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

MusicRadarGear

IK Multimedia launches flagship amp and effects modeller that lets you run four Tone Models simultaneously: “The complete Tonex rig on a single pedalboard”

September 15

The evolution of IK Multimedia’s Tonex ecosystem continues apace with the launch of its flagship amp modeller , a unit that of course brings with it thousands of guitar amp sounds and thousands of effects, cab sims, and

Electric guitars & amps Pedals & effects

Read at MusicRadar ↗

ScenesPre-order the upgraded EarthQuaker Easy Listening now Juno Daily

DAW & pluginsMorphulus updates Spectrus to v1.6.0 - New NAM Loader, Vintage Opto Phaser, 2 Amps, 3 Distortion Pedals KVR Audio News

“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

GuitarsGear News: Positive Grid Announces Spark PEDAL Bass Musician Magazine

GuitarsPositive Grid Announces Spark PEDAL Premier Guitar

We review the Positive Grid Spark Pedal Amp and Effects Modeler: “There’s a lot to love here — the fact that it costs under $200 makes it all the more impressive”

GuitarsWe review the Positive Grid Spark Pedal Amp and Effects Modeler: “There’s a lot to love here — the fact that it costs under $200 makes it all the more impressive” Guitar Player

One letter a week, in your inbox.