Turn it up to 11: tech's contributions to rock and roll

Many of rock's greatest moments hinge on shifts in music technology. Here is a chronology of some of the highlights.

By PC World Staff

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The Tech That Rocked the World

Rock music undoubtedly owes its legacy to a number of factors (the relative affluence of the Baby Boom generation, the tumultuous political climate of the Cold War, and remarkable advances in the field of recreational psychotropic substances, to name a few), but one element was absolutely crucial: technology.

Rock simply wouldn't have rocked without electric guitars, Marshall amp stacks, the Vox Box, amplifiers capable of projecting the music to the crowd, or stage effects that helped create a spectacle. Join us on a magical mystery tour through some of the greatest tech-milestone concerts, instruments, and music gadgets in the history of rock music.

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