Sampling: Is it legal? Is it art? Tim Goodyer raises some of the issues that will shape tomorrow's music.

And now the news: tickets for Jean Michel Jarre's Docklands concert; MIDI for the TR808; the radio station which has outlawed sampling. This and more in MT's news spot.

Q&A time again: this month, problems with MIDI System Exclusive storage, and how to use multi-timbral synthesisers with multitrack tape recorders.

Your opportunity to sample the views of other readers and to spell out your own on MT's regular readers' letters page.

From America: a 1U-high black box which combines MIDI patching, merging and processing capabilities. Vic Lennard encounters a new twist in MIDI processing.

The distinctly eighties phenomenon of remixing is playing a significant part in the development of today's popular music. Tim Goodyer discusses the art of remixing with Norman Cook.

Casio's latest synthesiser employs the successor to the company's own PD synthesis system - interactive Phase Distortion. Bob O'Donnell investigates a new phase in synthesis.

Roland's MT32 LA synth expander proved so popular with pro musicians, the company had trouble explaining that it was aimed at the domestic market. Now Thomas Clement test-drives the professionals' LA expander.

This year's British Music Fair left the confines of Olympia in favour of a stadium atmosphere. Simon Trask goes walkabout at Wembley.

From rehearsal room to recording complex. David Bradwell tells the story of a Midlands musician who hopes to open a nationwide chain of recording studios.

Is it a guitar? Is it a synthesiser? Steve Shepard straps on Casio's combination of hi-tech sounds, MIDI facilities and old-fashioned guitar playability.

Roland's follow-up to their successful Pad8 Octapad features expanded memory and enhanced programmability. Simon Trask hits it off with Roland's new percussion controller.

From providing the backbone of Santana's Latin beat, Michael Shrieve has moved into electronic percussion and out again. John Diliberto listens to the drummer's tale.

Short of inspiration? MT's regular selection of readers' synth patches may be just the cure for your programmers' blues.

Sampling and the law: where do you stand when you plug your record deck or CD player into your sampler? David Bradwell investigates the legal position and the attitudes of the music industry.

Find out if you're the winner of our Akai S700 sampler competition. Plus the winner of our Kawai K1 competition puts in a VIP appearance at the British Music Fair.

Techno music, the true successor to late seventies synth-pop, translates the desolation of post-Motown Detroit into electronic dance rhythms. Simon Trask listens to the programmer's tale.

Simmons' reply to Roland's popular Octapad comes complete with built-in sequencer, but is it a match for the Octapad II? Nicholas Rowland checks out the rhythm competition.

The benefits of additive synthesis software as a means of imitating natural sounds, creating new ones and tidying up your sample loops. Tom McLaughlin adds it all up.

After releasing an album consisting entirely of human vocal samples, Claire Hamill reintroduces the synthesiser to her music. David Bradwell listens to the singer's tale.

CAD meets synthesis inside the Apple Mac. Robert Rich fires up a program that allows you to design your sounds on computer before transferring them to your sampler.