Latest articles by Matt McCracken
Best guitar amp headphones 2026: My top picks for practicing your guitar quietly
Immerse yourself in your guitar playing with headphones, earphones and IEMs from Boss, Vox, Sennheiser, Shure, Focal and more…
After years of covering the NAMM cycle I've never seen flagship gear hit the shelves so quickly - here are 6 of the hottest NAMM 26 releases you can pick up right now
The biggest stars of NAMM 2026 are already in stock and ready to rock - including the much-discussed Quad Cortex Mini and a gigantic new MPC
Best guitar wireless systems 2026: Cut the cord and liberate your playing today
Invest in a transmitter/receiver and ditch trailing cables with our pick of the best wireless guitar systems from beginner to pro
Best electric guitar strings 2026: Sets for all styles and budgets
These are the very best guitar strings from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, Elixir, Rotosound and more
Best budget in-ear monitors 2026: My pick of cheap in-ears for every type of musician
My recommended budget IEMs for practice and performance – options starting from $45/£45
Best home studio mixers 2026: analogue and digital mixing desks for all budgets
A comprehensive look at the best home studio mixers on the market today – from compact consoles to podcasting heavyweights
Best acoustic guitar strings 2026: Find your favourite acoustic strings
Our pick of the best acoustic guitar strings for your style and budget from Elixir, Ernie Ball, Martin, D'Addario, and more
Best electric guitars under $500/£500 2026: Affordable electrics
Get more for your money with my pick of the best value electric guitars below $500/£500
Best vocal mics 2026: Our top vocal microphones for stage and studio
Add some sheen to your vocals with the best dynamic and condenser mics from Shure, AKG, Rode, Aston, Telefunken, Neumann, and more
"I love that you don’t have to be a Mayer mega-fan to enjoy what’s on offer here": Neural DSP Archetype: John Mayer X review
Two opposing worlds collide in Neural DSP's latest plugin offering
Best laptop for DJs 2026: my choice of PCs, Macs, and Mac-alternatives for playing out
My hand-picked laptop choices for DJs, all perfect for Serato, rekordbox, Traktor, Ableton, Virtual DJ, and more
Best DJ headphones 2026: Booth-ready choices from budget to pro-level
Our expert pick of reliable headphones to suit any type of DJ, including options from Sennheiser, Technics, and Pioneer
Best acoustic guitar for beginners: Strum your first chords with our choice of beginner acoustic guitars
Start playing today with beginner acoustics from Taylor, Fender, Epiphone, Martin and more – hand-picked by experts
Best synthesizers 2026: Top analogue, digital, mono and polysynths
From mini monosynths, through to mighty polyphonic workstations, our experts have hand-picked hardware synth recommendations for every budget
Best budget USB microphones 2026: Get creative and sound better for less
Our expert pick of the top cheap USB mics for streaming, podcasting, recording, gaming, work calls, and more
Best budget studio headphones 2026: Cheap headphones to tackle every studio task
Expert buying advice, plus our pick of budget studio headphones for music-makers from just $49/£39
Best podcasting microphones 2026: my expert picks for every budget and level, including audio demos
Record your next pod’ or stream your heart out with the very best podcast mics, including my affordable recommendation under $100/£100
Best laptop for music production 2026: For home studios and mobile music-making - tested by experts
My pick of the best laptops for making music, plus hands-on reviews, stress testing, and what to look for when buying
"Makes the case that you might never need anything else": Neural DSP Quad Cortex review
Neural reaches the next frontier of amp modelling with a unit that might just change everything
“The modelling offers sumptuous guitar tones with plenty of variety”: Blackstar Beam Solo review
Blackstar may be late to the guitar headphone amp party, but its offering has some seriously good sounds
UAD's free plugin offer is the biggest no-brainer I've seen this year – but time is running out to get your hands on a world-class studio weapon for nothing
This monumental free UAD plug-in giveaway is about to expire - grab your free gear before this awesome offer vanishes forever
"Just as good as many affordable Squier, Epiphone, or Yamaha guitars I’ve played": Cort G200SE review
Cort's beginner-friendly S-type shows just how far beginner guitars have come in the last 20 years
Thomann Cyber Monday deals 2025: the savings are over for another year
Thomann's massive 2025 Cyber Monday deal have ended, but there are still plenty of ways to save
Cyber Monday plugin deals 2025: The biggest plugin sale of the year is over
Cyber Weekend has officially ended, but there are still some last-minute savings to take advantage of on music software
Cyber Monday plugin deals 2025 LIVE: all of today's most unmissable music software discounts on Native Instruments, IK Multimedia, Plugin Boutique and around the web
Today is your last chance to load up your DAW with the the cut-price plugins I'd recommend to every producer, from beginner to pro