Three pins, and nearly every signal in this business passes through them.

The magazine is named after the cable: the microphone in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX run that fires the lights. Studio, stage and rig share the same cable. Most magazines pick one of the three. This one covers all of it, because the people we read do too — the engineer mixing a record on Tuesday is on front of house by Saturday.

More than three hundred sources, in sixteen languages: makers and their release notes, reviewers who put a hand on the thing, studios and touring crews, the producers and collectives surfacing this month and the scenes they came out of. Synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lighting. What the trade is talking about is counted and plotted. The editor's letter has just started; it will find its rhythm.

For each story: a headline, a short excerpt, one picture and the link out. We never reprint the article, and the picture belongs to the maker or the photographer. A German review appears in German and a Japanese one in Japanese, as the writer published it; the link goes to the original.

Nothing is sold on this site. When a link leads to a shop, it is the maker's shop, not ours.

← XLR MAG Archive

Chicago Music ExchangeGear

Boutique Guitar Showcase | enTour 2026

09.08

Chicago Music Exchange is proud to once again host the Boutique Guitar Showcase enTour, returning for 2026 after six celebrated years.

Electric guitars & amps

Read at Chicago Music Exchange ↗

One letter a week, starting soon.

Latest

Boutique Guitar Showcase | enTour 2026

Related

GearBenson Amps | CME Exclusive Blue Floral Amplifiers Chicago Music Exchange

GearIntroducing | Frank Brothers Guitar Company Chicago Music Exchange

GearMarshall | 1959BJA Artist Signature Amp Chicago Music Exchange

GearFender & Squier | New Baritone Guitars for Summer 2026 Chicago Music Exchange

GearTwo-Rock Amplifiers At Chicago Music Exchange! | Two-Rock Explained Chicago Music Exchange

GearThe Rarest Guitar You've Never Heard Of - The Allure of Languedoc Guitars Chicago Music Exchange