Russell Mael on how Sparks went beyond pop to create their own sonic universe
With the dynamic duo's concert album Live On The Moon out now, Mael re-enters Earth's orbit to explain why Sparks were never going to give us the same thing twice
Artists
Russell Mael on how Sparks went beyond pop to create their own sonic universe
With the dynamic duo's concert album Live On The Moon out now, Mael re-enters Earth's orbit to explain why Sparks were never going to give us the same thing twice
Stu Mackenzie and Jam Pedals team up to bring you the secret behind his KGWL guitar tone
The Tiny Amp Destroyer has two gain stages plus a treble booster and brings you the unruly and wild gain sounds of Mackenzie's "Cash Converters" small-amp setup
“I said, ‘That’s really bad. I don’t think Van Halen would put that on the B-side of their worst record’”
His tough-talking approach helped create one of the band’s biggest hits
Brandon Flowers says that every major label passed on Mr Brightside
Brandon Flowers says that every major label initially said no to Mr Brightside
“People often crack jokes about that album”: Carl Palmer on the flop that led ELP to break up
Keith Emerson called it “an embarrassment against everything I’ve worked for”
When Skrillex shared with us his anger at having four years of his work stolen
Back in 2012 Skrillex was dubstep’s reigning king, now held in high esteem as an EDM legend, we look back on a classic conversation he had with MusicRadar
Frank Beard, ZZ Top drummer, dies aged 77
Billy Gibbons hails "great friend and collaborator"
Music Tech
Minimal Audio's Lucid is a granular powerhouse that could be a rival to time-tested tools like Output's Portal
This "next-generation granular effect" combines a flexible granular engine with scale locking, deep modulation and a host of additional effects
“Designed to celebrate the timeless value of vinyl culture”: Technics releases anniversary edition of the SL-1200
There are only 12,000 of them
Behringer’s Daft Punk-approved, cult-classic MIDI controller has been reborn as the BCR32 – and now it’s a hardware sequencer too
More than two decades on from the BCR2000, the super-affordable controller returns with ZAQ Audio's formerly unofficial firmware built in – and it's now available for preorder
"There is a difference between a tool that aids creation and a system that replaces it entirely": Beatport bans AI-generated music
Platform is latest to get tough on slop
“We’re searching for authenticity”: Real World studios launch free recording programme for unsigned acts
You have to be over 16 and based in the South West
Best vocal mics 2026: Our top vocal microphones for stage and studio
Add some sheen to your vocals with the best dynamic and condenser mics from Shure, AKG, Rode, Aston, Telefunken, Neumann, and more
Suno’s Studio 2.0 adds an AI chatbot that can control your project, transform sounds and generate custom plugins
The update also brings a number of more conventional features like MIDI support, automation and latency compensation
Here's everything you need to know about keyboard sizes but were afraid to ask
Looking for the perfect keyboard? Does size really matter? 88, 49, 32?… Here’s the full guide to navigating the keys-world
Guitars
“This is a difficult guitar to put a review score on”: Harley Benton Fusion-T II HH RW HT PM review
Harley Benton doubles down as one of the industry’s leading affordable brands with a well-appointed player
Best bass amps 2026: Top choice bass rigs for any budget
Cut through the mix with our top-rated bass amps, featuring Fender, Ampeg, Aguilar, Darkglass, and more
Stu Mackenzie and Jam Pedals team up to bring you the secret behind his KGWL guitar tone
The Tiny Amp Destroyer has two gain stages plus a treble booster and brings you the unruly and wild gain sounds of Mackenzie's "Cash Converters" small-amp setup
“It starts out polite but then gets loud, dirty and nasty”: Warm Audio Dirty Boy Jr Booster review
Warm Audio revives the Dirty Boy Ball Buster circuit but without the boutique price tag.
