More hi-tech news, views, and juicy hot gossip!!

News of some products to be released at the coming APRS exhibition, Acorn's new low-cost Archimedes computer, Akai's digital multitrack, and more.

David Mellor, reviewer of the original J.L Cooper PPS1 'Poor Person's SMPTE' unit, looks at the new rackmount PPS100 - the Professional Person's SMPTE unit.

The more imagination you apply to signal processors, the more you can get out of them. Craig Anderton presents 49 tips that take you beyond stock effects and into new ways of creating your own sonic signature.

Is Roland's new W30 just another sampling workstation? Paul Ireson checks it out and finds features that allow it to excel both as a stand-alone system and as the heart of a more extensive MIDI setup.

Do you use a computer to help you make music? Then why not go the whole hog and use it to keep track of your songs? Vincent Taylor shows that there's more to computer spreadsheets than merely adding up figures.

In the first of this two-part review, Ian Gilby discusses the hardware aspects of Yamaha's new portable PC compatible music computer.

Unheralded even by rumours and speculation, Ensoniq's new VFX synthesizer has arrived. Prior to a full review next month, Paul Ireson offers his first impressions of what could turn out to be the most sought after synth of 1989.

Moving upmarket? David Pickering Pick presents this user report on Allen & Heath's Saber console.

Still struggling to programme your drum machine? Wish you could see what your rhythms looked like? Martin Russ thinks this ST program could banish those drum box blues for good.

PART 2: Akai product specialist Steve Howell passes on more useful tips to help you make the most of your new S1000 sampler.

A rack-mount version of the EPS was something Ensoniq swore they would never produce, but they have finally bowed to public pressure. Paul Wiffen looks at the extra memory, extra outputs and SCSI applications, and concludes it has been worth the wait.

PART 1: New England Digital's Synclavier is the world's most expensive musical instrument, bar the odd 300 year old Stradivarius. But more than that, it can be a recording studio, a post-production system, a music engraver, a scientific research tool... and more. The Synclavier is at the leading edge of musical technology. David Mellor sets out on a voyage of discovery.

PART 7: Badly positioned equipment in your home studio can mean the difference between a good working environment and a bad one. This month, David Mellor provides some useful guidelines to help make your home studio as efficient as possible.

PART 3: Martin Russ continues his in-depth explanation of MIDI's most misunderstood messages.

As the market prepares itself for an influx of DAT recorders from the giants of the hi-fi world, Mark Jenkins takes a brief look at a new portable offering from Technics, the SV260.

More hints, tips, and update news from the world of music software.

Systems programmer and musician David Hughes reveals the hard facts about hard disks.