While we're used to the constantly-changing face of the music industry, it may surprise you to learn of certain changes afoot in the news trade. Tim Goodyer tells a warning tale of the near future.

When it comes to news, MT's got the lot - including details of who actually killed Laura Palmer. If we get enough enquiries, we might even put it into print...

The meteoric rise in the popularity of sampling has had many consequences - not least musical and legal - but is the synthesiser another sampling casualty? Sampling philosophy discussed in Communique.

Following its success as an Atari ST sequencing/notation program, Tiger Cub finds itself available to Commodore Amiga owners. Ian Waugh gets a new pet.

With the success of E-mu's Proteus sample reader assured, Invision are offering a hardware upgrade that's likely to see the Proteus' use become even more widespread. Vic Lennard explores the logic.

One of the stars of Channel 4's Fourmations, Brian Johnson's Improvisions combine musical performance with real-time manipulation of video images. Peter Ridsdale trips on this.

The first of the software assists for editing and archiving on Yamaha's flagship SY77 comes from Germany. Ian Waugh breaks out the schnapps.

Having pioneered the Micro Composer in the '70s, Roland reaffirm the position of the hardware sequencer in 1990 with the MC50. Simon Trask is fatally attracted.

In a year that's seen Saddam Hussein invade Kuwait and Mrs T evacuate Number Ten, MT chalked up a neat line in hi-tech music information and entertainment - check it out in The MT Index.

After inspiring a generation of experimental musicians to explore synthetic soundscapes, Tangerine Dream found new relevance in 1990's ambient house movement. Simon Trask enters the Dream state.

The drum machine's reply to the keyboard workstation is Korg's S3 Rhythm Workstation. Simon Trask looks at the first of a new breed of drum machine, sequencer and effects processor.

Why limit music to the sounds you hear or the run-of-the-mill images that litter video and concert appearances? Steve Cogan discovers that there's no reason at all - for Meat Beat Manifesto.

The elite of ST scorewriting software is C-Lab's Notator and Steinberg's Cubase; their prices reflect this status. Ian Waugh makes the French connection and finds a cost-effective alternative.

If you can't afford to be without a fully-featured mixing desk but can't afford the usual asking price, it could be that you haven't checked out Studiomaster's Pro Line Gold. Tim Goodyer has...