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. He's an alumnus of Spirit Studios, where he studied Studio Engineering, Music Production, and Mastering. When not writing for MusicRadar, you'll find him making a racket with northern noise punks Never Better.
Latest articles by Matt McCracken

By Matt McCracken Published
This recording studio in a box from M-Audio looks to give beginners a complete home studio setup for below $/£200

By Matt McCracken Published
Looking for an alternative to a MacBook? Asus might have just provided the answer for musicians everywhere

By Matt McCracken Published
EHX brings us a reverb pedal with sliders, a screen, and all the potential to be a Strymon-killer

By James Farmer Last updated
Explore 17 of the best drum kits for the studio, stage and bedroom from Ludwig, Pearl, Tama, DW and more

By Jonathan Horsley Last updated
Whether you’re practicing, busking, or performing, amplify the finest qualities of your guitar with our selection of acoustic amps

By Matt McCracken Last updated
Perfect for beginners and seasoned professionals alike, 3/4 acoustics make great songwriter guitars or for players on the go

By Matt McCracken Published
The world’s most famous solid-state amp finally gets an official amp model for your DAW

By Matt McCracken Published
JBL's budget studio monitors are priced crazy low and promise good quality mixes that don't cost the earth

By Matt McCracken Last updated
Simplify your rig and take your tone anywhere with my pick of the best amp modelling units around

By Matt McCracken Published
Get ahead on your mixing game in 2025 with these spend-free tips from a master mixing engineer and producer

By Matt McCracken Published
We get hands-on with Epiphone’s ode to one of the most coveted Gibson guitars of all time

By Matt McCracken Published
Soma Labs' foray into guitar pedals adds an element of the unhinged into a classic format

By Matt McCracken Published
Audient’s iD range gets a new flagship audio interface with a potentially game-changing feature

By Matt McCracken Published
A reactive load box from Two Notes that makes the case for keeping your tube amp and forgetting about switching to a modeller

By Matt McCracken Published
Thomann’s Sweeter Than Chocolate sale has just been unveiled with some incredible savings of up to 50% off

By Matt McCracken Last updated
We’ve unlocked an extra £10 off brands including Fender, PRS and Korg - but you’ll need to claim it before the day's over. Here's my top picks from the sale

By Matt McCracken Published
EHX’s incredibly fun reincarnation of the POG aims to let you get weird with your tones, but does it justify that gigantic asking price?

By Matt McCracken Published
Plus if you don’t want to commit, we’ve also got an exclusive 1 month for $1 deal for MusicRadar readers

By Ed Mitchell Last updated
Our experts countdown the best Strat guitars - from budget to pro - that showcase arguably the most iconic guitar of all time

By Matt McCracken Published
We put the latest iteration of Focusrite’s 8-channel interface to the test

By Matt McCracken Last updated
The next generation of Universal Audio Apollo is here, and we got hands-on ahead of launch to put it through its paces

By Richard Blenkinsop Last updated
Downsize your rig with the best amps-in-a-box to suit all styles of music

By Matt McCracken Published
Get ahead on your mixing game in 2025 with these spend-free tips from a master mixing engineer and producer
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