News archive
April 2023
Filter
215 articles
- April 30
- April 29
- April 28
-
- Taylor and Original Grain Watches team up for some very classy wrist candy incorporating the high-end acoustic brand’s Urban Ironbark
- Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc reveals his love of the piano and shows you how he recorded his first track in Ableton Live
- Is Nuno Bettencourt one of the top three guitar players in the world? Prince thought so
- Spitfire Audio has packed some of Look Mum No Computer’s finest ‘Obsolete Machines’ into a free LABS plugin
- Watch Joe Bonamassa sit in with Scary Pockets and Joanna Jones for a funkified cover of Back In Black
- What is spectral processing? Get to know the technology behind the next generation of effects plugins
- The most exciting new hardware synths of 2023
- The essential new audio interfaces and mixers of 2023
- Revolutionary new effect plugins for 2023
- The most innovative products of 2023 so far
- Best budget mic preamps 2023: Upgrade your studio setup for less
- Tame Impala reveals his favourite synth and weighs in on the analogue vs digital debate: "I love analogue synths, but I'll never argue they sound better than a digital clone"
- G7th, The Capo Company at Gear Expo 2023: we’ve brought the humble capo into the 21st century
- Electro-Harmonix adds beef to the Keef with the expanded Satisfaction Plus fuzz debuting an all-new Fat mode
- Nugen Audio at Gear Expo 2023: Jotter plugin revealed
- IK Multimedia at Gear Expo 2023: Your gateway to a new world of guitar tone
- Laney at Gear Expo 2023: meet the Ironheart Loudpedal, a surprisingly affordable, two-channel 60W amp in a stompbox
- EastWest Sounds at Gear Expo 2023: Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra includes everything you need to create fantasy film and game soundtracks
- April 27
-
- Arturia blows its own trumpet as it launches Augmented Brass plugin
- Teenage Engineering announces the CM-15, a portable microphone that promises great sound whatever the recording situation
- Download 90 free Max for Live devices and learn how to make your own with Ableton's Building Max Devices tutorial pack
- What is FM synthesis? The ultimate beginner's guide
- Should Behringer release the Behremin, its $99 Theremin “interpretation”, or should it keep its hands off?
- NOasis - Noel Gallagher scotches Oasis reunion tour rumours
- Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says that AI “could be potentially huge for creativity”
- DJ Sprinkles on Midtown 120 Blues: "The album is a critique of the commodification of old school deep house. A lot of people miss that point"
- April 26
-
- Millenium expands Still Cymbals low-volume cymbal line-up with two new colours
- Travis Barker launches signature Liquid Death enema kit: “How have I had such a successful career in music? I use Liquid Death Mountain Water…in my a**hole”
- Musician’s insurance: Everything you need to know about covering you and your gear
- It might look retro, but the MPC X Special Edition is actually “the most powerful MPC ever”
- Ed Sheeran defends himself against Let’s Get It On plagiarism accusations, arguing that he used an “unprotectable” chord progression
- Sammy Hagar muses on a Van Halen reunion and weighs in on David Lee Roth: "The guy sang so bad last time he was doing shows, it was embarrassing to me"
- 5 Moons could be the wooden multitrack recorder and looper that’s missing from your life
- Doug McKechnie is the 81-year-old synth pioneer you've never heard of: "The history of electronic music needs a rewrite"
- Roland’s updated Jupiter-4, Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 plugins come with a Circuit Mod feature so you can play at being a synth technician
- April 25
-
- Josh Scott of JHS Pedals recommends four cheap overdrive pedals so you don’t have to freak out about the Bad Monkey anymore
- YouTube guitar builder Burls Art melts down 1,600 RadioShack dollar coins and turns them into a very cool lap steel guitar
- The soundtrack composer's guide to music software
- Epiphone unveils the latest Les Paul Custom from the Adam Jones Art Collection, and it is a floral, surreal and serious electric guitar
- Is the Nobels ODR-1 the real holy grail overdrive pedal?
