Mixing

Simon Croft takes up from Steve Howell and gives his views on creative remixing.

Durham University Electronic Music Studio

Getting the Most from Mono Mode

You may have your heart set on a specific MIDI guitar controller, but do you know which kind of synth voice unit to combine it with? Rick Davies offers some interactive advice.

Software for Apple Macintosh

If you're lucky enough to have an Apple Macintosh computer, you can now take advantage of a revolutionary new program that improvises its own music based on the data you feed it. Review by Jim Burgess.

A digital rhythm machine ideally suited to life in the studio.

Martin Goldman examines the dos and don'ts of tape machine maintenance.

Bass Guitars

Having hit upon the right formula with their successful 1882 mixer, Seck have now introduced a cut-price 1282 version aimed more at the needs of the 8-track user. Paul Gilby monitored its performance.

A brief look at the basics of this important synchronisation system.

Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Sing With

You can produce vocal pyrotechnics little short of magic with this rackmount version of the acclaimed VHM5 Vocalist. Our reviewer sings its praises.

An exciting new series for the home electro-musician running a home studio

Techno music, the true successor to late seventies synth-pop, translates the desolation of post-Motown Detroit into electronic dance rhythms. Simon Trask listens to the programmer's tale.

All good things come to those who wait... David Mellor samples Yamaha's version of the 'ultimate instrument', the MIDI sampler. Does it improve on all that have gone before or have Yamaha taken technology beyond the point of usability?

Geoff Twigg on how MIDI came about, what it does, and how it does it.

The Acoustic Guitar

We begin a new series that looks at how to recreate the sound of acoustic instruments using various methods of synth programming and sampling. In the first part, Howard Massey turns his attention to the acoustic guitar.

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.

SMPTE Sync/MIDI + Audio Patchbay/Mac Interface

Combining MIDI and audio patchbay functions and putting them under software control could be an important studio breakthrough. Ian Waugh looks at the SMP16 and studio sophistication.

The Tapeless Recording Market Survey

The tapeless recording revolution is in full swing, as technology that once was available only to the few develops in products that suit a wider range of applications and pockets. Yasmin Hashmi looks at the development of the technology, the current state of the market and how it is likely to progress.

AWM2 Workstation

Yamaha's new SY85 eschews FM technology and instead concentrates entirely on powerful sample-based synthesis. Derek Johnson finds that user sampling, powerful filters, and 'easy edit' sliders are just a few of the tricks that make this far more than just another sample-based workstation.

The Master Section

This month we scrutinise the master section of a typical multitrack mixing console and ponder the meaning of PFL, talkback and that small grey button that goes "neep neep".

Three pages of forthcoming new products to tempt you to dig deeper into your pockets later on this year.

The E&MM Buyers' Guide For Beginners

So you've saved your pennies and want to join the world of synthesisers, but don't know where to start looking? E&MM's buyers' guide shows you how.

It's the most oft-quoted specification of them all, yet frequency response is also one of the most confusing aspects of music machine performance. Paul White reveals the facts behind the figures.