Reviews
A Mother's Touch
Roland A50 Roland have left the business of making MIDI controller keyboards up to others for at least three years, but have now just released two new models. Paul Ireson gets carried away with Roland's latest mother keyboard, the A50.
AUDIX MICROPHONES
Audix Microphones Studio engineer Gareth Stuart puts this new VLM range of microphones through their collective paces.
C-LAB: More Arrangement; MIDI controllers; C-lan & Atari; VOYETRA: Damaged song files?; Time compression; Score; STEINBERG: Single-sided Pro24
CASIO DA1
Casio DA1 DAT Digital Master Casio 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.
CODA FINALE SCOREWRITER
Coda Finale Scorewriter: The best music program ever? Part 1 In the States, Coda's Finale has been hailed as the "the most exciting use of the Apple Macintosh to data" and "the most powerful, most intelligent, most flexible music software available today". In this lengthy two-part review, Kendall Wrightson cuts through the hype to discover whether the claims are fact or fiction.
DACS MIDI PATCHBAY
DACS MIDI Patchbay Ian Gilby appraises this novel solution to MIDI interconnection headaches.
LEXICON MRC
Lexicon MRC MIDI Remote Controller Lexicon's MRC unit is much more than a fancy remote controller for their PCM70 and LXP1 signal processor - it also provides analogue-like controls for easy editing of DX synth parameters and manipulation of virtually any MIDI controller data. Martin Russ checks out the power behind the buttons.
NOBODY'S PERF/X
Oberheim Cyclone and Systemizer Performance Effects Oberheim's Performance Effects units are something of a new direction for a company associated with classic analogue synth. PAUL IRESON tries them out and finds a few surprises in store - not all of them pleasant.
SOUND CONTROL
Alesis Quadraverb Four simultaneous effects and real-time MIDI control are features found on several recent effects processors, but the Alesis Quadraverb is the first to bring both together in a single unit. Paul Ireson lends an ear.
STEINBERG SYNTHWORKS D110: Multi-editor
Steinberg Synthworks D110 Multi-editor Looking for an editor to help you plumb the depths of your LA sounds? David Hughes uncovers a real gem of a program for the Atari ST that makes light work of editing Roland D10, D20 and D110 synths, and can even be used with the MT32.
THE MUSIC NETWORK: SOS On-Line
| People + Opinion
A TOUCH OF GLASS
Philip Glass Philip Glass is best known for his work as a minimalist classical composer, but recently he's been completing work in fields as diverse as opera, piano recitals, film and synth ensembles. Mark Jenkins talked to the minimalist maestro during a fleeting visit to London for his last opera, 'The making Of The Representative From Planet 8'.
ENYA: Watermark
Enya: Watermark One record which managed to stand out from the crowd last year was 'Orinoco Flow' by Irish singer Enya - a hauntingly atmospheric song whose success brought a welcome relief from the chart domination of Stock Aitken and Waterman. To discover more about the track, and the Watemark album, Mike Collins caught up with the producer, Nicky Ryan, at WEA Records' headquarters in London.
MIDI RETROFITS
MIDI Retrofits Soon after MIDI arrived and musicians discovered that they couldn't live without it, most people ditched their non-MIDI synths, drum machines and sequencers in favour of 'better' MIDI-equipped instruments. Today, those 'classic' machines are much sought after, and all it takes to bring them bang up to date is a MIDI retrofit. Tony Wride takes a stroll down nostalgia lane and discovers two companies tha can turn your prized antique into a thoroughly modern MIDI instrument.
SOUNDING OFF: Technolust by Rowland Jones
Technique
DOCTOR JURGENBUSTER'S CASEBOOK
MIDI Hints And Tips Martin Russ dishes up another concoction of MIDI hints and tips.
HOW TO SET UP A HOME STUDIO
How To Set Up A Home Studio: Part 4: Building A Rack Part 4: There is only so high a temporary stack of equipment can get before it becomes a danger to life and limb. David Mellor explains how to give your 19-inch rack gear a happy home.
STICKING IT TOGETHER
Reconstructing a Bryan Ferry track You know all those classic sixties and seventies songs you keep on hearing on TV ads these days? Well, almost every one you hear is not in fact the original recording but a completely new version. To give you an idea of how such reconstrutions are produced, Nigel Beaham-Powell of Streets Ahead Music Productions recounts how he went about reproducing a Bryan Ferry track so closely that even Mother Ferry couldn't tell the difference...
TROUBLE SHOOTING WITH THE FRIEND CHIP SRC/AT SMPTE MIDI PROCESSOR
Trouble Shooting With The Friend Chip SRC/AT SMPTE MIDI Processor David Mellor dabbles in a spot of SMPTE/MIDI troubleshooting with the Friend Chip SRC/AT processor.
| 
