There was a time where there would be no point shopping on Amazon for drum gear. Beyond e-drums and the odd set of sticks, there was no reason to look beyond your local drum store or your friendly specialist online music retailer. But with Amazon’s Big Spring Sale in full flight, I wanted to dig a little deeper to see if I could uncover anything actually worth recommending. And it turns out… there is!

Honestly, my top pick from the offering below is the cheapest, too. Pearl’s tough-as-they-come multi-tool is an essential for any stick bag in my book. And with a 36% discount right now, it’s an absolute steal considering you get 13 handy tools in one. I also really rate Vic Firth’s stick bags, and the Performer series bag below is as spacious as they come and currently has 9% off.

Keep reading for more of my finds.

• Shop the full Amazon Big Spring Sale
• In the UK or Europe? Try Thomann’s up to 60% off Spring Sale

DRUMS WEEK 2025: For those with money to burn, a top-of-the-range electronic drum set by the likes of Yamaha, Roland or Alesis enables a playing experience pretty much on a par with that of a real acoustic drum kit, thanks to its full-sized mesh heads, stellar multi-sampled sounds, effortless studio connectivity and so much more.

But what about the other end of the scale, where the tentative beginner drummer, perhaps lacking the space or neighbourhood tolerance required to house an acoustic set, will be looking to make their first instrumental investment?

Can a five-piece e-drum set costing a few hundred dollars/pounds really hope to emulate the feel and sonics of a ‘proper’ kit in the same price bracket, and do the unique digital advantages it offers counterbalance any compromise in authenticity or ability to progress behind the kit? Let’s look at all the pros and cons to find out…

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Noise

For many fledgling (and, indeed, veteran!) drummers, the domestically challenging volume levels of the acoustic drum kit are a potential show-stopper - and no one really enjoys playing on deadheads or drum mutes.

Electronic drums, on the other hand, deliver their sampled sounds via volume-adjustable headphone and line outputs every time a pad is struck.

Rubber pads are now mostly reserved for e-kit cymbals rather than drums. While they are far from silent, the difference in volume between these and acoustic cymbals is night and day. And mesh pads, which you'll find on most quality e-kits - even at the beginner end of the spectrum whereyou should find at least a mesh snare pad - are even quieter.

If noise is your main concern as a new drummer, an electronic drum set is definitely the quieter option. There are also many ways to make your e-kit even quieter, which we explore in this feature.

Winner: electronic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Space

Even the smallest full-size acoustic drum kit is a big, hefty collection of things, and the kick drum and cymbal stand legs alone outline a considerable footprint. Again, the beginner electronic drum set walks away with this one; its racking, small pads and kick tower add up to a comparatively compact rig that can often be folded away when not in use, making it even more space-saving.

Winner: electronic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Portability

Another easy win for e-drums, as most modern beginner kits fold down to a readily manageable, almost flatpack arrangement, while the acoustic alternative barely packs down; you could stack acoustic drums in a pinch when the kit isn't being used, as long as you're ok with a bit of set up time when inspiration strikes. Acoustic kits also generally demand separate cases for each drum, plus two more for cymbals and hardware if it’s heading for long-term storage or leaving the house.

Winner: electronic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Cost

Technology being what it is, the saying, ‘You get what you pay for’ obviously applies more directly to electronic drums than it does their acoustic counterparts, and the meaningful difference between a $/£500 drum kit and a $/£6,000 one is less profound than the increase in playability and sound quality that the equivalent upgrade gets you in the e-drum market.

So, while a beginner acoustic kit may well see you through those formative years and some way beyond, you’ll quite quickly outgrow a similarly priced e-drum kit as your skills and aural discernment improve.

Winner: acoustic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Features

Unsurprisingly, the electronic kit holds all the aces in this particular game, providing not only tons of tweakable onboard sounds, glamorous DSP effects, and convenient MIDI and audio output, but also a variety of genuinely useful coaching and training tools that are of huge value to the aspiring newbie.

From exercises designed to develop timing, speed and consistency, to full playalong tracks and Bluetooth connectivity to link up your smart device for jamming to Spotify, it’s here that e-drums trounce the resolutely - albeit reassuringly - low-tech architecture of the acoustic kit.

Winner: electronic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Playability

There’s simply no comparison between the natural feel and directness of a real drum head and the hard, triggering response and smaller target area of an 8” mesh or rubber pad. Thankfully, most budget electronic kits these days include a much more ‘realistic’ mesh head for (at least) the all-important snare drum - ideally dual-zone for rimshots - which we would argue is a must-have.

For added realism, a kick drum tower, as opposed to a beater-less pedal, should also be on the e-drummer’s shopping list, along with a dual- or triple-zone ride cymbal if possible. Even with all those boxes ticked, though, the acoustic kit still can’t be beaten in the playability department.

Winner: acoustic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Playing live

With budget e-drums not necessarily blasting out the most convincing sounds, and requiring some form of electronic drum amplification to be heard in a live setting - be it through the venue PA or a dedicated amp and speakers - the acoustic kit clearly has the edge on stage when it comes to rock, jazz and other electric/acoustic styles.

Having said that, the MIDI output of the e-drum kit facilitates velocity-sensitive triggering of synths, samplers and drum machines, either hardware or laptop-hosted software, opening up an endless universe of tonal possibilities that transcends the earthbound limits of acoustic drums. If your band is of an electronic bent, this alone could seal the e-drum deal.

What's more, many modern e-kits are eschewing the traditional rack with flat pads aesthetic in favour of full-size wooden shells with triggers built in - even at the more affordable end of the spectrum. So, if you've been unsure about using an e-kit on stage, those worries should have all but evaporated by now.

Winner: draw

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Recording

The samples built into your affordable e-drums aren’t really going to cut it as a bona-fide acoustic kit emulation in the studio any more than they will on stage - but once again that MIDI output proves an invaluable inclusion.

Connecting it to your Mac or PC lets you use those pads to instead trigger amazing multi-gigabyte sampled drum kit plugins such as Toontrack’s Superior Drummer 3 or FXpansion’s BFD3 in any software DAW, and capitalise on the creative power that MIDI recording and editing brings to the table. It's pug and play recording at its finest.

