About us

gearnews.com is the go-to blog with red-hot, up-to-the-second news for musicians, producers and engineers.

We work with well-informed sources, and constantly scan the worldwide web for leaks, rumours and exciting news. We have high editorial standards for content creation and use the utmost care. We won’t publish the typical soulless industry press releases or boring advertorial. That’s not our thing.

Who are we?

We are proper gear nerds. We’re into anything that’s got to do with music and studio equipment. That’s why you won’t find just news here, but also the latest buzz and rumours, columns and tips for musicians. gearnews.com is always highly topical and transparent. Our authors work independently. Manufacturer’s opinions will be labelled accordingly.

A word about the business side of things: Gearnews is part of Musikernetzwerk, a network of websites for musicians, producers, DJs, audio and live engineers owned by Remise 3 Medienservice GmbH, a daughter company of Thomann. Other sites in the Musikernetzwerk (which translates into English as ‘musicians’ network’) include our sister Gearnews sites in German and Spanish, as well as other German-language sites like bonedo.de and dj-lab.de. We link to affiliate partner pages – including Thomann and Plugin Boutique – and receive income from our readers’ purchases there. This income helps finance our site.

While we have strong links to Thomann, we’re editorially independent from the company. That includes Thomann’s own inhouse brands like Harley Benton and t.akustik. We’re committed to reporting on and reviewing Thomann’s products objectively and fairly, just as we do with any product from any other manufacturer. Your trust in our objectivity and transparency about what we do is incredibly important to us. If you have any questions, please contact the editorial team here.

So, now that’s out of the way, here’s the team:

Stefan Heinrichs (editor-in-chief) | mail: sheinrichs (at) remise3 (com)

Jef Stone (Guitar) | mail: jef (at) gearnews (com)

I grew up in a house full of guitars, as my father was forever building electric guitars on the families kitchen table. I spent my teenage years trying to tame a 100 watt Marshall JCM 800 and matching 4 x 12 cab in a bedroom, only just large enough for a bed. I’d bought it not REALLY understanding exactly how loud 100 watts is. At this young age I started to experiment with recording and MIDI and cut my teeth on Pro 24 and Notator on an Atari synced to a Foster R8 with an MTC-1.

Playing in bands and working in recording studios for many years, I learned to mix, record and eventually worked as a sound engineer. I also worked for many of the UKs large pro audio retailers, where I helped to set up DAWs in everything from local studios, music technology colleges all the way through to world famous recording facilities like Air Studios and The Strongroom. As I couldn’t help myself, I even owned my own recording studio in London for a while. There I learnt a lot about recording guitars, dealing with bands and getting quality results anyhow.

Over the years I have acquired a very sizeable guitar collection, which includes many guitars that I have built myself. I’m a total hoarder of effect pedals and valve amps and I’m a certified guitar geek. So there are not many that I have not owned at least once. Whether Parker Fly guitars or Klon Centaur pedals, I’ve had them all. Now running the annual Analogue To Digital music show in the UK, plus the Vintage Guitar Fair, I get to be busy throughout the year and also get to rub shoulders with many other guitar lovers, luthiers, manufacturers and pro players.

My tastes in music includes everything from Dinosaur Jr to Squarepusher.

Stefan Wyeth (Studio Tech, Tips&Tricks) | mail: stefan (at) gearnews (com)

I grew up around music and the entertainment business studying several instruments at school, but it was computers and software that had the greatest impact on me. I learned early on that it could allow me to mimic some of the sounds I heard on my favorite records, and thus began the obsession. With my writing, it has always been a lifelong passion for me and I try my best to use my experience to breakdown barriers for readers and demystify different aspects of the music industry and make it easier for musicians to navigate and earn a living in the ever-changing tech-driven world in which we find ourselves.

Lasse Eilers (Keyboards, Synthesizers) | mail: lasse (at) gearnews (com)

Rob Puricelli (Synthesizers, Drums) | mail: rob (at) gearnews (com)

Once I’d heard ‘Are Friends’ Electric?” by Tubeway Army, I knew synthesizers would be a huge part of my life. Despite drums becoming my main instrument for many years, I dabbled and lusted after countless pieces of gear and started using computers to help me make my own music with a Commodore 64 and a copy of Electrosound.

Over the years, I eventually progressed to more professional tools and began to truly indulge my love of electronic music making, slowly building a collection of gear that covered most synthesis methods, from sampling to physical modelling and beyond. However, my love of the gear that soundtracked my formative years was strong and I was fortunate enough to be asked to work with the inventor of the Fairlight CMI on their more recent projects. This then led to me restoring Fairlight CMI’s, something I still do to this day.

My home studio is now filled with classic vintage gear of the 80s and 90s, as well as modern classics. In recent years, I have been producing podcasts for Sound On Sound, as well as writing articles for them and I also present a weekly live stream for the Pro Synth Network. I still drum, albeit now on e-Drum kits, which are far easier to move around and a lot quieter when practising! You can often find me delivering seminars & lectures and at various synth shows around the world, talking about and demonstrating iconic synths.

Julian Schmauch (Tech, Drums) | mail: julian (at) gearnews (de)

Julian Schmauch has been teaching music production and writing tutorials, workshops, and reviews for more than ten years. While his initial focus was writing for Bonedo, Germany’s biggest music production and music industry blog, he has also written for Sound on Sound, Production Expert, and a variety of music magazines. On Gearnews.com his main areas of expertise are all things Tech, with a focus on Apple, music streaming and electronic gadgets.

Adam Douglas (DJ, Keyboards, Synthesizers) | mail: adam (at) gearnews (com)

I’d always loved music but it was hearing Prince – and more importantly seeing his video for “1999” with the prominent placement of Oberheims – that I fell in love with synthesizers. My first was a Korg Poly-800 and I haven’t looked back since. These days my studio is full of mostly Japanese synths from the 1980s (I live in Japan, after all) but really, I love all kinds. Analog, digital, whatever.

My musical tastes tend towards the electronic. The first record I released was a Chicago acid throwback in 1993. Since then, I’ve done techno, breaks, drum and bass, dubstep and even Krautrock but the genre I keep coming back to is ambient. Leave me alone with a droning synth and I’m endlessly happy.

George Loveridge (Guitar, Bass) | mail: george (at) gearnews (com)

Having grown up surrounded by 1980s cassettes, Beach Boys CD’s and everything in between, it was only right I’d end up into music. I started learning the guitar aged 7 and since then, I’ve been hooked. I’ll listen to anything from 1939-1989, that’s my go to. Being born after the millennium, I suppose that’s quite unusual. Putting my playing to good measure, I’ve been a gigging guitarist in bands and duos for 5 years. Moreover, I have been teaching guitar since 2021 to a variety of students.

With students from age 7-70, I cover many styles and abilities. When I’m not writing for Gearnews, teaching or gigging, I’ll be writing for my own outlet, Driving Around as a motoring journalist. Being a motoring journalist and photographer allows me to review new cars, go on some pretty cool adventures and blag plenty of free days out.