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This is a list of the gear we use or have used, with information & opinions for anyone who might be looking at second hand gear currently. I thought it might be useful for you to see what we think of our stuff. NB none of this stuff is for sale! You can see pics of some of the stuff in use in an image map. If you have any comments - please email me (Dave Sherriff) at: roland_rock@yahoo.com
There is also some useful info for synth players on my analogue synths explained page.

Note that we don't actually use all this stuff now. A lot of it has either died, been sold or is in storage until I get some more room again (Having 2 kids now means I have to get everything I use in one small cupboard) I'm currently still using:

Kawai K1	Korg N1r
Roland MVS1	Akai SG01V
M-Audio/Midiman 2496 Audiophile Soundcard	Evolution Audio Sequencer
Midiman CO2	Midiman Portman 2x4
Boss BR8	Boss BX8

   Digital Synthesizers/Samplers   

Kawai K1 Synthesizer
Notes	This is a multitimbral polyphonic synth 'in the style of' Roland's old LA synths (D50 etc), but with no filters. It's 8 bit, so is a bit grainy & hissy at times, but some great sounds & nice multi-timbral features. The keyboard feels great (to a non-piano player anyway). It has some very smooth strings and vocal 'Aah' sounds.
A sound	(7.3K). Factory preset IA1 ('Aah').
Synthesis	8 bit PCM samples in ROM + Preset waveforms. Up to 4 samples per voice, each with their own envelope. Note - there are no filters to play with!
Polyphony	8 notes (16 if use only 2 samples per voice).
Multitimbral	Up to 8 part - dynamic voice assignment. Parts can be set left/right/center in stereo output.
Effects	None.
Drums	There are drum sounds available as part of the standard patches. There is not a separate drum section on the K1 (I think there is on the K1-11.)
Patches (memories)	64 patches (all programmable), 32 multitmbral memories.
Keyboard	5 Octave, full size keys. Velocity, Pressure sensitive. Nice feel. Pitch bend & modulation wheels above keyboard on left.
User Interface	2 line backlit LCD display. Numeric + menu buttons. Joystick (used for fast scroll of numeric parameters + balancing the 4 waveforms).
Sockets	MIDI In/Out/Thru, Stereo out (Left/Right/Center assign only to voices). Slot for ROM/RAM expansion card (64 more patches + 32 multitimbral).
Resources	There are some good Kawai resources on the SynthZone Kawai Page.

Yamaha TQ5 Synthesizer/Sequencer
Notes	This is a multitimbral polyphonic 4 operator FM synth with built in sequencer. It actually has the guts of a TX81Z synth inside (with the non-sine operator waveforms), but it also has some fairly simple but effective effects (reverb, echo, distortion, etc) which add a lot to the basic FM sounds. I haven't used the sequencer (I bought it to use as a synth expander, 'cos it was cheaper than a TX81Z), but it's pretty crude by today's standards. It comes in a very odd table-top type box, with the LCD display and buttons at a diagonal. Very easy to use though and actually easy to edit (in a limited way) - using Yamaha's 'easy FM' buttons.
Synthesis	Yamaha FM - 4 operators with 8 possible waveforms to use. Uses Yamaha's 'easy-fm' editing, so it's easy enough to do simple changes to sounds (change attack, brightness, waveforms used, etc) but it is not possible to do 'real' FM programming without getting hold of an editing program. It does some great bass sounds, and clanging digital bell/wierd sounds. It also does some surprisingly nice pads.
Polyphony	8 notes.
Multitimbral	Up to 8 part - fixed voice assignment. Parts can be set left/right/center in stereo output. (Unless you use the effects!)
Effects	Echo (mono + stereo), reverbs, distortion. Echo+distortion and Reverb+distortion.
Drums	The synth can do some strange FM percussion sounds. It even has a rather naff but cute snare sound!
Patches (memories)	100 presets, 100 user patched. There is only one memory location for multitimbral setup.
Keyboard	None- it's a table-top style expander.
User Interface	2 line backlit LCD display (which has a clock and calandar!). Numeric + menu + editing buttons.
Sockets	MIDI In/Out/Thru, Stereo jacks out (Left/Right/Center assign only to voices), Headphones out.
Resources	I'm not aware of any specific TQ5 resources available. Note that 4-operator FM editor programs for PC etc should work with the TQ5 (but they won't be able to edit the effects). Also Soundiver supports the TQ5.

