Fender American Performer Series new for 2019 – Too much choice?

The news is out: Fender is about to announce its new American Performer Series for 2019, including Stratocasters, Telecasters, a Mustang, Jazzmaster, P-Bass, Mustang Bass and Jazz Bass models!

Modal CRAFTsynth 2.0 futuristic monophonic wavetable synth that’s not a kit

Wait a minute this bears absolutely no resemblance to the original CRAFTsynth! CRAFTsynth 2.0 is not a fun little DIY synth it's a serious box of monophonic wavetable goodness so what's with the name?

’51 Telecaster PJ Bass: A bass guitar from Fender’s Parallel Universe

Is Fender closing out the Parallel Universe series with a bass? The intriguingly styled and well-specified ’51 Telecaster PJ Bass is possibly the last model in the series for 2018

Best free plug-ins this week: delay, synth pads, and a tremolo effect

Here's a collection of free plug-ins that were released throughout the week. We got Adam Monroe's Delay, a new Spitfire LABS instrument (Synth Pads), and a cool tremolo/modulation effect from NoiseAsh.

Maat thEQorange: the USD 990 linear-phase EQ for spendy professionals

Woah: a USD 990 price tag for a single EQ plug-in! What makes a software EQ justify a thousand dollars? According to Maat, this is the only linear-phase EQ without audible pre-echo...

Electro Harmonix: Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi, Nano Battalion and Flatiron Fuzz

Electro Harmonix has just announced the new Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi, Nano Battalion and Flatiron Fuzz pedals. Something for everyone and lots of dirt all round!

Maple on Maple: PRS SE Custom limited edition guitars for Europe

PRS Europe has just announced a new limited series of 'Maple on Maple' SE Custom guitars - the best part is perhaps that these limited editions cost the same as the standard versions.

Fender relaunches the Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster (a slight return)

Yet another Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster. Announced at Summer NAMM, this Mexico-built Strat comes in at well under a grand. Are you experienced enough to own one?

Chronoblob 2: the return of the blob delay

Chronoblob 2 is the much-anticipated sequel to the best digital delay Eurorack module in anyone's rack. It's now in stereo with infinite looping, tape pitch shifting and feedback that goes up to 11.

FabFilter Pro-Q 3 coming November 29 with dynamic EQ and per-band m/s

FabFilter will release Pro-Q 3 tomorrow, November 29. We are looking forward to finding out more about it, including important information like pricing and upgrade paths.

Horizon Devices Nano Attack: A single-knob Djent box?

The latest pedal from Mish Mansoor's Horizon Devices is a single-knob affair based around their popular Precision Drive's ability to tighten your low-end signal. Perfect for Djent!

Markus 88: a spectral modelled Stage 88 electric piano

Sampleson has taken their Rhodes samples apart and found that they only need to tune sine waves to accurately recreate the entire spectrum of sound. Markus 88 is only 25MB and sounds like a 2GB instrument.

Uli Behringer updates us on the UB-Xa Oberheim OB-Xa clone

This particular labour of love is still some way off as Behringer engineers knuckle down to try to make some money to fund synthesizer passion projects such as the UB-Xa.

Gibson B.B. King “Lucille” ES limited edition – in Alpine White!

The Gibson B.B. King Lucille ES model gets a limited edition run for 2019 - in Alpine White! It's based on the famous instrument Mr King rescued from the flames...

Synthwatch: A synth you wear on your wrist

New on Kickstarter is the chunkiest, ugliest, most expensive and barely-functional musical wristwatch you could possibly imagine. Synthwatch - what are you all about?

Billy Corgan: “Paint colour changes the sound of a guitar”

Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan has, er, a unique take on the old "what guitar hardware sounds best" discussion, having gone on record stating that white guitars sound better to him...

Flow Motion FM Synth combines FM and subtractive synthesis in a very cool GUI

Waves have a go at making FM synthesis free flowing and easy with Flow Motion FM Synth and bolt in some analog style filtering for good measure. Does it sound as fabulous as it looks?

Chapman ML3 Modern Semi-Hollow Obsidian Burst: A USA Exclusive

Chappers has just announced his latest iteration of the ML3, but the only problem is that it is an American only exclusive model, so you'll need to get one from Guitar Centre in the US!

Cornell Amps Traveller 5: The ideal 5 Watt combo amplifier?

UK amp guru Denis Cornell has just announced his new boutique Traveller 5 all-valve combo amplifier - this thing has lots of appeal for players needing great but portable tube amp tones.

Joyo extends new R Series with R-03 UZI distortion pedal

The latest Joyo R-Series pedal has just been announced, along with a very decent-sounding official demo video. At a mere GBP 50, could the new R-03 UZI Distortion pedal rock your world?

Phil’s Cascade: a one-off tube colour and saturation box in plug-in form

Phil's Cascade recreates a boutique saturator best described as a hodge-podge of rare, aged analogue components made by brands like Philips, Sprague, Erdmet, Wima and PSW.

Alesis Strike Multipad: hit it, beat it, sample it, loop it

The performance pad controller is back with a sampling audio engine, on-screen editing, triggers, 9 velocity sensitive pads and audio looping in a device that you beat with sticks.

EMMA Electronic ND-1 Navigator: A new analogue/digital hybrid delay pedal

EMMA Electronic brings us the ND-1 Navigator, a delay pedal with an analogue signal path and digital control that provides plenty of options without forcing you to navigate cryptic menus.

WaslioFM: easy FM synthesis with neon highlights make for an 80s-tastic plugin

With its arcade style interface and retro 80's vibe WaslioFM ticks the right nostalgia boxes. But with multiple unison modes and detuning of 8 voices per operator it's futuristic enough to make it fresh and ...