Successful Soundchecks: 5 Essential Tips for Bands

Soundchecks? What's the big deal? Just turn up and make a bit of noise right? Wrong! We've put together 5 essential soundcheck tips for gigging musicians to ensure a smooth soundcheck!

Best Free Tape Simulation Plug-ins: Our Top 9 freeware saturation effects

Need some analogue warmth on your tracks but don't have money to spend? Thankfully, there are some great free plug-ins out there to help you get some of good ol' tape mojo going on in your DAW!

Poll: Is the analog mixer dead for live sound?

When was the last time you mixed live on an analogue desk? And when was the last time you saw an analogue desk either at a club or venue? Is the analogue mixer dead for live sound?

Fender Telecaster vs Harley Benton TE: Can you tell the difference?

YouTuber intheblues has done a blind test between the Fender Telecaster and Harley Benton TE-52 NA Vintage Series models. Can you tell which is which? Tell us in our poll.

Line 6 POD 20 years on: Will the kidney bean soon be ‘vintage’ gear?

The Line 6 POD is now over 20 years old! For many guitarists it was the first accessible amp modelling product. How well does the little red kidney bean fare in 2020?

Best guitar effect pedals 2019: Our Top 6 by Strymon, ThorpyFX, EHX, Boss, Origin, Wampler

What a year it's been for amazing effect pedals! We sifted through all the releases in 2019 to come up with the best 5 (ok, 6) best guitar effect pedals we think you need to have on your pedalboard.

Best Guitar Amplifiers 2019: Top 5 new amps by Boss, Friedman, Yamaha, Mesa/Boogie, Victory

The last 12 months has seen a slew of new guitar amplifiers, with loads of cool new valve, digital and hybrid gear released. Here are our picks from a packed field: The Best New Guitar Amps 2019!

Best free guitar pedal plug-ins: Our Top 8 freeware virtual stompboxes!

There are some awesome virtual stompboxes out there that cost absolutely nothing - if you know where to look! Here are our Top 8 Best Free Guitar Pedal Plug-ins!

Best Electric Guitars 2019: 10 new guitars that pulled our strings this year

The Best Electric Guitars 2019! What a year it's been for an instrument that's often reported to be dead (or dying). Here is our roundup of the hottest and best value guitars from the past 12 months.

Best Christmas gifts for guitarists: Top 10 stocking fillers for guitar addicts

Need some suggestions for Christmas gifts or stocking fillers for the plucker in your house? Here are our Top 10 gift ideas for guitarists - and you won't need to break the bank to buy any of these!

Top 7 Free Amp Sims: The best freeware virtual guitar amp plug-ins

Isn't it amazing how good the quality of amp sims and virtual guitar amplifiers has become? Here are 7 great-sounding free amp sims that won't cost you a thing - download 'em now!

15 guitar myths that drive us all crazy – busted!

In a world of Internet and instant access to information, you would think guitarists would be enlightened. Actually it turns out we will believe any old rubbish!

Top 5 Free Compressors: The best freeware plug-ins that sound as good as hardware

The best 5 free compressor plug-ins! Grab yourself some excellent compression tools to sweeten up your mix - and these are all available for free, right now!

CNC versus handmade guitars: Is “Handmade” really better?

Are modern day CNC tools a far better option for manufacturing guitars? Or does the boutique appeal of handmade instruments still resonate with guitar players. Is 'mojo' in the building process?

Which Squier Strat would a Fender Master Builder buy?

Philip McKnight poses the question "What Squier Would A Fender Master Builder Buy?" to Fender Master Builder Ron Thorn.

Will Raspberry Pi soon replace our DAWs?

The Raspberry Pi miniature computer is more powerful than ever in its fourth generation. Could it become an option as a DAW computer for music applications in the near future?

Craig’s Production Tips #4: Try starting your mix in mono!

Here's a cool trick to try next time you're beginning a song project, one that can help you get you a clearer, more expressive mix at the end of the process! It's simple but enlightening...

Give your Fender Stratocaster the ‘Gilmour’ mod with 7-way switching!

The "7-way switch" or "Gilmour mod" is the easiest and most effective modification for your Stratocaster, giving you additional tones with minimal effort. Here's how (it's way easier than you think).

Amp modelling vs Tube Amps: Has ‘digital’ won the guitar tone war?

The "amp modelling vs tube amp" debate has been heating up of late: Have amp modellers finally won the war? Are tube amps out-dated? Don't write off tube amps just yet, we say...

10 effects pedals so rare that you may have never seen them before

Josh Scott has made a new video about his Top 10 rare effects pedals, it has some really weird and whacky effects and I bet you may not have seen any of them before now.

Craig’s Production Tips #3: Build an amp sim cabinet with multi-stage EQ

Got the right amp sim but can’t find the right virtual cabinet? Make your own using multi-stage EQ! It's easy and will get you a sound tailored to your song - without mucking about with IRs.

Craig’s Production Tips #2: Use “glue” compression to subtly upgrade your mix

Your last mix sound sounds great. Kinda. Lots of signals sound good individually but don't coalesce into the mix you'd hoped for. "Glue" compression can make a huge difference - here's how.

Craig’s Production Tips #1: Balancing mixes without level changes

In the first of a new series of production tips for musicians, Craig Anderton writes about how to balance audio in a mix - without the volume fader. Try it out on your next project!

Does the Marshall 1960AX 4X12 cab sound like the ’70s original?

The classic Marshall 1960A slanted 4x12 is known for its rock tone and great bottom end. But do the modern day versions sound as good as the vintage originals?