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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.

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Digital Music NewsIndustry

Busta Rhymes Says Artists and Producers ‘Face a Very Similar Frustration’ with Streaming

September 14

Photo Credit: Busta Rhymes by Matt J. Carbone / CC by 2.0 Busta Rhymes says it’s still difficult for artists and producers alike to make money in streaming, outside of the world’s biggest acts. Hip-hop legend Busta Rhyme

Electric guitars & amps

Read at Digital Music News ↗

GuitarsGretsch's Unusual Folding Guitar That Beat The Travel Guitar Market By 40 Years: The Bikini [News] Ultimate Guitar

GuitarsAvantone Pro introduces GTR-100 Amp For Guitar Modelers Premier Guitar

“When I’ve played the guitars of people I’ve looked up to, it always feels like there’s DNA on them – like you’re getting a visit from your heroes”: Marcus King on his new signature Epiphone acoustic, playing Tiger, and his brotherhood with Brent Hinds

Guitars“When I’ve played the guitars of people I’ve looked up to, it always feels like there’s DNA on them – like you’re getting a visit from your heroes”: Marcus King on his new signature Epiphone acoustic, playing Tiger, and his brotherhood with Brent Hinds Guitar World

“We tell our guitar techs we’re sorry profusely. I feel horrible for making theirlives miserable”: Mark Holcomb on how Periphery harnesses super-heavy guitars for a super-heavy album that takes djent to a dark place

Guitars“We tell our guitar techs we’re sorry profusely. I feel horrible for making theirlives miserable”: Mark Holcomb on how Periphery harnesses super-heavy guitars for a super-heavy album that takes djent to a dark place Guitar World

“Gibbons has used his frequently on ZZ Top albums – he often plays through two at once”: Meet the world’s first ‘pedal’ – a steampunk wonderland you need Windex to use

Guitars“Gibbons has used his frequently on ZZ Top albums – he often plays through two at once”: Meet the world’s first ‘pedal’ – a steampunk wonderland you need Windex to use Guitar World

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