Turner can be seen operating a Foster 250 in this photo taken during the recording of Arctic Monkeys' album "AM".

NIK KERSHAW

Fostex 250 4-track Roland Juno 60 Yamaha DX7 Roland TR808 Assorted Boss effects A 'duff old vocal' microphone TDK SAX C60s

"I haven't got too much gear because there is the danger of letting the machines run away with you — you can fool yourself into thinking that the more equipment you have the better the songs will be. I've had this set up for a year... it's brought me luck, so I thought I'd write the songs for this album on it.

"The 250 I prefer to the TEAC because I think it's got better heads, has Dolby C, and is more reliable.

"I have got some more effects since writing the album... I usually get most of my gear when I go on the road which is a bit Irish. I've now got a rack system for the guitar which I didn't have originally — I used my Boss effects instead, chorus, delay, all the usual ones.

"We've just moved and I've got my eye on the attic which is going to be a good room for it. Obviously I do intend to put more gear in there but time is the problem.

"Every now and then you can let the machines do some work for you. For instance I haven't got a sequencer but I did try running the clock-in of the Juno 60 arpeggiator with the TR808 and that produced an interesting bass line. But if you haven't got a sequencer, you have to do things like simultaneously changing the TR808 pattern and whatever chord you're playing. After 20 goes I resorted to splicing the part together on a multitrack in order to get it completed. Worked, though. It's a song called "Don Quixote" which is on the album.

"I've tried taking a Portastudio on the road but you don't get, (one), in the mood and (two), the time. One of the things I like doing in a big studio is multi-tracking guitars. You can't do that on a Fostex. Well, you can, but you wouldn't hear much else."

KIM WILDE

Fostex 250 4-track cassette Yamaha DX7 SCI Drum Traks

"The DX7 is very adaptable and doesn't sound too synthy, so it's a good basis to use. It's the main instrument I use — I've got an old guitar which I can't play but it can be an interesting accompaniment.

"My Fostex is adequate for things I want to do as demos, because I've also got my own recording studio, so I can enhance what I do later. I think the limitations of a 4-track are very constructive because they make you get to the essential ideas in a song.

"I use a Drum Traks for a drum machine — I wasn't keen on the original bass drum in that so I had it replaced with a Linn chip. It's heavier and thicker now, but still not stunning. I suppose I'm spoilt because I'm used to being in a studio where a bass drum sounds like a bass drum.

"The Fostex is dead easy — I had to overcome the technological barrier that most people have, but as soon as I got over that it was straightforward. I tend to put down a lot of vocals, and bouncing those together is easier than bouncing instruments together — the balance of instruments is easier to mess up, I find.

"Writing's quite a new thing for me, so the demos are for my own reference, to help me in the studio. And the machines will throw ideas at you — it's up to you whether you grab them or not.

"I wish they'd use ordinary terms more in the manuals for all this equipment. I find that I learn more from the machines by trial and error than I do from the instructions. It's not that they're beyond comprehension, they could just put things in a far more basic structure."

For nestling in one corner of the storage room, next to boxes of Shure SM58s (still his favourite mike in defiance of the engineer who makes him use one of the two Neumann 87s the studio has on loan) is an archetypal home recordist's set-up. A Casio CZ101 synth, Roland and Korg drum machines, a Yamaha QX7 sequencer, and a Fostex 250 Portastudio. The only outboard gear is an Accessit reverb — "too semi pro for Mick to pinch for the studio." Nearby rests the original TRB Fender P Bass and two guitars, a Fender Tele and a Squier copy. Typically, Tom prefers the sound of the copy.

In an interview with JazzTruth, Jim Beard confirmed his use of the Fostex Model 250 4-Track Cassette Recorder / Mixer, stating, "Yeah, I had a DX-7 and a TX-7 and an RX 15, the Yamaha drum machine, and an Ensoniq Mirage, and my 4 track Fostex Cassette Recorder—that was the setup when I wrote most of those tunes for the Michael Brecker albums."