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December 2024
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289 articles
- December 31
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- “A layered world of modular synthesis, sequencing and more, with fantastic, in-depth features”: KV331 Audio SynthMaster 3 review
- “I had no idea it would become such a classic… I just threw in the lyric ‘It was the summer of 69’ and it stuck’”: How Bryan Adams and his co-writer Jim Vallance created one of the greatest pop-rock guitar anthems of all time
- 14 tips for modulating your sounds better
- December 30
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- "He didn't tap a foot or move his head or anything. He listened to it all the way through and I thought he hated it": When an Eagle, Heartbreaker, Roger Linn and an Oberheim OB-X combined forces for a pop masterpiece – the Boys Of Summer story
- "The perfect tool for textures, beds and drone effects": Fantastic (free) plugins and how to use them – Supermassive
- "It was a fair fight that I got thrown out of the band for, because Moon came for me with a tambourine": When Roger Daltrey was fired from The Who at the worst possible time in 1965
- "If you were surprised by the 'Top' songs in your Spotify Wrapped, it might be because the difference between your top 5 and top 100 streamed songs is just a tiny number of plays": Get more streams in 2025
- "We need Jungle I’m afraid": 2024 - the year in pop
- December 29
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- "It may have bothered him that people didn’t recognise his guitar virtuosity, which might be why the song devotes so much space to his shredding": A music professor breaks down the theory behind Prince's When Doves Cry
- “He sings on all our stuff. You hear him on AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Shania’s stuff. He has the best voice in the room”: Phil Collen says Mutt Lange is an ace vocalist who can nail it in one take – and it’s the same with guitar
- “That's when the phone lines all over the world collapsed… The moment came when people fully understood what this was for”: The creation of The Cars’ song Drive and how it soundtracked a humanitarian catastrophe
- “It didn’t even represent what we were doing. Even the guitar solo has no business being in that song”: Gwen Stefani on the No Doubt song that “changed everything” after it became their biggest hit
- December 28
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- “Open your mind and heart to this delightful instrument and you’ll discover a faithful musical pal for almost any occasion”: Gibson ES-330 review
- “I think that the whole band was kind of misunderstood by everybody, and it gave us a sort of an edge, you know": The story of Cream's Disraeli Gears
- "He's not a great keyboard player, he doesn't write great songs. His engineering and technical abilities are limited too. In fact, he knows very little about an awful lot": The Edge on Brian Eno and how he influenced his own "limited" guitar style
- Unreleased Prince documentary said to fuel rumours that Prince’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps guitar solo was a cold dish of revenge served to Rolling Stone
- “I'm not gonna talk too much about Guns N' Roses. And especially not about Axl. It only leads to turmoil and torment on my end”: Former GN’R guitarist Bumblefoot reveals his new album, new gear, new tricks - and his favourite track on Chinese Democracy!
- “My playing has always sucked, but it sells!”: The guitarist who co-wrote two of the most famous songs of all time admits he is no virtuoso
- December 27
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- “Then on-air, is where it gets nuts”: How Prince’s final, legendary guitar performance on SNL was saved by a quick-thinking audio engineer
- "You can learn hundreds of songs with a few easy chords and some basic rhythm playing chops": Master five classic songs with just a handful of chords
- “A powerful device that manages to cram a lot of features into an incredibly compact footprint”: Zoom LiveTrak L6 review
- December 26
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- “In the flesh, he was earth-shattering. His style on every level was fantastic… playing with his teeth, his feet, and behind his head": When Buddy Guy rewrote the blues rulebook with a Strat and blew the collective minds of Clapton, Beck and Page
- “The way I play guitar, every time I play with a session musician, they’re like, ‘What are you doing? What chords are you playing?’”: Beabadoobee discusses her unorthodox guitar style and how it helped her to gel with Rick Rubin
- “Still undoubtedly one of the most powerful synths on the market and the new updates help highlight this”: Minimal Audio Current 2.0 review
- Music technology gear of the year 2024: The 10 best new synths, samplers and drum machines
- How to create Jean-Michel Jarre-style phasing with delay in your DAW using a free synth!
