The newest, the cheapest the best and the weirdest — yes, it's the BMF Preview again. Our man on the spot - Tony Mills

Around this time of year it's traditional to say "this year's British Music Fair looks like being particularly exciting". OK, let's get it over with; "this year's British Music Fair looks like being particularly exciting". Now you're going to want to know why.

For a start, the BMF is open to the public this year. That's quite a big deal, because it isn't always the case; primarily a trade fair, there's a considerable body of thought within BMF exhibitors which insists that those nasty punters should be kept out. This year there are three trade days and three public days, plus several special exhibits designed to attract and entertain the public.

Also, the venue for the BMF was moved to Olympia last year, and with the addition of the piano and organ show an even larger part of this massive building is being used this time.

As ever, many of the BMF exhibits represent the UK debut of equipment already previewed at NAMM and Frankfurt.

Below we're taking a look at some of the new and established lines to be seen at this year's British Music Fair. The list is by no means complete, since many companies will want to keep details of their latest lines secret until the last minute. Certainly the show will be worth a visit for the atmosphere, the entertainment, and for that subtle feeling of being better informed than the opposition.

Key
G = Ground Floor
1 = 1st Floor
2 = 2nd Floor
P = 2nd Floor, Piano Section

There is a bar and buffet on all three floors, an Exhibitors Club on the First Floor, and passenger lifts to all floors.

Akai UK 1-96
Akai will be showing the new models which caused such a stir at Frankfurt and which are already beginning to get into UK stores. The S900 Sampler at around £1,595 is a multi-timbral MIDI-controlled sampling unit in a 19" rackmounting format with built-in 3.5" disc drive. It samples up to 15kHz and defaults to a 19 second sampling time.

MX-73 is a MIDI Mother keyboard with 100 memories, four programmable keyboard zones, velocity sensitivity, programmable control sliders and tape dump. At around £499 it's an excellent way of controlling expanders or other synths on or off stage.

Akai have a new synth, the AX-90, and an expander version, the VX-90, both of which are capable of treating sounds from the S612 Sampler (which remains in the catalogue) with their envelope, filter and chorus sections. There are two new programmable MIDI effects,the ME 30P, a 4-8 patch bay and the ME 25S, a note separator for keyboard splits, both in 19" rack mountings, and a rack version of the MG 1212 recorder with a separate auto-locater. Also on the recording front there's an improved, 14-track version of the 1212 called, imaginatively enough, the MG 1214 featuring improved faders, signal-to-noise ratio, interfacing to SMPTE and improved 'aesthetics'. (I think that means they've changed the colour scheme). There's also a new mastering deck, the GX912, an M101-equipped programmable mixing desk, the MPX820 and new desktop reference monitors, M5200's.

On the strength of the Frankfurt launches, Akai's demo is going to be unmissable, but some more surprises are possible, with rumours of a keyboard sampler just coming out of the prototype stage...

AKG Acoustics 1-40
Microphones and headsets from the massive AKG range.

Alligator Amplification 1-104
A full range of Alligator's new-look amps (now in a black finish as opposed to the old green) will be on show, and there are now specific models for guitar, bass, keyboards and electronic percussion.

JVC and Arbiter Music 1-120/44
Great news from Fender as the company's US factory goes back into production with the Vintage Replica series.

These guitars are carefully made replicas of the originals, not simply cosmetic copies, and are complete down to the last winding and piece of wax on the pickups. The new series comprises six instruments, the '57 Stratocaster in two-tone Sunburst or Salmon Pink, the '62 Stratocaster in three-tone Sunburst or Salmon Pink, the '52 Telecaster in Butterscotch, the '62 Jazz Bass in three-tone Sunburst, the '57 Precision Bass in two-tone Sunburst, and the '62 Precision Bass in three-tone Sunburst. Original tweed and leather cases come supplied and the Telecaster includes a six-piece bridge and alternative electronics to bring it up to current specs. Fender amps will be on show too.

Arbiter will also be showing Remo drums and heads, Paiste cymbals, Rogers cymbals and the JVC Karaoke and keyboards. There are two new JVC portable keyboard designs, the MS50 and MS70, both featuring MIDI and modular options including keyboards, stands, benches and pedalboards.

Atlantex 1-28
Recent new products from Bandive in the Accessit line include an inexpensive stereo panner and an aural exciter. Lots of other home and professional studio equipment on show as well.

