More news, views, and a smidgeon of hot gossip!

Keyboards, Guitars, Amps – What's New, Who's Who!

Books '84

instruments and playing in print

Where 'live' recording is involved, truth is stranger than fiction. Or is it?

Systemcheck

The Greengate goes loopy

David Mellor throws away the Roland S750 manual and gets down to some practical advice for novice users.

8-Track Digital Tape Recorder

Tascam's digital 8-track recorder is designed to meet the needs of professionals, yet is costed to appeal to the home studio market.

FX tutorial

More top effects tips from Mr D

Sound Designer Software

The Emulator II finds a new friend in the Apple Macintosh, courtesy of a little American ingenuity. Together, the two make sweet sound-editing music, as Paul Wiffen reports.

Once he prayed to the beat behind Re-flex, he's since become versed in high technology and worked with artists as diverse as Kate Bush and Mory Kante. Ollie Crooke talks to a rhythm programmer extraordinaire.

ELECTRONIC PATCHBAY

Tantek enters the professional market with a patchbay par excellence.

Hi-Tech You Can Take Anywhere

Forget towels, deodorant and trashy paperbacks, what you really want to pack in your suitcase come the Summer is a go-anywhere MIDI studio. Paul Ireson advises on suitable travelling companions.

The Mix (1)

Part 15. David Mellor looks at how to create the perfect mix.

The quest to build the ideal MIDI guitar controller continues with Yamaha's eagerly-awaited G10. Aaron Hallas makes the pick-up.

Tucked away in one corner of the Frankfurt Music Fair was an astonishing sound-sampling device with origins in Eastern Europe. Paul White and Dan Goldstein have managed to get their hands on the first model to appear in the West.

Warren Cann looks at the updated version of the MPC60, the most notable result of Roger Linn's collaboration with Akai.

Yet another selection of recently announced new products to whet your appetite!

Lexicon PCM 80

Studio reverb, sucessor to the PCM 70

E-MU Classic Keys

Analog Keyboard expander

Software for the Atari ST

When the conventional approaches to composing music wn't deliver the goods, this Atari ST program may help provide the inspiration. Ian Waugh investigates computer-generated music.

new gear, stuff, objects, items etc

Software for the Atari ST

A new sequencer program for the Atari ST from British company Hollis Research sets out to be powerful and friendly without breaking the bank. Ian Waugh reckons it's on the right track (man).

In the maze of MIDI software now available for the Atari ST, this sequencer stands out for offering two entirely different recording systems.

Drum Expander

More than a beatbox, less than a sampler, the Percussion Sample Player appears to be a unique rhythmatist's instrument. Simon Trask looks at the pros and cons of a dedicated drum sampler.