Paul McCartney at 80: His instruments & amps from The Beatles to today

In the spirit of Paul McCartney's 80th birthday celebration this week, we look back at some of his favourite gear choices over the years.

MidiTraC: Roland JX-3P inspired polyphonic step-sequencer

MidiTrac is a project from Alfred Labs that's turning into a very interesting hardware polyphonic step-sequencer inspired by the Roland JX-3P 

Neumann NDH 20 studio/audiophile headphones – now in Black

Neumann NDH 20 is a set of closed-back headphones made out of sleek and lightweight aluminum with flat frequency response and high fidelity.

Fender Japan Traditional 60s Jazzmaster Wide-Range = JazzBlaster

Fender Japan Traditional 60s Jazzmaster HH Limited Run Wide-Range CuNiFe is an all-black JazzBlaster and will suit fans of Sonic Youth

XVive U6: Compact Wireless Microphone System for Video

The new Xvive U6 is a compact wireless microphone system for your DSLR camera or smartphone. Record wireless audio anywhere and with minimal fuss.

Gibson Custom Shop Tak Matsumoto 1955 Les Paul Goldtop

Gibson Custom Shop Tak Matsumoto 1955 Les Paul Goldtop a Murphy Lab aged recreation of his original '55 Goldtop. Exclusive to Japan and Asia markets

IK Multimedia AI Machine Modeling: Like Kemper for AmpliTube

IK Multimedia AI Machine Modeling is intended to integrate revolutionary amp modelling into AmpliTube. Coming soon, offering Kemper-like tone models

Samples of the week: Heavyocity Play it Forward v. 2022+ more

Samples of the week! We have a hitter from Heavyocity, the "pay-what-you-want" Play It Forward bundle with sounds supporting a great cause.

Synthux Academy Simple: Build your own synthesizer

Simple is a versatile DIY platform for synthesizer design for musicians who want to learn how to code and make their own instruments.

iZotope & Exponential Audio Sale: 80% off reverb plug-ins

Until the end of July, customers can save 80% on seven iZotope & Exponential Audio top-selling reverb plug-ins.

SSL Perfect Pairing Sale: up to 90% off 6 SSL plug-ins

The SSL Perfect Pairing Sale is another example of Solid State Logic dishing out heavy discounts for its in-house software.

Midweek Modular: Chaos, Euphoria and stereo oscillations

As Make Noise revealed its stereo VCO, CubuSynth gave us Chaos and ST Modular enjoyed some Euphoria. What other modular bits emerged this week?

XLN Audio Summer Sale: get up to 40% off all products

The XLN Audio Summer Sale sees the developer drop prices for all its effects and virtual instruments by up to 40% until July 31.

Harley Benton DC-60 Junior Heather Poly Mist and Polaris White

The Harley Benton DC-60 Junior is a double-cut design with an Alnico-5 dog ear P90 and is now available in Heather Poly Mist and Polaris White.

Soundtoys sale: save 75% on 6 effects plug-ins until July 24

This Soundtoys sale sees the renowned developer take as much as 75% off 6 effects plug-ins until July 24, 2022.

Fender John 5 Ghost Telecaster signature model to be released?

Is a Fender John 5 Ghost Telecaster all-white signature model in the pipeline? Internet rumours and a verbal confirmation from his tech suggest yes.

Guitar Gear Gems: Ghostron Traisia, Cordoba Stage and Fifty5 Overdrive

Guitar Gear Gems this week features the new ergonomic Ghostron Traisia, plus the Cordoba Stage electro-acoustic and the LPD Pedals Fifty5 Overdrive

Universal Audio ships SP-1 Matched Pair, more mics in 2022

Universal Audio started shipping the SP-1 Condenser Microphone matched pair of pencil microphones which it announced in February

Aly James Lab OB-Xtreme 2.0: Growly Oberheim infused synth emulation

For version 2.0, Aly James has reworked the OB-Xtreme softsynth for added fatness, increased distortion emulation and more OB-X and OB-Xa detail.

J. Rockett Audio Uni-Verb: Classic Univibe + Reverb

J. Rockett Audio Uni-Verb combining classic Univibe swirls with added '50s Spring Reverb, could this be the best Univibe clone for 2022?

CubuSynth Engine: Dual analogue VCO with chaos and wavefolding

The CubuSynth Engine places chaos at the centre of a complex, wavefolding dual cross-modulating voltage-controlled oscillator.

Best free plug-ins this week: Stepocea, Substrate, Bratwurst Fuzz

This week’s collection of free plug-ins includes a polyphonic synth with a twist, a subharmonic bass enhancer, and a fuzz with an attitude.

Make Noise XPO: Stereo Prismatic Oscillator with Vari-Timbre and Wavefolding

Make Noise has unveiled the XPO stereo oscillator, the perfect companion to the QPAS, X-PAN and Mimeophon as part of a stereo modular system.

Boss Katana MKII Firmware V2 – New effects, EQ and IR options

Boss Katana MKII Firmware V2 adds a whole host of free updates to the modelling guitar amp range, making them even better value than before