Committing an acoustic kit to ‘tape’, meanwhile, calls for a decent set of drum microphones, an engineer who knows what they’re doing, and a properly treated recording space - that’ll be a recording studio, then. We're still strong advocates for recording 'real' drums, but there's no denying that it's the more labour-intensive and technical approach. For beginners, simplicity is key.

Winner: electronic drums

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Transitioning between kits

The final consideration in our percussive wood/mesh face-off is how readily technique developed on e-drums translates - as, ultimately, it must - to the acoustic kit.

To make this crucial switch as painless as possible, mesh pads (for the snare at the very least) and a kick drum tower are essential, as these will get you significantly closer to the physicality of drumsticks/beater on Mylar than rubber pads and a beaterless pedal ever could.

Even with those criteria fulfilled, though, moving from the 8” pads of the entry-level e-drum kit to the 14” snare and 10-16” toms of the real deal is always going to involve a period of adjustment.

Winner: N/A

Acoustic vs electronic drums: Verdict

So where does all this leave us? Well, in a nutshell, for the novice drummer, an acoustic kit is the better choice from a developmental perspective, and every effort should be made to accommodate one if and when at all possible.

However, when space and/or noise are issues, today’s affordable e-drum setups make more than acceptable substitutes, especially if you opt for a model with mesh heads (on the snare at least) and a kick drum tower.

And, of course, onboard training tools, ‘produced’ sounds and MIDI output all make for compelling extras, especially if you’re looking to integrate your drums into a home studio.

If you’re looking to create the sounds of a guitar in your productions without having to go through the convoluted process of learning chords, scales, techniques, and music theory, then you’re in the right place. My pick of the best guitar VSTs will let you quickly and easily drop guitar sounds into your tracks with ease, helping add one of the world’s most popular instruments to your repertoire.

A guitar VST instrument is not the same as a guitar plugin. Where a guitar plugin imitates the sound of a guitar amp and pedals, a guitar VST simulates someone actually playing a guitar. With just your piano roll or a MIDI keyboard, you can write or play in your notes, and the VST does the heavy lifting, giving you realistic-sounding guitar tones you can then place in your productions.

I’ve been playing guitar for well over 20 years now, so you can bet I know a good-sounding guitar VST from a bad one. I’m also an audio engineer with a similar amount of experience recording bands, both at home and in professional recording studios, so you can rely on my recommendations to do the job for your next production. A guitar VST won’t replace an actual guitar player, but in a dense mix or for EDM or hip hop productions, it’s a great tool to add a different timbre to your compositions.

If you want the very best guitar VST overall, have a look at the Impact Soundworks Shreddage Bundle. It includes 11 different electric guitar and bass VSTs that will cover everything from classic rock to modern metal, making it an all-encompassing VST - albeit a very expensive one. If that’s a little too pricey for you, you can still get great guitar sounds with Native Instruments Session Guitarist, which typically retails below the $100 mark.

If you’re new to using guitar VSTs, head to our FAQs section for answers to any burning questions you might have. I’ve also curated a glossary of key terms if you’re new to the guitar-specific lexicon, which will ensure you have no issues deciphering the techniques and technical terms associated with playing the guitar.

My top picks

Best overall

If you want the most complete guitar VST available right now, Impact Soundworks Shreddage 3 Bundle will satisfy the vast majority of producers’ needs. Featuring a huge selection of 8 electric guitars and 3 bass guitars, it’s a smorgasbord of great guitar tones.

Shreddage 3 gives you articulations, so guitar techniques like palm muting, sliding, bends, and pinch harmonics sound incredibly realistic. It captures the nuances of a real guitarist really well, to the point that once your guitars are mixed into your production, I can’t imagine anyone other than a guitarist would even notice the difference, and even then…

The huge selection of guitars on offer makes it great for those who genre hop, and it’ll do everything from heavy djent guitars that are crossing over into pop and hip hop so much nowadays, through to pristine clean funk stabs and warm, round jazz chords for those more laid back hip hop sounds.

Best budget

If you just want a single guitar sound to do the job on a budget, then Native Instruments Session Guitarist would be my choice. You can choose from a variety of sounds, including both electric and acoustic guitars, which is great if you just want to dabble in guitar VSTs or you tend to work in a particular genre.

With it being made by Native Instruments, you get access to an incredibly realistic amplifier and effects pedal simulation, modelled on actual gear for the utmost realism. Each instrument has been painstakingly captured using the most high-end signal path possible, to the point that NI even miked up the strings on the electric guitars to help capture the nuances of the player.

It integrates with any NI hardware if you’re already in the ecosystem, and comes with a content library of riffs, chords, and arpeggios if you need a head start on your sounds. I love that you can choose which pickups to use with the electric guitars, and all of the sounds allow you to humanize the performance, adding swing and offsetting the timing for a more realistic feel.

Best acoustic

If you only need acoustic guitar sounds, MusicLab RealGuitar 6 will be your best bet. Featuring both steel and nylon string sounds, it captures the nuances of acoustic guitar playing with incredible detail and accuracy, giving you the depth and breadth of acoustic guitar tones playable with a MIDI keyboard.

I think strumming is the strongest part of RealGuitar 6’s performance, handled brilliantly to give some of the most realistic sounds I’ve heard. There’s a huge amount of customisation available with the strumming techniques, and you can key map everything, making it great for combining strummed chords with rhythmic strokes of dead notes and other techniques.

Despite the clean user interface, there’s a lot of depth on offer for customizing the sound, and you can map various notes, chords, and techniques to your MIDI controller, giving you very complete control over your sound. It’s even got some songwriting tools that include the circle of 5ths to help you out with your music theory.

Best bass VST

The bass guitar is used in pretty much every genre, so having a bass guitar VST in your arsenal is an excellent tool for helping to come up with fresh sounds for your latest production. Enter IK Multimedia’s Modo Bass 2, which features a massive selection of 22 bass guitar models to choose from.

One thing I love about Modo Bass 2 is that the interface is super clean and easy to use. In its second iteration, they’ve really nailed it in the looks department, and it’s easy to flick around the various tabs to find what you’re looking for via 7 different views. Adjust the play style, string type, amplifier model, effects pedals, and even the virtual electronics of the bass guitar itself to make your sound spot on.

