How to sound like Phil Collins in two easy moves: (1) enter this simple competition to win the superb Gatex four-channel expander/noise gate, and (2) buy yourself a set of drums and start practising!

Details of new MIDI software and something for all Fostex Model 80 owners are amongst the new products we have for you this month.

For some time now Roland's synthesizer range has been lacking a flagship model worthy of the Jupiter 8's reputation. Mark Jenkins believes they finally have one in the form of their very latest 12-voice JX-10 Super JX polysynth. Read why...

Ray Elder details a way of creating new programs of your own on Yamaha's TX7 expander without having to use a DX7. All you need is a Spectrum computer, some DX7 voice editing software and the free advice contained within this article!

'Can you benefit from something that doesn't make a noise?' asks Paul Gilby in his in-depth review of this interesting MIDI trigger device from the pioneers of the electronic drum. It might not generate sounds of its own but this unit certainly makes possible some marvellous effects when MIDI'd up to synthesizers. Check it out.

On the face of it, Dynacord's MCC-1 looks a worthwhile investment for those who wish to by-pass the Spaghetti Junction of MIDI cables in the studio. But it faces stiff competition from other manufacturers' products. Paul Gilby fathoms its depths and draws his conclusion.

In the final part of his series on the synchronisation of audio and video, Francis Rumsey summarises the possible applications of timecodes in helping to automate the music studio.

You may be surprised to learn that as a producer, Rupert Hine has some sixty-five albums credited to him, though it is only in recent times that his name has started to mean anything outside of the record business. Something that has come about largely through his successful associations with Howard Jones and Tina Turner. David Etheridge chatted to him in the studio about his career to date and his approach to record production.

Part 6. Resident software specialist Jay Chapman clears up some misleading terminology first, then moves on to relate how the MIDI protocol organises such matters as Program Changes in those humble synthesizers we all take for granted.

Martin Russ returns with a light-hearted look at a serious subject - sample looping - and passes on a few handy tips for those of you that are having difficulty with your sampling machines.

Synthesist Ian Boddy leaves off from recording his latest independent album to inform us of the merits of MIDI expander modules such as the Planet-S.

Catch a glimpse of what goes through the mind of a Newcastle musician commissioned to provide a suitable soundtrack for an animated film whose subject matter revolves around a woman living alone in a high-rise block of flats. John Goodenough relates his experiences.

With more importance being attached to the benefits of a fully-integrated, synchronised studio set-up, Mark Jenkins checks out a new-to-the-UK chase synchroniser package imported by Audio Services of Stockport that is ideally suited to use with Tascam recorders and supports both SMPTE and MIDI.

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