February 1994 Magazine Contents

BBE's Sonic Maximizer has been with us for several years now, earning itself a reputation as one of the sweeter sounding enhancers on the market. Paul White studio tests the latest incarnation, the 462, which benefits from extensively redesigned circuitry.

Following hot on the heels of the TS10, the weighted 76-note keyboard and improved features of the TS12 make it a hot contender for 'top workstation'. David Crombie passes judgement.

Julian Colbeck sizes up the new offering from the prolific Korg camp, the latest to use the company's long-running A12 synthesis system. Is it just the same old stuff in the new box, or does the X3R have enough Unique Selling Points to justify its existence?

Whenever LA Audio design a new processor, they seem to take the Swiss Army Knife approach, kitting it out with a host of practical add-ons to increase its usefulness. So Paul White wasn't too surprised to find that the 4c is more than just a quad compressor...

Roland's latest offering in the 16-bit sampler stakes is more compact, more expandable, and less expensive (by a fair margin) than its predecessors. But have they had to make significant omissions to achieve this? Paul Wiffen investigates.

Derek Johnson waxes lyrical about a synth he wouldn't part with but is the cheapest he owns — Roland's last monosynth, the 1982-vintage SH101.

Could something this good really be this cheap? Derek Johnson looks at a 16-track sequencer package which is perfectly priced for the beginner but provides ample room for growth.

Paul White checks out a useful connection aid.

Paul White checks out this handy desk accessory utility.

This compact unit will store your MIDI data and play back your sequences for considerably less money than the competition. But does it work? Derek Johnson find out.

ATC have collaborated with Wilmslow Audio to produce kits based on their popular SCM 50 and 100 monitors that are easy to build, offer high performance, and are very attractively priced.

Will Yamaha's MT8X depose Tascam's 488 as the market leading cassette 8-track? Paul White cast a critical eye over this aggresive newcomer and discovers that the answer is far from cut and dried.

Paul White offers a tip for boosting gain when recording your synths.

Paul Austin spotlights the latest in 16-bit Amiga recording as WaveTools and the latest incarnation of Clarity take the stage.

Nick Magnus continues his quest to emulate analogue sounds on digital instruments. This month, he shows you how to recreate analogue strings.

This month Brian Heywood delivers news of an update to Cubase Lite, a way of downloading sounds to your Gravis Ultrasound card, and more...

Vic Lennard considers the place of Atari's Falcon 030 in the world of digital audio.

Paul White looks at achieving a good balance in your mixes.

Paul White has been a devotee of guitar synths ever since Roland introduced the original GR500 back in the 1970s. Technology has come a long way since then, but there are still various techniques and tricks that can be adopted to make using these fascinating instruments a little less traumatic.

Although much more widely used than ever before, the ability of electronic instruments to produce numerous different sounds at the same time is still not always fully understood. Paul White explains the underlying concept of multitimbrality.

Want to make music with a PC but don't know which one to choose? Brian Heywood provides advice to guide you through the maze of jargon in your quest to set up your ideal PC-based music system.

Taking over the Apple Notes hot-seat, Martin Russ delivers more news about PowerPC and explains how to create custom icons.

Bob Thomas offers a quick tip to achieve vocal separation.

Though sound synthesis has a relatively short history, its progress has been rapid, with the result that the basic concepts of synthesis are now becoming lost in the mists of time — yet to effectively programme current synths, it really helps to know them.

What are decibels and where did they come from? Paul White explains why equipment specs quote them, meters read them and operating levels conform to them.

There's also life beyond Beyond, as WILF SMARTIES discovers from Toby Marks, one of Beyond's early artists, now graduating to independent chart success under the name Banco De Gaia.

Wilf Smarties gets the word on remixing from DMC's illustrious Brothers in Rhythm team: Dave Seaman and Steve Anderson.

On an annual pilgrimage to UK Electronica, Jonathan Miller met with leading exponents of the electronic music genre. Lightwave, together with ex-Tangerine Dreamer Paul Haslinger, headlined the 1992 event in what proved to be an exciting collaboration.

Mark Tinley tells Nigel Humberstone how he landed the gig as Duran Duran's programmer and what the job entails.

Beyond Records is a true example of an independent label, set up by Mike Barnett, an enthusiast keen to get ambient music out to the masses and with a roster of promising electronic acts, including the up and coming Higher Intelligency Agency. Nigel Humberstone talks to Mike about setting up the label and HIA about producing the music.

With the recent re-release of Loops & Reels, plus a new live album, Peter Hammill found time to talk to Paul Tingen about obscurity, crudeness, ADATs, and their place in his music today.

Recording music can, and should be, serious fun, according to producer Tony Visconti.