What's the point of hi-fi if you're playing lo-fi recordings? Tim Goodyer compares musicians' attitudes to technology with those of the listener.

Have you read the news..? If you're reading this the answer's probably "no" - so turn to page six and get clued in.

From the bulging MT mailbag we've chosen just one letter this month - but it raises some important issues for those trying to break into technology.

If you're making sample-based dance music, killer samples are the key. Unless you've already struck gold, you need to win this month's exclusive competition - the definitive Datafile sample CDs.

The job of capturing a guitar on a sample CD is a daunting one, but HitSound's Guitar CD carries it off. Tim Goodyer discovers that there's more to guitars than widdly widdly.

If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing again - so says Nigel Lord as he devotes this month's rhythm programming feature to double bass and snare drums.

On from the revolutionary DX7, on from the souped-up DX7 II, on even from the mighty SY77, comes the SY99. Simon Trask takes the new Yamaha flagship on her maiden voyage.

If you can't imagine how Steve Hillage, Derrick May and The Orb would sound making music together, you can buy their forthcoming LP and find out. Simon Trask talks to the man behind the guitar and the project.

Having set standards with their Proteus sample reader and their Pro/formance piano module. E-mu are trying again. Simon Trask beats up the new Pro/cussion drum expander.

The Farm: taking pop to football louts or bringing hooliganism to the pop charts? Tim Goodyer gets casual with keyboardsman Ben Leach and tries to find out.

Korg's A5 series of effects is aimed to offer a variety of effects to a variety of musicians. Simon Trask test drives them and discovers guitar distortion works for drum machines.

With the arrival of Microsoft's Multimedia Windows, the much-derided PC could become a musician-friendly computer. Adrian Sutton gets a clearer view.

Recently we looked at the theoretic applications of fractal maths in music. This month Ian Waugh composes a complex number with this ST software...

Casio's curious Rapman is already regarded as a toy by many a music cynic - but it's captivated pros like Manu Katche and Peter Gabriel. Tom Robinson reviews it - and buys it.

If you've got problems with your power supply, you've got problems with your MIDI setup - you've probably got problems you never imagined. Mark Burletson plays at megalomania.