Moving upmarket? David Pickering Pick presents this user report on Allen & Heath's Saber console.

Right Royalty Rip-Off

From Sheffield's tradition as the home of industrial funk, come the Fon Force. David Bradwell talks to the men behind the cream of modern northern dance music.

Rack Mixer

DJs know Phonic's mini-mixers well. Will the musician take to their new 16-channel, rackmounted offering? Nicholas Rowland racks his brains

Boogie Back studios

What the North London jazz/soul studio may lack in technology, it makes up for in good vibes

Drawmer 1960 Dual Valve Compressor

Valves and chips combine to produce a compressor that is flexible, flattering and very friendly. But then it's built in Yorkshire, so it should be.

Vie Marshall raps with the bad young brother himself about Ataris, Creator and reader-friendly manuals

Back in 1985, Propaganda made an astonishing debut with 'Dr. Mabuse' and the classic album 'A Secret Wish'. After years of silence, a split with ZTT records, and the departure of three-quarters of the original line-up, Michael Mertens is back with a new-look Propaganda, and feeds the party line to Nigel Humberstone.

Newham College

An East End education boots up the digital revolution

Bob Clearmountain Sample CDs

On a clear day you can usually tell the difference between sampled and real drums. But if the quality of the samples is high enough, will there come a time when you can't tell which is which? David Mellor listens to two new sample cds.

Just as musicians have day jobs, so companies in the music industry often have activities outside the field, writes Martin Russ.

No hype, no waffle - just tomorrow's products today

Tomorrow’s hot products previewed

...Brian Heywood reports on the latest PC developments...

Lexicon Vortex

Morphing FX box

Mark King, master bassist with a string of hit albums to his name as leader of Level 42, has reaped many of the rewards that pop stardom can bring — but satisfaction with the music industry is never guaranteed, as Paul Tingen discovers.

interacting with the future

The automation of creation

Sampling clichés and how to avoid them.

Games Feature

Now that computer games are available on CD, they’re no longer restricted to naff sound effects and music. We talk to games producers Ocean and composer Debbie Wiseman about the arrival of serious sound for games...

Gloria Estefan live in Miami

You can't discuss the Manchester dance movement without A Guy Called Gerald. Simon Trask talks success and setbacks to one of Britain's most influential young artists.

Paul Ward

Paul is a key figure in the Surreal to Real independent record company and has achieved success with his instrumental compositions. RM visits his home studio.

Mark J. Prendergast explores the recording process that surrounded Peter Gabriel's new album 'Passion' and takes a peep inside Gabriel's Real World studio complex.

Volume 6 Starts Here