The analogue versus digital argument - as seen by the man at the top.

Three pages of equipment innovations, musical happenings, and new product releases, as seen by our team of crack reporters.

This month's selection of readers' points of view from the Music Technology postbag

Question and answer time ogain. Our team of experts lend a sympathetic ear to your problems, and try to dig up a few answers.

From America comes a set of unique MIDI percussion controllers that work by sensing the direction you shake them in. Rick Davies previews them.

With an ever-expanding range of hi-tech music equipment, Akai seem intent on carving out a sizeable market niche for themselves. Simon Trask checks out their first MIDI controller.

A sophisticated approach to multi-effects processing comes from a new British company. Simon Trask finds out if it matches up to the stiff Japanese competition.

Take the successful MIDIverb, remove the MIDI bit, reduce the number of programs to 16, and you've got the cheapest digital reverb in the world. Paul White lends it an ear.

Rick Davies gets to grips with a polyphonic synthesiser that allows users to create their own waveforms, a process made easier by Hybrid Arts' voice editing software.

Why spend hours slaving over a hot DX7 trying to find new sounds, when there's an Atari ST program that does all the hard work for you? Simon Trask puts his feet up and takes a look.

The competition is tough for Roland's upmarket sampler. Paul Wiffen discovers if 16 voices, a fine keyboard, and direct monitor connection are enough to put it at the top of the tree.

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.

A new mid-price four-track machine from the people Tascam love to hate. Paul White finds it to be elegant, well designed, and startlingly good value.

After a nine-year career with America's foremost contemporary rock band, Talking Heads' keyboard player Jerry Harrison reveals some of the playing secrets behind their success. Tim Goodyer takes notes.

The readers' synth sound page goes from strength to strength, with the Yamaha DX7, Korg Mono/Poly, Sequential Pro-One and Casio CZ101 among the featured instruments. Plus a review of a DX7 ROM that contains 512 sounds.

Another MIDI controller, this time from the people who brought you the Bit One synth. Simon Trask uncovers one or two tricks up the Italian designers' sleeves.

Only one drum machine has so far been given an implementation of MIDI's multi-timbral Mode 4 - the Sequential Tom. Paul Wiffen reveals how it can be used.

His career began in punk performance, digressed into a fascination with synthesisers, and now finds him in collaboration with a classical composer. Colin Newman explains performance and musical subversion to Tim Goodyer.

Chris Meyer reports on a new system that could revolutionise the way we treat sound samples - the MIDI Sample Dump Standard - and uncovers its usage in the Prophet 2000 sampler.

The latest in Yamaha's family of sequencers returns to cassette storage, but offers eight tracks with features not even found on the prestigious QX1. Simon Trask puts it through its paces.

From synth pop to sequencers and back. Two-and-a-half years since they lost graced our front cover, Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey tell Tim Goodyer how progress is made, as album number seven hits the streets.

Simon Trask again, this time experiencing the simple delights of the budget Roland sampler. It's easy to use, but has the low cost brought too many compromises?