- December 25
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- “Version 8 puts Kontakt right up there front and centre as a performance tool and ideas generator”: Native Instruments Kontakt 8 review
- "I remember saying to Eric, 'I'm going to play him off the stage one day'. But what Eric did was even more peculiar, he said, 'Well, I'm going to pretend that I am Jimi Hendrix!'": Pete Townshend looks back in this classic 1990 guitar interview
- “Simply a very good sounding Les Paul irrelevant of its name or price”: Gibson Les Paul Studio review
- December 24
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- “If this is your first guitar, you’ll be keeping it for a long time to come”: Harley Benton Pro Series ST-Modern HSS review
- “Their unique blend of rock and reggae captured the attention of music fans and critics alike”: New Dread Zeppelin documentary is now online
- "Here's one: finish an album!”: Paul McCartney’s New Year’s resolution for 2025
- “Who knows u might notice”: SZA says that, “after listening with a clear mind,” she’s going to change some of the mixes on the album she just released
- “Logic is great but I’m emotionally trapped in Ableton”: Grimes on her DAW of choice and how plugins have "entirely restored" her love of music production
- "David wasn’t going to do the show, and his mum said, ‘No, you HAVE to work with Bing Crosby!’ She was a fan": The story of David Bowie and Bing Crosby's Little Drummer Boy
- “Jazz and blues musicians came along, stole the concept and started using 7ths all over the place”: Learn how to understand and use dominant 7th-style chords
- “He listened to the song and said, ‘Total crap!’”: How a classic ballad was rejected by one singer before Journey transformed it into a monster hit
- December 23
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- "If your guitar isn't in tune you'll never sound good": 4 causes of your strings going out of tune and how to solve them
- “A flexible professional grade keyboard, which can go way beyond the traditional realms of a stage piano”: Roland RD-2000 EX review
- “She sent us stems. Finneas and I went on a hike, came back, went into the studio, sat there, played the song, wrote a verse, sent it back”: Billie Eilish discusses her “dream” Charli XCX collaboration on the Guess remix
- "My daughter said, that's really criminal, you're putting so much junk in the waste-stream": Jim D’Addario reveals the real reason why guitar strings are colour coded
- “He's probably, for my money, one of the finest guitarists in the world”: Who might Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood be talking about?
- “Each C-1 Ink Bomb is uniquely hand-splattered, making every guitar a one-of-a-kind masterpiece”: Schecter drops a Jackson Pollock-inspired electric with Seymour Duncan Blackouts for alt-metal adventure
- Grammy Academy to present Lifetime Achievement to Prince and The Clash
- “Capable of powering an average-sized board for 10+ hours”: D’Addario launches XPND Pedal Power Battery Kit, wireless pedalboard power supply including adjustable daisy chain for tidier ‘boards
- Behringer's Phara-O Mini is a clone of the Korg Volca Keys that's inexplicably themed around ancient Egypt
- “Nigel has been running a cheese and guitar shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed”: Rob Reiner shares some details about Spinal Tap II
- “If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request”: Spotify responds to Drake’s claims of collusion in his diss track battle with Kendrick Lamar
- “Okay, this one guitar, this is going to get me through everything I need to do”: Ernie Ball Music Man and James Valentine launch 2024 signature collection – two boost-equipped electric guitars designed for a wide range of playing styles and sounds
- “That’s the problem with really good speakers in a studio”: Dua Lipa on how high-end monitors can fool you into thinking that your songs are better than they are, and why her “favourite place to listen to music” is in the car
- “Each one has its own unique art work and its own unique iteration of the circuit”: Red Witch Pedals has made 99 different versions of the Pax Harmonia and might just have created the ultimate Uni-Vibe in the process
- Dubreq's Stylosette mini-synth could be the perfect stocking-filler for the musician in your life
- Billie Eilish and Finneas just enlisted a class of elementary school kids to co-write their next hit
- How to craft extreme hyperpop textures to make SOPHIE-style tunes
- “This is the guitar you turn to when it is time to become death, the destroyer of worlds, for adventures on the frontier of extreme guitar tone”: Jackson Pro Series DR24MG EVTN6 Diamond Rowe Signature review
- “Suddenly the sun shone and it was, ‘Wow!’”: How ELO’s Jeff Lynne created his masterpiece Mr. Blue Sky - and how a little joke at the end of the song was misheard by millions
- December 22
- December 20
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- “All the music software you need… but for the price of a mid-level Apple Mac”: Native Instruments Komplete 15 review
- “The response from the collecting community was incredible”: Sell-out Skip Maggiora auction raises more than $2.4 million for music and youth charities, with an O.G. ’54 Strat selling for $300,000
- Best Holiday Gift for 2024 - Sennheiser MD 421 Kompakt Recording Microphone
- “I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head”: Did Lil Wayne just take a swipe at Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming Super Bowl success?
- “Was not good”: Timbaland just made a beat on Rhythm Roulette and the internet hates it
- The most-learned guitar and piano songs of 2024 have been revealed, and it’s good news for Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams and Gigi Perez
- “The spring is the thing… Even better than the 1999 original!”: The Danelectro Spring King reverb is dead, long live the Spring King Junior (smaller, just as splashy)
- “Here to make its first stage appearance in 50 years... is my original bass!”: Stolen in ’72, returned in February, Paul McCartney’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 finally makes it back to the stage for final show in Beatles icon’s tour
- “Look out!! Coming in hot! What an honour of a lifetime!!”: Martin is digging out the Brazilian rosewood for Joe Bonamassa as the blues superstar teases new holy grail signature acoustic
- Music = Science and Einstein + Jazz = Genius: Stuck in a musical rut? Why not give the ‘Coltrane Circle’ a spin?