Roland MVS1 Vintage Synth Module
Notes	This is very good! It is a rack mount MIDI synth module. It contains 256 classic analogue synth sounds, from Roland's (and others) best analogue synths and other keyboards. It also has 8 drum kits, with TR808, TR909, CR78 and many other great drum machine sounds. The sounds are superb, but it's strictly preset only - you can't even save patch assignments to the multitimbral memories. So you need a sequencer that will send out (GS type) bank/patch changes at the start of each sequence (and stuff like volume, pan, reverb/chorus level if poss).
A sound	(20K). Mellotron strings - Tangerine Dream or what!.
Synthesis	Some sort of LA style digital synthesis. It does analogue style filtering VERY well though! Unfortunately there is not much scope for dynamically changing filter cutoff, etc. (There is nrpn support but this is disabled if you are not in the pseudo-GM mode!)
Polyphony	28 note (max, including drums). I think some sounds take more than one 'unit' of polyphony per note though.
Multitimbral	8 part (inlcuding 1 drum channel). All parts can have chorus & reverb send level, volume & pan set via midi.
Effects	Stereo effects, very low background noise. 3 types of chorus, 8 types of reverb (including 2 delays). NB all effects are preset (though settable via MIDI) & apply to all multitimbral parts (though you can set effects level for each part).
Patches (memories)	256, plus 8 drum kits - all preset. 17 Multitimbral memories ("Performances"). Multitimbral memories can be changed, but all settings revert to factory presets when you select another multi-patch (!)
Keyboard	None - rack mount unit, controlled via MIDI.
User Interface	3 digit LED display. Parameter/patch up/down buttons, with matrix for selecting parameters. Can be very fiddly.
Sockets	MIDI in, out, through. Stereo jacks + headphone. External audio in (stereo) to mix another module, etc, with the output. NB external audio cannot be fed through the internal effects.
Resources	SynthZone has a Roland Page, though there's nothing specifically on the MVS1 that I can find. There is a free MVS1 Editor available. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks good. I have also written a full MVS1 review.

Akai SG01V Vintage Synth Module
Notes	This is another excellent MIDI synth module, with loads of great sounds from analogue synths. As with the MVS1, it contains 256 classic sounds from analogue synths, and 'vintage' keyboards (electric pianos, etc). There are also 2 drun kits (though they both sound to me like the same kits but with different reverb levels). The sounds are very different from the MVS1. They tend to be more 'refined' - without the complex sonic attack of some of the MVS1 sounds - in fact the two units complement each other well. The real-time control in the SG01V is much better though - you can modify the envelope, filter cutoff and one 'special' parameter (normally resonance) via MIDI controllers for each sound (or via front panel buttons). You can also modify many more parameters via NRPN messages. The velocity sensitivity on the sounds is also VERY well implemented - with very expressive variations in the sound.
Synthesis	Sample-and-Synthesis. 6Mb of 'classic' synth samples, which are put through very good digital filters & envelopes. Apparently the circuitry is based on the S-series sampler. It contains 256 preset sounds, but as mentioned these can all be modified via MIDI (though the settings are not remembered, so you will really need to control it via a sequencer).
Polyphony	32 notes max, including drums. However, if you use the reverb effect, this is reduced to 30 notes.
Multitimbral	16 part (can use drums on any channels). All parts can have many parameters adjusted via MIDI (filter cutoff/resonance, enevleope settings, LFO, reverb send level, volume, pan, portamento, etc).
Effects	Stereo reverb, very low background noise. No chorus. You can select 30 different reverb types (including a couple of 'wierd' ones) via MIDI. It's a shame they couldn't have included some delay effects instead of some of the reverbs though.
Patches (memories)	256, plus 2 drum kits - all preset. No memory for multi-timbral stuff, so you really need a sequencer (or some patch management program) to set it up each time (settings can be dumped/loaded via sysex).
Keyboard	None - half-rack mount unit, controlled via MIDI.
User Interface	3 digit LED display. Buttons to select patches & 3 parameters (Shape=envelope, Tone=Filter, Special=patch specific - normally resonance) for editing sounds. Volume control. Very awkward to control from front panel - best to use a sequencer or Windows controller program (see Sonic State entry for SG01V for link to v.good controller program).
Sockets	MIDI in, out, through. Stereo jacks + headphone (mini-jack).
Resources	There is a link to a very good controller program for the SG01V on Sonic State's Akai SG01V page. SynthZone has an Akai Page.

