Guitar

Boss has added a new desktop model to its impressive Katana range of app-enhanced modeling amplifiers for electric guitar and bass. The 35-W Air EX allows for wireless connection between instrument and combo amp, and can also run on batteries.

The Made-in-Mexico Vintera line is only four years old, but Fender has overhauled it anyway. We've had the quirky 70s Strat for a week, and at less than half the cost of an American Vintage II, it plays beautifully and presses all the retro buttons.

For more than 35 years the NS-2 stomp has been an effective set-and-forget solution to background noise in an electric guitarist's signal chain. Now it's being joined by a "highly tunable" next-gen noise suppressor and gate called the NS-1X.

Boss has added an interesting new amplifier to its acoustic range. The AC-22LX battery-powered compact amplifier for acoustic instruments rocks Air Feel processing for faithful natural tones at performance volumes.

Shenzhen's Natasha Guitars has launched a Kickstarter for a bamboo smart guitar called the NBSG that comes with sound processing brains offering different tone presets, onboard effects, app control, and wireless output.

Having finally accepted that I'm destined for singer/songwriter territory rather than shredville, I've been feeling a little Gretsch-curious lately. So I decided to spend some time with the Rolls-Royce of the range and something more affordable.

For more than 10 years, Loog has been making learning to play a guitar a less daunting task for youngsters. Now the company has teamed up with Fender for a pint-sized Tele and Strat – each rocking three strings, a single pickup and a short skinny neck.

To mark what would have been the 100th birthday of the Father of Loud, Marshall has introduced the Studio JTM series, an amp head with matching speaker cabinets plus a combo amp – all looking like they might have stepped straight out of 1960s.

Learning to play guitar is now much easier thanks to a wealth of online tutorials, but many find mirroring onscreen chops tough going. With Fret Zealot, students follow lights on the neck to learn fretting positions for chords, scales and songs.

A quirky project has landed on Indiegogo that may appeal to aggressive guitar players who constantly see their picks fly off into the crowd. Coming from Acorn Amplifiers, it's a stompbox that dispenses a new pick at the push of a footswitch.

Back in 2017, HyVibe launched an Indiegogo for a hybrid acoustic with built-in digital smarts. This was followed by a kit to give such superpowers to any acoustic. Now the company is back with an Essential system that players can install themselves.

Shoegaze heroes My Bloody Valentine are one of the loudest bands on Earth, so much so their wall of sound has even caused buildings to crack. Chief noisemaker Kevin Shields has now made a pedal so you can DIY your own guitar-triggered home demolition.