Sound module giant test

E-mu Proteus FX, Korg X3R, Yamaha TG300 do battle

ARP Odyssey owner and enthusiast Gordon Reid remembers the only synthesiser that gave the Minimoog a run for its money back in the 70s - the sounds of oscillator cross-modulation and filter sweeps live on.

The omnipresent Steve Howell passes on a few tricks of the trade. This month he examines ways in which you can transform a dry, lifeless synth sound into something soft and manageable.

Is E&MM biased towards Yamaha? Is Jean-Michel Jarre more brilliant than David Sylvian? Is our letters page becoming a haven for sensation-seekers who should know better?

While most of us spend our time trying to get our MIDI equipment to work together properly, Martin Russ reveals how to creatively mis-use MIDI and produce some interesting musical results.

make mega-francs across the channel

We get the artists' views

The gossip that's hot from the team that's not

Light fantastic?

'A Wandering Mistrel, I...'

Tony 'Chips With Everything' Mills, back with more software for the increasingly popular Atari 520ST

Logical priorities

Dougie's Music Store

The big cheese goes to Cheshire

What the hell's a MIDI Performance System? David Mellor does his level best to explain.

all the singer needs to know, part 1

Simmons SDX Drum Sampler

Lurking inside this angular-looking monster is a versatile computer system that will turn what is ostensibly an electronic drum kit (albeit a state-of-the-art 16-bit sampling one) into a formidable MIDI workstation. Ed Jones test drives Simmons' powerful, new SDX system.

Richard Elen visits the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop and hitches a ride through 21 years of past and present music and effects production from Quatermass to Blake's 7.

Millioniser 2000

The Millioniser 2000, a synth harmonica that may sound as odd as it looks.

MIDI has revolutionised the way we make and record music. But it has developed at such an incredible pace that it is easy to lose sight of MIDI's many benefits. In this lengthy article, Craig Anderton provides a lucid explanation of how you can make MIDI work for you - whether you have a small home studio set-up or a full-blown professional system.

PC Show Report

A chance to catch up on what you missed, music-wise, if you weren't among the 104,000 people who attended this year's Personal Computer Show at Earl's Court.

Reverb: Too much of a good thing?

A new column that allows music industry figures to air their views on whatever it is that bugs them! Keyboard programmer, music consultant and author Paul Wiffen kicks things off this month.

A big Austrian event that focuses on electronic music.

SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS PRO ONE

The most popular post-Minimoog monosynth is still the best alternative for everything from new age to northern techno. Greg Truckell reintroduces an old friend.

Three jam-packed pages of hot new products.