Korg N1r Rack Mount Synth Module
Notes	This is also a great module. It has LOTS of sounds - many of which are excellent. There are some classic Korg sounds in there - long, evolving pads, great piano, meaty basses. Not good at doing analogue-style synth sounds, but great at digital-type stuff.
A sound	[Not yet]
Synthesis	Samples + subtractive synthesis ('AI2 Synthesis System' as Korg call it). It has 18Mb of sample ROM, so there are a lot of sounds in there! Unfortunately the synth itself doesn't have resonant filters, so it can't do good analogue 'sweeping filter' synth sounds. There is a resonant filter in the built-in FX unit though, though I can't get much out of it.
Polyphony	64 max. As usual, some sounds (espec layered sounds) take more than 1 'unit' of polyphony though.
Multitimbral	32 max (though to get more than 16 you need to use the 'To Host' serial connection instead of normal MIDI conx). The are 32 performance memories, which each store a multi-timbral setup. The effects setting is bizarre - it seems to set the effects type to those defined for the last patch/multi/performance selected. Given that the effects are global to all parts, it seems very odd that an individual patch selection can overried the global effects settings defined in a performance.
Effects	2 independant stereo multi-effects. 48 types of effect, including chorus, phase, flange, delay, reverb, distortion, eq, enhancer, etc, You can set up your own effects configurations, but I still can't get my head around how the patches are stored (they can be stored in patches, multis AND performances, but if you select a new patch within a performance, the global effects are reset to the settings in the patch - very confusing. NB Very low background noise.
Patches (memories)	1169 (!) patches (100 user progammable). 302 'Multi' patches (combinations of layered/split single patches), with 100 user programmable. 32 Performances (multi-timbral memories). There are 37 different drum kits, with 2 of them programmable.
Keyboard	None - rack mount unit, controlled via MIDI.
User Interface	Graphics based (though small) LCD display. Cursor buttons + rotating wheel for changing values fast. I find the menu system a bit cryptic. It has 4 knobs on the front which can be used to change certain parameters (filter cutoff, portamento, etc - can be configured) in 'real time'. They also send out MIDI controller messages. Nice.
Sockets	MIDI in/out + 'to host' (serial connection to computer). 4 output jacks (i.e. 2 stereo pairs) + headphone.
Resources	There is a very good Korg N Series web site (news, patches, software, advice, etc). Also SynthZone has a Korg Page.

