Music

11 must-have new music gadgets

by Mark Teo

Dive deep enough into any seasonal gift guide, and you’ll find reams of music gadgets. Mostly, these gadgets are useless: Believe their hype, and they improve the music-listening experience by ridding it of wires, adding more brushed steel, and coating it in layers of matte black paint. (Or, if we’re lucky, carbon fibre.) Eye candy as these creations may be, though, most music gadgets end up as doorstops—but some end up being life-changing. Here, inspired by the new Budweiser Crown, are 13 newfangled gadgets that are worth your time.

 

En&is megaphone

Yes, the whole putting-your-phone-into-a-plastic-cup is a well-known lifehack. But when it comes to raw volume, it’s hard to beat en&is’s gorgeous megaphone, which amplifies your phone by three times. The best part? There’s no electricity needed to power the megaphone, making it a perfect outdoor speaker.

 

Marshall Stanmore speaker

Sorry, Peavey, but there’s nothing more iconically rock ‘n’ roll than a Marshall stack. But while the Stanmore looks like something Kerry King might employ, it’s not an amplifier—it’s actually a stereo speaker. And a swoon-worthy one, at that. All analogue knobs and brass detailing, its vintage looks betray its functionality: It’s a wireless speaker than connects to your computer via Bluetooth.

 

Jawbone mini Jambox

Since we’re talking portable speakers, Jawbone’s Jambox is the most popular speaker on the market. For good reason: It’s endlessly colourful, personalized, and, for its size, sounds excellent. Now, Jawbone’s released a more compact edition of its iconic speaker, built specifically for iPhone and Android devices. At less than an inch thick, it’s slimmer than the Panini you had for lunch—but at $200, significantly more expensive. For amplification of tablets, we we also love Carbon Audio’s mega-sleek Zooka speaker.

 

The PickPunch

Guitarists, we know you’ve used a nickel as a makeshift guitar pick. That’s because picks are tiny and easy to lose. There’s no reason to be pickless again, though, thanks to DIY PickPunch, a stapler-like gadget that presses picks out of nearly anything. (Not to worry, wannabe Malmsteens: they’re similar in dimension to 351s.) We love the design, and there’s something indisputably badass about punching a pick out of old credit cards.

 

Wooden headphone holders

If you’re like us, you have a pair—and maybe more—of headphones messily tangled around your desk. There’s a solution to that: Dropcatch’s minimalistic wooden headphone holder. Made from maple and walnut, this wall-mounted block holsters your earbuds with embedded magnets. Even your most OCD friends pals be impressed.

 

Cordli iPhone case

Here’s another one for the organization-obsessed. (Or at least those who hate being tangled up in their headphone cords.) The Cordli case is a simple concept: It’s an iPhone case that funnels excess cord into the case itself, saving you from wrapping it around your phone—and potentially damaging your expensive pair of Beats by Dre headphones. It’s only at the Kickstarter phase, and they’re accepting donations here.

 

SoundBrace

There are fewer things dorkier than air guitaring, but with SoundBrace, the act turns into something beautiful. (Just kidding. It’s still hopelessly dorky.) Still, Soundbrace is a neat gadget for guitarists, and especially those learning the instrument: It clamps onto your wrist and detects hand and finger motions, converting your air-guitaring motions into actual sounds. You can jam anywhere, and listen to imaginary strumming with earphones or export it via USB.

 

Ion LP2Go

There are companies that are making vinyl accessories as swoon-worthy as Ion. Mostly, it’s because they pair modern design with functionality—namely, they specialize in record players that convert vinyl records to MP3. The LP2Go might not be the flashiest of their offerings, but it could be their coolest: It’s a compact record player that looks like a table saw. Powered by AA batteries and featuring a built-in speaker, it’s also a record player you can bring to the beach.

 

Tascam IM2 microphone

If you’re a musician, you’ve likely used your iPhone’s mic to jot down song ideas. The Tascam IM2, however, beats the crap out of your phone’s native mic: Tiny and light—it could easily be stuffed a back pocket—the mic brings two stereo condenser mics and a limiter switch to the fray, and it’s complemented by Tascam’s native app, which unlocks the IM2’s full potential. No, it’s not exactly like hunkering down for some work at Sound City (or whatever recording space Dave Grohl’s championing), but it does a shockingly decent job at turning your iPhone into a walking studio.

 

Artiphon’s Instrument

The Instrument is the first, uh, instrument that was developed specifically for an iPhone. Part guitar, part piano, the heavily hyped Artiphon creation has both a keyboard and a fretboard surrounding an iPhone dock. The result, its creator Mike Butera told CNN, is unlike anything we’ve ever heard. “I wanted to make something that people at all skill levels could play,” he told Evolver.fm, “a device as agnostic to musical style as the piano but as expressive as a violin.” Pre-order it now.

 

Yaba X portable guitar amp

We can’t say that we’ve tried a Yaba X, but we’re intrigued: It’s a hockey-puck sized device that doubles as a guitar amp or a wireless speaker. But while most diminutive amps sound terrible, the Yaba X isn’t an average speaker, claiming to boast sound the quality of speakers 10 times its size. How? It’s a vibration speaker, which turns any surface into a loud, full speaker. (We won’t even try to explain the technology here—we’ll let How Stuff Works do the work.) At a paltry 167 grams, it’d be far easier to lug up a set of stairs than your Orange rig.

 

Split cord-free headphones

On the subway. At the gym. Anywhere, really. Whenever your headphones get forcibly yanked out of your ears, you fantasize about it: The cordless headphone. Until now, though, it was an impossibility—wires were needed to link ‘buds together. Split has finally developed the solution in their cord-free headphones, which each boast a mini processor and memory chip. The only flaw? You can’t connect them to an mp3 player—all music must be uploaded to the headphones themselves. The company says they’re developing an app for Android and iPhones, though, and if they do, their headphones could be revolutionary.

 

Nebulophone synth kit

Forget micro Korgs. Bleep Labs’ Nebulophone synth kit might not have the flash ‘n’ dash of its popular synthesizer cousins, but what it lacks in polish, it has in D.I.Y. charm. Once you’ve assembled it, the Nebulophone boasts a stylus-controlled keyboard with five waveforms, and options to mess with decay, arpeggiation, keyboard mapping, and more. Perfect for synth-pop producers in waiting.

It’s time to try something new. Over the coming weeks, we’re celebrating the arrival of new Budweiser Crown, a rich golden amber lager crafted from the finest ingredients. Just as Budweiser is exploring new and flavourful things—like Budweiser Crown, featuring fire roasted caramel malt for full flavour and a distinctively smooth finish—so, too, is AUX. We’re partnering with our buds at Budweiser to bring you the best undiscovered bands, the latest cutting-edge trends, and life-changing music tech.  So step outside your comfort zone—adventure awaits. Click here to check out what Budweiser Crown has in store for you.