Anyone can build these useful drum pad triggers for around £10 for the whole set.

Digital 8-Track Recorder

More tricks, more techniques and more general sound advice.

8-Track Tape Recorder

Since its dramatic drop in price, the C278 is an attractive proposition to the private user who puts quality before frills.

LA Audio 4X4 Compressor

If your vocalist is up and down like a fiddler's elbow, this classy compressor might be just what the engineer ordered...

Want to be a recording engineer? Terry Holton provides an insight into the audio and video production training courses offered by London-based Media Production Services.

Interested in hi-tech higher education? Chris Kempster reports on the MIDI studios and recording courses available to students at Salford College Of Technology.

Studio Test

Jim Betteridge gives it a damp reception

Tascam Porta One

A sensational budget portastudio from Tascam, the Porta One, looks like being on most musicians' Most Wanted list. We bring it back alive.

More meaty studio hints and tips to get your teeth into.

Sound Workshop

Alesis BRC Big Remote Control for ADAT

Does the BRC make multiple ADAT working a real joy? Read our in-depth test to find out...

Sony DTC77ES Four-Head DAT Recorder

Four heads can be better than one — and they needn't tax your overdraft, as Derek Johnson discovers with Sony's latest DAT recorder.

Tascam Porta 07 4-track Portastudio

Audio Training Courses

Recording courses: what are they, where are they and do they increase your chances of getting the job of your dreams?

Analogue tape, digital tape or hard disk? All have strengths and weaknesses, some of which are more obvious than others; this comprehensive overview unscrews the inscrutable.

Acoustic diffusers

What they are, how they work, why you need them

Wilmslow Audio SPL1 Near-Field Monitor Kit

DIY-type nightmare, mates. Will it fall apart the first time you put a vase full of daffs on it? No way — this item is positively kit-tabulous!

If you're on the look-out for a compact 16-channel mixer which could do double duty in your home studio as well as on-stage, then the rack-mount M160 will definitely be of interest to you. Ian Gilby checks it out.

Lexicon Alex Digital Effects Processor

Cassette Multitracker

If you're looking for a cost-effective way to add multitrack tape recording to your sequencing setup, it couldn't come much more cheaply than with Fostex' X18. Simon Trask goes back to basics with this new cassette multitrack.

Sound Workshop

Studiomaster Star System Mixer

Is it an analogue modular synth? No! It's a mixer with a difference.