Frankfurt 86

The Frankfurt show seen from a diagonal position

The basis of this month's article on drum programming is swing - the rhythmic basis for music as diverse as jazz and hip hop. Nigel Lord swings out.

General MIDI module

Less knobs, more sound

Microphone techniques for 'Musique Concrete'

FM Sound Generator

Yamaha's preset synth expander offers a multitude of FM sounds for reasonable money, and also boasts MIDI Mono Mode for multi-timbral recording. David Ellis gives his verdict.

Alembic is a word guaranteed to set bassists' teeth a-gnashing with envy. Steve York supplies the necessary.

Rosetti's 12-Channel Studio software for the CBM 64. A comprehensive disc-based package that can turn your MIDI gear into a floppy phenomenon.

Sound Mastering

Ace Records' re-mastering engineers reveal the secrets of acoustic restoration

Tucked away in one corner of the Frankfurt Music Fair was an astonishing sound-sampling device with origins in Eastern Europe. Paul White and Dan Goldstein have managed to get their hands on the first model to appear in the West.

Back To The Future

The future of the synthesiser: experimenter's toy or street-cred home organ?

Control Room

Sub-woofers: how to extend the bass response of your micro-monitors.

In the second part of our series on getting the most from the mix, Paul White offers some advice on using outboard signal processors to their best, er, effect.

People, Gear, Events, Gossip

happening people, gear, events, gossip

'Master Series' By John Entwistle

Music Instruction System

Of the few computer-based music teaching systems available, Xanadu's Musicom - distributed by Roland - is one of the most versatile. David Ellis finds out if it's cheap enough to tempt fund-starved schools.

Visual Reports & Views

Hipgnosis collection is no walking antique: gosh I spin Magritte-like-are you hip enough to gnosis? (anag).

DrumCheck

Bob Henrit of Argent has a go on the new Arbiter Auto-Tune kit.

CZ Editing Software

It's taken two British companies - XRI and Joreth - to produce the first computer-based editing packages for the Casio CZ range. Simon Trask finds out if they make programming life easier.

A Re-Review Of The Roland MC4 Microcomposer

...But let us not forget what went before. Steve Howell again, on the machine that introduced the world to recording music by punching in a set of numbers. It's still usable today.