"You can't stand in the path of progress" goes the saying, but just what represents progress in the fields of music and high technology?

Armadillo sampling board for the Archimedes computer... Music of the Spheres music course... Cord Control Kit... name change for Steinberg's Cubit program... The MT news teleprinter is never silent.

When it's driving you mad and nobody will listen, it's time to write a letter to Communique - it may not change the world but it'll let people know what you think and it may even win you a free subscription for a year.

It's small, grey and made by Yamaha - it must be an FM MIDI expander. Ian Waugh checks out the latest application of Yamaha's favourite synthesiser technology.

There are more sources of noise in a studio than recording tape -and a noise reduction unit ought to be able to cope with all of it, right? Vic Lennard thinks he's found one that does.

As MIDI equipment becomes more and more sophisticated, the job of a MIDI controller keyboard becomes more and more demanding. Simon Trask takes the A train with Roland's latest MIDI controllers.

Quietly but surely, synchronisation codes have become an essential part of MIDI recording, but what's all this SMPTE and FSK stuff really about? Chris Many looks at the different sync codes and why we need them.

Opcode's latest sequencing software for the Apple Macintosh aims to include all the facilities of other sequencers and add some more of its own. Carter Scholz believes he's seen the light.

A review of the Desert Island sample library for the Ensoniq EPS joins a selection of readers own patches for the Korg M1, Ensoniq SQ80 and Yamaha TX81Z in this month's Patchwork.

From a clothes and record shop to an electronics company to a sound system to an excellent album and charting single, London's Funki Dreds are on the move. Tim Goodyer talks tech to Soul II Soul's Jazzie B.

In spite of MIDI's promise of compatibility between hi-tech musical equipment, few of us have found this to be the case. Vic Lennard takes his second look at MIDI Implementation charts and how they can solve your MIDI problems.

As Fairlight fight for survival the mighty Synclavier undergoes a dramatic upgrade. Chris Meyer takes us on the first of three tours of the new state-of-the-art Synclavier.

Winning the '89 Technics World DJ Mixing Championship has allowed Cutmaster Swift to plough the prize money into his studio. Simon Trask talks samples and scratches with the Champion.

If you're currently using a software sequencer you'll almost certainly remember the days of drum machine programming as sublimely simple. Ian Waugh investigates a program that returns to basics.

"A new synth, a new style of synthesis" could be Ensoniq's motto as they unveil their new VFX and its Transwave synthesis. Simon Trask previews the sound of things to come.

The search for an alternative to the keyboard as a MIDI controller continues - with a system from a new British company called Technart. Debbie Poyser tracks down the TUK 200.

Belgian sampling innovators Front 242 have been accused of encouraging a fascist following - where does the sampling stop and the politics begin? David Bradwell brings news from the front.

This month's trip down memory lane takes us to Korg's MS20. Greg Truckell reacquaints himself with an analogue synth that may be better suited to use in 1989 than 1979.

Two years on from their impressive, RX5 drum machine, Yamaha have slimmed down their flagship to give us an affordable 16-bit beat box. Chris Many reckons it could be a hit.

American company Aphex bring us a new concept in the "humanisation" of machine-generated music, in the form of their Feel Factory. Robert Rich finds himself in the world of grooves and Feel Algorithms.