- “I'm as obsessed with Mary Poppins as I am with Radiohead”: Coldplay’s Chris Martin on his approach to songwriting, conversations with Paul Simon and being inspired by Chappell Roan
- “Proof you can fit guitar solos into perfect two-minute pop songs”: Towa Bird stars in the top five guitar albums of 2025
- “They unite Lennon and McCartney, Michael Jackson and even the classic work Mars by Gustav Holst”: Exploring the joy of diminished chords
- New book Dust & Grooves Vol.2 tells the tall tale of the scam records that could make collectors a fortune
- Festivals are down… but gigs are through the roof as new figures show just how important live performance has become
- "It's fantastic, playing with my old mate": Ringo Starr joins Paul McCartney for emotional Got Back tour finale in London
- December 19
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- “It’s better in every way. The second version took what the first could do and made it five times as useful”: Waleed on Digitakt II, Ableton Live and overcoming creative block
- “Why am I using this digital monstrosity when it flies in the face of all my principles that I have acquired over decades?”: Guthrie Govan makes the case for the all-digital guitar rig – it’s all about the F-word
- “This is a bass that I fell in love with at a pawnshop and used to play the first Rage record”: Ernie Ball Music Man and Tim Commerford team up for a pair of limited run signature StingRay basses
- “I was running after some idea of happiness that wasn’t my own”: New documentary sheds light on the life and passing of EDM superstar Avicii
- Chappell Roan x Billie Eilish x Wham!: Why two of the biggest songs of 2024 ended up being mashed-up with a Christmas classic
- “Jon had the laser-focus about becoming a rock star at age 19... he knew how to negotiate the business”: Session ace Tim Pierce on his blazing solo on Bon Jovi’s Runaway – and the hunger that propelled Jon Bon Jovi to superstardom
- “Packed with musical features to keep you jamming without missing a beat!”: Electro-Harmonix’s Pico 360+ is tiny $137 looper with 360 seconds of recording time and unlimited overdubs
- “We’ve been there once, and once was enough": Massive Attack go on the attack
- “Because the guy’s got a knife, he’s fairly persuasive!”: How Paul McCartney survived a mugging - and a mutiny - to create his solo masterpiece
- "hbd!!!": Charli XCX makes a surprise live appearance alongside Billie Eilish for Guess: Remix
- “What I uncovered was an elaborate internal program”: Is Spotify creating fake artists to flood its editorial playlists?
- “Michael and Quincy tried to steal it”: Drummer John ‘JR’ Robinson on the Chaka Khan hit that could have ended up on Thriller
- Spotify says streams of drum 'n' bass are up 94% over the last three years
- “Everybody clap your hands and boogie!”: Watch the young Ozzy Osbourne raising hell in newly unearthed Black Sabbath live footage from 1976
- “If you do nothing else today, go into your 'working' folder, open that old track and just hit Export”: Want to get those unfinished projects finally finished? Let us help
- December 18
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- "Plugging in, you’re met with a rich, lush-sounding overdrive. Being completely honest, I was pleasantly surprised": Zoom MS-200D+ Multistomp review
- "The main thing holding people back is that they don't believe their music's good enough, when most of the time it is": Ambient grime producer Mr. Mitch on his new album, the challenges of being a producer, and the secret to finishing more music
- We Are Rewind “brings back the funk” with Chromeo-flavoured personal cassette player
- The Blofeld lives twice as Waldorf releases plugin version of its popular hardware synth
- “I never thought it would be a hit. It was too long for radio. So we lied about it. And it worked!”: How an ’80s classic got to No 1 - with a little bit of cheating…
- DW Soundworks library gets even bigger with the new DW Collector’s Pure Cherry Shell Expansion Pack
- “I haven't heard anything that makes me go, why didn't I do that? I haven't heard that in a long time, which makes my job easy”: As he and Snoop Dogg release their new album, Missionary, Dr Dre says that the current hip-hop scene doesn’t inspire him
- The top music documentaries to watch this Christmas (and where to find them)
- "I own every single tape machine emulation ever released. This blew them out of the water": Arturia's Tape J-37 is an emulation of the classic Studer J37 tape machine
- The LinnDrum renaissance continues, as GForce Software releases IconDrum and brings classic '80s beats into the box
- Behringer releases LM Drum, a $399 LinnDrum clone that it's calling "the rebirth of a legend"
- “It was fun. He was a great player”: Mike Rutherford on his surprise collaboration with Eddie Van Halen
- “I'm absolutely heartbroken”: Haemorrhaged vocal cords force Sam Fender to scrap rest of UK tour, including Newcastle homecoming Christmas gig
- “This ‘resolution’ is a very popular trick which is often used in sci-fi soundtracks; you’ll hear it on everything from Alien to Star Trek”: How to augment chords for dramatic effect
- “George got a bit fed up. He didn’t want to do a third one”: But Ringo Starr wants one more Grammy, for Now And Then
