Your chance to catch up on whats happening in the whacky world of hi-tech music and recording.

Yet another selection of recently announced new products to whet your appetite!

Hot on the heels of their impressive DPS-D7 digital delay comes the latest single effects unit from Sony. As the DPS-R7 reverberates, David Mellor adjudicates.

Dr. T's universal patch editor/librarian makes the journey from Atari to Mac picking up a host of new features en route, as Kendall Wrightson discovers.

Martin Russ investigates a software synthesis program that offers a wealth of new sounds for under £100.

Policemen look younger, you start to disown parts of your record collection and, just as surely with the passing of time, entry-level cassette multitrackers sprout more inputs and features. Dave Lockwood tries to keep up with the Fostex X28.

Martin Russ edits, analyses, time corrects and synthesizes as he explores the features of the Steinberg's Avalon software.

We all know how modern cost-effective musical instruments and recording equipment allow professional standard tapes to be produced at home. But does the similar trend in video gear mean that the average musician can now shoot his own promo? Paul Wiffen and Darrin Williamson thought so. This is their story.

Erasure's fifth album sees the duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell going from strength to strength, delivering electro-pop at its finest. But the doyens of synthesizer pop recorded Chorus with almost no MIDI instruments at all. Vince Clarke tells Paul Ireson how he made a hit album with 10-year old technology.

The mixer market is dominated by British manufacturers, with a range of Japanese designs also popular in MIDI setups. However, a new American compact mixer offers impeccable audio quality, and outstanding features and value that look hard to beat. Dave Lockwood welcomes the newcomer.

David Mellor offers advice to the studio newcomer on the original multi-effects unit.

So you wanna record an album? Anyone with a DAT recorder can make what they think is a usable master tape, but it takes a little know-how to do it properly. Mastering engineers Mike Brown and Martin Giles of CTS Studios explain what goes into preparing master tapes for tape, record and CD duplication.

David Mellor goes in search of inspiration, and finds it in three of Valhala's International Gold voice cards for the Korg M1.

Martin Russ gets to grips with Freestyle, an auto-accompaniment program with a winning combination of flexibility and customisation options.

More hints and tips and tips from the software manufacturers themselves. This month: C-Lab, Steinberg and Dr.T.

Martin Russ speculates on the end of the music industry as we know it.