Music

Last year, Fender broke into new territory with the launch of the American Acoustasonic Telecaster, which came with the tagline – "acoustic, electric and everything inbetween." The iconic brand has now added a Stratocaster to the lineup.

Fender Custom Shop's Yuriy Shishkov has impressed us before with his stunning one-off creations, including the Master Repeater Tele and the Studioliner. His latest offering for NAMM 2020 is a bejeweled Stratocaster inspired by a Fabergé egg.

Following a leak earlier in the week, Moog has now confirmed its most compact keyboard synthesizer so far with the launch of the Subsequent 25 paraphonic analog synth.

Roland has been in the electronic drum business for a good many years, and most kits released have had a skeletal look compared to their traditional counterparts. Now the company has launched a line of V-Drums that rock a classic acoustic kit vibe.

There can be a huge difference in the tone of an acoustic guitar when played through an amp via a pickup. LR Baggs is looking to narrow the gap with the help of a floor stomp and a smartphone app.

He's previously made music mobile with a synth bike, and built a nightmarish noise-maker called the Furby Organ. Now Sam Battle has tapped into the sonic guts of a Sega Mega Drive and created a monster synth ready to get its music-making game on.

Roland has spent decades making professional-grade digital musical instruments, and put a call out to designers to envision an ambitious digital grand piano. Here it is – the GPX-F1 designed by Jong Chan Kim.

With Winter NAMM looming – the world's largest music industry show – Harmony has announced the Juno, a "perfect grab and go guitar" inspired by the brand's classic compact monster: the mid-1950s H44 Stratotone.

Switzerland's Relish Guitars – the company responsible for the novel Jane guitar from 2015 – has been working on a new project for over a year. The company's first solid-bodied guitar, the Trinity, now debuts with an instant pickup swapping system.

While many of today's digital audio players aim for a slick modern aesthetic, the Shanling Q1 goes back in time for inspiration – to the curvy, colorful 1950s. The cutesy device supports Hi-Res music playback, and has cooked-in Bluetooth.

Audio giant JBL has turned to crowdfunding platform Indiegogo with a new set of solar-powered headphones that promise “virtually unlimited” playtime, owing to a Powerfoyle material built into the headband that generates power from the sun.

Musicians often make playing an instrument look deceptively easy. But learning can be tough. Technology can help take the edge off, such as the One Keyboard Pro Essential piano which guides students through the learning process using LEDs and an app.