this month: guitars, basses and amplification

Britain's only instrument and gear charts, complete with mini-reviews and spec.

Those very vital instrument and gear charts, with mini reviews and spec.

Guitars For £150

Begin with a Bargain — reckon a new guitar for less than £150? We show you how

Tips on what to look out for

Electronic drum kits give superb sound separation for the studio engineer - but he still has to mike up the cymbals. We investigate a novel application for the C-ducer contact strip microphone, which helps alleviate this problem.

Choosing the right cabinet for the right job can be difficult. IM surveys what's available.

A 1963 Framus Melodie 9-string. That's right. Pic by Garth Blore.

A very odd thing with long horns (no, not a bison).

Happy Axemas from (Santa) Paul Day and his horrible Crucianelli guitars (pic Garth Blore).

three japs

three Hofners

A tuning and calibration unit for synthesiser oscillators

TV Sound

How the experts go about getting better concert noise on the box

Scaling Heights On The BBC Micro

Pitch Training On The BBC Micro

A new pitch trainer for the BBC B

Review of various educational music programs from America

Perfect Gigs

Session Drumming

All the secrets from Andy Duncan.

How To Be A Non-Musician

An invaluable guide for the anti-instrumentalist.

Julian Woodford takes us across the sea to bring us a report on the state of MIDI in Canada

One of the smallest and cheapest practice amps ever - plus its own distortion effect for guitarists.