- “I never quit the band; I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted”: Kevin Cronin on why REO Speedwagon has ended, against his wishes
- December 17
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- “Cedar topped guitars bring warmth and resonance to production models at an attractive price point.”: Solid red cedar tops on a $369 acoustic? Cort unveils a pair of affordable and eye-catching cutaway electros with satin black tops
- “On Load and ReLoad we tried to get a little looser, a little bluesier. Greasy is the word”: Watch James Hetfield lead Metallica in a swampy blues version of Fuel with a Danelectro 58 Longhorn Baritone
- Aphex Twin drops new compilation of super rare vinyl releases
- “A feature-packed dual-footswitch stereo phrase looper and drum machine that has far more on offer”: Mooer Audio levels up for its most powerful looper yet, with the GL-100 offering 300 minutes of looping time, AI-driven drum beats and more
- “This band’s been going for 50 years. When you really think about it, it’s insane!”: Steve Harris says there is plenty of life left in Iron Maiden
- "Every year, pour a few pints of beer over it and empty a couple of ashtrays onto the strings. Finally, throw it out the back of the tour bus": Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley on keeping the "character" of his Yamaha CP-70 and the ups and downs of being in a band
- "A landmark for Brazilian music, which has often been copied to compose successful international hits": Adele hit with Brazilian injunction to remove song from streaming services
- Watch surviving Soundgarden members, plus GnR's Duff Mckagan kick out the jams at Seattle Children’s Hospital benefit
- “Think in terms of finding sounds which are the electronic equivalent of a string section; subtle, but you know they're there and you would miss them if they weren’t”: How to start making ambient techno in 10 steps
- “People coming up to me and saying, ‘Good album, good songs.’ That hadn't happened to me before”: David Bowie on his first classic album
- December 16
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- “Major labels are scared – and they should be”: Kate Nash calls for government action to investigate how majors have grown rich at the expense of ordinary musicians
- “I think people are surprised that song was completely made in the box”: Producer Dan Nigro on the Olivia Rodrigo song that has just “one instrument that was recorded live”, and why bands are losing out to solo artists
- “The next thing I knew, I burst into tears... then there were hugs”: Art Garfunkel tells more about his reconciliation with Paul Simon
- "I'm struggling to see the value of this thing. Is it actually overpriced or is there something I'm missing?": Why is the Teenage Engineering OP-XY so expensive?
- “I would love it one day if his estate would grant me permission to do something with it”: Kylie Minogue’s 1992 collaboration with Prince had been lost for more than 30 years, but it’s just leaked online
- “I had to find ways of doing this - and counting bars is like climbing Everest”: Larry Mullen Jr talks about his long battle with dyscalculia
- "It’s the most impressive Squier guitar I’ve played this year, and probably my favourite in a few": Squier Paranormal Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe review
- “You can only break the rules if you know what the rules are”: How changing up your chord voicing can make your music sound more expansive
- “There is a certain sound you can only get from pushing the air, by turning the amps up, running those tubes super hot”: Kenny Wayne Shepherd on what it takes to cover Hendrix, his fistful of Dumbles and the secret to a cookin’ overdrive
- “A fantastic blend of features, portability, and audio quality that will serve many users well in crafting great-sounding mixes”: Soundcraft Notepad-12FX review
- December 13
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- “I wondered if I was insane for wanting to do this”: How Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen learned to play again after losing his left arm
- “A unique octave bass fuzz with a built-in, 2-voice ring modulator”: The Maestro BB-1 Brassmaster is a super-rare bass octave fuzz from the ‘70s that sounds great on guitar, sells for $2,000+, and Behringer just made a $69 clone of it
- "Coated with analogue warmth, and many a chunky nugget for the keen and avid listener to find": Röyksopp get even more Mysterious with new surprise reworking
- “He thought that he wouldn’t have the ideas, but they were absolutely there": Here’s the songwriting advice that Elton John gave to Chappell Roan
- "We anticipate that the first 1000 will sell out very quickly": Here's how to get your hands on Orchid, Tame Impala's ultra-hyped chord-generating synthesizer
- “It’s one of my favourite Maiden albums - despite the fact that I'm not on it!”: Bruce Dickinson on the Iron Maiden classic he wishes he’d sung on
- “Maintain a consistently optimal neck setup, playability, and string action, regardless of changing environmental conditions”: Has Furch just made acoustic guitar setups a thing of the past with its new CNR System Active neck?