Yamaha CX5M Music Computer.
Notes	Remember MSX computers? Pre-PC stuff this! The CX5 is an old Z80 based home computer, but I just used it as a 4 part multitimbral FM synth. It's actually not bad, with the updated SG05 tone module. It has 48 built in sounds & some are very nice (better than the FM sounds on most soundcards) but it is quite hissy.
A sound	(4K). Violin sound - Cloudbusting???
Synthesis	FM (Frequency Modulation). Basically involves using sine waves to modify the frequency of other sine waves, to give very complex waveforms. One of the first digital synthesis techniques and very tricky to program. The CX5 is a 4 operator synth (for those who care).
Polyphony	8 note max.
Multitimbral	Up to 4 part. The polyphony assigned to each part is fixed.
Drums	There are some very weak drum sounds built in (and some quite good wierd percussion) but no dedicated drum section.
Effects	None - there is a so called 'reverb' effect, but this just involves increasing the release time of the sounds!
Patches (memories)	48 preset sounds. There is a plug in cartridge to let you edit the sounds, but you can only save your efforts to tape (or floppy disk if you got one), then reload them when you want them (takes many minutes!). There is no memory for multitimbral assignments, so you have to set them up again each time you use the machine (though it is quite quick with the TV display). There is no battery backing for any settings, so all changes are lost when the thing is powered off.
Keyboard	4 octave, full size keys. Not velocity or aftertouch sensitive (though the synth responds to velocity via MIDI).
User Interface	Full QWERTY keyboard (it's a computer remember). You need a TV or monitor to use it. NB there is sequencer cartridge available with score editing but it is VERY tedious to use and again you have to save stuff to tape (or disk if you were rich enough to buy one).
Sockets	Stereo out, MIDI in/out, Video/TV out, printer port, serial port, cartridge slot, etc, etc.
Resources	Yes - SynthZone has a Yamaha Page, but the CX5 is VERY dead & buried now.

Hohner HS1 sampler
Notes	This is a 'clone' of the Casio FZ1 sampler - exactly the same, but light grey, not black! It's a bit fiddly to use - there is a complex menu system & you seem to find yourself going up & down the menu tree a lot. But it is 16 bit, 64 part multitimbral (!) & the sound quality is very good. It even has separate outs. There's 1Mb RAM in mine, which gives about 40secs of samples at 36Khz (max sampling rate - so not CD quality). Coldcut used to rate the FZ1 highly.
A sound	You want a sample of a sampler?!?!
Synthesis	16 bit samples. 36Khz max sample rate (also 7Khz, 14Khz available). 1Mb RAM, 2MB max (I think). Digital filtering, with sweeping and resonance. Also waveform generation available for additive synthesis. NB one quirk of the machine is that you can't actually hear the sound you are sampling - so you need to keep an eye on the input level meter.
Polyphony	8 voice.
Multitimbral	Up to 64 part (though only 8 notes of polyphony - so you can't have those 64 sounds going at once!). Samples can be split/faded across the keyboard and/or assigned to different MIDI channels. You can also do stuff like velocity fading between multiple samples. Very powerful, though fiddly to set up.
Drums	Any drums you care to sample!
Effects	None built in.
Patches (memories)	Complicated, as multiple voices can use the same raw samples in memory. Lots. There are up to 8 complete multitimbral settings available at once (each with 64 multitimbral parts). 3.5" HD disk drive to save samples.
Keyboard	5 octave, velocity & pressure sensitive. Quite a light, synthy feel. Pitch bend & mod wheels to left of keyboard.
User Interface	8 line backlit LCD display (also shows graphs for sample editing). Cursor, numeric/alpha and other buttons. Slider for data entry. Sliders for volume, input level.
Sockets	MIDI in/out/thru, mix output (mono), 8 individual outs, line/mic in, foot pedal & footswitch in. Data interface socket (never used I think).
Resources	There is some useful FZ1 stuff on the SynthZone Casio Page.

