XLR

Latest

On the calendar

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

On view

This week, from that corner the newest stories from the corner of the industry you picked

The wire their own posts, translated

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

Sources

Fetched every three hours, linked to the original

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

Musician on a MissionVoices

Cook vs Chef

August 26

By now, you’ve probably heard the advice that you should use reference tracks if you want a great mix that translates everywhere. References can give you objective clarity about what a finished mix in your genre actually

Read at Musician on a Mission ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

Cook vs Chef

Related

VoicesWhy More Reverb Won’t Add Depth Musician on a Mission

VoicesWhy Your Drums Still Don’t Hit Musician on a Mission

VoicesWhy Your Mix Has No Front and Back Musician on a Mission

VoicesWhy Your Mix Sounds Flat Musician on a Mission

VoicesWho cares about mastering? Musician on a Mission

VoicesTop 10 Music Production Courses Online Musician on a Mission