- “The culture of the music world sucks”: Why Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won't be making any more records soon
- Ed Sheeran wants to give you his money
- “The same hand soldered through-hole construction and super rare military spec germanium transistors that were used in the original”: EarthQuaker Devices celebrates two decades of stompbox design with the Hoof Fuzz 20th Anniversary Edition
- Baby Audio’s Warp is a free plugin that will let you manipulate time with “unprecedented clarity”
- “The Teenage Engineering OP-1 has been dethroned”: Reverb publishes its list of the best-selling electronic music gear of the year - and after 5 years, there’s a new No 1
- “The less stuff you have, the easier it is to make music": Why Billie Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a modern masterpiece
- “She’s brilliant at what she does. She’s a true artist": Billy Corgan might not be a fan of pop music, but he’s got a lot of respect for Chappell Roan
- Texas Ho Ho Hold 'Em: Beyoncé teases Cowboy Carter-themed NFL halftime show ahead of Netflix's Christmas Gameday spectacular
- “Perhaps it's not too surprising that it would be such a big hit”: Reverb reveals its top selling pedals of 2024 and a compact modeller is this year's big winner
- “Pour some eggnog on me!”: Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott reveals his favourite Christmas song
- “A magical part is this sidechain with the bass”: Lady Gaga breaks down Disease in new studio video
- December 12
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- “For most of the songs, you need old, dead strings for sure, or else it does not sound right”: Nick Baxter reveals the setup secrets and custom Gibson acoustics behind Timothée Chalamet’s tone in Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown
- “One of the best guitar solos ever conceived - captured live on stage!”: Uncovering the truth about the Clapton classic that he called "wrong" but Eddie Van Halen loved
- Behringer says it's squeezed the sound of a Roland Jupiter-8 into a $99 portable package with the JT Mini analogue synth
- “This one is a prototype. We’re getting close to the finish line tho!”: Abasi Concepts set introduce an extended-range nylon-string to its lineup and Tosin Abasi got so excited with it he spilled his coffee
- “The effects from the Axe-FX III are so good that simply putting them in a standalone box is already a knockout product”: Fractal Audio Systems VP4 Virtual Pedalboard review
- “They spent hours building up hundreds of vocal tracks from single notes - then they ‘played’ a traditional mixing desk like a keyboard”: The pioneering techniques that brought static sounds to life
- Protect This Woman's Work: Kate Bush says no to Fake Bush, as stars’ petition against AI training hits 36,000 signatures
- “I had a £150 Behringer mixer and an iMac, and whenever I earned any money from music I’d buy a new piece of kit”: Bibio on how he made his biggest track - and why he's still using lo-fi recording techniques 15 years later
- DrumCraft’s new Nighthawk double pedals deliver 3 ways to hit twice as fast
- “The first looper pedal with dual AD converters and 32-bit float technology ”: Create 90 minute loops, add effects, rhythm patterns and layer ‘em up with Zoom’s next-gen MS-90LP+ MultiStomp
- “The one pedal that will stand by your side throughout your eternal pedalboard journey, adapting into exactly what you need”: TC Electronic launches the Plethora X1 “TonePrint loader” – 14 effects, one compact stompbox
- “They would be my get-out-of-jail records”: Fatboy Slim names the songs he’d play if he “really had to rescue a dancefloor”
- Can AI mix better than a real mix engineer? We put iZotope's AI-powered Neutron 5 to the test to find out
- “We think there were probably less than 50 of these ever produced”: Are these the strangest synths in Korg’s 70 year history?
- “It’s a lot of guitar, whether you’re buying your first proper instrument or you want a great guitar for gigging”: Harley Benton ST-Modern Plus review
- “A friend left music quietly playing for Eno while he was in hospital, which was thought to have inspired his initial idea for Music for Airports”: The origins and evolution of ambient techno
- “People who can’t play an instrument depend on loops from Ableton or Logic. I will never take a bassline from any digital domain in my life! That'll never happen”: Beyoncé producer Raphael Saadiq says that he likes to make music “the authentic way”
- “It’s going to get really loud, ready? Beat it!”: Chad Smith showcases drum prowess in new home studio
- “I just keep forgetting it”: Watch Phil Collins work out his drum part for Do They Know It’s Christmas in 40-year-old footage
- "You guys - it sounds like a really bad Pearl Jam": Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst hated Creed so much he asked their label not to release their debut album
- December 11
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- "It's staying in my DAW": Disclosure's Guy Lawrence loves Serato's bonkers new multi-effects plugin
- “A pro-quality tool for hard-working musicians who like the guitar to do the heavy lifting”: Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster HSS review
- “He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks on stage he sings my lyrics, vocal melodies and song titles - is this hypocrisy or self-deception?”: Morrissey hits out at Johnny Marr
- “You never know what will happen. You’re on a bus with pythons”: Orianthi on her Orange Oriverb amp, how soloing is like rapping and why confetti cannons are just one of the risks on an Alice Cooper tour
- All I Want For Christmas is on the slide as new streaming stats reveal that it's losing its twinkle
- “Paul is actually stacked up, doing The Beatles next”: It’s (very nearly) official: Paul Mescal looks set to play Paul McCartney in new Sam Mendes biopic
- “Prince is overtly sexual. I am very quietly sexual. That's the difference”: What Stevie Nicks said about her famous friends - and famous ex-partners
- “This goes everywhere": Billie Eilish shows off her Logic Pro-powered backstage mobile recording studio
