More news, views, and a smidgeon of hot gossip!

A colourful round-up of what's new in the hi-tech recording arena.

Ensoniq don't bombard the market with products - they take their time and get it right. Paul Ireson casts an eye over their new SQ1 workstation.

Famed keyboardist Dave Stewart begins this new series designed to give you a few more compositional ideas than you maybe had before!

With some 17 solo albums to his credit, as well as two ballets, five collaborations with Jon Anderson, and film soundtracks that include 'Blade Runner' and the Oscar-winning 'Chariots Of Fire', Vangelis has continually explored the creation of musical forms via the integration of the acoustic with the electronic. Recently, he took time out to talk about his own work methods and express his views on the current technological scene. Richard Buskin asks the questions.

Part 8: David Mellor explains several techniques for taming that most difficult of instruments to record - the drum kit.

There's not a MIDI socket in sight on this range of German studio units. They are simply good solid audio processors. Dave Lockwood checks them out.

David Mellor unplugs his Atari and tries his hand at sequencing on a PC, using Magnetic Music's 16-track Prism sequencer.

One music software house that showed greater awareness and belief in the Commodore Amiga from the outset was Dr.T. David Ellis checks out version 3.0 of their top-of-the-range sequencer to see how it rates against the growing competition.

David Hughes lends an ear to three well-priced CDs full of synthesizer and drum machine samples.

The D50 was never going to be an easy act to follow, but a successor to the title of Roland's flagship has now arrived. Richard Lamont puts it to the test.

Sound engineer Gareth Stuart assesses this budget-conscious range of performance microphones.

Roland's flagship sampling module boasts an impressive specification, and its page-based screens are oddly reminiscent of the famous Fairlight. Kendall Wrightson finds out how impressive it is in the flesh.

Back in 1985, Propaganda made an astonishing debut with 'Dr. Mabuse' and the classic album 'A Secret Wish'. After years of silence, a split with ZTT records, and the departure of three-quarters of the original line-up, Michael Mertens is back with a new-look Propaganda, and feeds the party line to Nigel Humberstone.

Dave Lockwood casts a critical eye over this low-cost MIDI/tape sync box from Sansui.

More hints and tips from the world of music software.

Barry Lewis supplies a light-hearted version of the Ten Commandments for computer users.