Latest articles by Andy Jones
New to working with loops? Start here
"Those looped dance music breakdowns and drops have been done a million times before - so tweak them a little!"
Cyber Monday plugin deals 2024: Last chance software savings
Cyber Monday is over but you can still save big on VSTs and music software
Cyber Monday MacBook deals 2024: Last-minute MacBook deals
The sales are over now but you can still pick up some great deals
Black Friday plugin deals 2024: Black Friday is over, but there are still plenty of deals to get your hands on
We round up all the best plugin deals that are still hanging around post-Black Friday
“A wonderful blend of multitimbral synth hardware with clip style sequencing, wrapped up in a solid, performance-based module”: Mayer EMI MD850 Vibes review
Vibes is a multitimbral hardware synth with Ableton-style sequencing. It's hardware imitating software imitating hardware, and we like it a lot
How the breakbeat genre took over the music world
“It was the B-side that became one of the most important pieces of music ever - certainly one of the most sampled”
“A well-priced synth workstation – just don't expect a 1980s Juno”: Roland Juno-D7 review
Roland's entry-level synth workstation is easy, light, and cheap, but has depth if you want it
New to making tracks? Start here
Want to make a track from scratch but don't know where to begin? We'll show you
Best studio headphones for music production and mixing 2025: tested by experts
We’ve tested and reviewed a huge range of headphones for music production. These are our tried and trusted choices – plus your FAQs answered
Best laptop for music production 2025: Portable computers for musicians, producers and DJs
Our experts have rounded up and tested the finest options from Apple, Acer, Dell and more to help you make music whenever and wherever you like
Best budget laptops for music production 2025: Affordable laptops for making music
We've got the latest laptops on test that will not only enable you to make music anywhere, but do it without spending a fortune – our top picks start at just $/£300
New to DAWs? Start here
A DAW allows anyone to make music regardless of their abilities
“An easy door into film score creation, and a wealth of creative possibilities”: Sonuscore The Score review
The Score comes up with a film soundtrack based on your stylistic choices, but that’s just the start of it. We score The Score
Unpacking the dark, sample-based sound of trip-hop
It's this genre that set a blueprint for today's down-tempo sounds
“Will breathe some vintage life into any sterile DAW and has some quality components all wrapped up in a tidy and easy workflow”: Harrison/SSL 32Classic Channel Strip review
An emulation of a classic channel strip from a console used by many music business legends, you say? Don’t mind if we do
“You only live 26,000 days, and I'm telling you, I'm gonna wear all of them out. They're gonna know we came through here”: The life and legacy of Quincy Jones
Jones might have put Michael Jackson on the map, but over a 70+ year career he worked with just about every other great American recording artist...
“A great value phaser plugin with movement, powerful peaks, dirt and drama”: Minimal Audio Ripple Phaser review
Minimal Audio brings its distinctive power and ease of use philosophy to the world of swirling frequencies. Set your phasers to stunning
“With the polyphony and effects it has effectively ‘crossed the line’ into all-new polyphonic Brute territory”: Arturia MiniBrute V review
After going from soft to hard synths, Arturia is going soft again, with its first analogue synth getting a virtual version. It’s a Brute
"There are few producers who haven’t employed or lusted after it": Why does everyone love the UREI/UA 1176 compressor?
Here’s why the 1176 has made such an impact in the recording world
The scariest places music has been recorded
Here's where you might NOT want to record your next album…
“It’s dreamy, evocative and incredibly emotive, but there’s so much you can do to sounds as well”: Sonora Cinematic Panorama Guitars review
Panorama Guitars will have you crying into your DAWs as you create emotive shoegaze and post rock atmosphere
11 tips for software guitar that sounds like the real thing
Some quick tips to achieve guitar-god greatness... without a guitar
Best budget studio headphones 2025: Cheap headphones to tackle every studio task
Expert buying advice, plus our pick of budget studio headphones for music-makers from just $49/£39
“She didn't move from the sofa and she sang two takes of Rolling in the Deep and that's what we used”: Adele, Daft Punk and Taylor Swift are among our picks for the best recorded albums of the 21st century
For your Recording Week pleasure, these are the are the most notable albums of the last 24 years…
