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About

XLR is a magazine, a radar and a diary about music gear and the making of music — for the people who make records and put on shows, wherever they do it.

The name is the three-pin connector that every signal in the business passes through: the microphone on stage and in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX cable that runs the lights. Studio, stage and lighting rig share it, and so does this magazine. Every few hours XLR collects what the makers shipped, what the reviewers heard, what the studios and the touring crews are doing, which producers and collectives are surfacing and what they are saying — synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lights, the rooms and the people — from a few hundred sources in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and more, then plots what is moving. The editor writes a letter every few days. Nothing is sold here; when a link leads to a shop, that is the maker's shop, not ours.

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Guitar WorldGuitars

“I don’t want to say it was a dirty little secret. Insiders knew, but I wasn’t really allowed to talk about it”: Why Anthrax’s riff-writing isn’t like other bands’

September 13

With their 12th studio album, Cursum Perficio , arriving next week, thrash metal titans Anthrax are showing no signs of slowing down. Their Jackson V-touting guitarist, Scott Ian, has often served as the band’s figurehea

Read at Guitar World ↗

“That energy popped back like we had been playing all the time. Nobody was rusty, man. Everybody was on – like we'd just got off the J.B.’s bus!” How Bootsy Collins and his James Brown alumni brought the J.B.’s back to life for the Superbad soundtrack

Guitars“That energy popped back like we had been playing all the time. Nobody was rusty, man. Everybody was on – like we'd just got off the J.B.’s bus!” How Bootsy Collins and his James Brown alumni brought the J.B.’s back to life for the Superbad soundtrack Guitar World

“There’s the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, and Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass. But there’s no mother of bluegrass”: How Lindsay Lou, Molly Tuttle and an all-star cast united to uncover the women behind bluegrass’ biggest songs

Guitars“There’s the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, and Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass. But there’s no mother of bluegrass”: How Lindsay Lou, Molly Tuttle and an all-star cast united to uncover the women behind bluegrass’ biggest songs Guitar World

“When I’ve played the guitars of people I’ve looked up to, it always feels like there’s DNA on them – like you’re getting a visit from your heroes”: Marcus King on his new signature Epiphone acoustic, playing Tiger, and his brotherhood with Brent Hinds

Guitars“When I’ve played the guitars of people I’ve looked up to, it always feels like there’s DNA on them – like you’re getting a visit from your heroes”: Marcus King on his new signature Epiphone acoustic, playing Tiger, and his brotherhood with Brent Hinds Guitar World

“We tell our guitar techs we’re sorry profusely. I feel horrible for making theirlives miserable”: Mark Holcomb on how Periphery harnesses super-heavy guitars for a super-heavy album that takes djent to a dark place

Guitars“We tell our guitar techs we’re sorry profusely. I feel horrible for making theirlives miserable”: Mark Holcomb on how Periphery harnesses super-heavy guitars for a super-heavy album that takes djent to a dark place Guitar World

“I walked into the studio, and she was playing the song that we were going to cut that day. It’s hard when you’re in a room with greatness like that”: Steve Lukather recalls his first studio session with Joni Mitchell

Guitars“I walked into the studio, and she was playing the song that we were going to cut that day. It’s hard when you’re in a room with greatness like that”: Steve Lukather recalls his first studio session with Joni Mitchell Guitar World

“Gibbons has used his frequently on ZZ Top albums – he often plays through two at once”: Meet the world’s first ‘pedal’ – a steampunk wonderland you need Windex to use

Guitars“Gibbons has used his frequently on ZZ Top albums – he often plays through two at once”: Meet the world’s first ‘pedal’ – a steampunk wonderland you need Windex to use Guitar World

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