- How Wendy Carlos became music technology's greatest living pioneer
- No Pulse detected: Waldorf says goodbye to its affordable analogue synth
- Watch Joe Satriani turn Ice 9 into an epic jam and trade solos with keys player Rai Thistlethwayte after guitar cable breaks mid-song
- Queen’s Roger Taylor: “I can’t take Taylor Hawkins out of my phone”
- Surgeon on how he ditched the studio to record an album with a tabletop live setup: "It’s funny, but people desperately want to know what gear I’m using"
- Baby Audio goes back to 1982 and revives Yamaha’s cult CS01 synth as a plugin
- The Black Keys refer to Noel Gallagher as "the chord lord", even though the Oasis man has said they're meaningless in his songwriting
- Origin Effects puts the holy grail tone mojo of a UA 610 console preamp into a pair of drive/tone shaper pedals for guitar and bass
- April 24
-
- Fred Again, Four Tet and Skrillex close Coachella by smashing Smells Like Teen Spirit into Country Riddim
- “Feel free to use my voice without penalty,” says Grimes, as she weighs in on the AI-generated music debate
- Session drummer Jim Keltner recalls John Lennon and George Harrison telling him not to bad-mouth Paul McCartney
- How many of the synths, drum machines and effects in The Chemical Brothers’ Coachella live setup can you spot?
- Watch Chad Smith break down Red Hot Chili Peppers drum beats and fills in a virtual masterclass with Drumeo
- "We would write, record, and mix two or three songs a day": Youth on collaborating with Paul McCartney
- Watch Ólafur Arnalds’ soothing Korg PS-3100 synth jam: “Sometimes I want to make a whole album just dedicated to this beauty of an instrument,” he says
- 8 easy piano songs every beginner should learn: The Beatles, Coldplay, The Weeknd and more
- April 21
-
- NAMM 2023: Keeley Electronics rolls out a No420 Custom Shop edition of its Compressor Mini for those who roll up
- Johnny Marr has a new book coming out that documents his epic guitar collection and the most significant instruments from his career
- Almost 60% of musicians are already using AI in their productions, study suggests
- NAMM 2023: Give your electric guitar the ultimate GNR pickup upgrade with Seymour Duncan’s new Slash 2.0 humbucker set
- Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett was using a Strymon Iridium pedal on his UK tour instead of an amp
- Charlie Puth uses Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson’s vocal recording trick as he painstakingly hones a 2-note phrase in Pro Tools
- NAMM 2023: Taylor raises the bar for its high-end acoustic guitar making with Builder’s Edition model of its flagship 814ce
- Ludwig announces Continental and Continental Club intermediate drum kits
- Best trem systems 2023: From Floyd Rose to Bigsby, Duesenberg to Gotoh, here are the best tremolo systems we've ever used
- Eddie Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher Kramer sells at auction for just under $4 million
- April 20
-
- Unidentified Reason Objekt: Swedish DAW developer teases new modelling synth
- Marty Friedman has an interesting theory about why distorted guitars feature in far more top 20 songs in Japan than the US
- Seal on his love for Alice In Chains: "Out of that whole grunge period, they were by far my favourite"
- Molly Tuttle uses an unusual guitar tuning and it's well worth trying
- Focusrite’s FAST Bundle can be yours at a bargain price, but only if you act quickly
- Jon Hopkins launches new beer inspired by one of his tracks and the number 9, and it’s all thanks to something Brian Eno told him
- Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival: 11 of our favourite performances from past years
- Boss’s new ‘all-in-one’ Gigcaster audio mixers give musicians everything they need to start livestreaming (and they might be pretty good for recording, too)
- April 19
-
- Air Music Tech’s ‘wild’ new Ether plugin is said to be “a reverb like no other”
- John Mayer sits at the piano and shows how the same chord progression was used by Harry Styles, A-ha… and himself
- Foo Fighters return with new song Rescued, confirm new album But Here We Are for June
- Hear the first known recording of Eddie Van Halen playing Jump's iconic, band-breaking synth part: "If I want to play Bavarian cheese whistle, I will do it"
- Animals As Leaders guitarist Javier Reyes introduces his new, surprisingly traditional-looking ESP LTD JRV-8 signature model
- Regency is a free phase distortion synth plugin that harks back to Casio’s CZ keyboards
- Watch 4 minutes of young guitarist Matteo Mancuso being outrageously talented at the 2023 NAMM show
- Metallica’s Lars Ulrich silences the haters with impromptu double kick breakdown during Howard Stern interview
- Is the DigiTech Drop the 21st century's unsung hero of effects pedals? Walrus Audio founder Colt Westbrook explains why he loves it
- Better than the real thing? Hear the fake 'lost Oasis album' tearing up the internet, complete with AI-generated Liam Gallagher
- April 18
-
- Issue 321 of Computer Music is on sale now
- NAMM 2023: Epiphone unveils a classy retro-styled ES-335 for Jim James of My Morning Jacket
- Nuno Bettencourt says rock songs are “nursery rhymes for adults” and explains his theory for adding depth to simple arrangements
- Heart On My Sleeve, the AI-generated track that sounds like it was recorded by Drake and The Weeknd, has been pulled from streaming services
- Flashback: see remastered footage of Metallica doing press for Master Of Puppets in 1986 with Cliff Burton
- Phil Collen remembers how he was secretly auditioned for Def Leppard during the making of Pyromania without knowing it
- NAMM 2023: The best new music tech gear of the show
- NAMM 2023: Peterson shrinks its super-accurate, feature-packed StroboStomp HD guitar tuner into a mini-pedal format
- Björn Ulvaeus thinks that the Abba Voyage technology is the future: “Our avatars will go on living after we are dead”
- April 17
-
- NAMM 2023: InstaChord is the guitar-style instrument that even beginners can play, but will they want to?
