Music

Like Fender's Parallel Universe guitars, the Squier Paranormal series explores bizarre model combinations and "what if?" oddities, but at more budget-friendly price points.

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Michael Jackson, Cardi B and Jay-Z made a song together? Now you can find out with a new app that uses AI to help you make a mashup of your favorite songs – no DJing experience required.

Drum kits take up a lot of space, and are very noisy. The Aerodrums 2 system, however, allows drummers to practice in silence using just a camera module, foot markers, and a special set of drum sticks – no actual drums are involved.

Learning to play guitar is tough, and though there's no replacement for hard work and practice, technology can lend a helping hand. The mu6label is the latest gadget in the space, an AI-powered learning multitool that attaches to a guitar's upper edge .

Eddie Van Halen was more than just a keyboard player. He was also pretty good at guitar, and through endless brutal hacking of his instruments, became a pioneering innovator in design. The Wolfgang is the final, and greatest guitar he left the world.

Astell&Kern has announced an upgrade to 2021's "mass premium" A&norma SR25 MkII digital audio player. The SR35 comes with new amplifier technology, four DACs, a 20-hour battery life and a fresh new user interface.

Tweaking guitar pickup configurations from maker presets can involve breaking out the soldering iron and lots of experimentation. The HyperSwitch uses the power of a smartphone and a Bluetooth connection to simplify the process.

Back at NAMM 2019, Ciari Guitars launched an interesting travel guitar that featured a beautifully engineered folding mechanism which allowed players to transport the instrument in a backpack. Now the company is back with a P90-packing edition.

There are numerous devices available to connect a guitar to a computer or smartphone for recording in music production software, and many allow access to digital effects. The Jam X includes an analog compressor for built-in tone shaping.

Fender has released a whole range of guitars that come set up with quirky, 50s-style "gold foil" pickups – a nod to old-school pups you'd need to dig out of a vintage guitar or go to the aftermarket for. And they certainly have a unique vibe going on!

Back in 2019, Positive Grid launched an impressively flexible and affordable tone master called the Spark amp. The company downsized the format for the Mini last year, and has now done it again for the ultra-portable Spark Go.

A new 16-string, single-fret acoustic instrument called the Hanago has launched on Kickstarter, which is designed to combine the best aspects of piano and guitar to make learning to play easy, while also laying down the foundations of music theory.

Back in 2013, Zivix launched an ultra-portable MIDI guitar designed for noodling on the move. Then six years later the Jamstik was joined by a 24-fret headless bigger brother called the Studio. Now a S-type model rocking a headstock has launched.

Collaborative music creation platform Endlesss has launched "the world's first beat-making arcade machine." The Beat Machine combines gamified music missions, live jamming online, social networking and powerful music creativity.

Some 20 years ago, IK Multimedia gathered a complete guitar rig into a software platform and named it AmpliTube. After infusing it with AI power last year, the company has now launched an all-you-can-eat tone box called the ToneX Pedal.