Trade shows are a new thing to me I must confess, I thought it was just a load of boring geezers warbling on about music gear. Well it is and it isn't. There are representatives from all over the world and you really do get to see the latest stuff and try it out for free. We were pretty blown away by some of the things we saw, including Akai's new Synthstation25, Native Instruments' Maschine, and the great new VFX system from Mixvibes.

My old mate Lenny Dee from Industrial Strength has been on the case with sample CDs and software recently. He’s behind my recent Tekno Toolbox sample CD (which you can still pick up from Loopmasters). He’s also been delving into the world of software synths and presets, and that’s how I got to try this new synth package.

If you know anything about live electronic music you'll probably have run across Akai's famous MPC samplers at some point. For the uninitiated, they are a cross between a drum machine and a sampler/sequencer with the typical rubber drum pads and flat desktop design with a small flip up screen. The simplicity and versatility of the MPC’s have made them popular with many artists for live performances.

Dave The Drummer gets an interview with Graham Ball - Ableton Live's communications manager