CATEGORIES

Simon Doty

The Beacon Knee Deep In Sound, 2021

Hannah Peel

Peel’s new album, Fir Wave, sees her resampling, re-imagining and re-dreaming the music of celebrated electronic pioneer Delia Derbyshire and the Radiophonic Workshop. Hamish Mackintosh found out more

Andrew Hung

Left dissatisfied by his debut solo debut album Realisationship, Andrew Hung felt the need to brush up on his craft and break through some mental barriers. Danny Turner discusses the follow-up, Devastations

40 YEARS OF TECHNO PRODUCTION

Since its birth in the early 1980s, techno has taken over the world and remains one of dance music’s most enduring genres. This issue, we delve back through nearly 30 years’ worth of interviews to discover how the changing face of technology has shaped the sound of techno

Modal Electronics say the Skulpt SE is the most affordable MPE hardware synth out there

Modal Electronics have taken their original Skulpt portable synth back to the drawing board and returned with the new Skulpt SE.

Oramics

From founding the Radiophonic Workshop at the BBC to her unique Oramics machine, Daphne Oram was a pioneer

Strymon NightSky £439

Bruce Aisher explores the infinite world of modulated reverb with Strymon’s new time-warped reverberator

Squarepusher

Feed Me Weird Things Rephlex, 1996

Telex

Belgian trio Telex was one of the first to bring electronic pop to the European hit parade. Danny Turner chats to Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers about the band’s past and present

Torpedos Away

In collaboration with Rabea Massaad, this compact guitar amp from Victory combines versatile high-gain overdrive with world-class cabinet simulations. Stand back!

SIGNATURE TONE

Signature guitars can be odd enough, but signature pickups? If only we could all sound like our heroes by just installing a set of their pickups. Dave Burrluck gives it a try…

ROYAL CHARTER

Queen guitarist Brian May has had his own range of guitars for some time, based around his own Red Special. But now there’s a new addition to the range, designed by US singer and guitarist Arielle

STEVE CROPPER

He infallibly appears on ‘greatest guitarists of all time’ lists, was part of the house band at Stax Records where he backed and wrote for soul legends such as Otis Redding, Sam And Dave and Wilson Pickett, and had huge hits with Green Onions, Time Is Tight and Soul Limbo with his band Booker T & The MG’s. He now has a new solo album, Fire It Up, his first for a decade…

50 Architects Of The Electric Era

Since the earliest ‘Frying Pan’ models of the 1930s, pickup-loaded instruments have undergone constant evolution in the hands of almost a century of innovators. We celebrate the pioneers whose envelope-pushing ideas have changed the face of the electric guitar

Solid Opportunity

They may look almost identical, but it’s the body woods that make all the difference for this trio – and they’re outstandingly affordable, too

Go Big

The HX Stomp XL enters the Line 6 family, answering the call for increased switching flexibility over its smaller sibling, while retaining the powerful core of the larger floor-based Helix devices

How Acoustics Are Born

Taylor’s master luthier Andy Powers takes Jamie Dickson on the journey from prototype to production

Rick 'N' Roll

Martin Kelly, co-author of Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970, retraces the evolution of Rickenbacker guitars ahead of the release of his new book, which promises to finally nail down the brand’s vital history in full

Tear It Up

A bolt-on addition to the solidbody range? Like us, you might be surprised after hitching a ride with this low-priced Junior Jet Club…

Top Thirty

With a reputation for finely honed, modern and progressive guitars, Vigier is hardly a new maker. And with his Excalibur design celebrating a significant birthday, we take the start-up model out for a spin

The Rowdy Cousin

As the latest addition to the Acoustasonic family, this Jazzmaster pushed the design team in “different and interesting directions”. Fender’s Tim Shaw talks us through its creation

Ready, Steady…

As musicians gear up to get #BackToLive, Adam Goldsmith explains how he’s honing his practice regime and sight-reading in preparation

‘MARK I' MESA/BOOGIE

Vintage amp restorer Fabio Cutolo of FM Amps explains how he resurrected a ‘Mark I’ Mesa/Boogie by transforming it back into the original giant killer it once was in its glory days of the 1970s

STEVE CRADOCK

The Ocean Colour Scene man reflects on the mystique of flat-wound strings and recounts a lucky strike with some JCM800s

STEVE LUKATHER

Growing up in Los Angeles with school friends Steve, Jeff and Mike Porcaro, Steve Lukather would play on thousands of records and become part of the legendary rock band Toto. We hook up with Luke to talk about how The Beatles sowed the musical seed, learn about his stellar career, and the stunning new solo album, I Found The Sun Again

TAPESTRY OF TONE

Dale Wilson is one of the most sought-after master builders in Fender’s Custom Shop. We join him to hear how art and resonator history collided to inspire a unique Telecaster

Radioshop Loaded Pickguards

This hassle-free upgrade from Radioshop Pickups can transform the look and sound of virtually any S-type guitar

PIERRE BENSUSAN

When the world turned upside down last year, the French-Algerian DADGAD maestro was forced to abandon a mammoth North American tour. And yet his feeling of connectedness has only grown since – and so maybe, he reflects, his latest album “could have not come at a better time…”

PERFECTLY FRANK ZAPPA

Towards the end of last year, a new documentary on the life and times of Frank Zappa was premiered in the United States and now, after a few months’ wait, Zappa is available for fans to stream in the UK. We go behind the scenes and speak about the man and his music with the film’s director, Alex Winter, and producer Ahmet Zappa, as well as former Zappa band guitarists Steve Vai and Mike Keneally

The Man Behind The Signature

We catch up with Eric Steckel while he’s hunkered down in LA and waiting to get back on the road