Speaking of sounds, these are amongst the finest bass guitar VST sounds I’ve come across, and I particularly love the fretless models which are great for coming up with funk and jazz-inspired old school hip hop basslines on. With a huge array of bass types to choose from, whether you want slap bass or aggressive picked punk bass guitar lines, you’ll find a bass guitar tone here that you’ll love.

Best for metal

If you’re looking for the heaviest guitar tones possible from your guitar VST, Ample Sound Metal Hellrazer harnesses the sound of a Schecter 9-string guitar for some phenomenal metal guitar tones. It doesn’t do much else, but if you want a guitar VST for metal, it’s amongst the best.

The thing I love the most about Metal Hellrazer is its guitar tab mode, which allows you to edit your sounds as if you were editing a tab. As a guitarist, it’s super intuitive to use this way, and for me, it's a lot easier than editing on a piano roll. Of course, that option is available too, and there’s a bespoke ‘string roll editor’, which gives you the look of a piano roll but with strings instead of the notes of a piano.

The sounds are perfect if you want that modern downtuned guitar tone, perfect for crushing breakdowns or just adding some serious girth to a crossover pop or hip hop tune. There’s a nice selection of amp models to choose from, and you can send a DI tone from the VST to an amp simulator plugin for some ultra-realistic tones.

Best nylon guitar VST

Nylon string guitars have a lot of nuance when played and are a really popular option for modern productions, thanks to their warm and soft tones. If you’re looking to create some more chilled sounds, the Spitfire Audio Soft Nylon Guitar is a brilliant nylon guitar VST.

Created in conjunction with Mike Georgiades, the sound of this VST is second-to-none, delivering an incredibly realistic sound and feel. Whether you’re looking to create sounds for R&B, old school hip hop, or just layer something into a more modern production, the sounds of the nylon string acoustic here will fit right in.

You can mute the strings, use harmonics, slides, legato, slurs, vibrato, and bends to help bring your simulated guitar to life. Captured with a pair of Neumann U87s, the quality is really quite superb, and with an incredible player like Mike at the helm, it’s undoubtedly the best way to get the nylon guitar sound into your production with a minimum of fuss. I think it’s up there with the most realistic guitar VST I’ve ever heard.

How to choose

If you’re new to guitar VSTs, then you might be wondering how to go about choosing the right one. Lucky for you, I’ve used loads of guitar VSTs before, so allow me to show you the way.

1. Production style

The first thing to think about is your style. Are you going to be genre-hopping or just sticking to one main style? Certain guitars suit particular styles, so it’s important to be mindful of what you’re going to be creating. An electric guitar VST will be better for funk, while a nylon string guitar could be better for Latin-influenced productions.

2. System requirements

Some guitar VSTs can use a lot of processing power, particularly the newer ones. It’s worth bearing in mind that your machine might not be able to handle them, so always make sure to check the tech specs before you buy.

3. DAW compatibility

Although you’re unlikely to come across a guitar VST that you can’t use in a particular DAW, some older programs do have limitations on where you can use them. Make sure to do your research beforehand to ensure you’re not disappointed when it comes time to install.

4. Amp sims and effects

Again, most guitar VSTs will come with these already, but a lot of producers feel they get a better sound by sending a raw sound to an external amp simulator like Amplitube or a Neural DSP plugin. You might want to factor the purchase of an amp simulator into the equation if you really want to up the production quality.

FAQs

Key terms

• Amp sim - A software that simulates the sound of a guitar amplifier, and often effects pedals.
• Barre chords - A type of guitar chord where the finger is ‘barred’ across all the strings.
• Bend - The act of bending a string up to increase the pitch of the note.
• Cab sim - A software that simulates a guitar cabinet with a microphone pointed at the speakers, often as part of an amp sim.
• DI signal - The direct sound of a guitar without any amplification or effects applied.
• Drop tuning - Lowering the pitch of a guitar for a heavier sound.
• Fingerpicking - Plucking the strings of a guitar with the fingers of the hand rather than a guitar pick.
• Hammer-on - A technique where you pluck a note, then hammer on a second or third note without plucking.
• Legato - A term for using hammer-on and pull-off techniques to create a fluid guitar sound.
• Muted notes (dead notes) - Using either hand to mute the strings and create a percussive sound with the strings, used a lot in funk.
• Palm muting - Pressing down on the strings with the picking hand to create a more muted version of a note.
• Pick attack - The sound of the guitar pick hitting the strings, this can be articulated in a lot of different ways.
• Power chord - A type of chord that uses two or three strings. Used a lot as they’re neither minor nor major.
• Pull-off - A technique where you place two fingers on the same string and ‘pull off’ the one closest to the picking hand to create a fluid sound. You can also ‘pull off’ to an open string.
• Slide - Taking your fretting hand and sliding up or down the neck to a different position.
• Strumming - A picking technique where you hit multiple strings at the same time, often in an up and down motion.
• Tremolo picking - A form of strumming where you pick up and down rapidly to create an intense guitar sound.
• Vibrato - Taking a note and bending it up and down repeatedly for emphasis.

How we test

When testing the best guitar VSTs, I’ll take the same approach as I would to any other review, ensuring that I cover all of the basics and get in-depth with the program to determine if it’s worthy of inclusion in our guides.

First of all, I’ll note the installation process, whether it’s quick or slow to install, whether you need to change settings, and how quickly you can get up and running with it. I’m looking to see a simple installation process that automatically places the plugin into the standard folder for your DAW, so you don’t have to mess around finding and moving files around.

Next, I’ll look at the user interface. Again, we’re looking for simplicity here. The guitar is complicated enough without having a busy user interface that makes it difficult to dial in a sound. The whole point of a good guitar VST is to make the production process simpler, so to that end, I want to see a clear and clutter-free UI that makes composing and production easy.

Finally, I’ll look at the sounds. As a guitarist with many years of experience playing, writing, and recording, I know what a guitar sounds like, so I’m able to judge quickly whether or not it's realistic. I listen for key telltales in the sound, things like a lack of variety in the note velocity, certain techniques being used, and even the slight delays between chord changes that would occur with an actual guitarist playing.

I’ll aim to spend at least two weeks with my guitar VST of choice, to make sure I get to use it in a variety of scenarios and really get a feel for how it is to live with it. This also helps me get over the honeymoon period of any new purchase, so I can really see if there are any long-term issues that present themselves.