Audio Equipment Ltd 1-114

Otherwise known as Audio Factors, suppliers of Custom Sound, Fane Acoustics, Linearsound, Linear Lighting and Felstar Lighting among other lines.

New to the UK is a range of amps from Ross Systems of America featuring large and small combos, powered and unpowered mixers and slave and mixer amps. The range complements that of Custom Sound, which will include a new dual channel 100W Mosfet 1x12 Cub Combo with two Eq'd channels, clean and overdrive, sustain, and reverb.

The new CS902 Mosfet slave will be seen for the first time at the BMF; it's a 90+90W stereo slave amp with frequency response from 10Hz to 100kHz in a tiny 1U high 19" mounting.

Fane Acoustics will be showing a complete range of speakers including some new models selected from a catalogue which now includes some 4,000 items.

Barnes & Mullins 2-44/50
One of the sensations of the Frankfurt fair was the Shadow Guitar-MIDI convertor, a £1,000 rackmounting unit which allows any guitar fitted with the Shadow pickup to control MIDI synthesisers or expanders. B&M are sole UK importers for the Shadow, and will also be showing Marque acoustic guitars, Zanki cymbals, a new range of Spanish classical guitars, Shock drum kits, and many brass, flute and accessory lines.

Beyer Dynamic 1-17
If you're into sampling explosions you need the new M380 from Beyer Dynamic, described as being "extremely blast resistant". In fact it's designed for recording instruments which produce a high sound pressure level without distorting, and as such is ideal for use on bass drums with a frequency down to 15Hz.

Blue Suede Music 1-88
Three guitar lines are promised; the American Guild range, the Fernandes guitars, and the up-market hand-built Atlansia range of basses.

A first showing of the Sundown valve combo heads made in the USA is promised, plus the McKenzie Acoustic speaker enclosure range.

Bontempi (Internote) G-20
Bontempi have been coming up to date recently, specialising in small home keyboards but with an increasing use of digital technology and built-in facilities which make the size and price of the machines deceptive. Also on the Internote stand will be larger keyboards from Farfisa.

British Music Strings G-25
BMS don't just sell strings! On show will be the very attractive Marlin range of budget guitars, including the Sidewinder, Blue Fin and State Of The Art series. Kay guitars with the popular small body are also going to be on show, as are amps, strings, effects and pedalsfrom Sound City.

On the percussion side there will be instruments and accessories from Black Mamba including bongos, congas and timbales, and a range of polypropylene drum cases.

Cable Technology 1-106
Distributors of Klotz audio cable, Cable Technology produce a wide range of connectors including multicores, microphone, patch and instrument cables.

Capelle Music 1-25
Capelle specialise in French products but have increasing numbers of lines from the US and elsewhere.

The American 'Rims' headset-and-floating-system-design of the Remo PTS concept feature on the percussion side, along with the French Capelle drums.

Also from France, the LAG series guitars which feature standard designs with Seymour Duncan pickups, Floyd Rose/Kahler trems, and EMG pickups on the basses with active/passive electronics.

Proto cases include models for string and brass instruments, guitars and basses, violins, flutes and saxes, and the H&B brand wireless mikes and guitar systems are a new addition. Vigier guitars and strings will be on show as will Europa pedal boards and replacement graphite guitar necks, a drum practice kit and many other accessories.

Carlsbro 1-38
For Carlsbro's 25th Anniversary year the company are showing several new amplifier lines and have a soundproof booth so the punters can turn up as loud as they like.

There's a new Sidewinder all-valve 60W lead combo and a professional bass range with three combo models including 1x15, 1x18 and 4x10 versions, with matching head/cabinet options.

Two new 90W lead combos will be launched in the form of the Rebel 8 and Rebel 12 amps, and there's a new 90W Bass Combo, the Cobra 90BG, with a corresponding head/cabinet option.

In the Colt 45 range there are new 45W lead, bass, and keyboard combos, and there are several additions to Carlsbro's PA range. The CP250, CP600 and CP1000 comprise a new range of Mosfet power amps and the Cobra and Marlin Mixer amps will be shown in XLR input versions.

Also on show will be the Taurus series PA and a range of accessories.

Casio 1-14
Casio's continued rise to power has been well-documented in the last year, with their RZ-1 sampling drum machine and price breaking SK-1 polyphonic sampler getting a lot of attention. At £99, the latter's a bargain despite its lack of MIDI.

