I often hear people say that E&MM is really a keyboard magazine and not of interest to the guitar player. But the concept of E&MM is to look at all aspects of electro-music and that has always meant the inclusion of guitar reviews and practical guitar workshops. The guitar is still one of the most popular instruments to learn and play at school, and the variety of instruments available today is brighter than ever.

By starting off with a low cost nylon string acoustic and moving on to semi-acoustics and solids, there are still many exciting additions for the guitar - the huge range of strings, pickups, tone controls, and virtually all the mechanical parts can have the style or finish of your choice.

My own experience of playing instruments has proved over the years that a basic skill in playing the guitar is most useful for an understanding and application of the harmonic structure of music.

So much of popular music relies on just the major, minor and seventh chords that the exploration of guitar music - jazz styles in particular - can open up new sounds for your own composing. The guitar can be used in most types of music from classical, jazz, folk, to pop and rock.

Modern music has seen the use of the guitar synthesizer with Roland making the biggest contribution in its research. The latest Roland development puts the guitar into the world of computer music - the Roland GR guitar now links to the Synclavier II from New England Digital.

Getting more down to earth pricewise, many of E&MMs projects offer useful sound processing for the guitar - The Harmony Generator, Noise Gate, Effects Link, Auto Swell, Tone Boost, Hall Effect Volume Pedal, Multireverb, Soft Distortion Pedal, Panolo, Multisplit, Guitar Buddy Practice Amp, Compressor/Limiter, Canjak, and Active Bass Guitar conversion. Two major projects that have been very popular with guitarists are the Transpozer and the Digital Delay. They can both not only create delays, but also a host of pitch changing effects.

This month the guitar player is well catered for with an exclusive interview with Ned Steinberger on his innovative guitar design, a look at the Fender Elite Precision Bass, an article on replacement pickups, and there's something for the guitar dealers to ponder over too.

Finally, the Computer Musician Supplement has been an obvious step in the development of electro-music and we welcome any comments (and programs) you may have - but don't worry about the other parts of E&MM being dropped - that will not happen. Meanwhile our sister publication Home Studio Recording will be on sale in November, for the more avid recordists amongst you - the interview with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is one of the most informative yet.

Next month in E&MM - Meet Dr. Click!

September 1983. Kawai SX-210 Synth. Due to circumstances beyond our control, this model was omitted from our 'Which Synth' guide. The specifications for this model, which was reviewed in the July edition of E&MM, are below.

Kawai SX-210, Keyboard 5 octaves (c-c), 8 Voice, 1 DCO per voice, triangle/square/pulse waveforms, frequency modulation (bend depth) LFO mod. depth. Osc, Sync, LFO disable/start and LFO trigger, saw/triangle/square waves on LFO (plus reverse, speed, delay time), hand controlled Pitch Bend, envelopes: VCF-EG/VCA-EG, increment wheel, chord memory/key hold (memory patch has six character voice identifier). RRP £999.00 inc VAT. Distributor John Hornby Skewes, (Contact Details).

Rose Morris. We would like to apologise to Rose Morris for the omission of pictures from their KORG advert last month.

Please Note: Electronics and Music Maker has moved. We are now based at Alexander House, 1 Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 IVY. Tel: Cambridge 313722