Casio GZ50M General MIDI module
Notes	This is a v.small (11cm wide, 17cm deep, 3cm high) cream box which contains a General MIDI synth module. It was intended as an upgrade for the cheap General MIDI synths built into many soundcards. It provides the standard 128 GM sounds and they are very good. The drums especially are excellent. It has built in reverb (which can also do chorus/phasing, but not at the same time). I used to find it very useful for providing general purpose, realistic, piano, bass, violin type sounds. (I have now replaced it with the N1r) NB It needs a dedicated MIDI port as it will respond on all 16 MIDI channels (I used the built-in MIDI port on my Maxi64 card before I got my N1r).
Synthesis	Wavetable synthesis. Samples of real sounds, processed. 16 bit samples in 4MB of ROM.
Polyphony	Up to 32 voices.
Multitimbral	Up to 16 part (inc 1 drum part). The unit will respond on all 16 MIDI channels - there doesn't seem to be a way of stopping it. Dynamic voice allocation.
Drums	8 drum kits available, with a variety of very good drum sounds.
Effects	Reverb. It is possible to select different types of reverb, and other types of effect (such as chorus, phasing etc). However this requires sending Sysex stuff to the module which I never got round to trying.
Patches (memories)	128 preset sounds (ie the GM sound set). NB it is a GM unit - not XG or GS so only has the basic 128 GM sounds.
Keyboard	None.
User Interface	None! There is an on/off switch, a volume knob, a button to start the Demo tune and a MIDI input activity LED. The unit is entirely preset, so must be controlled by MIDI.
Sockets	Stereo out. MIDI in (no Out or Thru). 9v power in. NB I got mine from PC World a while ago (they have sold them all off now) and it didn't come with a PSU. Fortunately I had a spare.
Resources	I'm not aware of any resources for this module - there's no programming you can do with it anyway.

   Analogue Synthesizers   

Cheetah MS6 MIDI synth module.
Notes	This is another 19 inch rack mounted MIDI synth module. Great analogue synth sounds - 6 channel multi-timbral, but it's a pig to program (4 digit LED display only). 1 oscillator in 1 voice has died on mine and Cheetah has gone bust now. I'm not very lucky with gear am I? I've bought a chip to replace it (via the forum on the MS6 page mentioned below) but still haven't fitted it...
A sound	(1.4K). A (short) bass sound.
Synthesis	Analogue synthesis. 2 oscillators, 24db/Oct filter, 2 EGs, 1 LFO per voice. Oscillators can be 'Synched' together. Responds to velocity & pressure.
Polyphony	6 voices
Multitimbral	Up to 6 part. Fixed (though programmable) voice assignment.
Drums	No drum section. Can do some percussive stuff with white noise... and syndrums!.
Effects	None built in.
Patches (memories)	320. NB the unit does not respond to MIDI bank select (only program select). So it is not possible to access all sounds via MIDI selection only (ie must use the front panel). 64 multitimbral memories.
Keyboard	None - 19 inch rack mount MIDI synth module.
User Interface	3 digit LED display. Numeric buttons + inc/dec buttons. Lack of text display makes editing very awkward.
Sockets	Line out (mono), MID in/out/thru.
Resources	Yes! There is now a dedicated MS6 web site. It contains some v.useful info about the synth - including an online copy of the manual. Even better, the guy has written an MS6 editor (for Win95/NT) which is free to download. He has also produced a 'tweaked' version of the MS6 system ROM which allows you to send bank selects to it. VERY nice - I will be definitely buying one when I get my MS6 fixed. If you want to know a bit about how to use analogue synths, see my analogue synthesis page.

