
Matt McCracken
Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at MusicRadar. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on audio interfaces, studio headphones, studio monitors, and pretty much anything else home recording-related. Responsible for over 60 buying guides, a large part of his role is helping musicians find the best deals on gear. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including Guitar World, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog.
A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and producing bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the UK in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at. When he's not holed up in his home studio recording new songs you'll find him in at Spirit Studios where he's currently studying Sound Engineering and Music Production.
Latest articles by Matt McCracken

Best electric guitars 2025: Our pick of guitars to suit all budgets
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Find the top electric guitar for your budget and playing style, whether you play rock, metal, blues or beyond

Best vocal mics 2025: Our top vocal microphones for stage and studio
By Chris Corfield last updated
Add some sheen to your vocals with the best dynamic and condenser mics from Shure, AKG, Rode, Aston, Telefunken, Neumann, and more

Best reverb pedals 2025: Our pick of reverb effects for your pedalboard
By Chris Corfield last updated
From subtle to extreme, these are our reverb top picks right now

“Quality sound, volume on tap, and plenty of flexibility”: Positive Grid Spark Edge review
By Matt McCracken published
We put PG’s latest pint-sized powerhouse to the test

Best condenser mics 2025: my expert picks for home recording
By Simon Fellows last updated
Capture every nuance of a vocal and high-fidelity detail of an instrument with condenser microphones from Rode, Neumann, Audio-Technica, Aston, AKG and more

Best multi-effects pedals 2025: Our pick of the best all-in-one guitar FX modellers
By Matt McCracken last updated
Our guide to the best multi-effects pedals will help you get your head around amp modelling pedals and multi-FX

“It’s a lot of guitar, whether you’re buying your first proper instrument or you want a great guitar for gigging”: Harley Benton ST-Modern Plus review
By Matt McCracken published
Another ultra-modern S-type vying for attention in a packed part of the market

Best beginner DAWs 2025: Easy-to-use digital audio workstations for beginners
By Dave Clews last updated
Our pick of the easiest DAWs for beginners to get their heads around, including picks from Apple, Ableton, Image Line, Steinberg, and more

Best guitar cables 2025: Leads and patch cables for all budgets
By Rob Laing last updated
Quality cables make the difference, here's our top picks from Mogami, Ernie Ball, Fender and more

Cyber Monday Andertons deals 2024: Last chance to grab a deal
By Daryl Robertson last updated
You've not got long to bag yourself a bargain on guitars, pedals, and amps in the Andertons sale

Thomann Cyber Monday deals 2024: The Cyberweek sale is over, but there are still a few ways to save
By Chris Barnes last updated
Thomann's massive 2024 Cyber Monday deals has ended with a bang. These re the bargains you can still get your hands on

Cyber Monday plugin deals 2024: Last chance software savings
By Matt McCracken last updated
Cyber Monday is over but you can still save big on VSTs and music software

Black Friday studio headphone deals 2024: The biggest studio headphone savings from across the internet that are still live
By Simon Arblaster last updated
Grab yourself big savings on Focal, Beyerdynamic, Shure, AKG and more this Black Friday

Dell Black Friday deals 2024: The Dell Black Friday sale is still live
By Chris Corfield last updated
Black Friday may be over but you still grab some great deals on a Dell machine

Black Friday microphone deals 2024: Black Friday is over, and these are the best microphone savings that are still live
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Your place for all the microphone deals from Shure, Rode, AKG, Blue Microphones and more - whether you're a musician or a podcaster

Cyber Monday MacBook deals 2024: Last-minute MacBook deals
By Andy Jones last updated
The sales are over now but you can still pick up some great deals

Black Friday Andertons deals 2024: Black Friday is done but there are still loads of deals to get your hands on
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Don't worry if you missed out on a Black Friday deal at Andertons, you can still find loads of big savings

Black Friday plugin deals 2024: Black Friday is over, but there are still plenty of deals to get your hands on
By Matt McCracken last updated
We round up all the best plugin deals that are still hanging around post-Black Friday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over and done with, but here are 33 music deals that are still alive and kicking
By Matt McCracken published
You still have a chance to save on everything from keyboards and guitar pedals, to plugins and studio headphones

Thomann Black Friday 2024 deals: You can still save up to 70% today in Thomann's massive Cyberweek sale
By Chris Barnes last updated
There's an incredible selection of discounted gear in the Thomann Cyberweek sale - from Harley Benton and Yamaha, to Universal Audio and Boss. We're rounding up all the best deals as they happen, including Daily Deals and new additions

I used a PC to produce music for 15 years, here's 6 reasons I'm picking up a MacBook in the Black Friday sales
By Matt McCracken published
It’s been a long time coming, but this year I’m ditching the Windows PC and switching to a MacBook for Black Friday

Positive Grid's Spark 2 just got its first-ever discount - get up to 50% offthis AI-enabled guitar amp in the Black Friday sale
By Matt McCracken published
PG's Black Friday sale is in full swing but there's one deal that's got us particularly excited

PMT has gone bigger than ever with its early Black Friday sale, offering huge gear discounts up to 70% off
By Matt McCracken published
Black Friday deals have officially arrived with some huge discounts at PMT

Up to $124 off JHS Pedals at Sweetwater might just be the best pedal deal of Black Friday so far - and yes, it includes the Colour Box V2
By Matt McCracken published
Save a massive 25% on all JHS pedals at Sweetwater in this awesome Black Friday deal

I didn’t think online guitar lessons were for me until I tried Til - get $20 off your first lesson with a professional guitar player
By Matt McCracken published
Get a big discount on your first private guitar lesson with a professional guitar tutor in this exclusive deal for MusicRadar readers
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