Continuing his practical guide to proven pieces of studio and music equipment, David Mellor looks this month and next at the world's two most popular stereo master recorders.

LA Audio 4X4 Compressor

If your vocalist is up and down like a fiddler's elbow, this classy compressor might be just what the engineer ordered...

Optical Media Explained

First Take

Casio have added a SCSI interface to their FZ10M, made the hard disk optional, and called it the FZ20M. Paul Ireson investigates this born-again sampler.

Reel To Reel - Your First Move?

More hints for your demos

Alan Hoida road tests a portable video studio.

From his remixes of dance music through his record releases with LA Mix, Les Adams has specialised in making a lot out of a little equipment. His latest project is a solo LP, as Simon Trask finds out.

Leading The Field?

Casio caused a furore at February's Frankfurt Music Fair when they unveiled the world's first 'affordable' 16-bit sampling keyboard with onboard graphic editing display - the FZ-1. Mark Jenkins visits the Casio factory to bring you a comprehensive preview of this remarkable instrument.

THE COMMODORE AMIGA

You hear so much about (and from) the Atari ST that it's tempting to believe it's the only computer used for making music. Michael Brooke takes a look at a powerful alternative - Commodore's Amiga.

New products from the world of recording and synthesis are unveiled in glorious colour

A look at this successful equipment dealer.

A complete rundown of all the polysynths, voice expanders and remote keyboards currently available - plus the comments of our reviewing team on each of them.

Noise reduction is an essential part of any professional recording; but there's more than one way of providing it and more than one way of using it. Silence is golden to Vic Lennard.

Digital Piano

The piano has been plinking

Looking for a be-bop bass without hassle? Matt Isaacson looks at a box of bass sounds that may help you with the bottom end of your music without tying up your favourite synth or sampler.

APRS Report

The latest developments in the recording world brought the industry, press and public flocking to Olympia 2 recently. Simon Trask records the event.

A quick gaze at the crystal ball reveals a new MIDI mixer from Simmons, a digital reverb/effects processor from AKG, a MIDI-CV module from Tantek, and plenty more...

UMI-2B

Sequencing interface for the BBC

Korg's latest instruments and more.

Kurzweil K250

Sampling with the Kurzweil 250. Will it knock out the Fairlight?

A Round-Table Discussion With Major Japanese Instrument Manufacturers

The idea of putting a group of rival Japanese manufacturers together in a room to openly discuss their future directions may seem more akin to an explosive science experiment than a realistic idea. Gregory D. Moore reports on the outcome.

Bryston 3B

Powerful studio amp

Guest producer Robin Millar strikes a note of realism on the subject of home recording, record deals, and the size of A&R department waste bins...

Do you live in peace with your cassette recorder? Or is your life full of mangled tape misery and longings for lost high frequencies? Confirmed reel-to-reelie David Mellor explains the problems that bedevil the cassette format, and offers some advice to make the medium work for you rather than against you.