Read more about how we test music making gear and services at MusicRadar.

We’ve all been there, sitting at home watching the latest Hollywood has to offer, recoiling in shock at the volume of the more explosive moments but then needing to crane our heads forward to make out the faint dialogue. In my house, ‘can we put the subtitles on?’ is a regular request.

That's why I’m really taken by LG’s USC9S soundbar - it's a superb, future-proof listening hub.

With a whole host of smart sound calibration features, this 3.1.3 channel, 400W soundbar has been carefully designed to present the best possible aural response in your home cinema. The high fidelity soundbar is accompanied by a 220W subwoofer, which provides all the low-end throb you could possibly need.

While its RRP is typically £999.99, The good folks at Currys are offering £600 off a USC9S worth £999 when purchasing any LG TV

The 97.5cm USC9S notably brings a trio of up-firing channels - a world-first.

These three drivers provide a hyper-detailed Atmos/spatial audio response, well beyond what others in this price-point are capable of.

These three channels work to build what is - in essence - a fully three dimensional sound-dome, enveloping you and everyone in the room in an immersive, 360 degree sonic experience. This speaker has been especially calibrated with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and IMAX Enhanced technology.

In terms of that often-misplaced ‘dialogue’ channel, that’s been specifically allocated to the central speaker. This means voices remain clear and intelligible regardless of the context of a busy or action-packed scene.

If you’ve already got an LG C series OLED TV, then you’ll be especially blown away by how tightly the USC9S integrates with your television.

With an LG TV in tandem, you’ll be able to harness the special WOW Orchestra feature. This dynamic allows viewers to bring the TV’s in-built speakers into the mix too, locking them in-sync for even greater detail and clarity across the frequency spectrum.

With every soundbar comes a custom mounting bracket which has been carefully designed to fit the 55”, 65” and 77” size televisions in LG’s OLED C series range. The end result of this combination is both aesthetically pleasing and sonically incredible.

Beyond physical integration, LG’s AI Sound Pro is constantly analysing the incoming signal, making smart audio decisions on the fly.

That ‘leaning in’ to hear dialogue that I mentioned at the start of this piece will become a thing of the past. AI Sound Pro will make sure that you hear the most important parts of any sound mix clearly and audibly at all times.

All of these features are easily set and controlled by the WOW interface, easily accessible directly from within any LG TV’s main menu, negating the need for a separate remote. That’s one less thing to lose down the side of the sofa!

Beyond serving as the impressive heart of your home cinema's audio, this soundbar is also a fantastic all-purpose music streaming station.

Supporting high-resolution audio playback (up to 24-bit/94kHz), the soundbar provides Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect functionality out of the box, and is fully supportive of Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth 5.0.

So that’s film, television and music covered, but what about gaming? The USC9S is no slouch there either. It features VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). These features bring a zero latency response and extraordinarily smooth gameplay at all times. Those features are also a massive boon to high-octane sport, where motion blur, pixellation and compression artifacts are a thing of the past.

With the Summer of Sport looming, that’s certainly something to bear in mind.

In short then, if you own an LG OLED C series TV then you really must get your hands on an USC9S - it’s been carefully designed with your television in mind. And, if you’re in the market for a new television, you can do far worse than an LG TV - a purchase of which will grant you 50% off the USC9S’s standalone price. A sweet deal.

Vocal processing has been transformed over the last couple of decades, and not just by the ubiquitous Auto-Tune style effects that are so prominent in the music charts. You can now get many other vocal effects, from subtle tuning to very unsubtle formant shifters that turn male vocals into female, or into aliens and more! There are modulating monster effects that synthesize your vocal or others that turn your singing into MIDI data so you can play other instruments with your voice. 

Waves has every one of these effects covered in its huge arsenal of plugins and we've chosen 10 of the most creative Waves plugins to see and hear what they can do to your vocals. We're leaving the more subtle mix effects for another time, instead focusing on the most 'out there' and outrageous this time around! To that end, we've even included audio examples for every plugin, so you can hear how these effects can transform your singing. 

We've included a buyer's advice section to vocal effects at the bottom of this feature, with more information on the different types of vocal effects. If you want to know which we like best then read on or jump to our individual reviews of 10 of the most creative Waves vocal effects. 

Our best buys

If you want 'that' Auto-Tune style effect then Waves has you covered many times over, with everything from Waves Tune (subtle) to Vocal Bender (not subtle). But our favourite automatic tuning plugin is Waves Tune Real-Time, as it not only gives you both natural and hard robotic-stye tuning, but it does it in real-time so could really come to your rescue both in the studio and on stage.

For multi-effects you can't really beat Waves OVox. It's a synth, vocoder and vocal processor all in one plugin, and has a depth to it which takes some exploring, but rewards you with some stunning vocal results. For more mix-ready effects where you just want a great vocal sound, JJP Vocals from this round-up adds a lovely pro sound to help make any vocal shine.

Shop the latest Waves sale

Full list

Automatic Double Tracking was invented at Abbey Road by Ken Townsend when recording The Beatles, and has become a widely used vocal effect. It's not just a matter of the vocal being doubled, as variations in the original tape speeds from two recorders could cause all sorts of other characteristics. This plugin has them all covered with two completely modelled tape machines, each with many separate controls.

There's a surprising amount of variation in the effect created by Abbey Road Reel ADT, albeit one that is pretty narrow by definition. And as well as being a great vocal effect, it can also be used to fatten up other instruments, so Abbey Road Reel ADT is a very useful tool overall.

Read our full Waves Abbey Road Reel ADT review

Audio demos

We have a few signature plugins included in this round-up, and this one is from Garbage main man Butch Vig who has also worked with Nirvana and Trent Reznor. The processing here is hidden behind a welcoming UI and comprises saturation, filtering, EQ and dynamics to give you a generally up-front sound.

The saturation section is great for generating plenty of harmonics, while the Focus control offers a broad, mid-range boost to bring out key vocal articulation frequencies, and we found it very useful, especially for more edgy vocal effects when combined with other controls. 

Butch Vig Vocals is great for this more in-your-face vocal production style; subtle it isn't but it can also be highly creative because of that. 

