Reviews
BIG GUNS
Roland S550/S330 Sampling Modules David Mellor looks at Roland's flagship sampler, the S550, and its newly launched escort vessel, the S330. Are they squaring up to fire a broadside at the enemy's sampling fleet?
ENSONIQ ESQ/SQ80 EDITORS
Editors More and more synth editors are turining to computer-based voice editing software to take the drudgery out of programming their own sounds. We asked Matthew Newman, of the Ensoniq Users Club, to compare three ESQ/SQ80 editors from Soundbits, Dr T and Steinberg.
Kawai K1
Synthesizer Keyboard Kawai's latest 16-voice multitimbral keyboard is packed with features and aimed fairly and squarely at D50/ESQ territory. Its PCM sampled waveforms include drums and percussion, a host of standard and exotic instruments, as well as the best of the additive synth waveforms gleaned from the K5. It also has one ace up its sleeve - its price. Ian Gilby tells it like it is.
ROLAND D110
Roland D110 The Expanded Expander Here it is - the professional version MT32 complete with separate voice outputs, built-in reverb and hardly any noise. Martin Russ looks at Roland's new studio-oriented rackmount LA synthesizer.
STEINBERG SOFTWARE PAGE: New Atari ST owners beware!; The helpline; Updating software; Drum editor; Mail service; More logical edit
THE BIG BANG!
Simmons SDX drum sampler Lurking inside this angular-looking monster is a versatile computer system that will turn what is ostensibly an electronic drum kit (albeit a state-of-the-art 16-bit sampling one) into a formidable MIDI workstation. Ed Jones test drives Simmons' powerful, new SDX system.
TOA MR8T
8-track Cassette Recorder If you thought eight tracks on standard cassette was an impossibility, think again. David Mellor assesses the world's first 8-track cassette recorder.
YAMAHA DX11SYNTHESIZER
Yamaha DX11 Synthesizer Yamaha have bowed to pressure and released an easier to programme DX with an abundance of features. Tony Wride gets to grips with Yamaha's first ever multitimbral synth with a keyboard.
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ROBBIE ROBERTSON
Robbie Robertson After calling it a day with seventies' supergroup The Band, and an interim period spent scoring soundtracks for Martin Scorsese films, guitarist Robbie Robertson has teamed up with Daiel Lanois, Peter Gabriel, and U2 to create an impeccable first solo outing. Mark Prendergast lends the album an appreciative ear.
Technique
A BASIC GUIDE TO ACOUSTIC SOUND SYNTHESIS
A Basic Guide To Acoustic Sound Synthesis Rudi Cazeaux explores the nature of sound and presents some basic guidelines for synthesizing the various standard groups of acoustic instruments.
HOW IT WORKS
How It Works: The Cassette Deck Do you live in peace with your cassette? Or is your life full of mangled tape misery and longing for lost high requencies? 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.
SOS TECHNICAL TIPS
SOS Technical Tips Martin Russ shares some of his hi-tech pearls of wisdom and reveals some practical hints and tips for the modern recording musician. Kawai Drum Machine ROM table.
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