Keith Barr, the driving force behind Alesis isn't renowned for his willingness to talk to the press so we are pleased to be able to bring you this exclusive interview.

BMF Report

Lager bottle in hand, the Editor guides you through the gallery of new music technology on demonstration at last month's newly-public British Music Fair. Plus lots of photographs so that those who missed it can find out what the gear looks like.

A Quick glance at the crystal ball reveals new products on the way from Kawai, Stepp, Tascam, Soundtracs, Ramsa, and others...

Aphex Type C, BBE Sonic Maximizer, SPL Vitalizer

Three psychoacoustic enhancers, all designed to make your music sound bigger, clearer and more impressive.

Yamaha QY10

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a battery powered, pocket sized, 8-track sequencer/32-note 8-part synth'n'drums module. Craig Anderton checks out Yamaha's mighty midget.

Our regular colourful glimpse of forthcoming and recently released new products from the hi-tech and recording fields.

Forthcoming new products from the hi-tech music recording field.

A contemporary composer drawing inspiration from the classics

No IM, No Comment

Digital Effects Processor

Reverb and delay from Roland in the guise of the DEP-3, a scaled down version of the popular DEP-5.

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

Tomorrow’s hot products previewed

The Man and his Music

We feature one of France's most fascinating Electro-Musicians, and look at the man, his music and the philosophy behind his composition.

Tascam DA30II

New version of DAT classic

A chance to check out some of the forthcoming new products that might tempt you to dig deeper into your pockets later this year.

This month, we've devoted all of our news pages to two special show reports; from Chicago's NAMM fest, and London's APRS — the products which'll be making next year's news...

New products — New people

Last month we explained the development and requirements of VCA-based mixer automation systems. This month, Graham Hinton scrutinises three retrofittable automation systems - the Twister PAC, MegaMix, and J.L. Cooper MidiMation - and asks 'How good are they?'

It's the biggest! It's the best! It's the 1986 British Music Fair! Our man on the inside, Tony Mills tracks down the hottest gear of the year

Continuing the tradition that began with their 144 Portastudio, Tascam have created a combined package of mixer and 8-track recorder - the 388 Studio 8 - whose compact dimensions belie its true versatility. Dave Lockwood assesses its performance.

EQ Tutorial

Perfecting your sound with a little equalisation

Yamaha SPX990 20-Bit Digital Multi Effects

We put the first affordable 20-bit processor through its paces.

In depth.

Can't quite stretch your budget to a 688 MIDIStudio? Richard Aaron checks out Tascam's appealingly priced new 8-track portastudio.

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.

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.