- "This should have been built 100 years ago - it may well become the story of 21st-century music": Hans Zimmer on the next-gen synth he used for the Dune: Part Two score
- “The quest for clarity and loudness can only go so far”: Bibio on his career-long fascination with tape recording, budget samplers and vintage pedals
- "They said 'You’re not leaving!' I said, 'I am leaving, I’ve left,' and they wouldn’t believe me": Bill Wyman talks cash, chaos and quitting in new interview
- “You have ideas that you think wouldn't suit the band - like this song that sounded like U2!”: How a happy accident led to one of Iron Maiden's greatest songs
- “If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks then I will have a crack at it”: Phil Collins opens up on his struggle to play drums in affecting trailer for new documentary
- “4 in 5 UK musicians have lost work because of Brexit”: Unwrapping the legacy of Britain's EU exit on musicians
- “It could just take over and we don’t want that to happen”: It's Macca Vs The Machines as Paul McCartney wades in on AI’s threat to music makers
- December 10
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- “Meticulously crafted analogue and digital circuits all curated from the ground up for bass-centric tonal expansion”: Fender unveils the Bassman effects line – 5 pedalboard essentials for bassists
- “A full range of controls for instruments and DAWs, along with a semi-weighted keyboard that’ll please the players”: Novation Launchkey 49 and 61 MK4 review
- “It's not quite as dark, but it explores other subjects a little bit more”: Robert Smith confirms existence of ‘companion’ album to Songs Of A Lost World
- “I signed some contracts back in the ‘90s that I thought were amazing - I celebrated with a bottle of champagne. I look back now and think, ‘how the hell did I agree to sign this?’”: Sasha on breaking into dance music - and why it's not any easier in 2024
- “Imagine standing in front of a wall loaded with tube amp heads and 4x12 speaker cabinets, grabbing your guitar and hitting a chord”: Crazy Tube Circuit’s Heatseeker is an amp-in-box to help you nail Angus Young’s high-voltage AC/DC tones
- “I'm not afraid of breaking the rules": Viral 67-year-old producer The Last DJ shares his essential techno tips
- “Yes we can!”: How Barack Obama almost facilitated a Bob The Builder and Bruce Springsteen collab
- “It's Christmaaaas!”: How Slade created a festive classic - with a little help from John Lennon
- “The show will be a powerful celebration of the coolest instrument in the world, the electric guitar!”: Joe Satriani and Steve Vai to share the stage again on epic 2025 UK/Europe tour
- Taylor Swift gives away $197 million away in bonuses to Eras tour crew
- Behringer proves the haters wrong and releases Wave, the PPG Wave clone that's been four years in the making
- December 9
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- “Technical virtuosos fiercely dedicated to their craft... Experimental, innovative and brave”: President Biden presents Grateful Dead with Kennedy Center Honor
- “Exceptionally authentic, while also providing sonic depths in a production-ready format”: Cherry Audio P-10 review
- “It was probably the best two weeks that I’d had for years!”: Geezer Butler on the time Black Sabbath sacked him for a fortnight
- "People like the feeling of anticipating what's going to come next - almost like ascending to the top of a rollercoaster before the breath-taking plunge": Write better songs by learning song forms
- “They weren’t quite as glamorous as they are now. You could have mistaken them for a band from York”: The night The Killers played above a pub in Lincoln
- “It’s high and low, it’s poetry meets drugs, it’s earnest meets arrogance”: Which classic album could Charli XCX be talking about?
- “The Beatles' Because is based on Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (played in reverse). So, was John Lennon cheating when he flipped Ludwig Van?”: Digging into the long history of the sampling debate
- "Chorus is a beautiful effect when used nicely, but it can also sound horrible if over-applied - unless that’s what you want": How to harness the chorus effect to give your tracks more life!
- “Some of the things that age most quickly are electronic drums, which I’ve used tons of, but they usually sound very of their time”: Finneas on how he and Billie Eilish made a conscious effort to make Birds Of A Feather sound “timeless”
- Behringer hits back at critics accusing the company of only making "vaporware" in defensive social media post: "No other company delivers as many innovative and affordable products as we do"
- “Like something Paul and Linda cooked up while they were smoking”: The Asimov–McCartney alien musical that never was
- “This particular 808 is arguably the single most important drum machine in history”: The origin of house music in 5 key tracks
- "We have no recourse besides to try to sue Kanye, but that's costly": Producers for Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign say they haven't been paid for work on Vultures 1 and 2
- “I’ve got the 303 but I don’t know how to work it - it’s making all these crazy sounds!”: How a small group of Chicago producers invented house and changed music forever
- What the Ek? Spotify founder is richer than any musical artist, ever
- Wish that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour could go on forever? Now even The Eras Tour Book will be a record-breaker
- December 6
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- “Each toy is designed in house and rigorously tested by our dogs on staff”: Schecter has a treat for the player who doesn’t mind a squeak or two and some bark in the mix
- “They haven’t agreed on anything for 20 years”: How Ice-T got Roger Waters and David Gilmour’s go ahead for Body Count’s Comfortably Numb cover
- “Beyoncé does not make mistakes. She does, however, make some counterintuitive choices - and this song includes a few of them”: The flawed genius of pop's biggest anthems, from Hey Jude to Hey Ya!
