Mammoth Electro Fest: Simmons' contender, the UP5, Yamaha's RX15 drum machine, new Digisound chips for the Drumulator, Quicksilva's Drumkit program for the BBC micro...

PART 2: Microphones. David Mellor cuts through the mythology of microphone techniques with some practical advice.

At one time it was a pottery studio. At another it was the home of Edward the Confessor. Now it is Millstream Recording Studio. Owner Dik Cadbury tells all.

Bowie's Dennis Davis and George Murray

Dennis Davis and George Murray chat to Ralph Denyer on their rhythmic station in the Bowie band.

Drum kits

George Chkiantz assembles his very own Powertran PSI 4002 amp. Now it's your turn.

Bassist John Greaves & Drummer Pip Pyle

Is the National Health coughing up blood? Tony Bacon gets to grips with the current state of the queues and cures. Music for liver salts. The Greaves-Pyle team of whitecoats gives a semi-exclusive interview to a private patient.

could your instruments stand Jam Science?

What's going on? Turn to page 14 and find out

A Series By Warren Cann.

Dave Hastilow fishes around for some new angles on recording technique — in the field or at home. Or in the river.

Drumcheck

Looks like a heap of Teflon saucepans, sounds like a million dollars

In depth.

The concluding episode, and Paul White explains how the processing secrets already revealed can be applied to make a complete mix. No more staring at the faders in despair...

Miranda Sex Garden: Sampling The Nation's PA Systems

Mr Papathanassiou leaps off the cover and speeds headlong to page 23. Pausing merely for an intake of breath he settles in his fave armchair and reads, 'Vangelis has superb keyboard technique...' And smiles.

Snares

Everything you didn't want to know and couldn't be bothered to ask

Jim Betteridge wades through the swirling, ethereal ambience that is the Cocteau Twins' music

Jim Betteridge gives Mack the Knife

'Noise Gates' are now an inherent part of modern recording practice. We explain their function and provide some practical applications.

It took the importing enterprise of Audio Services to bring us a new range of well-priced effect units from Dutch company IQ Systems. Sound engineer Gareth Stuart checks out two of the range: the dual noise gate, and stereo clarifier - a psychoacoustic sound enhancer.

Wilf Smarties gives a new batch of CDs a spin.