Trevor Gilchrist takes a look at Yamaha's Latin adaptation of their RX21. Is it as usable as its more conventional brother?

In this first article of a new series, John Harris examines basic song arrangement.

Where would Madonna, Giorgio Moroder or Stock, Aitken and Waterman be without sequenced bass lines? Rudi Cazeaux provides some guidelines and practical examples to help you create better bass lines.

Crowded House's Woodface album won widespread acclaim for the sheer quality of its songs. Paul Tingen quizes main man Neil Finn on perfecting the three-minute pop song.

Mark Fishlock expounds.

The man who brought computers to Frankie and programmed his way to chart infamy with The Art of Noise, fits in an interview before going out to play some very English sport. Paul Tingen fills in the scorecard.

its rhythm and reason. Ben Mandelson of Orchestra Jazira looks at the history of African guitar playing and players, and their tricks

guitar jazz at a thrash

Roland JD990 Synthesizer

Is Roland's Super JD module simply the best synthesizer they've ever made? Read the review to find out...

Stephen Duffy & Stephen Street

cocksure ex-tintin ex-duran talks tech

unexaggerated report on the death of jazz

Digital Keyboards DS202 & DS101, Digital Synthesizer DS310, Digital Sequencer DS320

Electrospace The Gate and Strate Gate

The Gate and its Strate companion solve the great noise mystery.

Super LA Synthesizer

The D50 was never going to be an easy act to follow, but a successor to the title of Roland's flagship has now arrived. Richard Lamont puts it to the test.

Weller and Talbot collectively swapping shopping stories with Adrian Deevoy

Atari ST Software

The latest sequencer from the Dr T's stable takes interactive composition by the horns. Ian Waugh examines the software and the merits of mathematical music making.

The section where MT readers submit their own synth sounds. Featured machines this month include the Korg Poly 800, Roland Alpha Juno 2 and Yamaha DX7.

From the New York roots of hip hop, KRS One talks about street-level production values and samples as the poor musician's alternative to real musicians. Simon Trask listens to the Music of the Spheres.

...of which the most fashionable right now must surely be the conga. Here we present facts, not fashion.

Atari ST Software

Not only will Explorer 32 edit sounds on Roland's MT32, MT100, E10, E20, D5, D10, D20, D110, D50 and D550, it will also store edits in C-Lab's Creator and Notator sequencers. Ian Waugh is Our Man in LA.

E-mu Systems, Inc. PROTEUS/1 16 bit Multi-timbral digital sound module

We see how the Proteus One will stand up to the competition of its already booming market

Bono's boys give away a few secrets from the Fire department, Adrian Deevoy and Philip Bashe team up and get close to the Edge

The Mellotron

Once considered an instrument no keyboard player should be without, more recently regarded as a mechanical monstrosity, the Mellotron was definitely an early sampler, but was it the first? Dave "Crumbly" Crombie reminisces.

Jaydee Crusader 'Jazz'