Mutually exclusive?

the Yamaha story

The Musical Micro

More packages picked apart by Tony Mills

With the predominance of the workstation synth, and the rise and rise of essentially preset instruments, what has become of the 'traditional' synthesizer? Paul Hazel turns the spotlight on Roland's JD800 and Korg's Wavestation, two recent instruments which answer the question — but in very different ways.

digital waveform polyphonic

David Ellis and the sad tale of an Italian computer music add-on that bears more than a passing resemblance to established designs from the States.

'Is this the one we have all been waiting for?' asks Julian Colbeck. Slotting neatly into the vacant sub-£1000 price bracket, Roland's new keyboard is a fast and easy to use sampler with plenty of attractive qualities. But how does it fare against the competition? Read on to find out...

Who? What? Why? When?

Lexicon Reflex

MIDI controllable reverb

Robert Moog, the man who set the synth ball rolling in the first place, on the receiving end of questions from German journalist Henning Lohner.

Tanrak System

The first of a two-part review of Tantek's rack-mounting signal processors. Ian Waugh looks at a modular system that comes ready-built or in kit form for construction enthusiasts.

Clarke, Radcliffe & Marlow

Casio CZ-1

Since the release of their diminutive yet ground-breaking CZ-101 synth, Casio have been steadily improving the facilities of their Phase Distortion keyboards with each subsequent CZ product. The culmination of those efforts is now manifest in their best-ever synthesizer, the CZ-1, a truly professional performance instrument. Chris Jenkins says 'welcome'.

It's Italian, it costs thousands, and it's not an Armani suit. Undaunted, Simon Trask tries it on for size, and discovers a new breed of keyboard incorporating new synth technology and a Farfisa beat.

Dan Goldstein and Simon Trask take a break from reading their own work and examine a selection of new books aimed at helping you get more out of music technology.

From their initial sampled success with 'E=mc2' Big Audio Dynamite have gone on to further explore the use of dialogue and sound effects in pop music. David Bradwell talks technology and photography with keyboardsman Dan Donovan.

Music Computer and Software

1984's most eagerly-awaited electronic music product is finally making its way into dealers' showrooms. David Ellis has been taking a look at the micro itself, Yamaha's exclusive FM sound chip, the controlling keyboard and the first batch of software.

the Roland story

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

Paul White puts five sturdy and powerful keyboard combos to the test - stand by, all at Ohm, Marshall, Carlsbro, Roland and HH.

Long awaited and long overdue, the SY77 is Yamaha's real successor to the DX7; it combines advanced FM synthesis, AWM sound modelling, digital filtering and musical usefulness. Innovation with Simon Trask.

Part 5 of our series for FM synth owners, in which Martin Russ gives away even more secrets of FM programming. Operators at the ready!