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Fender invites guitarists into an Alternate Reality with Powercaster release

Paul Ridden March 11, 2019

Fender may be best known for its Strat and Tele guitars, but the instrument maker isn't afraid to try something new. Last year's Parallel Universe series mashed up bits from different Fender guitars, and now it's time to take a trip to an Alternate Reality with the release of the Powercaster.

The first of Fender's limited run Alternate Reality series: The Powercaster

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Zoom's latest guitar interface puts tiny tone power in your pocket

Paul Ridden February 6, 2019

Zoom has launched a new USB audio interface for guitarists called the GCE-3, and it's tiny. Designed to unobtrusively fit in a pocket or gig bag, the interface works with the company's amp emulation and effects simulation software so players can plug in and capture riff creations while on the move.

Pocket-friendly tone monster from Zoom named the GCE-3 Guitar Lab Circuit Emulator

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Pedal Pods can grow with your stomp FX collection

Paul Ridden January 30, 2019

Pedal Pods are standalone modules that sit under a stomp, with built-in cabling and adjustable power. Pods lock with other Pods to form bigger and bigger pedalboards.

Each Pedal Pods module has its own adjustable power source and locks with other Pods to ...

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Line 6 aims Relay wireless guitar system at the pedalboard

Paul Ridden January 29, 2019

Back in 2016, Line 6 said that its Relay G10 wireless system was not only the most advanced in the industry, but was as easy to use as an instrument cable. Now there's a new flavor designed to integrate into a pedalboard – the Relay G10S.

The Relay G10S rocks a fresh stompbox design that's ready for the pedalboard

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Fender gives a Telecaster the heart of an acoustic

Paul Ridden January 22, 2019

Fender may be forever associated with Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars, but that hasn't stopped the company experimenting with form and function over the years. Now Fender has come up with an acoustic guitar that can be an electric when you need it – the American Acoustasonic Telecaster.

Players can swap between acoustic and electric tones, or create something inbetween, with the American Acoustsonic ...

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Study suggests wood type has little effect on guitars' sound

Ben Coxworth January 21, 2019

According to many musicians, in order to have the best sound possible, an acoustic guitar has to be made from the "right" type of wood. Unfortunately, such wood often comes from endangered, unsustainably-harvested trees. A new study, however, suggests that wood type makes essentially no difference.

The study found that guitars made from six different types of wood were almost identical in ...

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Concept guitar blends string picking with Pi-powered synthesis

Paul Ridden January 21, 2019

Merging synthesized sounds with rocking riffs on a guitar might involve installing a MIDI pickup, or plugging into a synth stomp box. Now Lucem Custom Instruments has collaborated with Tracktion Corporation for an interesting concept guitar that has a BioTek 2 synthesizer built in.

The Spirit Animal concept from Lucem Custom Instruments and Tracktion Corporation

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IK Multimedia releases one guitar interface to rule them all

Paul Ridden January 17, 2019

There are a number of devices available that allow musicians to connect a guitar to a computer. But IK Multimedia says its Axe I/O is the high-end audio interface that guitar and bass players have been waiting for.

The Axe I/O guitar/bass interface from IK Multimedia

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Music gear oddities that are either mold breakers or utter madness

Paul Ridden December 31, 2018

Earlier this month we had a look at some of the music gear highpoints of 2018. Though this showed that hardware and software innovation continues apace, there's nothing like a taste of oddness to serve as a reminder that gear makers can still think way outside of the box.

The Theresyn is a hybrid of a traditional theremin and an analog synthesizer, with a few ...

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Rockin the best music gear of 2018

Paul Ridden December 14, 2018

The last year has seen iconic brand Gibson collapse and be reborn, Fender experiment with hybrid guitar forms, and Moog release its first analog polysynth in decades. It's been a rollercoaster of highs and lows, but we're focusing on the positive for a look back at music gear highlights in 2018.

The mighty Moog One is among our picks of 2018's best music gear