A chance to catch up on the new products you may have missed at last month's British Music Fair.

The BBC's sound effects records have been the staple diet of many a film, TV and radio production. Now there is a new generation of digitally recorded sound effects available on compact disc which are ideal for sampling. David Mellor assesses their worth.

Jay Chapman continues his 'back to basics' description of the technicalities of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface for the many new readers who have picked up on the series since it first began.

Books about MIDI are thin on the ground; books about MIDI on the Atari ST are even scarcer! However, there is one and you can read what Martin Russ thought of it on page 16...

Following on from the DRV 1000 and DRV2000, this latest digital reverb cum multi-effects processor is Korg's most sophisticated yet - 16-bit, 20kHz bandwidth, full MIDI control and, for all armchair enthusiasts, an infra-red remote control. David Hughes reports.

Another in our 'How It Works' series. David Mellor kicks off a two-part investigation into the practicalities of bins, horns, tweeters and woofers. Baffled? You won't be once you've read this!

Taking over where the TX816 left off, this DX7II in a rack is the very latest in a long line of powerful FM synth expanders. Mark Badger puts it in perspective.

With the summer shows out of the way and the forthcoming new products all unveiled, Martin Russ looks into the crystal ball and plots out his version of where the world of synthesis might be heading...

Could the wind of change be upon us? MIDI has already given guitarists and drummers the means to control electronic sounds, and the launch of the Akai and Yamaha wind controllers now allows woodwind and brass players to join in. John L. Walters takes a general look at the historical development of wind synthesizers, and the Akai and Yamaha products in particular.

In the concluding part of our in-depth interview with this French-Canadian engineer/producer, Mark Prendergast discovers how Lanois recorded the 'So' album with Peter Gabriel and more about his co-production with Brian Eno of U2's 'The Joshua Tree' and 'Unforgettable Fire' LPs.

Simon Millward visits the world-renowned Centre for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University, California and talks to its famous director, Professor John Chowning, inventor of FM synthesis.

In some ways this budget-priced drum machine from Kawai is a major improvement over its big brother, the R100, not least in its use of 8-note polyphonic sounds and its built-in digital effects. Ian Gilby was more than a little impressed. Find out why...

One for the DIY fans. In this new series, Martin Russ penetrates deep into the heart of MIDI equipment and explores how they work, what chips they use and more...

Hot foot from the BMF, hard-working Martin Russ brings us his review of this innocent-looking multitimbral LA expander which packs many of the features of Roland's D-50 synthesizer, including onboard digital reverb, but with the added bonus of 28 sampled drum sounds!

The page that brings you industry news, topical views and juicy hot gossip!