Korg MS20 analogue monosynth.
Notes	Wow! Almost a modular system. It's got loads of patch points on the front & you can patch just about anything to anything. It can produce some very wierd sounds & can also process other instruments. It's even got a pitch to voltage converter so you can use it as a (very crude) guitar or wind synth!
A sound	(6.6K). An explosive sound (but kept short to keep the sample size down!)
Synthesis	Analogue synthesis - 2 Oscillators, high & low pass filters (12db/Oct), 2 envelope generators, LFO with variable wave shape, noise generators, 2nd VCA, ring modulator, etc, etc. It doesn't have oscillator synch though. But it DOES have a patch panel for connecting parts of the synth together in bizarre ways.
Polyphony	1 voice - ie a monosynth.
Multitimbral	1
Drums	This is a real synth. We don't have no steenkin' drum sections on real synths!
Effects	You can process external instruments through it - it's got a pitch to voltage convertor, envelope follower, trigger generator, etc, etc.
Patches (memories)	None - if you want to save a sound you'll have to write down all the knob and switch settings! (This is a real synth... etc)
Keyboard	3 octave. No velocity/pressure sense. There's only one (unsprung) wheel - you have to patch it up to do what you want.
User Interface	Knobs, switches and patch leads!!! The front panel contains a modular diagram of the synth with patch sockets in each module.
Sockets	Loads! Access points for just about every module in the synth. Audio in/out. Headphones. CV and trigger in/out. Note - NO MIDI!
Resources	I can only refer you to SynthZone's Analogue Page. Oh, and my analogue synthesis page.

Moog Prodigy monosynth
Notes	I've heard that a lot of people don't see these as 'real' Moogs. It seems pretty good in my book. Great thumping bass and storming lead sounds (espec. using the oscillator sync). It takes about 1/2 hour to warm up before the tuning stabilises.
Sound	I haven't done one yet.
Synthesis	Analogue - 2 VCO's, 1 24db/Oct filter, 1 EG, 1 LFO. It's a Moog!
Polyphony	1 voice - Monosynth.
Multitimbral	1
Drums	No - see MS20 for rant.
Effects	None.
Patches (memories)	Nope - write down those knob & switch settings!
Keyboard	3 octave. No velocity/pressure sense. Pitch bend & mod wheels to left of keyboard.
User Interface	Knobs and switches.
Sockets	Audio out. CV/Trigger in/out. No audio in, which is a shame.
Resources	There is a description of how to add CV/Gate inputs (not present on most models) and Audio inputs to a Prodigy here. Otherwise, see SynthZone's Analogue Page and my own analogue synthesis page.

EDP Wasp monosynth
Notes	Excellent! I love 'em - I've got 2! V.easy to control & produce some great sounds. They can't do really off-the-wall sounds, but for good ol' analogue bass/lead sounds they're great (though the flat keyboard makes blistering solos a bit tricky!) One of ours used to belong to fellow Coventry band, Attrition. Both of mine are starting to die now, but when they do work they are nice little beasties. Some of the people from EDP later went on to design the (ugly but) classic OSCAR monosynth. There were several variants on the wasp theme including some with 'real ' keyboards, the Gnat single oscillator tiny synth & Spider 256 note sequencer (I've still got one of them somewhere...)
A sound	(2.7K). A sort of slightly wasp-like sound.
Synthesis	Digital/Analogue - 2 DCO's, 1 12db/Oct filter, 2 EGs, 1 LFO.
Polyphony	Monosynth. I think you know the score now.
Multitimbral	One sound at a time only!
Drums	Deary me, no.
Effects	Nothing to speak of.
Patches (memories)	Paper and pen time again if you want to save those settings.
Keyboard	2 octave flat keyboard (ie you just touch the keys to play them). Not too good for blistering solos. No pitch bend or mod wheel as such, but there is a pitch bend knob (!) with no click at the centre.
User Interface	Knobs & switches. All done in yellow and black to reinforce the 'wasp' theme. NB Wasps have a built in speaker and can run on batteries - so you can play your synth on the bus!
Sockets	Audio & phones out. Digital interface socket in/out. Wasps, Gnats and Spiders have a proprietary digital interface (ie not MIDI) but there is at least one MIDI-Wasp converter available.
Resources	See SynthZone's Analogue Page and my own analogue synthesis page.

