Sampling

This month we focus on the hows, whys and whats of sampling.

Digital Stereo Sampler

Having set the music industry standard in sampling with their S1000, Akai are now taking moving pictures into their stride. Simon Trask gets frame-accurate on the S1100.

Magneto-optical Disk Recorder

Akai's DD1000 Magneto-optical recorder applies state-of-the-art technology to four-track dedicated digital editing. Vic Lennard sees the light at the end of the sample.

NAMM Winter Market, Anaheim

Paul Wiffen, hotfoot from California, reports on the machines that made headlines at the US music industry's winter shindig...

Sounds, samples, & software upgrades for the modern studio

New software, systems, sounds, updates

Atari ST & Commodore Amiga

Part 2. Concluding our look at the relative merits of the big four music computers, Martin Russ puts the case for the Atari ST and its variants, and Paul Overaa explains why his heart belongs to the Commodore Amiga.

Is the hard disk about to crash? Kendall Wrightson looks at the latest developments in mass storage technology, and discovers an optical future.

Soundtracs Solo Logic Automated Mixing Console

A lot of bang for the bucks, and MIDI control too!

Tell your Mac what it's hooked up to! Save the contents of all your MIDI devices with one mouse movement! Edit 47 different devices from the comfort of your armchair! Kendall Wrightson examines Opcode's new Mac system software and the latest in editor/librarians.

(But Were Too Afraid To Ask!)

PART 3: Martin Russ continues his in-depth explanation of MIDI's most misunderstood messages.

Kurzweil K2000

Kurzweil's new keyboard offers genuine innovation: versatile synthesis, an unparalleled user interface, and up to 64MB of user sampling are only the start of what sets the K2000 apart from other sample-based instruments. Craig Anderton explains why it will turn the head of even the most jaded technophile.

MIDI Composition via Computer

The tale of two songwriters on opposite coasts of America, using different computers and musical instruments, writing and producing a single without face-to-face collaboration until the final mixdown. Al Hospers reveals what happened.

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?'

MIDI has revolutionised the way we make and record music. But it has developed at such an incredible pace that it is easy to lose sight of MIDI's many benefits. In this lengthy article, Craig Anderton provides a lucid explanation of how you can make MIDI work for you - whether you have a small home studio set-up or a full-blown professional system.

Ensoniq ASR10 Stereo Sampling Keyboard

DCC vs. MiniDisc

Is either format any good?

Newsdesk as was - news as is

Learn to read the future in these pages...

The assembled masses of the IM review department wax lyrical over their selected favourites from this year's music fair.

8-Track Digital Recorder

It's finally here, it's available and it works!

BMF REPORT

The excessive heat in London's Olympia gave the latest hi-tech gear a run in the "who's hottest" stakes at this year's British Music Fair. Simon Trask sweats it out.