New Themes, New Dreams.

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.

David Mellor tries out three new effects units from ADA — a MIDI programmable stereo equaliser, MIDI valve preamp, and a pitch transposer - and finds one that gives his secret studio weapon a run for its money.

Alesis are known, more than anything, for their digital signal processing expertise, yet their new mixer is an all analogue 16:2:2 design - but employing a revolutionary construction technique. Paul Ireson lends an ear.

At 28 Seigen Ono is one of Japan's leading producer/engineers whose recording credits include working for David Sylvian, Robert Fripp, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Lounge Lizards. He is also the creator of some of the highest quality instrumental music yet to be classified under the New Age music banner. Mark Prendergast discovers what he and his music are all about.

Mike Skeet reveals everything you need to know to get your final master tape ready for mass duplication.

Ben Duncan goes through one of his phases...

Freelance engineer Steve Hall offers some guidance.

From synth pop to sequencers and back. Two-and-a-half years since they lost graced our front cover, Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey tell Tim Goodyer how progress is made, as album number seven hits the streets.

Hendrix rises again - thanks to two musicians, a helpful bureaucrat, and a rack-full of Akais

Opcode Studio Vision

Integrated sequencing/d-t-d recording

All this and the scam from Olympia II

Yet another selection of recently announced new products to whet your appetite!

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

Simon is both a musician and a producer. This month he talks to Paul White about, amongst other things, his work doing 12" remixes for Nik Kershaw.

IT's complete news service.

Dave Simpson relates the saga of how his recording dreams became a reality. The Thatched Cottage sixteen track studio must be every home recordist's idea of a success story.

Durham University Electronic Music Studio

Music On The PC

Panicos Georghiades and Gabriel Jacobs explain how, with the aid of plug-in sound and MIDI interface cards, you can transform that most unmusical of computers, the PC.

Cutting a record

Make your own music, make your own record, make your own luck