Harley Benton unveils three entry-level T-styles with Bigbsy-style vibratos and vintage mojo to burn
Ideal for beginner player with a taste for old-school guitar design
Artists
Freaky Style-AI: Hillel Slovak’s voice on new Chili Peppers documentary has been AI-generated
Film looks at the band’s early years
Flea covers Frank Ocean and explains why he’s scratching a long-standing trumpet itch on his new album
Watch him doing double duty on trumpet and bass in the company of Jimmy Fallon
“We’ve got these little satellites”: Ed O’Brien says Thom Yorke will release solo album this year
And says they can all “co-exist”
Richie Sambora was so desperate to track down his stolen Explorer he hired a private detective – 41 years later he has it back
Sambora played this heavily modded Explorer as Bon Jovi rose to fame and has been looking for it for decades. Matt's Guitar Shop in Paris tracked it down
“He’ll tell people to f*** off if he has to”: Phil Daniels on Blur, Quadrophenia and his solo album
Album is “a cross between Ian Dury and a sort of theatrical night out”
Back in 1984, Midge Ure appeared on TV to reveal our MIDI guitar synth future with his Roland GR-700
“I think I’d have to spend many a long hour sitting in the studio working with the thing before I take it out on stage,” he admits
Shares in BTS parent company Hybe fall 15% after ‘disappointing’ attendance for Seoul comeback gig
A mere 104,000 fans showed up
Music Tech
“A fantastic one-stop shop of all that you need in a synth”: Knobula Monumatic review
Monumatic promises to be the one synth voice to rule them all and we think Knobula might be underselling itself
Best MIDI keyboards for beginners 2026: Entry-level controllers for those starting out in music production
Get producing your own music with my pick of the best MIDI controller keyboards for beginner musicians
A much-loved reverb plugin that we called "one of the most creative we've come across" is free for a limited time
UVI Sparkverb 1.5 is free for KVR Audio members until April 12th
“Songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole was real": Man pleads guilty to industrial scale AI fraud
Michael Smith stole over $10 million in royalties
Back in 1984, Midge Ure appeared on TV to reveal our MIDI guitar synth future with his Roland GR-700
“I think I’d have to spend many a long hour sitting in the studio working with the thing before I take it out on stage,” he admits
Klang.io says Transcription Studio is the "world’s first" AI music tool that can transcribe multiple instruments simultaneously
The software promises to convert any recording into sheet music, tab or MIDI
"When he tried turning it off, he literally couldn’t”: 5 things Peep Show taught us about music production
The trick is to use multiple musical ideas simultaneously and give your tracks a powerful sense of dread
The most exciting synth we played at NAMM 2026 is now available to order
DMNO is a polyphonic, multitimbral hybrid analogue/digital synthesizer from UDO, the British brand behind Super 6 and Super Gemini
“Some people think writing songs is like drawing from a well. It’s more like a muscle you work out”: Avalon Emerson on Written Into Changes
From the DJ booth of Berlin’s Panorama Bar to the Balearic synth-pop of the Charm, Avalon Emerson is embracing the freedom of a borderless musical landscape
Guitars
Harley Benton unveils three entry-level T-styles with Bigbsy-style vibratos and vintage mojo to burn
Ideal for beginner player with a taste for old-school guitar design
Flea covers Frank Ocean and explains why he’s scratching a long-standing trumpet itch on his new album
Watch him doing double duty on trumpet and bass in the company of Jimmy Fallon
Richie Sambora was so desperate to track down his stolen Explorer he hired a private detective – 41 years later he has it back
Sambora played this heavily modded Explorer as Bon Jovi rose to fame and has been looking for it for decades. Matt's Guitar Shop in Paris tracked it down
Back in 1984, Midge Ure appeared on TV to reveal our MIDI guitar synth future with his Roland GR-700
“I think I’d have to spend many a long hour sitting in the studio working with the thing before I take it out on stage,” he admits
Robben Ford on how playing with Miles Davis set him up for life
Ford wasn't a jazz player when he joined up with Davis in 1986 but he would soon learn – and it give him a sense of self-confidence that's with him to this day
With up to 60% off in Thomann's Spring Sale now is the time to give your pedalboard a spring clean - here are my 8 pedal choices starting at only £9.60!
