Latest articles by Stuart Williams
Best drum sets 2025: Top drum kits for beginner to pro drummers
Explore 17 of the best drum kits for the studio, stage and bedroom from Ludwig, Pearl, Tama, DW and more
"A versatile jack-of-all-trades, with some excellent displays of mastery at times": Fender Player II Modified Precision Bass review
Fender’s workhorse-series P-Bass gets some performance-enhancing additions, as well as a tone control that works in passive mode
Best bass drum pedals 2025: single and double bass pedals for every budget
Put your best foot forward with my guide to choosing the right kick pedal for your playing style and budget, with picks from DW, Pearl, Tama, Yamaha and others
“A high-quality solution for capturing your drums”: Sennheiser MD 421 Kompakt review
A drum and instrument studio classic gets the scaled-down treatment
“An excellent entry point into the world of cast-shell drums”: DrumCraft Bell Brass Snare review
As heavy-shell snare drums make a comeback, DrumCraft is letting us in on the action at a snip of the price
"Whatever magic is in the Van Halen ear canals has been imparted here too": EVH SA-126 Special review
The first new design from EVH under Wolfgang Van Halen's watch is a Gibson-inspired semi-hollow with plenty of personality
Best online drum lessons 2025: Our pick of tuition platforms for beginner to advanced players
Learn drums how and when you want with these excellent online drum lesson resources, tried and tested by us
“The VQD could well unlock drumming for people who otherwise can’t possibly play a kit at home”: Roland VQD106 review
If noise annoys those around you when you’re drumming, this ultra-quiet electronic set has the solutions - plus, watch our volume comparison video with a standard e-kit
“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
Beggars can apparently also be choosers, according to Harley Benton and its sub-£150 versatile doublecut
"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
Squier's affordable Tele Deluxe is a mash-up of Fender and Gibson design points
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
Forget the name on the headstock, this Squier is the Telecaster for die-hard Gibson fans
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!
This insane one-day deal from Thomann won't exist for long, so get looting while you can
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!
Never play cajon again - the most powerful sample pad on the planet is reduced, but it'll be going back up by 20% after Cyber Monday
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
Bag this industry standard, battery-powered in-ear monitor amp for 35% less than what I paid for it
“I have a 15-year Superior Drummer addiction”: with this killer Cyber Week deal from Thomann, you can too - for just £249
Climb aboard the Superior Drummer train this weekend with some massive savings on Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 and SDX sound expansion packs
You can vastly improve the sound of your electronic drum kit for just over £100 with this mega Black Friday VST sale from Thomann
Drummer? Guitarist? Songwriter? Up your drum sound game with some crazy prices on Toontrack EZDrummer 3 and EZX sound expansion packs this Cyber Weekend!
4 of our highest-rated electronic drum sets are still on sale this Black Friday weekend, with reductions of up to $400
Still going for a song: From mid-level practice solutions to road-ready pro setups, save on a quartet of killer electronic drum sets
Evans’ Sensory Percussion Sound System is a mind-blowing hybrid drumming setup, and you can save $500 on a complete rig right now with Guitar Center's Black Friday deal
Unlock some serious creative power with a third off the regular price
Chris Shiflett on how he found weapon of choice with the P-90 cut of his Fender Cleaver Tele Deluxe
Here is Shiflett on his P-90 epiphany, why everyone should have 500K pots on their guitar, and everything you need to know about his new signature Tele
How to recreate classic recorded drum sounds from The Beatles, Metallica, Nirvana and more
ArtOfDrumming shows you how to make your drum recordings sound like the greats
“What we get here is the essence of Alesis’ flagship electronic drum set, with all the great features, minus the stuff that is likely to be ‘nice-to-have’ rather than essential”: Alesis Strata Core review
Alesis is back with a cut-down addition to the Strata line-up, but with BFD multi-sampled sounds, a touchscreen and a saving of around $/£1,000, I’m looking for the catch
Roland just unveiled its V-Drums Quiet Design VQD106 kits, delivering “the lowest playing-noise in the history of electronic drum kits”
The electronic drums giant claims the VQD106 is 75% quieter than a regular electronic kit
“Sounds aren’t just ‘good for a module’, they’re genuinely useable, realistic and ultimately very enjoyable to play": Roland TD716 review
Roland is back with a flagship replacement for the TD-50X. There’s a new module and new pads, but does it have the same old problem?