The show will be the debut of the latest and best pro Casio so far, the CZ-1 Phase Distortion synth, featuring five octaves of full-size keys, initial and after-touch sensitivity, assignable to all elements of the sound (envelope, timbre, etc.) a total of 194 user nameable patch memories (with optional Ram pack in use), 64 Tone Mix, and 64 Key Split memories, and fully assignable performance memories for every voice. All this, and a backlit LCD too should get another Japanese keyboard manufacturer a little hot under the collar — especially with the CZ-1's projected price of 'around £945'.

Watch out too for the DZ-1, Casio's answer to Simmons MTM, which'll interface virtually anything drumpad-wise to anything MIDI, let you trigger whole chords on half a dozen different synths from a single drumstroke, and generally intimidate anyone in your band without a pair of drumsticks into submission, all for about £250-£300. There's also going to be a rather nice, full sized key, 41-note 'guitar-style' remote keyboard controller in evidence, the AZ-1, going for around £300, and the CZ-230S, preset PD synth complete with auto-accompaniment and rhythm box, for the home market, where, despite a full-size, 76-note weighted keyboard and 14 'excellent' voices, the CPS 2000 piano is destined to stay, due to the unaccountable omission of MIDI from its spec. Bit like making an electric guitar without a jack socket, these days. Still, it's nice to know that they aren't totally perfect, I suppose...

Elka-Orla 2-01/03
Elka will be showing their new range previewed at Frankfurt, opening with the EK22 DCO synth and the EM22 expander version. It's a six-voice synth with velocity and after-touch and features MIDI, VCF, two envelopes, chorus and 16-character LCD display.

The EK44 expander version are nine-voice digital synths with MIDI, cartridge ROM and RAM loading, comprehensive sound programming features and again an LCD display for editing.

Ensoniq G-22
As seen at Frankfurt — the new version of the Mirage with weighted keys, quieter output and a software revision to cope with DX-7 inputs from breath control and after-touch, plus the Ensoniq Multi-Sampler rack-mounting version.

New to the UK are the Digital Synthesiser/Sequencer, a powerful multitimbral compositional system, and the Ensoniq Piano, which threatens to make most of Floor 2 at the BMF redundant. Go and see them!

FCN Music 1-48
FCN introduce several new Westone guitars this year including the Pantera range. Arion will be adding some digital effects units in pedal form for guitar, and hand-crafted classical guitars from Mas Y Mas will be on show. Hot news is that FCN have just secured exclusive UK distribution of Tama drums, which'll be joining Zildjian cymbals and their other percussion lines on the stand.

From Zildjian come the massive Z-Series cymbals featuring computer-hammered designs and a new Starter series, and from Trak comes the new Dixon budget drum line.

Kent Percussion and Aulos Recorders continue to dominate the educational market while Pilgrim Guitars are rapidly making a name for themselves in the up-market world of hand-crafted acoustics. The inexpensive Columbus Crest and Satellite electrics will also be on showas will strings from GHS and Pro-Stripes; Cougar Audio Technology will also be showing their new amps, given a sneak preview at Frankfurt, and they're something to watch out for.

Five Star Cases 1-60
Instrument cases for everything from an amplifier to a zither, featuring 'The Italian Collection' shaped cases for electric, acoustic and classical guitars. Keyboard stands including a new multi-tier design, mike stands, PA tripods and lecterns will also be on display.

Gigsville/Aria 1-34
The RS Cat and RSB Cat guitar and bass at £169 and £179 are Gigsville's new stars, and they're accompanied by the new Diamond Series guitars including the JX Custom and JX Plus guitars, and JPJ-2 and JPJ-3 basses. The Performer joins the RSB series at £389 while the Straycat guitars, the RS and RSB, add to the lower price range of the series at around £209.

Harman Audio 1-26
Harman will be showing a new line of MIDI effects units from Seiko, plus a deceptively simple MIDI sequencer from the same company.

Hohner G-25
On show will be the full range of Hohner guitars featuring the Professional and Arbor series models. The Leyanda acoustic guitars are unusually good value for money and include the LW400N, LW600N with a new range of colours, and the twelve string LW1200N.

Mouth organs, accordions and small percussion will be on show, as will new additions to the Hohner Organ range. The PK series of personal keyboards is now expanded to three models with the addition of the PK120 to the existing PK250 models, while the D series of home organs now includes several models from the budget D100 to the comprehensive D180.