   Drum Machine   

Alesis HR16 drum machine
Notes	This was a great improvement on the SCI DrumTrax we had before - being 16 bit & much easier to program & all. It doesn't have TR808 style sounds (which most drum machines seem to have now) but it does have 49 v.good 'real' and 'synth' drum sounds & they are all tunable. The later SR16 has more sounds (200+) including TR808 type stuff.
Sounds	(2.0K) HR16 bass drum (2.3K) and snare.
Synthesis	16 bit samples of 49 real and synth drums. All sounds tunable over quite a wide range.
Polyphony	16 drums can sound at once.
Multitimbral	Each pattern can have up to 16 drums (from the 49) assigned to drum pads - each one tuned individually + with levels/panning set. Note that this means you can have songs built up with different drums sounds in each pattern.
Effects	No built in effects, though some drum sounds have been sampled with gated reverb. The sounds are very clean & well recorded, though perhaps lacking a little in 'bite' or 'grit'.
Patches (memories)	49 Drum sounds. Up to 99 drum patterns (which can be of any length required) and up to 99 songs (ie chains of patterns). Though you'd probably run out of memory before you got that far.
Keyboard	There are 16 velocity sensitive drum pads on the machine. You can assign different drums to these for each drum pattern if required. Drum sounds can also be played via MIDI, and recorded into patterns (with finer control over velocity values).
User Interface	2 line backlit LCD. Numeric buttons, start/stop/record buttons. Dedicated buttons & a slider for many functions. The machine is VERY easy to use, and even has printed instructions on a fold up flap!
Sockets	2 pairs of stereo outputs (sounds can be assigned to either pair). MIDI in/out (software thru to Out socket). Tape in/out for saving memory.
Resources	I don't know of any HR16 resources on the net.

   Recording/Mixing   

Boss BR8 Digital Multitracker
Notes	Excellent! Great sound quality, built in (very good) effects, including superb guitar multi-effects, digital (optical) output, very easy to use and very portable (you could easily fit it in a briefcase - if you were so inclined).
Recording	8 track. It records to 100Mb ZIP disks (you can't use 250Mb disks) which gives about 6 minutes total per disk if using all 8 tracks at highest record quality. It uses compression, but it is a VERY good system 'cos the sound quality is spot-on. NB you can only record 2 tracks at a time. One hint - the manual says that you can't use BR8 formatted disks in any other device. However BR8 users (on the VS Planet BBS) have found that a PC with a ZIP drive can read & copy the files on a BR8 ZIP disk. You can also restore files to the disk, which the BR8 wil read, as long as the disk has been formatted ('initialized')in the BR8 first. So you can use a PC to back up BR8 disks/songs.
Mixer	There is an 8 channel mixer for the recorded tracks, with dedicated volume sliders and pan, FX send (to internal FX), etc, available via a graphical menu (which is very easy & fast to use). There is a stereo line input plus dedicated jacks for guitar & 2 mics. You can record the guitar/mics at same time, but you can't record the line-ins at the same time as guitar or mics. Note that there is no external effects send/return - you must use the internal FX for the mixdown. (But you can of course hook up an external mixer + effects for mixing synths etc to the stereo line-in.)
Effects	There are 2 indepenant multi-effects. There are insert effects which can be applied to the inputs when recording. These include chorus, delay, distortion, compression, noise gates, pitch shift, etc - some very wild effects. They include some excellent Amp simulations (using 'COSM' technology apparently). Then there are loop effects - chorus or delay and reverb. These can be applied to the mix via effects sends. Both sets of effects are excellent - great sounds, good quality and very low noise.
User Interface	There is a tape-transoprt style set of buttons (play, record, FF, rewind, etc) with buttons for setting & moving to marker points in songs. There is a small but good graphical LCD display for showing recording meters, mixer & FX configuration and setup menus. There are also cursor keys & a 'spin wheel' for quickly changing settings. The control system is very good - the unit is very easy & quick to use (though some of the very common functions are under sub-menus rather than on a top-level menus).
Sockets	3 jacks for guitar + mics in. 2 phonos for stereo line in. Line out on phonos. Optical digital ('toslink') out. Stereo jack + volume knob for phones (NB the headphone output seems to distort at relatively low volumes - so be careful when monitoring). MIDI out for synching to an external sequencer or drum machine (BR8 master). Jacks for optional foot switch (punch in/out) and expression pedal (wah, pitch shift). Socket for external PSU.
Resources	There is a great BR8 web site. However the guy that runs it has now sold his BR8! There is also a BBS on VS Planet for discussing the BR8 (with some very intersting stuff). I bought my BR8 from Sounds Great Music in Cheshire (UK).

