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· Trade shows and launch events, this week's stories from each corner of the industry, and what its press is covering.

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How records get made in 2026 from the industry's own reports

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About

XLR is a magazine, a radar and a diary about music gear and the making of music — for the people who make records and put on shows, wherever they do it.

The name is the three-pin connector that every signal in the business passes through: the microphone on stage and in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX cable that runs the lights. Studio, stage and lighting rig share it, and so does this magazine. Every few hours XLR collects what the makers shipped, what the reviewers heard, what the studios and the touring crews are doing, which producers and collectives are surfacing and what they are saying — synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lights, the rooms and the people — from a few hundred sources in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and more, then plots what is moving. The editor writes a letter every few days. Nothing is sold here; when a link leads to a shop, that is the maker's shop, not ours.

← XLR Archive

Acoustic GuitarGuitars

Ask the Expert: Why Do Acoustic Guitar Bodies Taper from Heel to Tail?

September 2

Other than comfort, does body taper change the sound in a meaningful way?

Electric guitars & amps Acoustic guitars Studios & rooms Guides and How To Guitar Care and Repair Spring 2026

Read at Acoustic Guitar ↗

GuitarsMaisy Owen’s Mesmerizing Songcraft | Acoustic Guitar Sessions Acoustic Guitar

GuitarsHow Ben Garnett Turns the Acoustic Guitar into the Engine of a New Kind of String Band Acoustic Guitar

Makers2nd Generation of Guitars Featuring TransAcoustic™ Technology Expanded with New Lineup Yamaha TransAcoustic Guitar TAG1 C, TAS1 C, TAG1E, and TAS1E Yamaha Music News

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

Ask the Expert: Why Do Acoustic Guitar Bodies Taper from Heel to Tail?

Related

GuitarsMaisy Owen’s Mesmerizing Songcraft | Acoustic Guitar Sessions Acoustic Guitar

GuitarsHow Ben Garnett Turns the Acoustic Guitar into the Engine of a New Kind of String Band Acoustic Guitar

Makers2nd Generation of Guitars Featuring TransAcoustic™ Technology Expanded with New Lineup Yamaha TransAcoustic Guitar TAG1 C, TAS1 C, TAG1E, and TAS1E Yamaha Music News

MakersDigital Piano TORCH T01 and TransAcoustic™ Guitar TAG 3C/TAS 3C Win Prestigious Red Dot Award: Product Design 2026 Yamaha Music News

MakersHow to Record Electric Guitar at Home Universal Audio Blog

GuitarsMusicians and Their Thompson Guitars Acoustic Guitar