Forsaking guitars and drums for a wall of keyboards and racked modules, Sub Sub turned a home studio into a hit factory. ‘Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)’ peaked at Number 3 and took everyone by surprise - except Phil Ward, who heard the single pre-release and contacted the band immediately.

Wavetable Synthesis

Many of today's popular digital synthesisers use variations on "wavetable synthesis". Chris Meyer explains what this mystical but powerful method is all about.

MIDI has revolutionised the way we make and record music. But it has developed at such an incredible pace that it is easy to lose sight of MIDI's many benefits. In this lengthy article, Craig Anderton provides a lucid explanation of how you can make MIDI work for you - whether you have a small home studio set-up or a full-blown professional system.

From the American Dr Ts comes an Atari ST program capable of additive, FM, AM and multiwaveform synthesis as well as sample editing. Chris Meyer asks if facilities are everything.

Oceanic interviewed

Merseyside's pop trio on presets, jingles, Nirvana and 2 Unlimited

Another old synth makes its comeback. This time it's Steve Howell's much-prized ARP 2600 with its graphic panel layout, modular construction and built-in amplification.

The lowdown on current polysynths, voice expanders and controller keyboards in this month's instalment of our unique buyer's guide.

PART 2: Greg Truckell winds up his two-part power user's guide to this popular LA expander with some applications techniques.

PART 1: Ace programmer Greg Truckell begins a power user’s guide to this popular LA synth expander.

An American synthesist and composer with a soft spot for aborigines and analogue sounds, talks to Bob O'Donnell about programming synths and sequencers old and new.

Not only did Roland's Super Jupiter make a worthy replacement for the Jupiter 8, it is still a sought-after instrument today, as Steve Howell is happy to report.

House from home. Nicholas Rowland talks to a British house band who have developed their music from television advertising jingles to chart success.

Garage Studio

RM reader Martin Smith talks about the trials and tribulations of building a serious home studio in his garage.

In the third part of our continuing series on the basics of MIDI, Bob O'Donnell concentrates on sequencers, their capabilities and their place in a typical MIDI studio.

Digital FM Synthesiser

After last month's preview, Simon Trask gets to grips with FM's friendlier face. Can simpler programming compensate for the deficiencies of four-operator sound?

Multi-Dimensional Synthesisers

Expanding the "user waveform"approach of their K3 to almost full additive waveform proportions has given Kawai what they call a "multi-dimensional" synthesiser. Bob O'Donnell likes what he hears.

The industrious Chris Meyer again, with the latest news on MIDI Sample Dump Standard. What exactly is the value of transferring a sample from one machine to another?

Patrick Leonard has a surprisingly low profile for the producer and cowriter of many of Madonna's biggest hits, but his production work and nascent solo career suggest that wider recognition is on the way. Paul Tingen meets a man of many talents and strong views.

Korg M1 Music Workstation

As Korg prepare an armada of new products to invade the music shops, Tony Hastings investigates the M1 Music Workstation - the flagship that looks set to blow a lot of the competition out of the water.

(But Were Too Afraid To Ask!)

PART 3: Martin Russ continues his in-depth explanation of MIDI's most misunderstood messages.