Catch your breath before reading - a new age in synth controllers is dawning and they'll blow you away. But where do they fit into the present scheme of things? No MT, no comment.

The latest products and developments in the world of hi-tech music.

Your chance to have your say. This month "affordability", heavy rock and rhythm programming are on the agenda for the readers' open forum.

His name is Simon Trask. His specialist subject is modern musical equipment: its attendant problems and frustrations. MT's resident mastermind answers readers queries.

This new full-sized MIDI keyboards controller from Kawai has the capability to control an entire MIDI system. Deborah Parisi reports.

The latest dedicated sequencer from Yamaha offers 16 tracks, extensive editing capabilities and a built-in disk drive. Howard Massey gives it a spin.

"Affordable" sampling drum machines are few and far between. Dan Goldstein checks up on this contender for a vacant throne from the French.

Currently enjoying the success of U2's 'The Joshua Tree' album, this French-Canadian producer talks to Paul Tingen about his hand in this, Peter Gabriel's 'So' and other projects.

The eagerly-awaited 16-bit digital stereo audio processing system for the Atari ST has arrived. Scott Gershin checks it out and acquires a new outlook on sound sampling.

Tired of scoring out your music by hand? Simon Trask investigates a computerised alternative and discovers it may try to muscle in on the composition.

This hardware/software system attempts to bring the sophistication of automated mixing to your existing recording setup. Chris Many put his feet up and lets the machines do the work.

Yello made the sort of music everyone had heard of but few people heard - until Shirley Bassey helped them into the pop charts. These obscure Swiss art rockers reveal all to Nicholas Rowland.

In the third and final part of our series on synthesising and sampling the sounds of acoustic instruments Howard Massey hits it off with the snare drum.

...Beating Like This forever, and so Matt Isaacson's examination of "drum bugs" (and other nasties) and their applications for triggering electronic drum brains brings this series to a close.

The beat doesn't come much harder than from this respected London funk outfit. In the wake of their debut LP Tim Goodyer gets the hard facts about rhythm from a box.

The latest signal processor from Yamaha may be aimed primarily at guitarists but the small studio owner might prefer to look at it as an adaptation of the SPX90. Rick Davies finds out it has a few new twists as well as a slimline price tag.

In the third part of our continuing series on the basics of MIDI, Bob O'Donnell concentrates on sequencers, their capabilities and their place in a typical MIDI studio.

The latest box out of the Roland stable to incorporate the D50's L/A synthesis. Simon Trask examines how a multitimbral expander designed with the home organ market in mind will find its way into pro studios.

Digital reverberation continues its advance. Simon Trask puzzles over a unit that combines improved facilities and a lower price tag than its predecessor.

Yamaha's classic CS80 makes a welcome appearance alongside the CZ101, Bit 99 and DW6000, and more ROMs for the DX7 complete this month's selection of readers' sounds.