Industry Talk

Is the current craze for all things retro preventing music technology from moving forward? David Mellor assesses the value of retro equipment and sees a vision of a thoroughly modern future.

Following Jean-Philippe Rykiel's comments in last month's SOS, it's interesting to hear from another visually-impaired musician. Ian Popperwell invites you to take sides in the hi-tech exclusion game...

Paul Farrer describes the trials and tribulations of writing the soundtrack to the big-screen movie version of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

With so many low-cost recording products coming onto the market every month, you may be tempted to ask what, if anything, is to be gained by buying more expensive models. Paul White attempts to answer.

Ever fancied a job as a beta tester of the latest products? Chris Madden's turning it down thanks.

Carlsbro Retail's installation arm, CTS, has recently set up a brand-new sales facility near Nottingham. Paul White takes a look around.

When one of the Sony development team for the new Sony MDMX4 MiniDisc multitracker flew into the UK recently, along with the member of the product planning department, it was an ideal opportunity to find out more about Sony's plans for the home studio-based musician. Martin Walker listened in.

Alan Fish-Barnes asks " what's in a name?" and concludes: "quite a lot, actually..."

A surprising amount of the music you hear on TV and radio is not specially commissioned but is taken instead from libraries of ready-written themes. Nigel Beaham-Powell explains how the library music system works and gives some pointers on getting into it.

Paul White talks to Symetrix President Dane Butcher about the birth of a new PC hardware range, Lucid, intended up to open up the world of high-quality computer-based digital audio at an affordable price.

Musicologist and composer Big George wonders...

The proliferation of independent record labels in the USA has increased the demand for low-budget records, and sparked the home music studio market, moving it from spare bedroom demo mill to centre stage. Our man in America, Dan Daley, reports.

If you've heard of Paris's IRCAM, you probably imagine it's government-funded research bunker devoted to a kind of avant-garde sonic and musical experimentation that has little relevance to the average hi-tech musician. Over the last few years, though, as Paul Tingen discovers, IRCAM has been coming down to earth, and a new spirit of openness and commercial awareness now shapes its work.

Designers of the SoundBlaster range, Creative Labs recently unveiled their next generation soundcard, the AWE64 Gold. Paul White discusses the future of PC soundcards with Creative lads Franco De Bonis and Mike Chandler.

Singer/Songwriter Patcee Francis argues that music should transcend technology, not be circumscribed by it.

Within just a few years, the Mackie brand has come from almost nowhere to a prominent position in the project studio mixer market. Now the company are looking to the future and deciding where they can next apply the Mackie philosophy. Paul White takes a busman's holiday to Seattle and looks behind the scenes in R&D.

Debbie Poyser and Derek Johnson fold up the cybermap, put the virtual surfboards back into storage, and conclude their musician's guide to the internet.

'Manager' speaks with forked tongue, says Rehearsal Studio co-owner Nicholee Smith.

Equipment manufacturers frequently boast that with their gear, your creativity will be limited only by your imagination. Electronic musician Ian Boddy explains how his increasing his limitations actually enhanced his work.

The Internet contains far more information than you could hope to assimilate in one lifetime — the problem is finding things you actually want to know about! In the first of a two-part series, Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser don their Tour Guide badges and present a musician's guide to interesting World Wide Web sites...

These days, you can pick up an Atari ST computer for under £100, and its once-guaranteed studio ascendancy is seriously threatened by the Mac and PC. Paul Ward checked out all the alternatives when upgrading his computer, and decided to stick with the faithful ST. Here he explains why.