Ron and Russell Mail from Sparks in Tokyo, 2017. | Photo: Takahiro Kyono via Flickr (Wikimedia CC 3.0)
Milestones in Music History #55: Sparks, An Artful Act
On their tenth album, Elbow entertain from start to finish. | Photo: Press
Elbow Travel in Time Far Away from Guitar Rock
NEW GEAR 16/24: Jackson Soloist SL2, Celestion 100, Line 6 and Roland RD-08 Combos
The Music Man Custom Design Experience: a Customised StingRay Dream
Isn't it actually liberating and, in fact, likeably egalitarian that if someone wants to, they can present their work publicly, regardless of how technically perfect it is or is not? | Photo: Daniel Chekalov (Unsplash)
TOP 5 Reasons Why We Like "Weird" Voices
It is a true folk classic, having crossed continents and recorded by countless artists, who have all left their mark on it. | Photo: Gilles Péris via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED)
Story of a Hit #20: "House of the Rising Sun"
Lowden guitars are different from the products from American manufacturers in the same price range. They have a more "wooden" and "round" look to them. | Photo: Lowden Guitars
Legendary and Mythical Guitars #3: Lowden Guitars
Fifty-five minutes fly by in a flash and help us recap Sum 41's musical evolution. | Photo: Travis Shinn
Sum 41 Balancing between Heaven and Hell one Last Time
NEW GEAR 15/24: Explorers Gripen, Keeley Drives, Mesa Boogie Cabinets, Pearl Snares and Warwick Basses
Jens Ritter Encore: a $40,000 Deluxe Amp
OD Guitars: Guitars Designed by Artificial Intelligence
Every musician needs visibility and relevance in the scene. The easiest thing is always to shock or at least arouse passionate reactions. But what if millions of other people on social media are trying to do the same? | Photo: Georg Arthur Pflueger (Unsplash)
TOP 5 Negative Trends of the Contemporary Music Scene
The Hex bass has a hexagonal shape with a shorter lower bout for easier access to higher positions – a design that is certainly true to the name Brute, as it is remotely reminiscent of mid-twentieth century Brutalist architecture. | Photo: Instagram Brute Bass Guitars
Dreamstruments #27: Brute Bass Guitars
B. B. King je known for his melodic vibrato. | Photo: Foto: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
(Un)usual Guitar Techniques #1: Vibrato
The duo chose songs that make you dance, and it's almost impossible to sit still while listening. | Photo: archiv
Rod Stewart and Jools Holland Struck by Swing Fever
NEW GEAR 14/24: Godin Lerxst, Mooer Prime S1, Drive EBS and Roland LX Pianos
Nobody knows what exactly Frank does for a living, but he has a spare cable in his van just in case you find out that your guitar is making some weird noise just before a gig. | Photo: Adi Goldstein (Unsplash)
TOP 5 Friends You Will Need as a Band
Paul Simon wrote the song when he was only 21 years old, and it's early proof of his songwriting talent. | Photo: Bob Bogaerts (PDM 1.0 DEED)
Story of a Hit #19: "The Sound of Silence"
Lonnie Donegan riding on the Rock Island Line in 1956. | Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia
Milestones in Music History #54: Lonnie Donegan, The Man Who Shaped Modern Music
The Iron Maiden frontman offers a record that's perfected down to the last detail. | Photo: adels
Bruce Dickinson's Solo Album Storms with Dark Emotions
NEW GEAR 13/24: Victory, Epiphone Firebird, Line 6 POD Express and Katana:Go
Jack White and his Fender Low Rider Telecaster Modification
A favourite target of criticism by all bass "professors" of merits – the thumb that is not neatly hidden behind the neck and is obnoxiously poking above the E string. | Photo: Artmaster
TOP 5 Bass Playing Techniques Forbidden by Academics
It's probably time to say that major chords are not "cheerful" and that minor keys can work well even in very positive compositions. | Photo: Bailey Zindel (Unsplash)
Music is Not Rocket Science #3: The Myth of Happy Major and Sad Minor