The acid house explosion has turned Roland's TB303 Bassline into one of the most sought-after pieces of analogue technology. Simon Trask looks at the machine behind the myth.

Hire Companies And R&D

Hire companies and R&D — Richard Goldblatt of Audio FX takes up the gauntlet recently thrown down by the British Record Producers' Guild.

Akai S1000

No-one can deny that Akai's S900 is the 'industry standard' sampler, having kept all newcomers at bay for well over two years. But now there's a new heir to the throne. David Mellor looks at the long-awaited 16-bit stereo, 16-note polyphonic S1000.

The readers' synth sound page, with patches for SCI Pro One, Yamaha DX7 and Casio CZ 101 instruments, plus reviews of anew DX RAM pack and another collection of sounds for sampling.

Universal Patch Editor for Atari ST

Following on from the success of the Trackman sequencing software, Hollis Research have released a universal patch editor and librarian for the Atari ST. Ian Waugh finds the universe at his fingertips.

Vocal music on computers?

recorder

The machines that stole the musicians' feel from your music are the same machines that you can now use to restore it - once you know how. Travis Charbeneau investigates the subtleties of the human touch.

Yamaha's family of synths and expanders has a new member: a module counterpart to the SY22 keyboard. Nigel Humberstone celebrates the happy event.

Hi-Band Flanger and Dimension C stepped on

Studio Series Roland D110 Voice Cards

Super sleuth Simon Sanders finds himself hot on the trail of cool sounds for the Roland D110. Prime suspect: Valhala.

Reader Peter Forrest relates his delightful tales of woe.

news from the front

newsworthy items for your interest

The question "can computers write music" has never been more important than it is in 1989; what is an algorithmic composition program, and will it ever replace the human composer? Ian Waugh composes himself.

No Rhythm

Part 10: No rhythm. Dave Stewart explains ways of making music Without That Insistent Backbeat.

iPD Synth Expander

The VZ8M is the latest application of the synthesis system behind Casio's popular VZ synths. Simon Trask evaluates iPD synthesis in this age of digital development and analogue reincarnation.

how they work

Korg DSM1 & E-mu SP1200

Are the latest samplers from Korg and E-mu Systems really new instruments, or are they simply updates on old machines? Lorenz Rychner counts the bits and checks the clocks.

powered mixer + HiSys 2 monitors

A PA system you can take anywhere

Home recording goes modular.