HH Electronics 1-70
At last year's BMF, HH launched their 100 Series amps, and they're going for a repeat performance this time with the HH 50 Series. 50 Watt outputs for lead, bass or keyboards are available, and existing models will also be on show. Included among these will be the 100 Series lead, bass and keyboard combos and heads, the MXA100 and MA150 mixer amps, the Invader Series, Pro Series II and Unit System III PA cabinets and the new VX and V ranges of MOSFET power amps, comprising twelve models in all.

HW International 1-16
Live demos of the new Shure mike ranges will include the SM94 and SM96 models, while on the budget side there's a new Prologue range plus the 16L battery-powered electret condenser mike intended primarily for home recording.

Hafler power amps including 125 to 150W models will also be on show.

ILP Electronics G-7
Well-known for their speaker and amp components, ILP recently began to market their own amps and will be showing a new combo range including 80W lead, 120W bass and 120W keyboard models.

Also on show will be the ILP 12" bass speaker with 350W RMS power handling, and possibly a new 6" mid speaker with 125-150W handling. A mono slave amp will be on show as will a new range of racked power amps up to and including the model 2002, a stereo, four-unit amp delivering 1000W per channel into 4 Ohms.

International Musician G-27
The very magazine you now hold. Come and meet the jolly laughing staff, if you can pin them down for two minutes between their visits to the other 100-odd stands (and bars).

Kawai 2-68/70
Kawai previewed a new polyphonic MIDI synth with harmonic waveform definition at Frankfurt, and their full range of pianos will also be on show on the second floor.

Laney Amplification G-9
Laney will be showing their complete range of theatre PA, professional bass amps and AOR tube amps and will be launching a new range of 'up-market' amps. Called the Linebacker series, the new models include amps, combos and enclosures.

Malden School of Musical Instrument Repair G-3
MSMIR offers a range of short courses in instrument repair and is appearing at the BMF for the first time thisyear.

The school works with a system of grouptuition and covers Brass, Woodwind, Guitar and Violin, being equipped with all the necessary special tools for the job. No previous experience is needed to enrol, but some manual dexterity is obviously essential. The school is in rural mid-Wales with local accommodation available.

Jim Marshall 1-92
The BMF represents the UK debut of Marshall's Integrated Bass Range in its complete form. The 1555, a 250W 1x15 ported bass enclosure, is complemented by the 1518 and 5518 models, a 100W 2x8" enclosure designed to accentuate the top end and a powered version with a built-in 100W amp designed to create a neat, portable bi-amp system with the 1555.

Also on show will be the 3203 and 4203, a pair of new lead amps, a 30W hybrid split channel head amp and combo, the 5215 100W Mosfet split-channel combo with 15" speaker, and the 5213 Mosfet reverb twin combo.

The 3005 mini-stack will also be on show for the first time, as will the 5205 12W combo with reverb.

MTR Limited G-26
Tony Reeves' expanding recording equipment company is already delivering the Vesta Fire DIG-412, a powerful but inexpensive MIDI programmable digital delay with 128 memories, and this will be accompanied by the SF-100 Space Commander, a digital stereo flanger/chorus/enhancer. Vesta's MR-1 and MR-10 four-track recorders will be on show and with luck there'll be a new budget four-track too.

Vesta DDL's, reverbs, compressors, exciters, samplers, modular processors and effects pedals will be accompanied by the Cutec range of stereo and four-track mixers, disco mixers, graphics, crossovers and cartridges for the DX7 synth.

MTR's own products now include the Series 2 6/4/2, 12/8/2 and 12/2 mixers, plus an excellent dual noise gate, patchbays and racking system. New for the BMF will be a range of three value-for-money power amps and a 19" mounting eight-channel line mixer with effects send suitable for drum machines or racks of synth modules.

From Aries comes a range of recording mixers up to 24/8/16 and new 10 watt powered monitors.

Music Retailers Association 1-79
The boys in the business suits.

Music Sales 1-84
As well as their huge range of sheet musicand books, Music Sales will be showing their Commodore-related computer music packages including a sound sampler and an FM synth module. With any luck we'll see their Commodore Amiga-based sound sampler too.

Musimex 1-06
Once again Musimex are showing an expanded line of instrument ranges.

On the guitar front, they have the Gittler, Manson and Steinberger ranges to offer, including the new Pro Series Steinbergers. Session amplification including the SG:75 combo amps will be on show, as will the Frazer Wyatt active and passive speaker systems.

