How to play mono synth properly: the skills you need to master By Music Radar published 4 May 24 Playing a mono synth demands a different technique to conventional keyboard playing. Here's how...
A lightweight, affordable option for Jimmy Page ‘Stairway…’ manoeuvres? Danelectro’s new $899 doubleneck electric guitar could be this year’s super-cool sleeper hit By Jonathan Horsley published 3 May 24 Six and 12-string necks, four lipstick pickups, heaps of vintage mojo and a semi-hollow build, all for under a grand
Could the friendly-looking First Love be the FM synth that you fall head over heels for? By Ben Rogerson published 3 May 24 It looks like a game, but will you want to play it?
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that all store locations will begin store closing sales today”: End of an era for US gear retail as Sam Ash Music to close By Jonathan Horsley published 3 May 24 The largest family owned gear retailer in the US is to shut all of its stores after 100 years of service
Designed "to expand the realms of sound design through intricate motion", this quirky French synth has light sensors and a retro pin matrix By Matt Mullen published 3 May 24 Launching on Kickstarter later this month, ALT is a new analogue synth from French manufacturer Cyma Forma
“It’s dynamic and it’s versatile, and thanks no doubt to its enclosed tube it is very ‘amp-y’”: ThorpyFX and Chris Buck apply real valve heat to overdrive and boost with signature Electric Lightning pedal By Jonathan Horsley published 2 May 24 The Electric Lightning is a tube-driven overdrive/boost with an amp-like layout and sound, and it can be used as a boost, an overdrive or both, giving you a wide range of tones to play with
“There’s no such thing as a wrong note”: Jacob Collier takes you inside his “wise” music room and explains why he can’t stop using a discontinued Native Instruments MIDI keyboard By Ben Rogerson published 2 May 24 “Whenever this one breaks I have to beg for unused spares,” he says
“Get you to your sound faster”: Reason 13 puts the focus on workflow, and there are new synth and ‘space delay’ devices, too By Ben Rogerson published 2 May 24 The new version of the DAW-cum-plugin will be released on 18 June
“A funk bass stripped down to its essence – beautiful, minimal, well-crafted”: Vulfpeck funk maestro Joe Dart teams up with Sterling By Music Man for super affordable $399 signature bass By Jonathan Horsley published 2 May 24 But you've got to be quick to grab one. The Sterling By Music Man Joe Dart is a special “Timed Edition” release, meaning you have until the end of May 2024 to order
Mr piano mule: Man jailed for attempting to smuggle £4.2m illicit stash into the UK in the back of an upright piano By Ben Rogerson published 1 May 24 Authorities were quick to lift the lid on his deception and crack the case