The best synth ever? This month's cover star, the Yamaha SY99, is certainly reviewer Martin Russ's personal all-time favourite, and its powerful synthesis, comprehensive features in all aspects of its operation, and sheer quality will certainly win it a lot of friends. I still have slight reservations about any synthesizer that costs over £2,000, but the SY99 is a mighty instrument, and this kind of power rarely comes cheap. It's worth remembering that the Roland JX10 cost £1,899 in 1986, the Sequential Prophet V was £2,845 when it was discontinued in 1985, and ten years ago the Jupiter 8 would have set you back a hefty £3,999. Translating those prices into today's equivalents gives some pretty frightening figures, and £2,499 starts to look like very good value. Having said that, it is perhaps unfortunate that the recession means that the market for the '99 will be more limited than it might otherwise have been.

To change the subject completely, as some of you may know we have moved to new premises just down the road. Our PO Box address and phone number remain the same. We simply outgrew our old building, and the new offices will offer several advantages. Quite apart from giving us a better working environment, we will once again be able to operate an in-house studio for testing equipment, and those of you buying from our mail order pages should find it a speedier service.

One of my first major tasks following the move will be to read through all your entries in the reader survey. Many thanks to all of you who completed your forms — we'll announce the competition winner next month. I will take note of all your comments and suggestions, and they will contribute to the future shape of the magazine. From what I've read so far, you seem to be an egotistical bunch — an awful lot of you suggested "me" as a subject for an SOS interview. Hmm. And to those of you who suggested Ludwig Van Beethoven (there was more than one, strangely enough), er, give us his phone number and we'll do our best. We will publish details of the survey as soon as we've compiled all the data, but rest assured that everything you've told us will be useful.