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

Guitar PlayerGuitars

Dave Grohl on how Nirvana were blindsided by the success of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: “We played that song for the first time and the audience went nuts”

September 14

Dave Grohl didn’t realize “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was destined to become the defining song of Nirvana ’s career when the band recorded it for their 1991 album Nevermind . In fact, Grohl thought two other songs from the

Read at Guitar Player ↗

Dave Mustaine names four bands that could reshape thrash metal’s Big Four — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax: “I believe there are ways to do it”

GuitarsDave Mustaine names four bands that could reshape thrash metal’s Big Four — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax: “I believe there are ways to do it” Guitar Player

GuitarsBilly Gibbons and Dion had made music together but never met — until a remarkable backstage encounter this Saturday: “We instantly bonded” Guitar Player

GuitarsWarren Haynes on the Allman Brothers vs. the Grateful Dead: “The Dead wait for the magic to occur. The Allmans force it to happen” Guitar Player

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

Dave Grohl on how Nirvana were blindsided by the success of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: “We played that song for the first time and the audience went nuts”

Related

GuitarsDave Mustaine names four bands that could reshape thrash metal’s Big Four — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax: “I believe there are ways to do it” Guitar Player

GuitarsBilly Gibbons and Dion had made music together but never met — until a remarkable backstage encounter this Saturday: “We instantly bonded” Guitar Player

GuitarsWarren Haynes on the Allman Brothers vs. the Grateful Dead: “The Dead wait for the magic to occur. The Allmans force it to happen” Guitar Player

GuitarsThe Beatles share an early recording of “Norwegian Wood” — Hear the moment the sitar changed rock Guitar Player

Guitars"Money, it's a gas…” Pink Floyd collaborates with the UK's Royal Mint to release $6,400 18-carat gold guitar pick Guitar Player

GuitarsGuitar Center is inviting players to test its new in-house guitar brand – but you’ll need to sign an NDA Guitar Player