In the effects field, Musimex now handle TC Electronics lines including the new Spatial Expander and Dynamic Digital Delay, and the Madrack range featuring the D7 stereo analog multi-tap delay. Cables and connectors from Supershield (featuring a ten-year warranty) and from Klotz will be on show, and guitar accessories will include leather strap from The English Tannery, graphite nuts from Graph Tech, and bags from Reunion Blues.

Last but not least, John Pearse strings and guitar accessories will be on show, as will a full range of McGregor amps, mixer-amps, combos, speakers and disco units.

Ohm Industries 1-64
A wide range of instrument and general purpose amplifiers.

One Two Testing G-27
Another publication of which you may have heard — the music mag that makes IM look like an epic.

Oxford Synthesizer Company 1-43
OSC took on the Steinberg software line recently and seem to be having massive success with it. The Pro-16 composer for the Commodore 64 will be on show, as will the even more powerful 24-channel version for the Atari 520ST or 1040ST.

Pro Creator is an editor/random sound creator for the Yamaha DX7 and also on show will be inexpensive packages for the C64, a Mirage Editor, a file editor for the Pro 16, an Apple version of Pro 16 and much more.

Hardware from Steinberg now includes a MIDI switching unit, MIDI merger and more.

Pacifex/Syco Systems G-15
Hi-tech with the Fairlight Computer Video Instrument and VoiceTracker, the E-Mu SP-12 Sampling Percussion machine and more.

Pearl Music 1-100/108
Pearl will be showing a mere 23 kits from their vast range at the BMF, and these will include their latest line, the World WLX/WX drums. These have a variety of colour finishes and combinations, and will be backed up by the Export series drums and new Pearl drum heads.

Also on show will be the Super-Pro GLX, Maple MX and Birch DLX drums with stainless steel chrome or lacquer finishes. Pearl cymbals and the latest hardware designs will be seen on all kits.

The BMF marks the UK debut of the Syncussion-X kit, a new electronic kit with digital design elements.

Peavey G-10
There's a vast selection of new equipment on show from Peavey, starting with the Megabass, a rackmounting bass guitar amp using a new process called Digital Energy Conversion Technology. Two 200W amplifiers are incorporated in the design and there's a variable crossover so the unit can be regarded as an integrated bi-ampable system. Colin 'Bomber' Hodgkinson will be on hand to demonstrate the Megabass and discuss new playing techniques during the show.

Peavey have several new basses on display too — the new Nitro, a five-string bass, and the Foundation-S, plus the ProBass 100 rack-mounted pre-amp and two new speaker systems, the 215D and the 415-SUB.

Programax 10 is a MIDI-compatible, programmable combo amp with pregain, eq, reverb and outboard effects programmable and selectable via a remote MIDI controller, a keyboard instrument or from the control panel. More downmarket is the £79.95 Companion 15W amp, with a KB-15 version suitable for keyboards, both being capable of battery operation.

Lots of new products in the sound reinforcement field too; the MS1221, and MS1621 mixers are 12 and 16 channel models respectively and include several advanced features. The 3020HT and 1510HT are three-way speaker systems which will also be on show, and the Series III International and new Continental models will also be seen.

Several new mikes and some top secret lines are promised, but perhaps most enticing is the PEP4000, described as a "fully programmable MIDI digital effects processor".

Rhino Music Spares 1-2
Rhino now have a separate Distribution Division to deal with their wide range of Dod rack-mounted and floor effects. Whirlwind's new Leader instrument cable, Dean Markley amplifiers and strings, Audio Logic rack effects, Axe straps and ESP guitars and parts. EMG will also be showing a new Expander model.

Rickenbacker 1-27
The resurgence of Rickenbacker was marked at Frankfurt by the launch of a range of Sony-designed amps under the Ric label, and a five-string bass and eight-string bass to add to the rest of the established Rickenbacker guitar range.

On show at the BMF will be the two power amps, the 19" mounting RA300 (2 x 150W into four Ohms) and RA600 (2 x 300W into four Ohms), which are just the beginning of a range of effects units, speakers and PA systems.

The 40088/5 bass has a low fifth string tuned to B below E while the 40088/8 has conventional tuning with a second set of strings tuned an octave high as on a 12-string guitar. The extra machine heads have been accommodated without any compromise interms of balance or addition of string guides.

Rittor Music 1-110
Music software from the Passport series licensed from the States to the Japanese Rittor Corporation. Past products have included the excellent Polywriter composition and transcription packages for the Apple II, and more recently Rittor have introduced a Juno-106 editor and other items for the Apple and MSX computers.

