Many people own one and even more would like to, for the E16 is the 16-track tape machine to aspire to. Gareth Stuart finds out why.

Tascam Porta One 4-track

what he said

Most of us have bought CDs bearing the label "digitally remastered", but how many of us appreciate what's happened to the music in the process. Tom Doyle exposes the power behind the remastering button.

Tascam Porta 07 4-track Portastudio

A no-nonsense, rack-mount multitracker with an attractive price tag.

a round-up from Aria, Clarion, Fostex, TASCAM and Yamaha. guides to nine popular cassette, four-track recorders

'Guitar-style' effects pedals are frowned upon by conscientious recordists but, surprisingly, some can yield very good results as we discovered.

Your chance to find out what new goodies will be appearing in your local music store over the coming months.

Reviewed

A readable survey covering manufacturers from I to T.

Pete Hook — Bass Player, Songwriter and Producer

Although well known for his work as bassist with Joy Division and New Order, Pete Hook is a keen producer and owns a studio by the name of Swite 16.

Fostex MC102 Keyboard Mixer/Cassette Recorder

What a good idea — a stereo mastering cassette machine and a mixer in a compact rack package!

Tape Bias & Overloading

The revolutionary Video 8 format has resulted in a new generation of domestic video recorders that offer high quality pictures and up to 6 tracks and 18 hours of stereo digital sound. Francis Rumsey explains how.

The Frankfurt Finale, courtesy of Curtis Schwartz

8-track Recorder

The 8-track war hots up. Now Tascam have an 8-track cassette to compete with the Toa MR8T. We know that eight tracks on compact cassette are possible, but who does it better, Tascam or Toa? David Mellor decides.

An up-date on the Beta system video recorders.

Vestax MR66 6-Track Recorder and RMC88 Studio Mixer

Put these two together and you have a flexible recording and mixing system.

Zoom Driver 5000 Distortion Pedal

It may look like a hi-tech fuzz box but it's actually a sophisticated guitar preamp with speaker simulator.

If you're already running a MIDI studio on a budget and want to add a handful of tape tracks, the Vestax MR200 could be the answer. Nigel Lord checks out a cassette multitracker that won't cost you much more than £300.