This month we're interrupting our Home Studio Review to bring you this report on some of the latest equipment available, as seen at this year's APRS exhibition.

(We'll get back to Nobby Line's series next month).

Just before we closed for press on this issue the APRS (Association of Professional Recording Studios) held their yearly show in London. Most of the equipment on offer wouldn't appeal to the musician (unless he was planning to build a 48 track set-up in his bedroom!) but the show also featured a considerable amount of new equipment from the home recording field. Briefly, here's a run down on the new gear — which includes the PA and Effects exhibited. Latest innovation from FOSTEX is the B-16, a 16 track on half inch tape machine destined to be an earth-shaker as it makes an advanced multitrack system available at relatively low cost compared with previous 16 track on 1" machines. Fostex agents BANDIVE also showed a new SECK mixer — a 16 track monitor version of their great value for money 1682.

TASCAM had a new four track cassette recorder, the 234, designed to go up-market from the long established Portastudio. This new model rack mounts and interfaces with the excellent looking 'Enhancement Series' of signal processors. Also new from Harman is a newTascam mixer, the thoroughly professional looking M50, a 12 in, 8 out type. Watch out for low cost useful 'goodies' from Korean makers INKEL (coming via DSN MARKETING). These include a fine looking MOS-FET 170 watt power amp for £155 plus a nifty little mixer at an equally silly price.

Two thousand watts from a single amp loud enough for you? If that's the sort of power you need then check out the HILL AUDIO DX 2000, launched at the show along with a new PA/recording mixer range, the J Series 3, available in all formats. Our favourite twin-track cassette machine makers, ALPINE (formerly known as Alpage, by the way) had two new models, the AL85 and AL90, but Alpine also stole the 'Surprise of the Show' award for us by revealing a digital system (the AP 6000) to allow mastering of stereo recordings onto standard video recorders. Importers H.W. INTERNATIONAL (who also handle SHURE, of course) have promised us a review sample at some stage — he he he!

Those looking for a new reasonably priced monitor ideal for both recording and hi-fi use should have a look at a new model launched by TANNOY at the show, called the Broadcast Monitor 8, a two-way type which should sell well for this application. A 'rival' show was also being held over at the Kensington Town Hall by leading supplier Don Larking. As well as selling items from his own ranges of secondhand equipment and various new lines, Don played host to several interesting makers too. Among these were MTR who, once again, have come up with something tasty, this time in the form of a new mixer from STARSOUND DYNAMIX. Apart from having excellent specs, this unit also has a particularly impressive metering section. A really pleasant find for us was BEL who have a new Digital Delay, the BD-60. Priced at just £600 this has a set of specifications which should scare the wits out of even the Japanese makers — good to see it's British made too! The BEL range bears investigation in depth, we concluded, and we've made arrangements to grab samples soon. Another well-made British product we spotted was the SOUNDTRACS range of mixers. These are really toughly made and have nicely fitting ally cases — perfect for road use. On the recording side, Soundtracs have a new mixer, the 16/8/16, destined to sell for around £1,450; it looked like great value to us.

Anyway, that's about it for the words. As ever the MUSIC U.K. lensman was there (we call him the phantom flasher — and it's nothing to do with his lighting equipment!) so it's over to the King of the Instamatic for 'watch the birdie' time.