Roland UK G-14/16
Several new products as ever from Roland, and the near certainty of some surprises as well. The splittable, 12-voice Super JX-10 will be there, but that's already in the shops and proving popular with fans of fat, analogue sounds.

Already seen by the UK trade, the S10 and S50 keyboard sampler, along with the new SAS-sampled pianos and modules, are bound to be popular later this year.

Previewed at Frankfurt was the MC-500 Microcomposer, the successor to the MSQ700 Keyboard Recorder. The 500 has a built-in 3.5" disk drive, 27,000 note capacity (three times that on a disk) divided between eight songs, real or step time composition, and a 'microscope' function which allows you to look at every individual MIDI event.

Computer compositional software for the Apple, C64 and IBM will be on show, as will the TR505 drum machine and several new amps.

The DAC-15B is a new bass amp with a 25cm woofer, bass reflex enclosure, double gain control, three-band active eq and mid frequency control, 15W rated output and headphone facility. The JC-55 is the 11th in the range of Jazz Chorus amps, similar to the JC-120 but with several improvements including two 8" speakers powered by independent 25W amps, new reverb unit and fixed or manual chorus modes.

HS-80 is a home keyboard version of the Alpha Juno 2 synth using a stereo amplifier and two built-in 12cm speakers. Like the JU-2 it has velocity and pressure sensitivity, 64 preset and 64 programmable patches, and the ability to use a programmerforfaster sound modification.

RPS-10 is an addition to the Boss Micro Rack Series, a digital pitch shifter from -1 to +1 octave. Pitch shift amount can be controlled by the sound from any keyboard and the RPS-10 can also be used as an 800ms digital delay.

Rose Morris G-18
Korg have undergone a resurgence this year with some outstanding new products. On show will be the DW-8000 synth and its expander version, the EX-8000; the updated Poly 800 Mk II which now includes a programmable digital delay, programmable eq and expanded sequencer memory; and the DVP-1 Digital Voice Processor for vocoder, harmonise rand other vocal effects.

The BMF marks the UK debut of Korg's two new sampling machines, the Sampling Grand Piano and a keyboard sampler which is still in the pre-production stage.

New and established lines from Vox amps and all the Rose-Morris brass and band instrument brands are promised.

Rosetti 1-01/03
Group gear will be strongly featured on the Rosetti stand this year, together with a newly established piano range from Petrof of Czechoslovakia.

Gibson USA have some new guitars on show from the Epiphone range, and the new Vision series includes electric and acoustic guitars, basses and strings accessories and budget pedal effects. The KMD amplifier range continues to go from strength to strength while the Image guitars are making quality electric instruments available to those on a budget.

Brass and woodwind instruments are represented by Corton, Yanagisawa and Sapphire, while Premier percussion are exclusive Latin percussion lines will also be on show.

Scott Sound Systems 1-30
Specialising in PA systems, Scott will be introducing several new models this year. A new modular PA system consists of the SB15 sub-bass unit, the M212 mid enclosure (both in 100,200 and 400W models), a full range treble horn and HF100 high frequency unit.

All the enclosures are made from 18mm resin board for durability.

Also on show will be Scott's Professional Series speakers, which include the T12 100W cab with two 12" speakers and HF unit, and the 1512 three-way system available in 200 or 400W models. A full range of monitor and backline enclosures will also be on show.

Sennheiser G-21
Represented as ever by Hayden Labs in the UK, Sennheiser will be showing their full range of headphones and microphones, and are particularly excited about a new introduction fit for the digital age. It's the MKH 40, a new condenser mike specifically designed for digital recording, and it's backed up by a complete range of VHF and UHF radio mikes and guitar transmitters fitted with noise reduction circuitry. Sennheiser will be one of the companies using a soundproof booth to demonstrate their products.

Shuttlesound 1-32
Shuttlesound are the sole UK importers and distributors for Electrovoice equipment, and will have several new lines on show. The BK-1 mike, for instance, is an electret condenser design with a cardioid pickup pattern, smooth frequency response and a die-cast case. Other new mikes include the PL10, a dynamic cardioid ideal for brass instruments, toms and bass speaker cabinets, whilst the PL4 is designed for sound reinforcement on acoustic instruments.

The existing Sentry range of studio monitors will be joined by the new Cristal, a near-field monitor with a compact two-way design. New speaker systems include the S1503 and SH1512 stage systems and the BK315, a three-way keyboard speaker system. These will join the established S200 two-way compact speaker.

