Contractual hassles have kept musician/producer Bill Nelson hopping from one record label to another since the demise of Be-Bop Deluxe, yet he has still managed to record some exemplary albums using the facility of his 16-track home studio. Ian Gilby finds out how he put his new album together.

This Japanese audio company seem hell-bent on making a name for themselves as producers of high quality products and this rack-mount electronic keyboard mixer incorporating a four channel MIDI Thru box certainly fulfils that aim. Ian Gilby reports.

The 'guitar synthesizer' appears to be going through a new lease of life at present, with many manufacturers releasing guitar-based synth controlling devices that make good use of MIDI's powers of expression. Ian Gilby tries out one such model: the Shadow GTM-6.

Group six versatile effects units together in a 2U rack case, add MIDI control, a 3.5-inch disk drive with onboard microprocessor, and what have you got? Ian Gilby provides the answer...

Korg DRV-1000 Digital Reverb

As expected the MIDIVERB has opened up the floodgates for more low-cost stereo digital reverbs. Ian Gilby takes a listen to the first Japanese model to hit the market and concludes that its appearance can only be a good thing.

Digital sampling keyboard

Much rumour and speculation has surrounded the launch of what Ian Gilby reckons to be the best mid-priced sampling keyboard on the market. So what makes Emax special? Read the UK's first in-depth review and find out.

Few instruments have caused as great a stir in the marketplace as the futuristic-looking DG1. Stepp describe it as "a radically new instrument that plays like a guitar, and which can produce some of the most phenomenal sounds you're ever likely to hear." Ian Gilby visited Stepp to find out for himself and talk with its creator, Stephen Randall.

Looking for a quick and easy way of getting good quality guitar sounds down on tape? Well, you can stop searching because Ian Gilby has the solution...

The 'Alternative' FM Expander

Ian Gilby looks around for an 'alternative' multitimbral FM expander and uncovers a wealth of features hidden inside Elka's versatile 19" rack-mounting companion to the underrated EK44 polysynth - the ER33.

In some ways this budget-priced drum machine from Kawai is a major improvement over its big brother, the R100, not least in its use of 8-note polyphonic sounds and its built-in digital effects. Ian Gilby was more than a little impressed. Find out why...