Music

Like many folks, when I was a youngster I used to wear lots of button badges to proudly show what bands I liked. Imagine how cool it would be to allow friends to plug a set of earphones into your badge and let them listen to your favorite bands too. That's exactly what the Playbutton MP3 player will allow you to do. Each device will carry one album's worth of music, have controls on the back to play and skip tracks and adjust EQ, and contain a Li-ion battery for up to five hours of continuous playback. Read More

Probably the most famous example of a twin neck guitar is the Siamese SG used by the likes of Jimmy Page and Don Felder – the Gibson EDS-1275. With its new Doubleneck guitar, Veillette Guitars has managed to narrow the gap between the two necks in a lightweight package to offer a more comfortable experience for the player. Angular bridges also mean that the guitarist can pick hard or strum wildly on the upper 12-string section without fear of accidentally encroaching on the 6-string's domain. Read More

Not too long ago, Gizmag featured a futuristic digital guitar which replaced the strings of a traditional axe with rows of six buttons on the neck and a resistive touch interface for tweaking tones. Now, the designer has announced that a production model is available for pre-order. The internals have been upgraded, the touchscreen in now capacitive, there's now an onboard polyphonic synthesizer, and the digitar has been given a name – the Kitara. Read More

When you’re desperate to hear the latest tune on your iPod or iPhone, the last thing you want is to miss it while you spend valuable seconds or even minutes untangling your earbuds – especially when your fingers are frozen. Zipbuds from DGA feature a tangle-resistant zipper-integrated cable that retains its flexibility, but helps avoid that frustrating tangled mess of wires that constitute many people’s earbuds when they first locate them. Read More

Although guitar legend Eric Clapton has auctioned off instruments from his personal collection before, next year's sale will mark the first time that he's made some of his amps available, too. Players looking to grab a slice of Slow Hand tone, fans of the man they called God, or music memorabilia collectors will all get the chance to bid on over 70 of the icon's own guitars and 70 of his amps. Donations from other famous musicians will also go under the hammer, with all profits going to the substance abuse center in Antigua that Clapton founded in the late 1990s. Read More

The Q2 Internet Radio asks users to boil down the thousands of available online radio stations and choose just four. This may appear to limit choice, but actually reflects the fact that most of us only regularly listen to a few stations anyway. The device also does away with display screens and has only one button – an on/off switch. To change a station, you tip it onto another of its sides. To increase volume, you raise the front of the unit, and raise the back to lower it. I've been given the chance to take one for a test run, so read on for my thoughts. Read More

The rhythmic fretwork of the bass guitarist is almost always an essential element in modern music, but when it comes to effects processors, most pedals seem to head for lead guitar stardom. DigiTech is about to treat the rich and versatile electric bass sound to a new multi-effects unit that puts hundreds of sounds, effects, amplifiers and speaker cabinets at a bass player's disposal. Read More

Until now, the most democratic way to deal with the choice of office music has been to let people take turns. Given the likely variety of musical tastes in most offices, this means you’ll be happy for a short period each week and possibly wanting to cram cotton buds in your ears for the remainder. In an effort to come up with a better solution, the folks at Swedish company BREAKFAST have created a device designed to maintain musical democracy, while keeping everyone happy at the same time. Read More

The Internet has opened up a brave new radio world to listeners who otherwise suffer airwave restrictions. With tens of thousands of stations now pumping out just about every kind of music imaginable around the clock, tuning in can be overwhelming and complicated. The Q2 Internet Radio from Armour Home Electronics offers to make the process a whole lot easier and a lot more fun. Read More