A long-time member of the MIDI establishment, Jeff Rona is a musician who gets more mileage out of computers than most. Scott Wilkinson listens in on Mac, PAN, digital editing and Jon Hassell's latest LP.

Is there more to Britain's latest megastars than a barrel-load of hype, a few jars of hair gel and a clever Giorgio Moroder production job? After talking to the band, Tim Goodyer thinks there is.

Michel Huygen/Neuronium

This Spanish synthesist explains the working methods and motivation behind his psychotronic musical landscapes.

The short circuit to the latest news on the Computer Musician scene.

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.

Recognising Europeans

A look at this interesting but often neglected aspect of recording wildlife.

"It's Cruel To Make A Computer Work This Hard..."

Digidesign, pioneers of low-cost professional digital audio tools, have broken the multitrack barrier, pushing the Macintosh to its limits to offer four to 16 tracks of (relatively) affordable hard disk recording. Paul D. Lehrman can hardly believe his eyes...

The Digital Master

Casio's DA1 is the smallest and cheapest Digital Audio Tape recorder on the market, and an ideal addition to any home studio. Paul Ireson swoons in its presence.

Akai's super-sampler carries on where their S612 left off. Paul Wiffen finds its ease of use belies its sophistication.

DATA: Martyn Ware/new album/Synclavier keyboard/digital technique... HARD COPY

The young chart hopefuls share a few giggles with Jonathan James

The readers' synth sound page goes from strength to strength, with the Yamaha DX7, Korg Mono/Poly, Sequential Pro-One and Casio CZ101 among the featured instruments. Plus a review of a DX7 ROM that contains 512 sounds.

Emu's Proteus 16-bit ROM sample player was one of last year's hi-tech highlights — the new Proteus 2 offers the same concept and quality, but with a whole new set of orchestral sounds. Nigel Humberstone conducts the review.

One band's mission to save rock and roll - with technology. On the spot: Phil Ward

Hard Disk Recording System

Direct-to-disk digital recording comes of age on the Atari ST computer. Vic Lennard checks out the system which may change your life.

Programmable Polysynth with Sequencer

The Californians introduce a followup to the inventive but mixed-bag SixTrak. Simon Trask checks it out.

Ever tried to put music to pictures? Then the odds are you've discovered just how difficult it actually is. Chris Many explains "hit points" and "cues" and shares some of the secrets of the professionals.

RhythmCheck

The drum machine you can hit, and get something more than an ex-drum machine. Reed administers the blows.

The Freedom Factor

Opcode's ground-breaking sequencer, Studio Vision, lets you manipulate audio data as easily as MIDI events. All you need is a hard disk recording system like Digidesign's Sound Tools, a fast Macintosh computer with plenty of storage capacity, and some creative ideas. Paul D. Lehrman reports.

Following on from last month's glossary of terms, we begin our run through the complicated business that is recording, with a back-to-basics approach to setting record levels.

The Mellotron: A Historical Perspective