With the predominance of the workstation synth, and the rise and rise of essentially preset instruments, what has become of the 'traditional' synthesizer? Paul Hazel turns the spotlight on Roland's JD800 and Korg's Wavestation, two recent instruments which answer the question — but in very different ways.

Prophet 2000

Following October's preview, Sequential’s new sampler gets the in-depth treatment from Paul Wiffen, who refuses to return the review sample.

The Rhythm Section

Landscape's bassist and drummer recount their reasons for choosing to form their own label to Ralph Denyer.

"...comes back from Hammersmith."

What we saw at the big fair, including famous gear and famous people.

(But Were Too Afraid To Ask!)

PART 2: Martin Russ reveals even more about the uses and applications of MIDI's most powerful function.

MIDI has revolutionised the way we make and record music. But it has developed at such an incredible pace that it is easy to lose sight of MIDI's many benefits. In this lengthy article, Craig Anderton provides a lucid explanation of how you can make MIDI work for you - whether you have a small home studio set-up or a full-blown professional system.

And following on from that, David Ellis takes an in-depth look at how the MIDI system works, and the sort of potential it encompasses.

Last month we gave you advice on choosing a computer for musical applications; as a follow on, this month Mike Barnes provides a comprehensive rundown of available music software for the Atari, Macintosh, IBM PC, and Amiga computers.

Incorporating the News. And starring all you need to know about the new products and where they'll be. The one you need.

Roland, Yamaha, OSCar, Syrinx, Teisco and Moog