- “Designed as the ultimate ‘stage guitars’”: Faith launches the all-new Eclipse series – a trio of all-solid cutaway acoustic electric guitars with a maple forearm rest for comfort and Fishman electronics
- “We finished this song and there were 5,000 angry geezers standing there just… dead silence”: Noel Gallagher liked Confidence Man so much he asked them to support him on his tour, but his fans weren’t so keen
- “At first people only saw me as grandpa playing music, but then they wanted to listen. They love the banging techno!”: Meet the viral 67-year-old producer raving into retirement - and proving that techno has no age limit
- Fantastic (free) plugins and how to use them: Vital
- “The playing experience of both the SLO-100 amplifier’s legendary channels in a powerful, compact new pedal”: Soldano doubles down on the Super Lead Overdrive tones with the SLO Plus
- Spotify Wrapped reveals top artists' favourites (and which ones love themselves perhaps a little too much)
- “Man, the place that he built as his home, it’s so deranged”: After recording at Prince’s Paisley Park complex, Jack Antonoff can confirm that it’s “even cooler than you could imagine”
- “Your faithful companion, musical soulmate... the tool that lets you express your creative vision”: Modern, versatile, affordable, the Les Paul Studio Session offers a compelling update on Gibson’s most-loved electric guitar
- Yum Audio Ember review
- “Digital is obedient, which is useful in certain circumstances, but analogue misbehaves and that wildness is appealing”: John Foxx on spearheading the synthpop movement and the anniversary of Metamatic
- “They all said he was crazy. The whole industry said he's going off the deep end. Who would even buy a guitar or a piano over the internet? And he just stuck to his guns. For him everything was doable": See behind the scenes as Thomann turns 70
- December 5
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- "He’s stabilised now, which is brilliant": Brian May’s wife Anita Dobson gives fans a fresh update on his progress
- "He's a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me": Bob Dylan has just endorsed Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan impersonation
- “Reimagined for the 21st century by renowned British luthier Patrick James Eggle”: Shergold unveils Masquerader Standard Series, an affordably priced, imaginatively spec’d S-style with a P-90/humbucker combo
- “They’re both rock ‘n’ rollers in my opinion. And that’s kind of why I gravitated towards them as a ‘band member’: I just love their rock ‘n’ roll spirit": Dan Nigro on why he’s more than just a producer for Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan
- “Everything that you've learned about making music just seems to click at the right time – it feels like an accident”: Turning old ideas into finished tracks with Mr. Mitch (aka DJ Cuddles)
- “That same, authentic syrupy sound onto your pedalboard without breaking the bank!”: Having unveiled super-affordable Klon and Tone Bender clones, Behringer unveils a $69 take on the Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe
- “It was a huge disappointment when it didn’t make it to number one”: 40 years on, the story of Wham!’s Last Christmas
- Nintendon’t say it’s true: Sleep Token vocalist appears to play Nintendo Switch live on stage
- “Now you can forego the frustrating searches, the vintage pricing and the worry of aged-out parts and obtain a brand new Mark IIC+”: Mesa/Boogie reissues the Holy Grail tube amp famously used by Metallica
- “God, I hate that album so much. I haven’t listened to it for a decade, at least”: Charli XCX might want to forget the mixtape she released when she was 14, but it’s not nearly as bad as she remembers
- “Those people attending had no idea they were blessed with this exclusive performance 5 years ahead of the release of the song”: MGMT once played a 2000s classic to a tiny crowd in newly-found footage
- Billboard put a ring on it, naming Beyonce as the greatest pop star of the 21st century
- “Those looped dance music breakdowns and drops have been done a million times before - so tweak them a little!”: New to working with loops? Start here
- December 4
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- “They pick one crisis in one country and they paint the whole of Africa": Fuse ODG, the rapper behind Band Aid’s 40th anniversary controversy, releases his own We Know It's Christmas clapback track
- “The new high-powered mover from Hoover - it’s a little groover!”: What Brian Johnson sang before his audition for AC/DC
- “I can’t play jigs or reels or any of that traditional Irish stuff, but I have got a good ear for blues, the tonality of it”: 3 ways to supercharge your lead guitar playing like Rory Gallagher
- "A standout year for female artists": But Taylor Swift didn’t bag Spotify Wrapped’s most streamed song of 2024
- “I’d never considered myself a lyric writer, but me and Terry put it together in about 15 minutes. Then, we went to the pub!”: Michael Palin on his most famous musical moment and the “genius” of Neil lnnes
- “After you’ve caressed them with Stairway To Heaven, now you’re going to disturb them!”: How Jimmy Page constructed the perfect Led Zeppelin album
- “Most of the classical venues have a very arrogant attitude towards pop music, which is what I’m considered to be by most of them”: Nils Frahm hits out at genre snobbery
- Meet the dongle nightmare that’ll get your original iPod working with your M4 Mac
- Is music nostalgia really dead as new acts out-ticket established artists?
- “I feel like because I did not make it, I must be cheating”: Is using commercially available samples in a track really that much of a problem?
- “Don't worry, this doesn't count as Whamageddon. We checked”: As Last Christmas celebrates its 40th anniversary, Blackpink’s Rosé covers it in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge
- "By 2028, AI music is projected to account for 20% of all streaming platform revenue": We're on the cusp of an AI-dominated streaming landscape, and creators are going to feel the brunt of it unless policy makers intervene
- "Has anyone got a white Sprinter van outside? It's being robbed!": Band robbed at gunpoint on first day of tour - before they'd even "played a note"
- “I handed the bass to Steven, picked up a guitar and played the solo”: How Aerosmith swapped instruments to create a ’70s rock classic
- “The electronics are just as authentic and deliver all of the sonic character of Jimmy’s legendary EDS-1275”: Gibson unveils meticulous Custom Shop VOS replica of Jimmy Page’s iconic 1969 Doubleneck
- December 3
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- “The mahogany armrest enhances comfort and aesthetics”: Harley Benton debuts the impressive yet affordable CLO and CLG acoustics, featuring all-solid spruce and rosewood builds, Fishman electronics and an inviting armrest
- “The massive guitar sound that sparked an entire generation has been completely and faithfully captured in stunning detail”: Nirvana tone guru Aaron Rash releases The Nevermind Sessions IR bundle, and promises a sound “identical” to Kurt Cobain’s
- "SID WAS THE PISTOLS": Liam Gallagher hits back at Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock’s criticism of Oasis
- “Thank you so much Mr. Reid, hope you get the same inspiration from that Triplecaster”: Jack White and Vernon Reid swap signature guitars after chance meeting at the airport
- "They tell the real story of what led to one of the best-selling bands in history splitting up": Legal documents relating to The Beatles' break-up to be auctioned off
- “I haven’t been able to see the performance, but I have enjoyed it”: Elton John tells audience at Devil Wears Prada premiere that he’s lost his sight
- “CorOS 3.1.0 and Cortex Control 1.2.0 showcase our relentless drive to keep the Quad Cortex at the leading edge of possibilities for the guitar”: Neural DSP gives Quad Cortex functionality a juicy power-up, adding two new compatible plugins
- “You’ve ruined the song!”: The bust-ups, bickering, tantrums and tech that made The Human League’s Don’t You Want Me an ’80s anthem
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over and done with, but here are 33 music deals that are still alive and kicking
- So what do you think is the highest earning TV theme of all time?
