Music

With the release of the "Spark-O-Matic" Jazzmaster, Fender has completed its Parallel Universe II line up, an eight model range of limited edition electric guitars that combine elements of different Fender icons to create some interesting oddities.

Looking to offer a little something extra for the audiophiles in the crowd, Spotify has announced a new streaming tier for high-quality lossless audio called Spotify HiFi, which will be available to Premium subscribers as an optional extra later this year.

It's easy to imagine a program that could visually identify which pieces of music were being performed in silent piano-playing videos. A new AI system goes further, however, by reproducing the sound of that piano-playing in a realistic fashion.

After completing its third successful Kickstarter, Band Industries started shipping the Roadie 3 – a kind of electronic multi-tool for string pickers – out to backers in November 2020. As with the previous generations, we got sent one to try.

French sound design firm HyVibe hit Indiegogo in late 2017 with an acoustic guitar infused with digital smarts. Now the company has announced a kit that can turn pretty much any acoustic into a hybrid smart guitar.

Korg released its fist mass-produced monophonic synthesizer in 1973, which was followed a year later by an improved version, and it's this latter model that's provided the inspiration for the limited run miniKorg 700FS.

Players looking to tap into the sweet sounds of a vintage AC30 amplifier while out and about might plug into an amPlug headphone amp and rock out. But now there's another option, with three Vox headphone variants that have guitar amps cooked in.

Fender is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and is marking the occasion with special editions of its most popular models – the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass.

This extraordinary hundred-buck headphone amp plugs straight into your electric guitar, giving you access to a dozen beautifully-made amp emulators and a swag of quality effects in about the most portable package we can imagine.

Audio gear maker M-Audio has launched two USB interfaces geared at folks who are looking to break into computer-based recording, podcasting, live streaming and more, without emptying their bank accounts.

Sony's WF-XB700 Truly Wireless Headphones wrap a workmanlike set of features into an intrepid design, delivering solid sound in a practical package that won't blow the doors off your bank account.

We've long been admirers of the work of Swedish designer Love Hultén, who has frequently paid tribute to the worlds of retro gaming and classic computing with beautiful hand-crafted creations. Now he's back with the bizarre Voc-25 chatterbox.