Simmons G-12
Simmons went mad at Frankfurt with a range of MIDI-compatible percussion units which are set to revolutionise drumming. The MTM (MIDI-Trigger-MIDI) interface allows you to interface MIDI and non-MIDI percussion and synths, while the DSM (Dual Sample Module) allows you to double the sound potential of the existing SDS9 model.

SDS1000 is a rack-mounting sampled kit with a wide variety of familiar and more exotic sounds, while TMI is a trigger-to-MIDI interface which copes with up to eight pad inputs.

SDC200 is Simmons' new dedicated electronic percussion combo amp with an outstanding frequency response for those sharp percussion transients, while finally the SDE Expander allows you to load pitched percussion sounds such as marimbas and glockenspiels from cartridge for playing via Simmons pads.

John Hornby Skewes 1-04
A mere 68 new guitars from JHS this year under the Hondo, Encore, Charvel and Jackson brand names. Hondo's HDX100WH features an outrageous dragon design, while several new models come in a fashionable Flamingo Pink finish.

The Charvel and Jackson guitar ranges are well-established in the US but the BMF will be their UK debut. The Encore range, on the other hand, is well-established over here, and new additions will include electrics and electro-acoustics in the £130-230 price range.

Kahler tremolos will be on show including the new Fulcrum models; also making their UK debut will be the Istanbul cymbals from Turkey.

Seiko have several new guitar tuners, chromatic tuners and metronomes, and other accessories will include guitar straps from No.1, Gig Bags for all types of guitars and Gig Stands for keyboards and rackmounted effects.

Sound Technology 1-62
Sound Technology have a vast number of recording and musical products including lines from Oberheim, Bokse, C-Lab, Aphex and Alesis.

The amazing Alesis MIDIverb will be on show along with the 16-bit Alesis XT:c reverb and the Aphex Aural ExciterType C. New from Aphex is the Dominator, a three-band peak limiter designed to chop off transient peaks and allow significant increases in the loudness and density of recorded music.

From Bokse comes the SM-9 Time Code Events Controller which handles SMPTE, EBU and MIDI with equal ease, offering programmable sequencer and drum machine clocks, 32 patch changes, control of four cartridge machines, samplers and much more.

The MIDI Humaniser, the TS4 Active Timebase Splitter and the US-8 Universal Synchroniser will also be on show.

Oberheim will have the rack-mounting version of the Matrix 6, the M6R synth, and hopefully the Prommer sampler/EPROM blower for Oberheim and other drum machines.

The MIDI version of the DX and DMX drum machines will be on show, as will the Xpander and Matrix 12 synths.

Symetrix will be represented by their compressor/limiter range and the 511 Dynamic Noise Filter, and the new 544 four-channel expander/gate will also be on show. Ashly Audio's new graphic equaliser range will be seen, and the powerful Commodore 64-based, 16-track MIDI composer package from C-Lab will be on demo.

Strings and Things 1-74
Frontline Series II pedal effects are featured this year — there's a new eight-channel stereo mixer plus rack effects, a pedal board, ProDeluxe coloured leads, guitar stands, guitar bags and accessories.

Also on show will be Ernie Ball books and accessories and the new Poly Pro guitar straps, plus EDC rhythm units and mixers, Fibes drum sticks, Music Man basses, Remo drum heads, Paiste and Rogers cymbals and Barcus Berry transducers including some new pickups.

S&T's selection of strings includes 21 brands from Ernie Ball, D'Addario, Martin, Earthwood and Ambassador to Fret-Mate, La Bella, Frontline's Monopoles, Fender and many more.

While you're at the S&T stand you can see strings actually being manufactured using a Picato string-making machine.

Studio Equipment Distribution 1-56
SED are based in Luton and deal with Bel effects and Soundtracs mixers among other lines. Bel will be showing the BDE2400 and 3200 digital delay/samplers with disk storage and 24s (18KHz) or 32s (15kHz) capacity respectively. The memories can be loaded up in sections with 99 'windows' available which can be sequenced using four internal sequencers; sounds can be pitch shifted, triggered externally or internally, played from a MIDI keyboard and reversed.