- This "absurd and over-the-top" distortion plugin transforms a glitch into an audio effect - and it's absolutely free
- “The main lead is often pushed and pulled in as many directions as possible to create the characteristic machine-like sound” How to make supersized hyperpop vocals
- December 2
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- With the LEGO Strat close to its lowest-ever price, who needs the Fender Custom Shop? Be quick, though, you don't have much time left to grab it and build your own
- This Moog bundle price drop might be my Cyber Monday deal of the day
- I banned myself from buying plugins this Cyber Monday, but Universal Audio’s UAD Amp Bundle is about to undo that: £91 for Ruby ’63, Lion ’68 and Dream ’65, saving hundreds on the list price!
- In my opinion, these are the only 12 plugins most producers need. Here’s why - and how to save money on nearly all of them with these last-minute Cyber Monday deals
- "This is a game-changer for us. I mean, that's a pretty essential piece of gear": Andertons just slashed £249 off the Behringer X32 mixer, which has Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett's stamp of approval
- Picture this: you’ve got $/£200 to spend on synths. Now I think I’ve found the best deals for you this Cyber Monday
- Bear with me on this… I think this Behringer synth might be the cheapest analogue poly ever
- The best Cyber Monday iPad deal just so happens to be on the model I own - here’s why you should buy it, too
- Don't miss 5 of the best EQ plugin deals you should leap on before Cyber Monday is out!
- Grab a whole lot of plugins for a bargain price: These are the Cyber Monday software bundle deals not to miss
- "We had to ban people from bringing actual cowbells to the concerts": Blue Oyster Cult’s Buck Dharma on that SNL sketch and its aftermath
- I've tried all the major DAWs and Ableton Live is my absolute favourite - and it's 25% off for Cyber Monday
- Bitwig Studio is one of the most creative DAWs money can buy, here's why you should grab it while it's going cheap this Cyber Monday
- My favourite soft synth of the last year is a bargain in this Cyber Monday deal – do yourself a favour and grab it now
- We said this virtual orchestra set 'a new standard', and you've got a limited time to pick it up for less this Cyber Monday
- I recently bought a Les Paul, but the Squier Troublemaker Tele I’m reviewing has just been reduced by a whopping $136. Now I need to find space for another guitar before the price goes back up
- I absolutely love this Cyber Monday deal on the Yamaha Seqtrak, it’s giving Teenage Engineering features on Behringer money vibes
- “It’s a great honour, but it’s going to cost me a fortune to do it”: Rod Stewart spills the beans on the price of playing Glastonbury
- "It’s a sad day for every MCR fan. He was so pivotal to their sound for so long": Tributes paid to My Chemical Romance’s Bob Bryar
- I've been using Adam Audio studio monitors for five years after switching from KRKs and I've never looked back - and now they're 25% off for Cyber Monday
- “A well-crafted sequence is successful wherever you may wish to use it”: Use these tried and tested chord progressions to build an engaging song
- December 1
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- Roland’s SPD-SX Pro electronic drum pad is an industry standard for hybrid drumming, and you can save $200 on one: but only if you’re quick!
- The incredibly powerful plugin we called "one of the greatest effects plugins ever made" is half price for Cyber Monday
- If, like me, you buy your own presents, these Reon Driftbox synths have come down so much in price that they could be the ideal Christmas gift for that synth-lover in your life
- I've used this Behringer Powerplay P2 in-ear monitor amp on every gig since I bought it. At £27 with this Cyber Monday deal, it’s an essential for your live rig
- It might be a beginner keyboard, but I still love my Casio CT-S1, and I’ve never seen it cheaper than this
- I like this bargain pedalboard power supply so much I bought three of them: now it's even cheaper for Cyber Monday
- Check out this 98% reduction on a HUGE plugin bundle from Rigid Audio in its closing down sale this Cyber Monday
- Forget Digitakt II, Elektron’s OG Digitakt is still a great instrument – and you can get it for less than £500 in this Cyber Monday deal
- Here's 5 of the best software synth deals you should jump on this Cyber Monday
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