Frankfurt 86

The Frankfurt show seen from a diagonal position

Roland JD800 Programmable Synthesizer

Already a strong contender for hot keyboard of the year, Roland's new JD800 puts analogue-style knobs and sliders back on the front panel of a modern digital synth. Julian Colbeck goes "wow"!

Recording Chris de Burgh

Stephen Tayler tells Richard Buskin all about recording and mixing Chris de Burgh's recent single, 'By My Side'.

An exclusive look inside Genesis' private studio retreat deep in the heart of Surrey.

One of the stars of Channel 4's Fourmations, Brian Johnson's Improvisions combine musical performance with real-time manipulation of video images. Peter Ridsdale trips on this.

Cutting a record

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

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.

From PCMs to PZMs

Tom's home studio is sure to be the envy of most of our readers but it's there for a sound, practical reason.

League leader and Moroder man talks tech to Tony Mills

This month: Farfisa to Fuller.

The best music program ever?

Part 1: In the States, Coda's Finale has been hailed as the "the most exciting use of the Apple Macintosh to date" and "the most powerful, most intelligent, most flexible music software available today". In this lengthy two-part review, Kendall Wrightson cuts through the hype to discover whether the claims are fact or fiction.

MIDI Performance Effect

The arpeggiator is still regarded by many as "the poor man's sequencer", but Oberheim may be about to change that with a small grey box called Cyclone. Simon Trask blows hot and cold.

Back in the '60s it was Jefferson Airplane, then it was Jefferson Starship, then it was simply Starship. Brad Leigh Benjamin compares notes with the Synclavier king of one of rock's institutions.

Andy McCluskey

Andy McCluskey reveals his dislike for synth programming and his penchant for the classics.

Getting Studio Acoustics Right

In major studios or in home setups, a good listening environment is essential. Wilf Smarties presents a practical guide to creating the right space for your sound.

Bill Nelson, Magma

The Snare

In the third and final part of our series on synthesising and sampling the sounds of acoustic instruments Howard Massey hits it off with the snare drum.

A long-time member of the MIDI establishment, Jeff Rona is a musician who gets more mileage out of computers than most. Scott Wilkinson listens in on Mac, PAN, digital editing and Jon Hassell's latest LP.

Ralph Denyer reports on London's prestigious CTS Studios and keyboardist Brian Gascoigne who recently teamed up to establish a MIDI/SMPTE-based electronic musicstudio purpose designed for the post-production of film music.

Glastonbury sound

PA secrets behind one of Britain’s biggest festivals

Recording your own music is only the first step to getting it heard; to do that, you need to deal with A&R people at record companies. Paul Tingen meets them, and discovers why so few bands succeed in impressing them.

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?

through the year darkly with One Two

All's Fair in Olympia and war