Music

Pearl Jam's Mike McCready is perhaps most associated with a Fender Stratocaster, and his vintage '59 model is his most prized. So it was this instrument that was chosen for a very limited Custom Shop replica run. But not all was as it seemed.

Fender conceived the Acoustasonic as the "modern acoustic" guitar. Slim, lightweight and super easy to play, it's a digital twist on a familiar organic form. We spoke to Fender's VP of R&D about how this "transitional" guitar works and what it means.

Responding to feedback from the synth community, Moog Music has launched the Moog Sound Studio – an all-in-one package that includes "all the equipment, cables, accessories and educational tools needed to explore sound in an immersive new way."

This tiny, $100 gadget plugs into your guitar where the lead would normally go, and gives you instant access to 12 beautifully modeled amp sounds and a range of effects through headphones, for super-portable practice and recording. Very impressive!

A world-leading guitar amp and effects emulation company has distilled much of its digital wisdom into a tiny but mighty sub-$300 practice amp that gives you one-touch, free access to more than 10,000 editable tones and some very smart learning tools.

The kalimba is the commercial version of a traditional Zimbabwean instrument known as the mbira, which dates back thousands of years. That said, a brand-new high-tech tool has been designed to teach people how to play the thing.

Many smartphone makers have recently turned their backs on the humble audio jack, meaning that your favorite earphones and headphones may need some help to get you plugged in. Luxury audio brand Astell&Kern has responded with a portable USB-C DAC.

10 guitars in one; that's the promise with Fender's groundbreaking digitally-enhanced Acoustasonic range, and the new Jazzmaster flavor pushes things further and harder than ever before. We've spent two weeks with Fender's brave leap into the future.

Google's Arts & Culture platform and YouTube have launched a new online exhibition to celebrate the history of electronic music, part of which is an augmented reality experience where five classic synthesizers can be played online for free.

Klos Guitars has been making acoustics and ukes fashioned from carbon fiber for a number of years now, and while there have been instruments you can plug into an amp, the company hasn't ventured into all electric guitar or bass territory, until now.

Fretlight has been making guitars with LEDs embedded in the neck for a good long while now, but all of its instruments so far have been full size electrics or acoustics. Now it's going on the road with a travel version of its learning system.

We're seeing a number of automakers outline intentions to repurpose old electric vehicle batteries and now Lime has now revealed similar plans for those powering its electric bikes, which will be recycled for use in zero-waste Bluetooth speakers.