converted into the W30's internal format. The sample editing facilities include TVA and TVF amplitude and filter envelopes, and for sample loading, an optional SCSI port is available which allows the W30 to interface to either a hard disk or CD-ROM player. By sheer coincidence, Roland also displayed their new CD-ROM player at Frankfurt (£1399).

Roland have been out of contention in the area of master keyboards for some time now, but returned in style with the A80 and A50. Both are Channel and Polyphonic Aftertouch sensitive, allow a variety of split and layer options through four independent keyboard zones, and can generate any MIDI Controller data in real time from front panel switches and sliders or footswitches. For more information on these two, turn to the review in this issue.

The aforementioned products had all been announced prior to the Frankfurt show: one that wasn't expected was the R8 Human Feel drum machine's little brother, the R5. The R5 (not to be confused with Yamaha's RX5) has most of the important features of the R8 - human feel function, 68 blistering drum sounds, good sound editing facilities, a seriously cool looking case - but misses out on a few of the extras. The eight separate outputs have become four, and there are no ROM or RAM card slots to allow sound expansion and data storage. Speaking of sound expansion, a flood of new sound library cards for the U110 also appeared.

Another unannounced arrival was the D5, a new LA-based synth that is essentially a cut-down version of the D10. Like the D10, it is eight part multitimbral with a separate rhythm part (63 drum sounds). No on-board effects are included but a few rather 'domestic' features are, such as Chord Play, Harmony, Arpeggio and Chase. It looks like Roland are trying to do with this keyboard what Yamaha attempted with the YS100/YS200: bridge the semi-pro/home keyboard gap, starting at the semi-pro end.

Roland's new guitar synth system was up and running, and sounding good. The system comprises the GK2 pickup and GR50 pitch-to-MIDI convertor and sound module, which has 128 preset and 64 programmable LA sounds plus 63 PCM drum sounds. Incorporating a sound module into the convertor unit allows more rapid triggering of sounds - or that's the theory at any rate.

Roland UK, (Contact Details).

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PROTEUS SAMPLER FROM E-MU

One of the major attractions at Frankfurt was Emu Systems' new Proteus, a 16-bit replay-only sample module. Proteus is heavily based on the technology that went into the Emulator III, and squeezes four megabytes (expandable to eight) of EMI samples into its internal ROM. The sounds chosen range from drum kits to pianos, strings, guitars, brass, basses and organs, and can be played with 32-voice multitimbral polyphony through six individual audio outputs. These outputs can also be configured as three stereo pairs.

Besides allowing the user to play back the on-board sounds in their virgin form, Proteus allows extensive editing of the samples: sounds can be taken apart and re-assembled in a huge variety of ways. An Opcode editor/librarian package is already in the pipeline for both Mac and ST computers. All this is mouth-watering enough, but the real hook is the value for money that Proteus offers: the Stateside price suggests that when it hits these shores (around April), you should be able get hold of one for under £1000. The tremendous interest it generated both in Germany and at the earlier NAMM show suggest that the only question over Proteus' immediate future seems to be whether Emu will be able to fulfil the inevitable demand.

Emu Systems UK, (Contact Details).

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DIGITECH DSP128 IMPROVED

Digitech have released a new version of their DSP128 simultaneous effects processor. The DSP128 Plus goes one further than the original DSP128 and delivers up to four of its effects simultaneously, chosen from programs that include reverse and gated reverbs, chorus, flanging, delay, multi-tap delay, parametric EQ and 9-band Graphic EQ. Another major improvement to the DSP128's facilities is the ability to control effects program parameters in real-time with MIDI continuous controllers.

John Hornby Skewes & Co Ltd, (Contact Details).

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KAWAI GOODIES

Frankfurt saw Kawai continue their assault on the hi-tech market with the unveiling of the K1 II, a souped-up version of the best-selling K1 synth. On-board digital effects and a separate drums part have been added, and the asking price is £745 inc VAT.

The rackmount K1r was in evidence alongside the new MX8SR, a budget priced 16-channel rackmount keyboard mixer. Also shown was an empty box that Kawai promise will one day grow up into a K4. The K4 is currently just that little bit more than a twinkle in the eye of the Kawai R&D department, and when it appears it will be very much along the lines of the K1, but using 16-bit rather than 12-bit sampled sources.

Kawai UK, (Contact Details).

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BITS AND PIECES

There just isn't the space to give full coverage to everything that's appeared or been announced over the last month, either at Frankfurt or elsewhere, but here are just one or two of the more important snippets that we couldn't bring you in full.

• Oberheim released a new synth expander module, based on their Matrix series.

• Ensoniq finally bowed to pressure from users and released the EPSM, a 19" rackmount version of the EPS sampler. It has four times the memory of the keyboard version, 20-note polyphony, 16-bit sampling, 'expert system' sample editing, an 8-track sequencer, and a SCSI port for hard disk storage.

• Intelligent Music released an impressive sequencing program called Real Time, which combines many of the best features of M, UpBeat, and Jam Factory.

• Finally, Sansui is not a name currently associated with the field of musical instruments, but that could be set to change. The WSX1 is a recent product of theirs that has plenty to recommend it to home recordists: it combines a 6-track cassette recorder with an 8-channel mixer and stereo mastering recorder. Oh yes, and there's an on-board digital reverb as well. Features include solo buttons, two-band EQ and two effects sends on each channel. There is no UK distributor as yet, but Sansui audio products are handled by HiFi Markets plc in this country so look out for them later in the year.