- RØDE announces a complete range of new and updated podcast gear
- NAMM 2023: The Myburgh M28: at last, an all-new microphone that is not trying to emulate an old one
- Ever wanted to learn chicken picking? Don't miss this beginners' introduction from guitarist Andy Wood
- Genius and controversy: the story of Led Zeppelin's Bring It On Home
- NAMM 2023: Antelope Audio's first studio monitor boasts a big spec and an innovative bass design
- NAMM 2023: Fiedler Audio enables you to compose in Dolby Atmos in any DAW, even the stereo-only ones
- April 16
- April 15
- April 14
-
- NAMM 2023: Yamaha wants you to ditch the cables with its YH-WL500 wireless headphones for musicians
- NAMM 2023: T-Rex Effects brings the Binson Echorec back to life with a spectacular $2,100 reproduction
- NAMM 2023: Yamaha’s new TC3 TransAcoustic pianos promise the feel of an acoustic upright and the benefits of digital technology
- "It broke my heart" – Jason Everman talks about getting fired from Soundgarden, quitting Nirvana and becoming a decorated US Army Ranger
- NAMM 2023: Guild debuts the Surfliner Deluxe, classing up its affordable retro offset electric with a roasted maple neck and a floating vibrato
- NAMM 2023: Donner’s D1 is a simplified drum machine designed for first-time beatmakers
- NAMM 2023: Yamaha Stage Custom Birch drums get a triple-facelift with new finish options
- NAMM 2023: Audiomovers' Inject plugin brings multi-device audio I/O to your DAW, and you won't need to change the playback engine
- NAMM 2023: Ludwig updates NeuSonic series with new shell sizes and six new finishes
- NAMM 2023: Soundtoys SuperPlate gives you 5 classic reverbs that would cost a fortune and weigh a ton if you had the hardware
- NAMM 2023: Rabea Massaad joins Ernie Ball and is working an an EBMM signature model based on the Sabre
- Madison Cunningham, Mateus Asato, Yvette Young and Emily Hopkins demo the new Universal Audio UAFX delay, reverb and compressor effects pedals
- NAMM 2023: With the Panorama CST MIDI controller, Nektar hopes to make music production a lot less about staring at a computer screen
- NAMM 2023: Dean and thrash icon Kerry King partner for über-metal Overlord USA Custom Shop signature model
- Stand out from the crowd with Guitar Center's fresh set of exclusive Fender, Gibson, Taylor and Schecter guitars
- NAMM 2023: Black BT says SusEx can reduce your pedal needs and revolutionise your keyboard playing
- NAMM 2023: Yamaha launches flagship MIJ FG9 dreadnought, “the pinnacle” of its steel-string acoustic guitar know-how
- NAMM 2023: Beyerdynamic reimagines its iconic M Series of microphones
- Kirk Hammett plays his '59 'Unicorn' black Les Paul on the Stern Show and explains how he came to buy his Greeny 'Burst – but James Hetfield reveals that he was offered it first
- April 13
-
- NAMM 2023: Tama announces limited edition Lil’ John Roberts Signature Snare Drum
- NAMM 2023: Sonor launches Kompressor series snare drums
- Mix Check Studio is a free AI tool that tells you what’s wrong with your mix and how to fix it
- NAMM 2023: Ernie Ball Music Man unveils six-string version of Tosin Abasi’s groundbreaking Kaizen electric guitar
- NAMM 2023: LR Baggs promises “game-changing” performance and non-invasive installation from its new HiFi acoustic guitar pickup system
- The new Auto-Tune EFX+ 10.0 and Auto-Key 2 are here take your music-making to the next level
- NAMM 2023: Sony's new MDR-MV1 headphones are aimed at spatial sound creators (and possibly dogs)
- NAMM 2023: Apogee's Jam X is a compact guitar audio interface with a built-in analogue compressor
- NAMM 2023: Fender unveils the RIFF, the take-anywhere Bluetooth audio speaker that doubles as a guitar amp
- NAMM 2023: Duran Duran’s John Taylor has a new signature bass – it’s name is Rio Dream and it’s a Dingwall with four-strings
- NAMM 2023: Hammond’s lightweight and ‘affordable’ XK4 organ promises “the B3 experience you’ve always wanted”
- NAMM 2023: Takamine celebrates the 30th Anniversary of its Sante Fe acoustic with a stunning limited edition cutaway
- NAMM 2023: IK Multimedia's AXE I/O One could be the guitar interface your wallet's been waiting for
- NAMM 2023 live report: rolling news from the world's biggest music-making gear show
