Our colourful glimpse of forthcoming and recently released new products from the hi-tech and recording fields.

The onboard 8-track sequencer and sampled waveforms of the ESQ-1 make it a hard act for any manufacturer to follow. So what further features does Ensoniq's new SQ-80 synthesizer have that could possibly outshine its stablemate? Craig Anderton explores...

Martin Russ reveals the hidden features of Yamaha's budget digital multi-effector and explains how it can be coaxed into supplying more than one effect at once.

Craig Anderton offers some valuable hints and tips to help liven up your synthesizer's factory presets.

Having recently celebrated their first 100 years in the music industry, we thought it opportune to discover what Yamaha have planned for the next century. Paul Gilby investigates.

Our regular column devoted to readers' hints and tips about their recording equipment, instruments, software and playing techniques.

Over the next two issues Graham Hinton tests five mixer automation systems which all provide control of audio signal level by means of Voltage Controlled Amplifiers (VCAs) and are accessible to some degree by MIDI. This month it's the turn of the Akai MPX820 and Simmons SPM8:2.

The ability to load new samples whilst playing is only one of many performance-related features which make the 20-voice EPS stand out from the current crowd of sampling keyboards. Craig Anderton reveals the others...

The first of a series of articles in which David Mellor explains the tricks and techniques of the studio trade and how they can be successfully applied by the home recordist. This month's technique allows multi-instrument recordings to be built up using minimal equipment, and is known to its practitioners as 'sound on sound'. Now where have you heard that phrase before?

Craig Anderton goes behind the scenes at Ensoniq's US headquarters to discover more about the company that made sampling technology truly affordable.

With rack expanders forever dropping in price, the concept of one 'master' keyboard capable of controlling all MIDI devices in a system becomes more appealing by the minute. And with the MK88 and MK55, Tony Wride believes Elka have fulfilled the promise of MIDI and produced the ultimate master keyboards, jam-packed with features.

Martin Russ breaks off from his 20th century studies way in the future to report on some alternative goings-on which may soon materialise in the form of a new generation of powerful sampling synthesizers.

Final Part: Jay Chapman wraps up his 'Back To Basics' mini-series with a handy recap of bits, bytes and hexadecimal.

Martin Russ takes out his soldering iron and creates the MIDI Monitor - an unbelievably useful gadget for anyone with a MIDI set-up of any kind.

What the hell's a MIDI Performance System? David Mellor does his level best to explain.

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