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December 2024
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303 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
- "When he died, I cried. And I actually jumped into the ocean at San Francisco. And let me tell you, the ocean at San Francisco is cold": Bass legend Jaco Pastorius
- 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
- "I remember it to this day, you know, exactly where I was when he said it": Paul McCartney's favourite song he's ever written is possibly the only one John Lennon ever complimented him on directly
- 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
- “We’ve got a new drummer, his name is Dave, he’s the best drummer in the world!”: the story of Dave Grohl's drums on Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
- “I’ve actually performed it with him, and I’m afraid to say that during the soundcheck, I broke down”: The story behind The Beach Boys’ timeless masterpiece God Only Knows, a Brian Wilson co-creation that had a profound emotional impact on Paul McCartney
- 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
- “Who wants to tell him?”: Busking drummer unknowingly performs Chili Peppers song in front of Chad Smith
- “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
- “Kurt was sitting in the bathtub with a Walkman on, listening to the song, and when the tape ended, he kissed me and said, 'Oh, finally, now I don't have to be the only songwriter in the band!'”: Dave Grohl's evolution as a songwriter
- 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
- John Bonham considered him "a god" and Buddy Rich called him "the inspiration for every big-name drummer in the business": the story of Gene Krupa, the king of swing
- The song Bob Dylan called the greatest ever written: “I just held two notes down… it’s shivery, icy, almost like outer space kind of sound. Glen went crazy and said ‘We have to get that, we gotta put that on the fade’” - The story of Wichita Lineman
- "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
- “People have used it as their wedding song. I often think, ‘Hey, did you listen to the lyrics?’”: The classic number one hit with a sting in its tail
- 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
- "Tony Banks got wind of it. From then on, we knew that Pete could leave at any time, but we had a 150-show tour to do": Phil Collins opens up in epic new career retrospective documentary
- “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
- "There is no getting around the fact that he repeats the phrase 'simply having a wonderful Christmastime' 17 times": A music professor breaks down the theory behind Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime
- “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
- “If your flanger is too harsh, try a chorus - if it's too subtle, try a phaser”: How modulation effects work and how to use them
- "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
- "Do we really need another virtual analogue synth? If it sounds this good, the answer is yes": 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
- "The Prophet-5 is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and influential synths ever built": The story of Sequential Circuits in 10 synths, sequencers and drum machines
- 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?
- “Instead of shouting ‘Maiden! Maiden!’ they were going ‘Sooty! Sooty!’”: Iron Maiden legend Nicko McBrain's funniest moment
- “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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