- NAMM 2023: Ibanez announces huge signature guitar launch, with new models for Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Stanley, Lari Basilio, Martin Miller and Ichika Nito
- April 12
-
- Foo Fighters tease 13-second clip of what appears to be their first new music since Taylor Hawkins’ passing
- NAMM 2023: Watch jazz guitar legend Mark Whitfield play Wes Montgomery’s Four On Six on the newly launched D’Angelico Excel SS Soho he helped design
- NAMM 2023: Polyend announces Tracker Mini, and it looks like a 'best in show' contender
- New report shows that women and non-binary people are still massively underrepresented in production and engineering roles
- NAMM 2023: Jackson and Suicide Silence’s Mark Heylmun team up for a Fishman equipped Pro Series 7-string Rhoads
- NAMM 2023: Sound Particles' 'first ever' 3D synth is a "game changer", according to Jean-Michel Jarre
- NAMM 2023: Amphion's first 3-way monitor in 25 years might have been worth the wait, but is it worth the cost?
- NAMM 2023: You dirty Bastl! Distortion-fuelled mini mixer promises to be your new Bestie
- NAMM 2023: DSM & Humboldt unveils the Simplifier MkII, upgrading the zero-watt stereo guitar amp with revoiced preamps, more dynamics, reverb and more
- NAMM 2023: Create custom pickup configurations on your phone and mod your guitar in real time with the Seymour Duncan HyperSwitch
- NAMM 2023: Neumann updates one of the finest studio monitors ever made, because you should "never be satisfied"
- NAMM 2023: Bitwig Studio 5 is alive - the creative DAW is now a modulating monster
- NAMM 2023: Sterling By Music Man adds St Vincent Goldie to its lineup in epic new release featuring updated Cutlass, Albert Lee and Mariposa models
- NAMM 2023: Behringer switches from synths to mixers with 2 new compact consoles for podcasters, performers, gamers and more
- April 11
-
- NAMM 2023: Universal Audio reveals 3 new UAFX pedals: meet the Del-Verb Ambience Companion, Galaxy ‘74 Tape Echo and Reverb and Max Preamp & Dual Compressor
- All hail the Lizard Queen! Josh Scott's vision of a '70s Electro-Harmonix octave fuzz pedal has become a reality for us all
- Behringer offers an update on its “beautiful sounding” Korg Polysix emulation, and says that the Moog-inspired Model 15 is being readied for production
- NAMM 2023: Panel discussion to tell us how to survive "the AI music apocalypse"
- NAMM 2023: Sequential has massively updated the Take 5 synth, but not quite in the way we expected
- Will Timothée Chalamet be singing when he plays Bob Dylan in new biopic? “Of course,” says director James Mangold
- Blast from the past: Suzuki Omnichord
- April 10
- April 8
- April 7
-
- NAMM 2023: EarthQuaker Devices offers vintage modulation and practical modern features with the Aurelius Tri-Chorus
- J Mascis: 10 albums that changed my life – “The Stooges was definitely my guitar sound inspiration. That’s still the best sound I’ve heard for guitar on a recording”
- Abbey Road engineer Ken Scott on recording The Beatles: “I was there when Eric Clapton played the solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, but it was just another day at the office so it didn't mean anything at the time”
- April 6
-
- Fender isn't going to make a Squier Acoustasonic, but it does have big plans
- Previously unheard J Dilla material released as remixable stems on Kano's STEM Player
- NAMM 2023: IK Multimedia launches Total Studio Max 4 bundle and revamps its entire software range
- NAMM 2023: Evans and Sunhouse team-up for the Evans Hybrid Sensory Percussion Sound System
- Walrus Audio confirms affordable prices for new Fundamental Series effects pedals
- Issue 395 of Future Music is out now
- Diddy says that he has to pay Sting $5,000 a day for his use of the Every Breath You Take sample in I’ll Be Missing You
- Josh Klinghoffer on Red Hot Chili Peppers with John Frusciante: "I never want to sound negative about anyone doing music — but I was shocked when I heard their new record”
- Fantastic (free) synths and how to use them: TAL-Vocoder
- April 5
-
- Yamaha’s YC stage pianos get new DX7, CP80 and felt piano sounds as part of a free update