The Soundtracs FM rack-mountable mixers are modular with a variety of input, output and monitor modules available. They're designed for fixed installation or can be flightcased for mobile use; a 12-2 PA mixer with mono inputs, 24-2 PA mixer with stereo inputs, 8-4-4 recording mixer, 8-4-8 recording mixer, 8-10 monitor mixer, 12-2 broadcast mixer, with RIAA inputs or 24-2 broadcast mixer can be assembled with equal ease.

SONOR G-25
Sonor will be showing several ranges new to the UK. These include the Panther, which is similar to the Performer range but with black hardware and new finishes of black or metallic red. The Performer Plus is an up-market version of the Performer and has Beech/Birch shells, whilst the standard Performer kits and Sonorlite kits are now available in black or red lacquer. The current range of Sonorplus and Signature drums will be on display. Sabian cymbals new to you are the Leopard series, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, the Roctagon cymbals and the 10" mini hats.

Stentor Music 2-36
On Stentor's stand will be the German-made Tacton drumkits, and the full range of Maya electrics, semis and basses. The Kawai Aquarius guitars and the full selection of Double Eagle and Schaller guitar parts and accessories may also be seen on their pitch. On a more mundane level, the Brand X drumsticks are a new product which will retail for £1 a pair!

Technics/Ramsa G-17
Two main lines here, starting with the successful Technics PX series digital pianos. These have seen a lot of use on TV recently and seem an excellent substitute for bulky acoustics. Ramsa, the professional audio wing of Panasonic, will be showing items from their current range of PA equipment, but promise a few surprises for the show...

Tekke Music 1-112
The UK's best selection of exotic percussion instruments from thumb pianos to dondons.

TOA Electronics G-1
Frankfurt became quite excited about TOA's D4 and D4-E MIDI mixer and expander, and the BMF sees the UK debut of the units. The D4 has four inputs and the D4-E adds another six inputs for an integrated 10-input system. There'll also be a D5.5 eight-input model launched at NAMM. Recently-launched microphones include the HY1 and HY2 headsets which incorporate a mute button for those important asides on stage, and there'll be a wide selection of handheld mikes. There's also a new digital effects unit, the 310D, with MIDI control, 16 pattern memories and three outputs.

WASHBURN UK 1-90
Washburn will be showing the new range of Rebel electric guitars, and the full Pro range which encompasses electrics, acoustics and electric-acoustics. All the new Dynacord products will be displayed, including the Rhythm Stick, which resembles a guitar but is played as a drumkit and is available with standard triggers or MIDI. The ADD1, or Advanced Digital Drum Kit is a new MIDI-based drum computer, with beaucoup de, sorry that's buckets of sampling time and lots of control options. The electronic kit with new-shaped pads will be in evidence, as will the Dynacord Reference series of amplifiers. The Bass Maniac, a small-bodied, high quality Japanese bass is another new product imported by Washburn. This will be Washburn's biggest stand yet, and crazed guitar maniacs will be able to take advantage of their soundproof booth.

Yamaha-Kemble 2-06/26
Yamaha have promised to launch several new lines for the second half of the year, and some of these were shown at Frankfurt. There's a new FM expander, for instance, the FB-01, which occupies half a 19" rack unit. It's based on the DX-100 voice, having four operators, and features 240 preset sounds and 96 programmable sounds. It's multi-timbral and can be programmed from a CX-5 computer, so eight different monophonic sounds can be produced simultaneously as on the CX5 itself.

We'll also be seeing the MCS-2 MIDI Control Station which is already in the shops and which adds sophisticated Mother Keyboard functions to the Yamaha PF MIDI pianos. The MEP-4 MIDI Event Processor is also becoming available, and this 19"-mounting unit is capable of modifying incoming MIDI signals in many useful ways.

New software for the CX5M computer is also available to take advantage of the expanded MIDI In capabilities of the SGF-01 voice module, which for the first time is available separately for use with other MSX computers. The CX5-M128 with expanded memory is also likely to be on show.

More on the high-tech side with the Personal MIDI Studio System, which uses a smart metal stand to mount a DX-100 synth, RX21 drum machine, QX21 digital sequencer, YMC10 MIDI Convertor for tape sync, MT-1X four-track cassette recorder/mixer and two KS10 speakers. A complete home MIDI studio for around £1,800.

Lastly, Yamaha will be showing their new range of microphones including five MZ models, the MZ102BE at £99 and the MZ 103BE at £115 being beryllium-diaphragm vocal mikes, the MZ104 at £89 being designed for multiple applications, and the £99 105BE featuring enhanced proximity effect for drum and percussion applications.