Music

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.

French DJ and music producer David Guetta has discovered AI tools, and thought it would be fun to use an unauthorized deepfake of Eminem's voice to rev up a huge crowd at a live show. It looks like it worked, but it raises legal and ethical questions.

IK Multimedia's iRig range has included microphones and audio interfaces in the past, but now the company is looking to make life easier for musicians, live bloggers, podcasters and creators with one device that combines the two.

Roland has announced the FP-E50, a portable piano and creativity workstation that's designed as an easy intro for beginners while including enough advanced features to keep the pros happy, including Roland's flagship synthesis engine.

There's often quite a price premium for folks who opt for hi-res portable audio. Indeed, the company who kicked off personal groove machines has been known to charge a small fortune – which makes the latest Walkman something of a pleasant surprise.

Astell&Kern has launched a combined a digital audio player and desktop headphone amplifier that's built around a dual-tube Triple Amp System and is the first product to feature the latest flagship DAC from ESS.

The world's greatest living musical genius (IMHO) is mastering an extraordinary new instrument: a dance-controlled human pipe organ with a built-in drum kit, built from scratch every night in real time, with the sonic horsepower of a football crowd.

It's ironic that while violins are popular instruments for children to learn to play, they can also be pricey. The Montreal-based AVIVA Young Artists Program has set out to change that, by creating an inexpensive yet nice-sounding 3D-printed violin.

Many mobile devices either rock a poor quality audio jack or don't have one at all, so if you want to plug in your favorite legacy ear candy you'll need a USB DAC. Luxury audio brand Astell&Kern's cable DAC has just entered its third generation.

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.