David Hughes lends an ear to three well-priced CDs full of synthesizer and drum machine samples.

Jez Ford raps his bits round this excellent budget price sound expander from Yamaha

The Four Track Future - Where To Start With Cassette-Based Recording

Four-track Fandango - Gary Cooper looks at all today's choices for cassette multitracking

Britain's biggest, busiest and noisiest music fair is over for another year. So what did we get for our money and our aching feet? Report by Simon Trask.

You may not find a 24-track recorder in this London studio, but you will find two synchronised Fostex E16s and a veritable Aladdin's cave of hi-tech paraphernalia being put to some very interesting uses. Read on and discover how...

Following on from last month's five-amp round-up, Paul White puts two more keyboard combos thoroughly through their paces. Do they make the grade?

Making new music from old. Simon Trask talks to the musicians and DJs who made a No. 1 hit from a drum machine and other peoples' records.

The Roland Alpha Juno, Korg Poly 800 MkII and Yamaha CX5M are among the machines featured in this month's selection of readers' synth sounds, and there's a review of new voicing tapes for the Ensoniq ESQ1.

Mixing Console

Mix your Spirit - and stay in control

What is a Noise Gate? What on earth is a MIDI Noise Gate? David Mellor supplies the answers and explains some standard and not so standard gating techniques, with special reference to the BSS Audio DPR 502 MIDI Noise Gate.

how they get that fantastic noise

The Producers

Hugh Murphy — a strange case of former Connie Francis assistant publicist taking the Kilburn High Road to find a kind of fame and fortune on the fast train, City to City. Fred Dellar buys a ticket and goes along for the ride.

...in New Orleans, Paul Wiffen takes time out to visit the NAMM show, and returns bearing news of the Series III Fairlight, the Emulator SP12 and the OSC Advanced Sound Generator, and more.

Novation Bass Station

Analogue bass synth

With the New Miracle Ingredient - STG

For Recording Engineering

Educated sound engineer David Mellor assesses the value of training for a career in recording.

The Perfect Beat

Is this the ideal way to programme rhythm patterns into your drum machine? Paul Ireson gives Roland's updated drum-to-MIDI convertor a good bashing!

Digital Keyboard

New UK distribution and a new synth bring the Kurzweil name back into the pages of MT. Simon Trask rediscovers Kurzweil quality and playability with their K1200.

His career began in punk performance, digressed into a fascination with synthesisers, and now finds him in collaboration with a classical composer. Colin Newman explains performance and musical subversion to Tim Goodyer.

More than a decade and a half after they first fell out of Manchester, New Order's most married couple are still at the nerve-centre of the band's activities. Helping them come to terms with it all - Phil Ward

Rehearsing

the better way to get better

People, Gear, Events, Gossip

happening people, gear, events, gossip

The Art of Sampling

Part 1: The Art Of Sampling. Keyboard programmer Paul Wiffen offers valuable advice on squeezing the most out of your sampler.

SynthAxe

Approx. £7,000 worth