Equipment

DrumCheck

Argent's Bob Henrit takes a Pearl kit apart

Combined 12-Channel Mixer/Recorder

A brief look at the new bits and pieces that make life interesting.

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.

multimedia software for the Mac

A video edit suite on disk?

Cheetah MK5 MIDI keyboard

A master MIDI keyboard for under £100 may sound like a joke to you, especially when it is sold by Boots, but Jay Chapman quickly stopped laughing when he plugged it in. Find out why...

Betteridge surfaces again to quiz producer Mick Glossop about his work on Furniture's hit, Brilliant Mind

Steve Cogan talks to J.J. Jezalik about life, the universe and sampling car doors

Studiotest

Akai's foothold on the musical gear market grows with a MIDI sampler package leading the new assault. Curtis Schwartz samples their sampler

Damon, Dolores and me

Indie producer of the moment, Stephen Street finds his memories are all... a Blur

SynthCheck

A Fairlight small enough to slip into your 501's? Well, nearly. Jim Betteridge warms to Casio's supercheap sampler

Playing Keyboards With Elton John

Elton John goes on tour this month to promote his new album The One; Julian Colbeck took the opportunity to talk to keyboardsman Mark Taylor about equipment, entertainment, and Elton.

The Mixing Console (2)

Part 6: The mixing console. David Mellor continues his close examination of the recording studio's most complex and expensive piece of equipment.

A prolonged period of silence from two ex-Japan members may have lead same to believe they've said all they have to say. Dan Goldstein and Tim Goodyer discover this is not the case.

Bob Williams has one of the finest collections of analogue synthesisers in the world, and cherishes them with a care that would make the Science Museum blush. Peter Forrest crosses hill and dale to Cornwall to take a long, loving look, and uncovers a whole network of Moog and Mellotron devotees. Whatever next - 'The Antique Rhodes Show'?

History Of Producers

Just who are these people who get their names on record sleeves and their sounds in your speakers?

Part 2. If you developed a stomach ulcer through reading last month's instalment on the theory of line-up and haven't dared go near your tape machine since, you can stop worrying no was David Mellor tells you exactly what to do to achieve perfection in your recorded sound.

The man who made AOR respectable? Terry Britten confesses all to Chas de Whalley

Yamaha's RX21 Drum Machine offers a lot of sound for very little outlay.

Chas de Whalley chinwagging with the man behind some of the best tracks by Toyah, Marillion, and Thin Lizzy — Nick Tauber

Clint Boon and the Farfisa beat

Our guide to Yamaha FM synthesis continues: this month, Jay Chapman looks at the delights of sub-algorithms.