shrugs and knock 'n' knowall

Wrenched from video filming (with a ballerina no less) and quizzed on gear and blushes.

New gear revealed. Plus on-the-spot report of how Yamaha in Japan treat the musicianly public.

Digital Sound Effects System

An exciting sound-sampling effects generator

Dave Hastilow fishes around for some new angles on recording technique — in the field or at home. Or in the river.

Drawmer DL251 Spectral Compressor

This sophisticated compressor has a choice of hard- or soft-knee compression and has a built-in spectral enhancer.

Use your Ears!

Regular contributor Martin Russ climbs onto the soapbox this month with a plea to use our ears!

Tangerine Dream's rhythm man describes his sequencer set-up

All's Fair in Olympia and war

Subharmonic Synthesiser

This subharmonic synthesiser promises to do for your bottom end what an aural exciter does for your top.

Drummer with The Police chats about his approach to recording, at home and in the studio.

Betteridge back again, with a step-by-step guide to the mysteries of mike technique.

As the sequencer comes of age, the role of the drum machine is brought into question: why have a sequencer in your drum box if there's already one in your computer? Simon Trask investigates what may be the next step for the beat box.

Everything you didn't want to know and couldn't be bothered to ask

Bill Collins' first of his regular looks at the special need of micro-based Rhymists

Digital Drum Machine

Akai S900 V2.0 & ASK90 and Steinberg Soundworks

Already a well-established sampler, the Akai S900 is on the receiving end of a series of software and firmware updates from Akai and Steinberg. Chris Jenkins boots them up.

'Noise Gates' are now an inherent part of modern recording practice. We explain their function and provide some practical applications.

Electronic Percussion System

The company that pioneered the electronic drum kit bring us the next generation of electronic percussion. Nicholas Rowland investigates Zone Intelligence and tracker balls.

News, gossip, funny pictures, ink.

A drum machine that sounds more like a drum kit than anything Ludwig ever made? True or not, Alesis' beat box is going to find its way into a lot of recording studios. Nicholas Rowland returns to his roots.

Mikecheck

Curtis Schwartz gets expansive with some Shure condensers

The new Human Rhythm Composer goes where no TR808 has gone before, into previously uncharted territories of feel and nuance.

The Dynamic Beatbox

You just can't argue with a drum machine offering 233 16-bit sounds, two stereo outputs, 16-voice polyphony and a mammoth memory all for £299 — unless perhaps you're a busker, as Kendall Wrightson discovers.

ITs guide to the British Music Fair.