Trade shows are a vital part of many industries - hi-tech music and recording included - but much has changed regarding the forthcoming UK shows. Tim Goodyer investigates.

I've got some bad news for you, Sunshine / Pink isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel / and they've sent us along as a surrogate band / we're going to find out where you fans really stand - fleshy Pink Floyd lyric.

The electric storm blown up by self-styled champion of the MIDI guitar, Martin Howard Naylor, comes to a head this month - sound General Quarters, Commander Data.

Repackaging a powerful and popular drum machine as a rackmount and adding drum triggers is sure to attract more interest to it. Nigel Lord explores the new Cheetah MD16.

Imagine buying a drum machine full of good factory preset rhythm programs - instead of the usual collection of cliches. Nigel Lord offers a solution to pre-programmed predictability.

As the Apple Mac computer falls in price, attention is being focussed on less expensive software - like Audio Trax. Ian Waugh checks out a sequencer / audio recorder which won't break the bank.

The annual pilgrimage to Europe's largest music fair is over for another year. Vic Lennard brings hot news of the latest hi-tech developments, innovations, launches, lunches...

The long-awaited inclusion of a protocol to allow MIDI control of multitrack tape machines is just one of the recent additions to the MIDI spec. Vic Lennard offers a MIDI update.

As Mr Fingers and Fingers Inc, Chicago-based Larry Heard was instrumental in creating the house music movement. Simon Trask talks tech with him on the release of his first LP on a major label.

If you're looking for a cost-effective way to add multitrack tape recording to your sequencing setup, it couldn't come much more cheaply than with Fostex' X18. Simon Trask goes back to basics with this new cassette multitrack.

Roland's latest professional digital synthesiser crosses the frontier between their successful D-series technology and a new generation of Roland synths - without costing a fortune. Simon Trask welcomes the JV80.

The drug culture of the rave scene continues to attract the attention of both the pop charts and the tabloid press. Tim Goodyer talks Ecstasy, agony and technology with one of the genre's heroes.