Music

Synth wizards Critter & Guitari have launched a successor to the company's first product – the Pocket Piano – in the shape of a portable music box called the 201, which sports six sound engines, a built-in speaker and a bunch of funky wooden keys.

From the eerie tones of classic B-movies to atmospheric warbling on modern music tracks, the Theremin is instantly recognizable. An open-source version called the Theremotion uses a Leap controller to add a new layer of expressive control.

Following a small pilot production run back in 2016, Moog Music has announced the return to full production of the mighty Minimoog Model D analog synthesizer, which helped shape modern music from the 1970s onwards.

The first project from Teenage Engineering was a 2007 art installation comprising 22 wooden dolls that formed a singing ensemble. The absolut choir has now inspired the creation of a smaller collection that can voice a bunch of classic songs.

"Hey," says Sonic Lamb's voiceover guy, "we're here to give you an eargasm." Sorry, I've just been rowing and I'm worn out from an Earth-shattering oargasm. But these hybrid-drive headphones do certainly take sub-bass frequencies to another level.

Canada's this.is.Noise has launched an interesting MIDI controller on Indiegogo called the MIDI Blaster, which brings a new level of gesture control to music creation while also adding a visual element.

Unless you can afford to pay roadies, one of the great pains of being a gigging musician is lugging around heavy equipment like amps and cabs. Bruce Thigpen of Eminent Technology has come up with a guitar speaker design that lightens the load.

Japanese music gear titan Roland is celebrating 50 years in business this year, and has combined the timeless beauty of wood with cutting-edge digital technology for its latest party piece – the 50th Anniversary Concept Model Piano.

Fender has dug deep into its storied history to recreate 12 of its most famous guitars and basses of the 50s, 60s and 70s with a new American Vintage II production lineup. We've spent the last month getting to know a Buddy Holly-era '57 Stratocaster.

Startup Sensy has launched a guitar-shaped electronic instrument featuring a fretboard crammed with follow-me lights designed to get noobs playing tunes quickly, but can also be used by seasoned pros as a MIDI interface or eye-catching melody maker.

At first glance, building a drum machine that uses the heartbeats of children with congenital heart disease might be considered very poor taste. But Love Hultén and Teenage Engineering have created the CHD-4 to raise awareness of the condition.

Japanese musician and designer Yuri Suzuki has partnered with Sweden's Teenage Engineering for an update to a dinky little lo-fi vinyl record cutter and playback machine originally launched in 2020 in collaboration with Gakken.

We have to admit that being able to plug a guitar cable into a vinyl record to tap into onboard effects hasn't really been on our wishlist. But now that Romanus Records and ADD Pedals have actually built such a thing, we so want one.

Way back in January 2021, at the NAMM trade expo, Korg offered a brief sneak preview of a powerful new analog/digital drum machine, and then all went quiet. Now the "three-fold hybrid" Drumlogue has finally gone up for pre-order.

Folks who are serious about their mobile music will already be familiar with Astell&Kern, which consistently aims high and is always pushing envelopes. And so it is for the launch of its newest flagship portable music player, the A&ultima SP3000.