FAD GADGETS

Rhodri Marsden on three of the latest must-have gizmos currently putting the prog in progress…

SMASH-PROOF GUITAR

For some, the act of smashing up a guitar is the ultimate expression of humanity’s ongoing struggle. For others, like me, it’s just a bit of ludicrous attention seeking (my apologies to Townshend, Hendrix and Blackmore). Anyway, Sandvik, the Swedish firm known for its mining tools, set itself the task of making an un-smashable guitar out of 3D-printed hyper-duplex steel. They then shipped it to Yngwie Malmsteen and challenged him to smash it. He couldn’t. Of course, the whole thing was merely done to generate publicity, and I’ve fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

www.home.sandvik

NURA NOW

Some subscriptions make perfect sense, for example Prog. But these days everything is going down that route: computer software, socks, razors, music streaming, and now headphones. Nura, who featured in this column three years ago, are now offering headphones on a £9 a month, cancel-anytime-and-return-them deal. The headphones have a unique sound profile that’s tailored to your ears and are truly great, but I’m really starting to lose track of all my subscriptions.

www.nuraphone.com

PLASTIC ANNIVERSARY

The sound qualities of plastic aren’t rated particularly highly. Few people get into a tizzy about the sonic resonance of the descant recorder, and plastic guitars have never caught on. Undaunted, Baltimore band Matmos have made an album consisting entirely of acoustic sounds made by bits of plastic, from PVC tubes to vinyl records, milk jugs to police riot shields. The reuse of non-biodegradable material to make music could be seen as a political statement, but Matmos say that it’s not. They just like the sound of plastic.

www.matmos.bandcamp.com