Read our full Waves Butch Vig Vocals review

Audio demos

Waves has many plugins developed with producer/engineer Chris Lord-Alge (Muse, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen), and in truth, his CLA Vocals is the more obvious vocal choice, but as we're going for more creative effects, we've chosen Epic instead. This is a collection of Chris's favourite reverbs and delays to give your vocals the richness and depth they possibly need.

Epic can be applied to many other instruments as well, but in the video below Chris applies it to some backing vocals with incredible results, turning a flat performance into a vibey and lively recording. It's probably the most flexible plugin in this round-up, and will benefit many of your mix parts, but is a real boon for vocalists. 

Audio demos

This is quite simply a refreshingly straightforward take on creating vocal harmonies. You can manually input your harmonies, use a keyboard, or let the plugin just do its smart thing and create harmonies for you. This latter option is done by hitting the Generate Notes button, and whatever vocal is coming in gets multiplied with up to eight voices using Harmony's smart algorithms. 

You can also lock to key and scale, adjust formant, pitch delay and filter parameters and utilise a number of modulation options.

This is among the fastest ways to get very good vocal harmonies with no messing about - unless you want to dig deeper - and the plugin makes a fine job of working out your harmony needs and does so very quickly. 

Read our full Waves Harmony review

Audio demos

Jack Joseph Puig is a producer/engineer who has worked with some big vocalists in his time, including Bono from U2, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, and the Rolling Stones. He teamed up with Waves for this more unusual vocal multi-effect which can be used as a more subtle mix effect, but we think there's enough under the hood for it to be included in this creative round-up. 

You get Magic, Space, Attack, Attitude, and Presence controls. It is not obvious what effects are behind these, but there are several at play including compression, EQ and reverb, and really you don't need to know too much as each slider really does deliver what it says. 

There are extras for de-essing and you can even get variations of the plugin for different instruments (see our full review, linked below). Otherwise, it's a neat way of adding shine to your vocals and a cheap Waves option to boot. 

Read our full Waves JJP Vocals review

Audio demos

OVox is a lot more than just a vocal effect with synth, vocoding, and vocal processor features, and with so many applications it can be used as a MIDI-controlled instrument or effect, or as a standard insert effect. You can use the plugin for generating chords, robotic vocoding, tuning effects, vocal arpeggiations and more. It even allows you to convert your vocal to MIDI and then trigger other instruments. 

It's fair to say that if you want to go deep with your vocals, there's little out there that comes close to OVox. The effects can be extreme and the plugin can be complex, but it's a richly rewarding experience if you master it. Learn more about how to use OVox with our tutorial.

Audio demos

Waves Space Rider is one of the company's newest vocal plugins and comprises a chorus, delay and reverb that you can use in chain or individually. Waves says it is designed for producers to quickly create high-quality spaces in their mixes. You get a couple of lovely reverbs: Space is the more realistic, algorithmic reverb and Plate not surprisingly emulates the lush sound of a plate reverb unit. The delay section has low and high pass filters, and there are two types of chorus to fatten your sound up. 

Overall there's plenty to create that space, and while you can also apply Space Rider to any instrument, it really does make vocals shine. 

Audio demos

Waves Tune will do that automatic tuning synthetic vocal process, but it's more about detailed note editing, with a UI that lets you get in and surgically change notes. You can get the software to do this automatically by setting up song pitch, plus vibrato, formant and more, but the editing is very easy to do manually, with zooming options for micro-tuning and detailed edits. 

You can use Waves Tune to get the famous automatic tuning robotic effect but the plugin's real strength lies in more natural vocal tuning and it is great for this more subtle side of vocal processing.

Check out our article comparing Waves Tune vs Antares Auto-Tune.

Audio demos

Where Waves Tune will give you detailed tuning down to a micro level, Waves Tune Real-Time ups the ante - and the CPU processing - to deliver tuning of a live vocal. That means if you are in any way doubtful over your own or an artist's live vocal performance, this could put your mind at ease. The plugin shows the tuning of the live vocal passing through, and you can set a range around it of allowed notes and the overall pitch. 

Other controls for Speed, Transition and Tolerance allow a certain amount of that automatic tuning effect to be applied too, so you can get the more robotic tuning effect, but live!

Real-Time is low latency so avoids delays so the singer or engineer can hear the results instantly, which makes this a fantastically practical and useful tuning plugin.  

Audio demos

Vocal Bender delivers fast, real-time contemporary vocal effects, all behind one of the slickest interfaces around. Its intuitive workflow will have you creating formant and pitch effects and vocal stacks in no time, the only danger being you might just overdo things and take your vocals into a novelty realm. Vocal Bender can be used for more straightforward vocal doubling and harmony effects too, and can be as unsubtle or subtle as you like while doing it. It's also capable of the most extreme robotic style hard tuning. 

Used wisely and perhaps with some restraint, Vocal Bender is one of the most creative and useable Waves vocal plugins with instant and fun results. 

Read our full Waves Vocal Bender review

Audio demos

Buying advice

We've chosen more creative vocal effects in this round-up as we're assuming that you want to add some contemporary effects to your vocals and other instruments. We'll be looking at more subtle vocal mix effects in a future round-up so for now, what you need to do when buying any of these effects is to decide which kind of vocal effect you are aiming for.

Many of the more 'out there' vocal effects include formant shifting, where you can turn a male voice into a female (or vice versa), for example. Some plugins in our buyer's guide also include harmonising or doubling a vocal, where a single vocal line is multiplied to produce a vocal group. Then there is vocoding, where a voice becomes a robotic voice, an effect originally used back in the 1970s. This has become popular again thanks to extreme tuning plugins (notably Antares Auto-Tune) where a robotic vocal sound can be a side-effect of extreme, hard tuning - see more on these plugins below.

Our buyer’s guide also includes plugins like Waves Tune for more natural vocal tuning. Every vocalist can have a bad day in the studio or on stage, and these plugins can help with live performances and studio recordings to a subtle or less subtle degree. Waves Tune Real-Time, for example, can be used in both the studio and on stage and genuinely does work in 'real-time' with very little latency. Indeed you, your vocalist and audience need never know such tuning has taken place!

Of course, you might not want 'subtle' and that's where the aforementioned hard tuning plugins come into their own to deliver the famous and much used 'Auto-Tune' effect, made famous by Cher in the late nineties. The effect is produced when these plugins tune a vocal extremely fast, resulting in an unnatural vocal sound which the original plugins were not intended to be used for, but it has become ubiquitous in the charts over the last three decades and shows no sign of slowing down. 