Midiman CO2 Digital Signal Converter
Notes	This is a very small box which simply converts optical (toslink) digital signals to electrical (SPDIF) and vice versa. I use it to allow me to send the optical digital out from the BR8 multitracker to my soundcard, for recording to hard disk. (I can then create MP3 files and/or burn audio CDs). The thing just sits at the back of my PC and works perfectly. Nuff said.
Resources	Midiman have a web site with drivers, downloadable manuals, etc.

Evolution Audio sequencer
Notes	This is a pattern based sequencer. I think it's extremely good - especially for 30 UK pounds! I got it as part of the 'Sound Studio' package which also included Samplitude - an audio sample editor package which I've never tried (it doesn't directly support *.WAV files) and KeyWest (some sort of MID jukebox player I think). I bought it after using Evolution MIDI (a free version that came on a magazine cover CD) for many months. Evolution Audio gives you an event editor, drum editor, sysex editor and support for GM/GS/XG on multiple MIDI ports (Evol.MIDI had a global setting only) - I was very surprised that some other low cost sequencers I tried would only support 2 MIDI ports (I have 3 - 2 external & the internal wavetable synth on the soundcard). It also (surprise!) includes support for playing .WAV audio files as part of a sequence. You can't record audio straight into it (you have to use something that will produce *.WAV files), but it will be very good for playing 'found' samples (eg TV/Radio dialogue, sound FX, etc). There is also an Evolution Audio Pro which does support audio recording/effects, multitracking, bouncing down etc & is still only about 100 pounds. Not sure if that can really compete with the Cubasis VSTs, etc, of this world though. I find Evol.Audio very easy to use. It's also very good for creating *.MID files for putting on the Web page. Unfortunately, EvolAudio doesn't seem to like my Midiman parallel port MIDI interface drivers, and the cursor that tracks the current song position gets a bit confused. Doesn't stop the program working, but it does make it hard to work out where you are in the song sometimes.
MIDI file	An example General MIDI file created with Evolution MIDI.
Resources	Unfortunately Evolution don't seem to be giving away Evolution MIDI on their Web Site any more, only save disabled versions of Evolution Audio, etc. Still, I recommend giving it a go - it's very good - especially at 30 quid!

   Effects Boxes   

Alesis Microverb II reverb processor
Notes	This is great. The (stereo) reverb is really nice & smooth, with low background noise. Only 16 preset settings, but they are all v.good. It's a very small box (14 cm wide, 15 cm deep, 4cm high). It also requires (and is supplied with!) an external power supply.
Sound	(2.0K). Gated reverb on HR16 bass drum.
Effects	16 bit stereo reverb. Only reverb available - but it's very good.
Patches (memories)	There are 16 preset types of reverb. Ranging from very small room (bathroom effect) to extremely large hall (abt 17 secs decay). It also includes 2 gated reverbs.
User Interface	Rotary switch used to select from the 16 types of reverb. Rotary knobs for input, dry/effect mix and output levels.
Sockets	Stereo in and out. (Note - no MIDI)

Ibanez Auto Filter
Notes	This is supposed to be a sort of 'Auto-Wah' pedal but it produces some great sounds - very useful. It follows the sound envelope of the sound input and can be configured to sweep up or down with the sound level. It can also do band or low pass filtering. Putting drums through it (7K) is my favourite.
A sound	(7K). HR16 drums through the auto-filter.

   Guitars & Amps