What you may have 'missed' at the Los Angeles AES and the London Hands On Shows.

Los Angeles and London were the recent locations for two very different audio get-togethers. Paul Gilby reports on the proceedings and products shown at both the AES and Hands-On shows.

With SUPER MRC Software

When Roland's forward-thinking design team made the original MC500 an ‘open’ system, they did users a favour. Built-in obsolescence became less of a fear, provided Roland stuck to their promise of future updates and upgrades. The release of the Super MRC software shows they have. It's available on its own for existing MC500 owners, or packaged with expanded hardware in the guise of the MC500 MkII. Paul Ireson keeps you updated.

Wayne Hussey divulges all about the gear behind the Gothic grind

A look at some of the new products revealed at the Musik Messe '83

UMI 2B Software

The 1B version was good, but Simon Trask has spent a month with its successor, and reckons it deserves its reputation as the most professional sequencing package designed round a home computer.

Steve Waye

Chris Maillard and Steve Waye look at the problems faced by solo artist

Super-guitarist, super-producer and Superstar, Nile Rodgers must be doing something right. Our exclusive, in-depth interview with the man and his production team reveals all...

Roland DEP-5

Denizens of space rock, 15 years of hard work, and the band around whom legends spring almost daily, Hawkwind are planning a new strategy for 1984 with a new stage show Earth Ritual, Dave Brock and Huw Lloyd Langton explain the Hawkwind rejuvenation to Tim Oakes.

When Norman Cook walked away from The Housemartins he walked into hi-tech record production and remixing: now he's topped the charts with Beats International. Tim Goodyer talks to a computer convert.

for and against the structured approach

Total Percussion Sound Module

Sequencer owners rejoice! Roland have taken the 16-bit PCM sounds from their popular R8 drum machine, put them in a convenient rackmount case, and added extra slots for ROM and RAM cards to produce a beat-box par excellence. David Brenton reports.

Stephen Duffy & Stephen Street

cocksure ex-tintin ex-duran talks tech

Spotlighting Poly Magoo.

Which Gear is Right for You?

Unbitten by the digital bug, Vince Clarke only drives analogue.

Logical priorities

Is Vic there? Good, he can answer a few questions

Eccentric Swiss pioneers Yello follow 1989's Flag with another long playing sound fantasy. Simon Trask talks to Boris Blank about his old Fairlight and his new Baby.

Tim Goodyer talks to Carl Marsh, guitarist with E&MM's idiosyncratic cover artists, about Oil and Gold, rock and roll, and the Jupiter 8 versus the DX7.

Two sparkling summer concerts, by Ultravox and Michael Nyman.

John "Jellybean" Benitez is the leader of the current trend of DJs turned recording artists. Tim Goodyer talks to him about the relationship between the dancefloor and the recording studio.

Yamaha V50 Workstation

Paul Ireson explores Yamaha's latest professional keyboard, which integrates FM synthesis, a drum machine, a powerful sequencer and a multi-effects unit into a single package. Could it be FM's finest hour?

By combining plenty of different sounds with the built-in percussion voices and digital reverb, Roland's MT32 multitimbral expander makes the ideal add-on for any sequencer. But it really takes a software editing program to get the very best out of it. Brian Howarth shows you how.

Entry-Level Sequencing For The ST

Paul Ireson takes a look at The Final Cut, a budget sequencing program for the Atari ST that offers the beginner more than the average entry-level program.