So when buying your vocal tuning plugin, you simply need to decide if you want natural or robotic results, or indeed a plugin capable of both. Waves has a plugin for every tuning situation - every vocal process, in fact - from natural to alien and beyond.

• Our pick of the best vocal plugins for every scenario

Ever since the advent of the vocoder, musicians and producers have been using vocal processing tools to warp, mangle and reimagine the sound of their voices.

These days, there's a dizzying array of vocal effects on offer, from the now-ubiquitous pitch correction of Auto-Tune to the weird and wonderful sonic possibilities offered by plugins like iZotope's VocalSynth. Here, we run you through 9 of the most powerful tools available to those looking to process vocals creatively.

1. Antares Auto-Tune Access 10 

The Auto-Tune lineup has expanded to considerable proportions, with numerous versions of the plugin to satisfy every price point and user type. This is the most basic iteration of Auto-Tune, but there is nothing basic about its capability. This timeless plugin is reliable and dependable, and does exactly what it says on the tin! 

Mac/PC | £49 from Antares

2. Softube Vocoder

Designed to offer a vintage sound, Softube’s vocoder plugin offers a passing nod to the Roland vocoders in both sound and aesthetic. It includes a basic but powerful on-board synthesizer, which will provide you with your carrier wave. It’s great for classic vocoder duties, especially for pushing drums in the vocoder’s direction. 

Mac/PC | €99 from Softube

3. Zynaptiq Orange Vocoder IV

The Orange Vocoder is one of the longest-standing plugins in existence, but was in need of a radical reformation, and that’s certainly what we have with version IV. As well as having everything built-in to get you started, it also has a myriad of vocoder styles and pretty good examples of talkbox. 

Mac/PC | €169 from Zynaptiq

4. Antares Harmony Engine 

As one of the most highly regarded harmoniser plugins on the market, the Harmony Engine’s reassuringly expensive price underlies its capabilities. If you want to create the Prismizer effect easily and effectively, this is really the plugin you need to fulfil the harmony element.

Mac/PC | £286 from Antares

5. iZotope VocalSynth 2 

VocalSynth 2 is a feature-packed plugin that can turn an imported vocal of the most average quality, into an impressive-sounding synthetic line. It can also provide classic vocoder, and talkbox effects with a minimum of fuss! It’s impressive, and one of the best on the market.

Mac/PC | £189 from iZotope

6. Eventide Quadravox

This very capable harmoniser plugin from Eventide is a slightly different proposition to the Antares option. Adding four harmonised voices to an incoming signal, it can create interesting rhythmic and harmonic patterns. It is more simplistic than the Antares, but can yield some excellent results if working on a smaller budget.

Mac/PC | $99 from Eventide

7. Waldorf STVC Vocoder/ String Machine

There is nothing quite like sitting down at a keyboard vocoder to get you inspired. The Waldorf is a great contemporary example of what a vocoder can do, with some excellent vintage and modern sounds, backed up by some beautiful string sounds. 

£499 (hardware only!) from Waldorf

8. Antares Auto-Tune Vocodist

As if Antares didn’t have much of this already sewn up, their very own vocoder plugin not only features Auto-Tune built-in, but it provides a complex dual-oscillator synthesizer to handle your carrier wave. It also comes complete with an extensive set of artist presets. 

Mac/PC | £88.50 (or monthly subscription) from Antares

9. MXR M222 Talkbox

Finally, if you want to channel your inner Daft Punk, you might want to explore the hardware option of a talkbox. MXR make an easy to use guitar pedal, aptly named Talkbox, which can accept a guitar or keyboard input and will have you sounding like Roger Troutman in a matter of minutes! 

£198 (hardware only!) from Jim Dunlop

Few names define a product group more than Focusrite does with audio interfaces. For as long as music production and home studios have been a thing, there’s been an army of small (usually red) boxes powering peoples’ recording efforts, routing audio in and out of laptops and tablets quietly and efficiently. We thought, therefore, that a round-up of the best Focusrite audio interfaces was a worthy guide to have, and so here we are.

Whether you’re a full band looking for an expansive multitrack recording partner or a bedroom beatmaker who just wants to ensure the best bang for their buck, there’s a Focusrite for you. We've had plenty of hands-on experience with many different Focusrite audio interfaces, so in this guide we’ll explain the differences between the range, and point out the things you should be looking for when you’re searching for a new audio interface.

Don't know a preamps from phantom power? Then you'll want to check out our buying advice section which has loads of common questions about audio interfaces answered by the experts here at MusicRadar, as well as some interesting history on Focusrite themselves. If you already know your stuff, then keep scrolling for our top picks.

The quick list

Best for beginners

Propping up the range is Focusrite’s smallest interface, the Scarlett Solo, which offers up a single high-quality mic preamp (and a regular line-level or instrument input) to give basic set-ups a quick and easy way to upgrade. If you’re dipping your toe into the waters of home recording, and won't need to record more than two sound sources at a time, then the Scarlett Solo is the ideal option.

It offers superb audio quality and is as simple to use as an audio interface could ever be. You plug it in, connect your devices, and away you go. We also like the way it has the same toughened chassis as the more expensive units, so you could quite happily keep one in your luggage as a backup solution or for nights when you’re stuck in a hotel room away from your bigger toys.

The Focusrite Control app offers excellent flexibility for setting up your inputs without having to mess around with the actual knobs and buttons on the front. You also get an excellent software bundle to get you up and running from the moment you open the box.

Read our full Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen review

Best for home

While no manufacturer would release sales figures without being under legal duress to do so, it’s safe to assume the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is one of, if not the, biggest-selling audio interfaces of all time. Now in its fourth iteration – which itself is an indicator of its popularity – the 2i2 has been refined and finessed into pretty much the best audio interface for basic home studio work.

Packing two quality Focusrite mic preamps, there are lots of additional features designed to make your recording process that much easier. Auto gain sets your input at the perfect level while clip safe prevents your track from accidental clipping. The air function adds a presence boost too, useful for livening up a direct input.

