...Session Musician. Jim Betteridge kicks off a new series with a frank look at the prospect of becoming a hired player

Steve Hackett and Paddy Kingsland set out to test the merits and demerits of the Roland GR-500 and ARP Avatar. Synthesise watches, lads.

A special 10th anniversary Diary hot from the lips of Adrian Deevoy

IT Cat eats month - shock horror probe etc.

Adrian Deevoy on lead typewriter

Universal Patch Librarian

Tired of rummaging through RAM cards and boxes of floppy disks in search of a particular synth patch? Greg Truckell checks out a far more convenient way to store and recall patches.

Who, What, Where & When...

Manual Madness!

Manual madness! Roger Jackson proposes improvements to the currently poor state of some manufacturers' equipment manuals.

Another year, another host of hardware to look back on. We take you through the goodies and the baddies that came out during '84, just in case you missed any of them.

Synthcheck

Paul Fishman does his Bit

Helden, Laurie Anderson, Fad Gadget, The Enid

The Diary of Samuel Deevoy takes yet another turn for the perverse

Paradise Studios

Synth players in search of Heaven need look no further than West London, where a recording studio puts the emphasis firmly on hi-tech musical equipment, but doesn't charge people the Earth to use it. Simon Trusk pays Paradise a visit.

Stage Piano

From the profound to the downright silly, we wind up a year's chit-chat

Ben Duncan goes through one of his phases...

Studio Test

Jim Betteridge enthuses, or could it really be John Bull

A Tour With Jethro Tull

Not another tedious account of a top band on tour, but a carefully worded roadie's-eye view of what really goes on behind the scenes. Antony Freeman gives an account of the happenings as Jethro Tull hit Germany.

Eight top pop players and producers discuss the necessity of notation. Richard Walmsley chairs the debate

The Sweetest Girl

The Sweetest Girl, the Coverage version