Guitar

Lava Music has spent the last few years impressing guitarists with a bunch of carbon fiber acoustic/smart guitars. Now the company has taken a bit of a left turn with a string-free touch-enabled digital oddity called the Genie.

You could argue that the American Ultra II is a blasphemy against the purity of Leo Fender's first masterpiece – or you could evaluate this guitar without the baggage of its heritage. Either way, it's certainly a fascinating and inspiring instrument.

Way back in 2016, Yamaha built an actuator into its new TransAcoustic line of acoustic guitars that produced reverb and chorus through the sound hole. The second generation has just launched, and now includes a built-in looper.

A little over 10 years ago, a Phoenix-based startup treated acoustic pickers to a bunch of effects directly through the sound hole courtesy of the smartphone-sized ToneWoodAmp. Now the much-improved second generation device has launched.

When on vacation, you probably don't want to heft around a 10-lb vintage Les Paul. A compact travel guitar could be an attractive alternative, but will you need to compromise on built-in tech? Not with the latest model from Mogabi.

Fender's original Mustang Micro was an impressive little headphone amplifier for silent practice and recording – but the brand-new Plus version is a remarkable upgrade that puts a ludicrous range of tone options at your fingertips.

The humble capo has graced the gig bags of performing musicians for decades, clamping down to change the overall key of a guitar in a single, swift motion. Now, a new take on the capo opens up whole new musical worlds of alternate tunings.

Join us on a trip through Fender's factory, Custom Shop, Master Builder department and head office, in celebration of a radically innovative instrument that continues to find new ways to move music forward, even seven decades after its launch.

John Lennon's 1964 Framus 5/024 Hootenanny famously played on the title track of The Beatles' 1965 album Help! – and believed lost for more than 50 years – is heading to auction next month, where it's expected to break records.

Eminent Technology has announced the Model Twenty Two – the "world's first flat panel active guitar speaker." Super-lightweight and about the size of a chunky picture frame, this 120-decibel oddity can now be your guitar amp, cab and FRFR speaker.

Positive Grid launched one of our favorite modeling practice amps back in 2019, in the shape of the Spark. The family got smaller members in 2022 and 2023, and now the company is going gigging with the Spark Live smart amp and PA system.

Back in 2012, Vox Amplification looked to its design history to launch a pair of travel guitars based on the classic 1960s Phantom and Teardrop shapes. With NAMM just around the corner, the company has refined the concept for the feature-packed APC-1.