Controllers

David Mellor goes all gooey about Kenton's new MIDI guitar switcher, designed to put a stop to all the embarrassing onstage effects pedal swapping that goes on in the dark between numbers.

Paul White packs away the keyboard and plugs Roland's new guitar-MIDI interface into his sequencer.

JL Cooper's new remote controller could become the nerve centre of your studio, driving all your MMC-compatible studio equipment from its front panel. Control freak John Harris checks it out.

Roland's new MCR8 hardware controller seeks to take the strain out of parameter access synth or software editing, by offering you real-time manipulation of any MIDI values from its front panel sliders and knobs. Paul Ward checks it out.

How do you fancy a way of playing guitar patches, like a guitar, without the expense of a guitar synth system? Impossible? Derek Johnson finds out...

Amongst the black rackmount boxes and sleeky anonymous keyboards, one new hi-tech instrument stands out, as much for what's inside it as for its appearance. SOS brings you the exclusive first look at the latest incarnation of physical modelling technology, korg's adventurous new Wavedrum. Review by Julian Colbeck.

Hands On Development came into the field of MIDI-controlled lighting very early, with their sophisticated Limetime controller. Now the Starlite offers even the most fiscally challenged the opportunity to add another dimension to a live performance. Martin Russ seeks enlightenment.

This compact unit allows you to add MIDI-controlled lights to your performance for less than the cost of a modest sound module. Paul White checks it out.