Michael Brook, inventor of the Infinite Guitar, as used on U2's "Joshua Tree", was in London recently for some concerts. Is there any chance of the rest of us getting to try his invention, Frontend wondered?

"I got some enquiries from your original article," Michael said, referring to the news item in the April 1987 issue. "But I just haven't had time to work on it. So it's not stopped, but it's on hold."

For the November concerts, Michael used sequences to drive a Yamaha TX816, playing live guitar over the top, some of which was 'held' in digital delay patterns. "To a large extent a sound almost dictates what you play," he said of his working methods. "The same is true of treatments: Gregorian Chants would only happen if you had a room with a long reverb time. And you wouldn't have be-bop developing if all rooms were like cathedrals. And now the difference between an instrument and a simulation of its acoustic environment has been blurred, especially with things like the Roland D50."