"I use the DX7 a lot, for which I have a programming package which I can run on the NEC, and I usually bring in a whole lot of CDs, records and a Sony PCM F1 recorder to sample with."

In this article, Stewart Copeland mentions mixing down the Rumblefish soundtrack onto the Sony PCM-F1 recorder, which he bought for £800.

"The album wasn't mastered digitally. We started off working with a Sony PCM-F1, but we had some problems putting clicks on it, and the half-inch analogue proved more reliable, so we used that."

According to John Carpenter's website, the soundtrack for "They Live" was mastered on a Sony PCM-F1.

Sylvian and Torn also spent some time building up guitar tape loops recorded on Sony PCMF1 that contributed to the atmospheres of songs like 'Mother and Child'.

"During the recording of 'Relax', having become more familiar with Trevor and his wife Jill, I had suggested that they buy this digital tape machine called a Sony F1. It was a Betamax two-track recorder and it wasn't that expensive, so they went for it, and that was a revelation because we could now record loads of stuff and it was pristine quality."

"It's a small rack but I still have the DAT and cassette machines rack-mounted because of this record. They're not usually there but I had to get in touch with my past! Normally there's a Sony F1 digital recorder sitting in the space where they are."

After getting his ideas together, Midge transferred them to his studio, which is as he puts it "everything the budding Popstar needs" comprising a Harrison M3 desk, Studer 24 track (A80) recorder, Studer 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch mastering and F1 digital mastering system. Ultravox's Lament album was in fact recorded at his 'home' studio.

Ian Anderson's album "Walk Into Light" was mastered on a Sony PCM-F1 U-matic, according to the liner notes.

The a capella version of "Tom's Diner" was recorded on a Sony PCM-F1.

'I've experimented with a Sony F1 for digital mastering and this is a good system if you want to run off lots of cassette copies as the master doesn't deteriorate. I don't really like the sound of digital recordings though because you miss all that tape compression that you've been used to all these years, so digital tends to sound a bit thin. It's a bit like the valve versus transistor argument all over again. A cassette copied from the F1 actually sounds better than the original due to tape saturation fattening up the sound.'

Sylvian and Torn also spent some time building up guitar tape loops recorded on Sony PCMF1 that contributed to the atmospheres of songs like 'Mother and Child'.