Hugh Padgham has worked with some of the best contemporary artists - The Police, Genesis, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, and Phil Collins, to name but a few - and has earned his place in the recording industry history books through his sensitive, innovative, and inspired sound engineering and production work. How did he do it? Brian Jacobs finds out...

Prophet 600

While Sequential's Prophet 5 will always be regarded as a milestone in synthesiser technology, their Prophet 600 is almost forgotten already. Gordon Reid attempts to correct the history books.

BassCheck, GuitarCheck

American from Japan and its guitar counterpart reviewed by Dave Burrluck

Tracing past to future ventures with one of the world's keyboard greats, including: The first publication of his title music for ‘Inferno’, video and LP reviews and keyboard music to play

Having recently released his own independent LP, 'Oh Africa', we asked Sound On Sound reader Kofi Busia to write about his experiences. In this the third and final part of his story, he reveals his discoveries about the record industry and explains why he set up his own record label.

The Ever-Ready Studio Complex

Ralph Denyer takes the lid off this top London studio complex to discover how it and the people that work their tick.

Mark Of The Unicorn's Mosaic succeeds Professional Composer as their pro notation program for the Mac. Mike Collins looks at how it stacks up against the competition.

Rhodes MK80 Piano

The Rhodes electric piano features on countless classic tracks, and is one of the most imitated keyboard sounds of all time. Now Rhodes are back, with a new keyboard that updates a classic sound with all the benefits of contemporary MIDI technology. Tony Hastings checks it out.

A British playwright looks into the future and sees a composer locked away from the world with a machine that makes music for him. John Walters talks scripts and Synclaviers.

Sampler for the Atari ST

Serious ST sampling?

The benefits of additive synthesis software as a means of imitating natural sounds, creating new ones and tidying up your sample loops. Tom McLaughlin adds it all up.

The Producers

We wish Wayne's Wells world war well: Richard 'Way With The Words' Elen interviews Jeff 'War Of The Worlds' Wayne.

People, Gear, Events, Gossip

happening people, gear, events, gossip

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'?

Even the biggest sample library never seems to have quite enough drum sounds. The solution? Roll your own. Craig Anderton passes on some hot hints and tips on how to get the best possible drum sounds out of your sampler.

Last month, David Mellor explained how loudspeaker drive units work and how manufacturers sometimes try to pull the acoustic wadding over our ears. Part 2 tells the story of how the loudspeaker works as a system, the reason for crossovers, and gives a couple of hints on how to make BIY (bodge-it-yourself) cabinets.

The The's Matt Johnson talks about production, outwitting the lawyers... and hillbilly blues

Part 1: Martin Russ sets off on a wild and wacky expedition through the MIDI Programming Jungle.

Delightful Dobros, Scintillating C-Ducer, Luscious Lighting, Captivating Canons and much more super schmutter

The release of Jason Rebello's first LP shows him to be more than the tasteful performer the jazz circuit already recognises. Simon Trask talks to one of Britain's leading jazz keyboardsmen.

A Glimpse of Current Activities

Since Yamaha popularised FM synthesis, a lot of attention has been paid to digital technology. Lorenz Rychner explains how a lot of this technology still uses analogue programming techniques.

Recording acoustic instruments is a fine art, but electronic instruments present their own set of problems. Craig Anderton explains how to do it properly.