“Makes you realise just how good budget guitars have become”: Harley Benton ST-62LA review
Hand-relic'd with a spec sheet that doesn't get old, Harley Benton's Aged Series brings vintage feel on a budget
Martin unveils a pair of Joe Bonamassa signature acoustics based on his 1937 pre-War vintage unicorn
The 00-18 Joe Bonamassa and its more affordable 00-10E Retro are based on a '37 shade-top of incalculable mojo
Watch Ritchie Blackmore perform onstage with Deep Purple for the first time in more than 30 years
Blackmore joined his former bandmates for a storming rendition of Smoke On The Water
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
Get almost $1k of guitar tuition from our number one online platform for only $99 with this epic Summer Black Friday deal – over 11,000 lessons, plus bonus gifts
And if you’re a beginner, the bundled beginner’s guide will get you off on the right foot
Confused by guitar tabs and notation? Use this complete guide to reading music for guitar
Learn to play acoustic and electric guitar in record time with our guide to easy-to-read notation
"Don't play scales just to get faster. Speed is a happy by-product of playing more accurately": Beginner Guitar Lessons - nailing scales
The A major pentatonic, A minor pentatonic and Mixolydian are great places to start and we'll show you how
"There isn't one correct answer": 6 things you need you need know about how to clean and condition your guitar fretboard
A string change is the ideal opportunity to get your 'board back to its best
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
Latest Tuition
It's time to finally learn music theory – Start here with our basic notation overview
Learning to actually read music can open up many avenues as a musician, and it isn't as difficult as it might look…
Here's everything you need to know about keyboard sizes but were afraid to ask
Looking for the perfect keyboard? Does size really matter? 88, 49, 32?… Here’s the full guide to navigating the keys-world
6 steps for perfectly capturing a real drum performance in your DAW
Inject some feel into your tracks by recording a real human drummer (no jokes, please). It's easier than you think
How to start recording pristine picked acoustic guitar in just three simple steps
You can create a great guitar track using just a single microphone and it's simpler than you think…
10 music theory tricks every producer and songwriter should know
Spruce up your chords and snazz up your scales with these simple but powerful techniques
How to use a mixing console
Faders, knobs, buttons, sliders and sockets explained: Here’s how to find your way around a modern mixing desk
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 use reverb to build impressive-sounding filters, reverses, risers and pads
Create your own reverb effects with our step-by-step tutorial
How to get Radiohead’s resonant National Anthem vocal effect in software
On Kid A, Radiohead went resonant with some severe vocal processing - although complex at the time, the incredible results can now be easily achieved in software
Build your own expressive talkbox with plugins
If you love the sound of the talkbox, but grapple with the practicality of the hardware, we have some top tips for recreating the classic sound with plugins
How to get recognisable pop sounds and effects using only Logic’s stock plugins
If you’ve got Logic, you’re already more than capable of recreating Skrillex’s manipulated reverb, Billie Eilish’s formant shifting and much more…
How to emulate one of Jon Hopkins' signature sonic techniques with plugins
We get creative with an effects chain inspired by Jon Hopkins, and a heavy dose of felt piano
Exploring how Harry Styles brought the sounds of minimal techno to pop with Aperture
Aperture heralded a new approach for Styles, but its sounds clearly cribbed from the minimal techno playbook
Do you want to remix faster and better? Here's 6 essential remix skills every producer should know
Get the technical know-how required to make great remixes with these essential techniques
Confused by guitar tabs and notation? Use this complete guide to reading music for guitar
Learn to play acoustic and electric guitar in record time with our guide to easy-to-read notation
I’m so obsessed with Olivia Rodrigo’s Drop Dead trance bass sound that I remade it in my DAW
We create our own transient-heavy synth bass with leanings towards the trance-heavy sounds of the 90s. ‘Drop Dead’ you exclaim? No way! We were Born Slippy!
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 to master virtually any software synth
Don't let your software arsenal overwhelm you - sometimes the best route to creative success is to mine just one instrument
Latest Reviews
“This is a difficult guitar to put a review score on”: Harley Benton Fusion-T II HH RW HT PM review
Harley Benton doubles down as one of the industry’s leading affordable brands with a well-appointed player
“It starts out polite but then gets loud, dirty and nasty”: Warm Audio Dirty Boy Jr Booster review
Warm Audio revives the Dirty Boy Ball Buster circuit but without the boutique price tag.
“Makes you realise just how good budget guitars have become”: Harley Benton ST-62LA review
Hand-relic'd with a spec sheet that doesn't get old, Harley Benton's Aged Series brings vintage feel on a budget
“A fast, powerful way to experiment with sound”: Soma Labs Warp review
Warp's 15 algorithms take in things like reverb, delay and compression – but in typical Soma style, it's a lot weirder and more fun than it first appears
“A worthy successor – but unlikely to become as iconic as its predecessor”: Korg MicroKorg 2 review
Two years on from launch, does Korg's virtual analogue have what it takes to fill its predecessor's shoes?
“Ideal for beginner guitarists chasing heavier sounds”: Sire Larry Carlton X1 review
The jazz-minded session ace goes heavy metal with his latest wallet-friendly collaboration with Sire, and it’s heavy in both senses of the word
“Continues to strike a balance between features, size, and price”: Novation Launch Control 3 review
Novation’s Launch Control 3 update looks basic and minimal, but it successfully packs a lot into a small package
Tascam DR-40XP field recorder review
This newly updated four-track field recorder from Tascam is a surprisingly dense device, boasting 32-bit float recording and some supremely quiet preamps