For a limited time, you can score substantial discounts on a host of pedals from the likes of IK Multimedia, Hotone, MXR, Digitech and more
“This ease of use is rare in such a small practice amp that covers so much tonal ground, and is the reason the Prism-Mini is worth considering as your desktop companion”: Laney Prism-Mini review
Laney targets the practice amp market with a versatile range of tones and effects, all in an easy-to-use, diminutive package
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
What are the best online guitar lessons in 2026? I’m a professional guitar gear reviewer and these are my highest-rated lessons platforms
My expert pick of the best online guitar courses will supercharge your playing wherever you are, and whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player
How Tom Morello used his guitar to drill into the off-limits domain of the turntablist
The Rage Against the Machine axe-man’s most memorable moment saw him emulate a DJ scratch breakdown using a trick that few have fully mastered
With a massive 89% discount, $99 for a year's worth of Guitar Tricks online lessons is the best way to upgrade your guitar playing this Black Friday
Guitar Tricks is our number one online tuition platform for guitar players
Ignite your inner guitar god for just 27 cents a day with TrueFire’s July 4th sale - save 60% on online lessons
With over 84,000 lessons at your disposal, this is one of the best value guitar tuition subscriptions online right now
Can you fix your guitar's frets yourself? We try three innovative approaches from MusicNomad to investigate how they might conquer a major cause of fret buzz
Uneven frets are a common issue with our guitars, but MusicNomad has come up with different ways to empower players to deal with it themselves
How to play like George Harrison on The Beatles' Abbey Road
Learn the guitar style of the most expressive and accomplished playing The Beatle would ever commit to tape
How to play guitar like David Gilmour: Bluesy diads, slides, quarter-tone blues curls and more
Tackle the expressive phrasing and minor pentatonic tricks of one of rock's finest guitarists, David Gilmour
Latest Tuition
How to pan like a pro and spread your mix across the stereo image
We help you broaden your mixing horizons with some useful tips for panning perfection
The difference between distortion and saturation and how to effectively get a gnarly sound
Adding small or even large amounts of saturation doesn’t have to be bad for you, as we explore how to singe your sonics
How to conjure the spirit of early techno and trigger your own retro zaps in software
How a sound design approach originally deployed for television effects became an electronic music staple - and how to make it yourself
How to replicate the trailblazing pulse of I Feel Love
I Feel Love’s innovative electronic rhythm section set the stage for pretty much everything that followed, and here’s how you can recreate its bewitching energy in your DAW
Improve the impact of your basslines by quickly learning the basics of bass compression
Creating the perfect foundation for your track begins just the right amount of compression for your bass - here’s how to not overdo it!
How Harry Styles brought the sounds of minimal techno to the world of pop with new single, Aperture
The former One Direction star’s latest effort is a far cry from his previous output
How close listening to Chic can teach us about the integral relationship between the kick and bass
If you want to add more punch to your production, start at the foundation of your track, with the kick and bass
How to emulate the sound of Gary Numan’s synth-pop classic Cars
We lift the bonnet on a foundational piece of synth genius, and demonstrate how you can achieve its distinctive sound yourself in your DAW
How unquantizing your tracks can make them stand out from the AI-dominated crowd
If your music is sounding a little mechanical, maybe it deserves a sprinkle of organic nurturing. We invite you to un-click the quantize!
Stuck for ideas? Here's how to create fresh basslines and melodies with Ableton Live 12’s MIDI tools
In our latest video tutorial, we explore how to use Live generative MIDI tools and hardware-inspired sequencers to create riffs and patterns
7 great house and techno tips from Don’t Be Afraid label boss Semtek (aka DJ Persuasion)
The producer, DJ and founder of one of the UK's most respected underground labels revisits a 2012 release to explore what he's learned in 15 years of releasing house and techno
Four big-name guitarists spill their recording secrets
With insight from Paul Gilbert, John 5, Adam Dutkiewicz and Marty Friedman on their approaches to the recording process
37 heavyweight bass production tips
More than three dozen priceless nuggets of bass recording and production wisdom
Creating chords for electronic music: 3 ways to generate more interesting progressions in Ableton Live 12
Let’s explore how Live’s MIDI effects can help us write better progressions
25 recording tips and tricks everyone should know
Get better takes in the studio and on the stage, with our essential advice for producers and DIY music-makers
Produce better music with our ultimate compression cheat sheet
Confused about where to start with compressors and dynamics effects? We'll guide you through the essential features and settings
Ever wondered how a microphone really works?
If microphone terminology confuses more than it helps, this guide will illuminate the microphone basics
Latest Reviews
“A fantastic one-stop shop of all that you need in a synth”: Knobula Monumatic review
Monumatic promises to be the one synth voice to rule them all and we think Knobula might be underselling itself
“This ease of use is rare in such a small practice amp that covers so much tonal ground, and is the reason the Prism-Mini is worth considering as your desktop companion”: Laney Prism-Mini review
Laney targets the practice amp market with a versatile range of tones and effects, all in an easy-to-use, diminutive package
“Might have become our favourite reverb, covering a lot of ground, from the smallest snappiest rooms to vast, endless galaxies”: Erica Synths Nightverb review
We’ve never wanted to ‘play’ a reverb before but now we can. We don't want to stop!
“There’s plenty of output to use the pedal as a conventional boost with tonal options. And there’s a whole area of dirt to be explored”: JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage review
The latest from JHS Pedals captures the sound of plugging your guitar into the input stages of a vintage multi-track recorder, aka, the mk.gee approach
“Would I take this to gigs and use it with confidence, knowing that my pedals are being powered sufficiently and safely? Absolutely”: Harley Benton Spaceship Power 40-B review
The classic four-bar pedalboard with a comprehensive built-in power supply
"A massive expansion of its abilities as a modulation and automation powerhouse": Bitwig Studio 6 review
This sizeable update to Bitwig Studio expands on its strengths, and locks it in as the creative sound designer’s ultimate home base
"For a guitar that comes in at this price, the overall build is impressive, with a level of attention to detail that’s more than respectable": Harley Benton Custom Line King-12 CE NT review
The German brand is looking to be crowned as the best budget 12-string acoustic, but does it deserve the title?