Some of the notable new additions come in the ability to power it from a powerbank thanks to a second USB-C port, meaning it’ll function perfectly with tablets and smartphones, and we also liked the loopback functionality – a clear nod that streamers and vloggers have found the 2i2 ideal for their needs too. A triumph, and easy to recommend.

Read our full Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen review

Best for studio

If your studio comprises multiple hardware sound sources, like synths, grooveboxes and electric guitars, and you’re fed up having to unplug everything when you want to record something new, then a larger interface is worth its weight in gold. The Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 is exactly that; an 18-input interface that allows you to connect and record multiple sound sources at once.

If you want to record in a more traditional fashion and take a step up from being a bedroom producer it represents fantastic value for money, offering you plenty of connectivity for recording drums and multi-miking different sources.

On the inside, it’s largely the same, tech-wise, as the smaller Scarlett units, although it does include MIDI I/O for allowing your DAW to communicate with your connected hardware. We also like the fact it can be rack-mounted and can be used without requiring a computer connection like a traditional mixer.

Best for podcasting

Podcasting has become wildly popular in recent years, and Focusrite has stepped up with a range of interfaces designed specifically for this. In acknowledging many podcasters will come into the pursuit with little or no experience in audio production, Focusrite's Vocaster range is laid out in a simple way to get people recording as quickly as possible.

Here, you’ll find two mic inputs, and then clear controls on top for the gain and headphone levels of each microphone input. A phone input, camera output, and loopback functionality are vital tools for podcasters, making it very complete despite its small size.

We liked the form factor, which is small enough to carry around for on-location recordings, and the confidence you get from knowing Focusrite knows what it's doing, so the quality levels will be more than enough for the vast majority of users.

Best for preamps

While the Scarlett range of interfaces offers superb audio fidelity and usability, for more serious or professional applications there exists the Focusrite Clarett range. We’ve highlighted the Clarett+ 4Pre here, but there are other options with more connectivity in the range.

Essentially though, the extra money gets you higher-grade mic preamps, which deliver cleaner audio with more available headroom to help in post-production. By requiring less in the way of gain, your recordings will sound more pure, which is helpful when layering different vocals, for example.

The Clarett range is more expensive, for sure, but its relatively small size gives it a degree of portability, meaning you can produce pro-level recordings wherever you are without being tethered to the studio environment.

Read our full Focusrite Clarett+ 4Pre review

Best pro option

At the top end of the Focusrite range sits the Red interface series. These interfaces are designed with pro-level studio applications in mind and have a feature set to match.

For the money, you get a vast number of inputs and outputs via DB25 or Ethernet connections – more than enough for all but the most extensive sessions – along with direct compatibility with ProTools, ThunderBolt 3 connectivity and a host of other features which elevate it above the more generic interfaces we’ve listed above.

There’ll be a certain type of user the Red series appeals to. One will likely carry out some form of audio engineering as a day job, and will therefore demand the highest levels of performance and reliability, while the other will probably just have a day job that pays enough for them to afford this kind of equipment. Either way, the quality and usability that’s on offer here will surely appeal to both categories.

Buying advice

How we test

When we test an audio interface, whether it's one from Focusrite or not we'll always put it through the same strenuous processes as any bit of gear that crosses our desk. An audio interface is the hub of any home recording studio and as such, needs to be reliable.

First of all, we'll look at how easy it is to setup and use the interface in question. Most audio interfaces are plug and play, but that doesn't mean there aren't extra steps that need to be taken. We'll always take into account how easy it is to set things up, checking on both Windows and Mac and documenting any additional requirements.

Next we'll look at the general usability in a variety of situations. Whether it's looking at loopback to handle podcasting duties or any useful features that make recording instruments easier we'll test the interface at home and in dedicated recording spaces to see how easy it is to use. All of our authors are producers and musicians themselves, so an interface will always get used as part of our daily lives making music, content, or anything else.

Finally we'll look at overall performance. Does the interface operate well at low latency? Are the preamps clear? Does it have enough headroom to mic up a loud sound source? These are some of many questions we'll ask of any audio interface when testing, making sure to test every aspect of the unit.

Read more about how we test audio interfaces at MusicRadar.

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For recording and music production, there are a lot of items you could class as ‘luxury’ items. You don’t need them, but they add something unique or special to your workflow or overall output. On the other hand, there are music production items which are, it’s fair to say, non-negotiable.

Audio interfaces are a great example of this; any studio, whether that's a home setup or professional recording space, will use them because they serve one hugely important purpose, and that is enabling you to control the audio going in and out of your computer.

Old desktop PCs used to rely on internal soundcards, but with modern technology being what it is, that is now almost entirely outsourced to an external audio interface, designed specifically for music production. If you’re new to the world of studios and production, you might wonder what it is they do, and why they’re so essential. If you’ve been wondering which audio interface to buy, allow us to help with this guide to choosing your first, or next, audio interface.

What is an audio interface?

For starters, let's go into more depth on what an audio interface is and the role it plays in your music creation journey. Essentially, audio interfaces are responsible for facilitating audio going in and out of a computer. That means both the capturing or recording of vocals, instruments or other sources of sound, and then outputting the audio either to external studio monitors or studio headphones.

By using an audio interface, you’re taking the burden of processing that signal away from the computer. This means you’ll be able to record without latency - that noticeable gap between picking a note on your electric guitar and your ears actually hearing it - while also gaining physical, tangible control over your audio through various knobs, faders and controls.

Most monitors will provide some kind of visual feedback so you can ensure the signal you’re putting into it isn’t so loud that your audio is distorted. This is important because even incredible top-end audio interfaces can’t magically make bad, noisy, clipped audio sound good. Garbage in, garbage out. But by using the monitoring function you’ll at least be able to optimise your signal before it reaches your DAW (digital audio workstation).

Fundamentally, however, they’re relatively simple to operate. You connect your speakers at the back, and your studio microphone or instrument at the front. Hook up the interface to your PC or laptop and you’re ready to go.

What do audio interfaces enable you to do?

For all their simplicity, audio interfaces do enable you to do certain things you simply can’t with your PC or laptop's internal soundcard. Perhaps the most important, for bands and groups, is the ability to record multiple sources at the same time. You could, for example, hook up two microphones - one for vocals and one for an acoustic guitar - and be able to record them simultaneously. This is important when it comes to editing later, as it gives you individual control over both elements. For larger bands, you’d simply use an interface with more inputs.