- "I had lived in London for a couple of years, but I had never really seen the dark underbelly of it,” – how Ed Sheeran wrote his breakthrough song, The A Team
- Best mini amps for guitar 2023: unlock big tones in a small package
- Joe Bonamassa demos the new Seymour Duncan Cradle Rock '63 Strat pickups
- Nathan Micay says that his new RPG-inspired album, To The God Named Dream, features live banjo and Taylor Swift references
- Sir Brian May and Vox collaborate on affordable special edition amps: “I want people to be able to get the sounds you make in a stadium show into your living room, and these products achieve that"
- FirePressor packs emulations of 4 analogue compressors into one plugin, and it’s currently being given away for free
- Ruston Kelly on the 10 albums that changed his life and how they inspired his new record: "If you really dig into the record, you can hear every single one’s influences"
- April 4
-
- Best banjos 2023: whether you’re into bluegrass, folk, alt or rock, there's a banjo for you
- Watch Gary Moore dispense wisdom, play jazz and shred blues on a Gibson Explorer in these classic interviews
- The Fender Squier Bullet guitar and bass range is now the Sonic series – and there's new models, specs and finishes
- Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter says that his concerns around the rise of AI “go beyond its use in music creation”
- Arturia’s LX-24 plugin promises to breathe new life into a classic Lexicon digital reverb
- NAMM 2023: Gibson and Kirk Hammett team up for a Murphy Lab replica of his legendary 1979 Flying V
- Peavey goes back to the blueprint with the 6505 1992 Original Amplifier reissue
- One of the earliest live recordings of the Beatles emerges 60 years later, but will we ever get to hear it?
- NAMM 2023: Martin's CEO 10, rabbit and bitcoin guitars dazzle in a limited edition selection from the acoustic giant
- FIRST LOOK: Ableton’s free Live 11.3 update includes Drift, a new MPE-compatible synth that can create sounds “from every era of modern music”
- NAMM 2023: Blackstar pumps up the gain and headroom with the 100-watt Amped 3 guitar amp pedal
- Akai Pro drops a Timbaland edition of the MPC Live 2, and it comes with “the hardest drum sounds ever put inside an MPC”
- Kali Audio's Lone Pine Series studio monitors make professional sound accessible to the budget-conscious producer
- Roland celebrates 404 day with live performances, new streetwear and a free sample pack
- April 3
-
- It looks like John Mayer is roadtesting a new PRS SE Silver Sky guitar with a maple fretboard
- Toontrack’s EZkeys 2 makes it even easier to create piano parts for your songs and could even help you write them
- Does your guitar have fret issues? The unique new Tri-Beams straight edge from Music Nomad can help you find out
- NAMM 2023: Hagstrom reveals revamped Swede and Super Swede guitars
- This new Pink Floyd documentary reminds us of the real Dark Side Of The Moon story
- Andrew Scheps talks mixing, production and the legacy of Metallica’s Death Magnetic: “My line is that the loudness war is over because I won… and that was the record that did it"
- Why Earthquaker Devices founder Jamie Stillman has an unbranded $200 'klone' Centaur from Ebay on his pedalboard
- Fender is making your spring a little brighter with 20% off select Fender acoustic guitars
- "If you roll your guitar volume back and have a pedal on, it’ll buffer it and you’ll still have the high end" – Michael Landau talks Strats and shares his top 5 tips for guitarists
- How to get started (and get paid) writing music for sync licensing
- 100 gecs on Skrillex: "He has all this gear and all these synths, but then just uses his laptop - no monitor, no mouse, nothing. All you need is a laptop"
- Is Akuto Studio’s Chord Machine AKT-0.1 an Omnichord for the OP-1 generation?
- How to blend sound design and score to create a modern cinematic soundtrack
- Top Nashville session guitarist blind tests the most coveted overdrive pedals ever… and you might be surprised by what happens
- See Gary Clark Jr play a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, while Slash, Paul Rodgers, Warren Haynes and Billy Gibbons salute Gary Rossington at the CMT Awards
- April 2
- April 1
