Music Technology - November 1986
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Welcome to a different kind of musicians' magazine, upholding old traditions and breaking new ground. |
Three pages of news and happenings from the world of music technology, brought to you as only our reporting staff know how. |
The MT readers' debating page. If you have a view to air, this is where to air it. |
Your technical queries answered by our team of experts - and by other readers offering friendly advice. |
Digital Drum ModuleWe preview the most sophisticated electronic percussion system yet devised. It's incredibly versatile, but it doesn't come cheap, as Paul Wiffen reveals. |
Long-distance MIDI transmission is no longer a dream, now that Quark have developed a system that converts it into a more durable format. Annabel Scott reports. |
Recording your own music is only the first step to getting it heard; to do that, you need to deal with A&R people at record companies. Paul Tingen meets them, and discovers why so few bands succeed in impressing them. |
Digital Drum MachineExpandability comes to drum machines, with an affordable unit that offers four ROM expansion slots, plus the added bonus of onboard user sampling. Trevor Gilchrist checks it out. |
Paul HardcastleThe whizz-kid that made a number one hit out of a spoken-word soundtrack and a sampler with 19' is now The Wizard, courtesy of a new signature tune for 'Top of the Pops'. Tim Goodyer meets the man, the Synclavier, and the passion for new technology. |
Lillie Yard Studio | Hans ZimmerWhere can you find a complete audio-video recording system, a Fairlight a separate programming suite and the biggest modular synth in the world? Matthew Vosburgh discovers heaven off the Earl's Court Road. |
Polyphonic SynthesiserSimon Trask follows up our earlier preview of Wersi's first polyphonic synth, with a full review that delves deeper into the possibilities of additive synthesis. Is it too complex to use? |
16-track Tape RecorderEver since its launch, the Fostex B16 has dominated the budget 16-track studio market Now Paul White tests its successor, the E16, and finds out if the improvements are worthwhile. |
FM Sound GeneratorYamaha's preset synth expander offers a multitude of FM sounds for reasonable money, and also boasts MIDI Mono Mode for multi-timbral recording. David Ellis gives his verdict. |
Computer Sampling SystemSampling keyboards are everywhere this year, but most of them are confined to 12-bit resolution. Our US Editor, Rick Davies, gets a taste of 16-bit sampling with an incredibly cheap Atari-based system. |
Digital drum machines may rule the waves in the R&D labs, but one obsolete analogue device is still the record producers' first choice. Tim Goodyer dissects the appeal of Roland's classic TR808. |
You thought multi-timbral MIDI was only for synthesisers and samplers? You thought wrong, as Paul Wiffen proves with his analysis of Mode 4 on the Yamaha SPX90 effects processor. |
Trish McGrath gets the lowdown on a whole stack of readers' own synth sounds, while Paul Wiffen gives an appraisal of a new library of samples for the Ensoniq Mirage. |
Multi-effects UnitMulti-effects processors are all very well, but few of them allow you to use two different treatments in series. Paul White is blown away by the possibilities the technique offers. |
Richard BurgessHe was once electronic drummer with jazz-rockers Landscape. Now he's a successful producer for the likes of Spandau Ballet and Colonel Abrams, but the search for new ways of using new gear goes on. |
Morton SubotnikHis may be an unfamiliar name, but this avant-garde composer has been writing music that stretches technology to its limits for two decades. Ron Briefel talks to the man about his current passion - Yamaha's X-series equipment. |
Music Instruction SystemOf the few computer-based music teaching systems available, Xanadu's Musicom - distributed by Roland - is one of the most versatile. David Ellis finds out if it's cheap enough to tempt fund-starved schools. |
Paul White again, with the first in a new series on ensuring your immaculate recording isn't ruined by a mediocre mix. This month: what not to do with mixing desks and outboard processors. |
New technology has already brought the music industries of East and West closer together, but how has that affected the music itself, and what will happen as the two cultures get closer still? Gary Larson gives his viewpoint. |
E&MM is dead - long live E&MM. A complete rundown of all the features we've published in the last one-and-three-quarter years, just in case you missed something. |