Audio interfaces also give you control over the routing of your audio. At a basic level, this could mean sending one output signal to a set of speakers and another to a set of headphones. You use the headphones for silent recording, allowing you to keep in time, and the monitor speakers for editing and production. At the higher end of the scale, you may see routing options for multiple sets of monitors or playback systems, allowing you to test mixes across a range of speakers for accuracy.

Latency, as we mentioned earlier, is also hugely important in recording terms. It’s that gap between playing a note, or speaking into a mic, and then actually hearing it back. Put simply, even a few milliseconds can make all the difference. Built-in soundcards aren’t geared towards recording and suffer badly with high latency. Using an audio interface means you can record - and hear exactly what you’re recording - in (pretty much) real-time.

Depending on the brand and range you choose, you can also expect your audio interface to provide a boost in the sound quality for both recording and playback.

Improvements to workflow

As well as the physical and sonic benefits to using an audio interface, there are some genuine positives when it comes to your recording workflow. Having dedicated knobs or faders to physically control volume levels offers a much more tactile experience than having to use a mouse or trackpad. And, as outlined above, multi-track recording will be a game changer if you’ve never had the opportunity or equipment to do it before.

Connectivity

Most audio interfaces will offer a variety of input options, usually including XLR (for microphones) and 1/4-inch jack inputs for guitars, synthesizers and keyboards. Output connections will usually include XLRs, 1/4-inch jacks or a combination, while at the higher end you may find optical, SPDIF or RCA cables for use with DJ equipment.

MIDI I/O is often available via your interface, allowing the computer to communicate with external MIDI gear like synths or drum machines. This means you can, for example, programme a MIDI pattern in your DAW and have it feed back out into a synth or, alternatively, use an external MIDI keyboard to send note data to a virtual instrument in your DAW.

It’s also common to find audio interfaces that offer phantom power. This means you can use condenser microphones, which typically require a power source to function. The interface will pump a small current into the mic, allowing it to operate.

For connecting to your computer, USB-C or Thunderbolt will be the main options, although systems for PCI and Firewire do exist. 

Class-compliance and drivers

As with any computer gear, there needs to be a good handshake between the computer itself and the external unit. This takes the form of drivers; for audio, that will usually mean ASIO. Mac users have it easy; their systems will tend to play nicely with any audio interface you can find, without any problems. 

Windows users may require a bit more effort, but most manufacturers offer dedicated drivers for their interfaces, available from their website. It’s worth keeping an eye out for driver updates, as they can improve performance and reduce the risk of problems when recording or playing back.

Technical detail

Underneath the hood, there is a whole host of technical wizardry going on to convert the analogue signal from a guitar or microphone, for example, to a digital signal (A/D) which can be read by a computer, and vice versa for outputting the sound to your speakers (D/A).

The quality of an interface is only as good as its preamps. That’s because the signal it receives from a microphone or instrument is relatively quiet, and so needs a boost before the A/D magic can happen. Quality preamps do an amazing job at capturing the ‘good’ parts of the audio, and delivering it to your DAW clearly and accurately, and without background hiss or noise.

Finally, pay attention to the available sample rate and bit depth of your interface. Without going into major detail, sample rate is the amount of sound detail the interface captures, and bit depth is the dynamic difference between quiet and loud. It’s not uncommon to see sample rates of up to 192kHz, but to appreciate that you’re going to need some serious monitoring equipment. A simpler way to look at it is to keep in mind that 44.1kHz is equivalent of CD quality, and 48kHz is like DVD quality. If pristine audio is a goal, then we’d advise looking at 96kHz with a bit depth of 24bit.

Related buyer's guides

our experts have compiled a range of audio interface buyer's guides. Find the one you need below:

• The best audio interfaces overall
• The best budget audio interfaces
• The best guitar audio interfaces
• The best audio interfaces for streaming
• The best Focusrite audio interfaces

GEAR EXPO 2024: Microphones are one of the most fundamental tools for anybody recording or performing music. From the tough dynamic mic used on a stage, through to the delicate ribbon mic used to capture the natural warmth of an acoustic guitar, the type of microphone you choose has a huge impact on the sound the listener hears. Here we will offer some guidance on the different types of microphones available, how to choose a microphone for every musical scenario and provide insight into the technology behind them.

• The best microphones for recording instruments, vocals and more
• Best cheap microphones: budget mics for the studio and stage

Fortunately, there are a relatively small number of types to go through. We’ll focus here on dynamic, condenser and ribbon microphones. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks, depending on the situation they’ re employed in, and making the right choice ensures your recordings sound as good as they possibly can be. Let’s take a look at the different types of microphones and explain a bit more about what you’d use each type for.

Microphone types: Dynamic Microphones

• Best for: live performance, guitar amplifier cabinets

Dynamic microphones are perfectly suited to live performance. This is due to their inherent sturdiness, which makes them perfectly equipped to life on the road. Functionally, dynamic microphones are so-called not because of their dynamic range, but because of the type of electromagnetism employed within. A thin sheet, called a diaphragm, transmits vibrations caused by sound waves to a coil, which in turn transfers the vibrations to an electrical wire. This creates a signal, which is then amplified to produce – or reproduce, more accurately – the sound you hear. 

Since the basic mechanical design of a dynamic microphone is so simple, they are both commonplace and extremely durable. And, unlike other mic types, dynamics do not require a power source to operate. Typically, you’ll see dynamic microphones used for live performance, where ‘audio quality’ is just one of a number of desired criteria, not the main one. That’s not to say dynamics aren’t chosen on sound quality – far from it – but they are far less delicate than other ‘better’ sounding mics and so can be relied upon to operate in more testing situations. 

They also tend to react better to higher sound pressure levels, making them ideal for recording louder signals like guitar amp. Finally, most dynamic microphones feature a cardioid pattern; this relates to the area or direction from which the microphone receives its audio. Cardioid mics pick up audio from directly in front of them, and reject any sound which is off a specific predefined axis. This again adds to their suitability to live performance, due to the mics ability to pick out a singer’s vocals but not the sound coming from elsewhere on the stage.

• Hold your microphone steadfast with the best mic stands

Recommended Dynamic Microphones

Shure SM58
This veteran of the live scene is still going strong, and is the first choice for vocals for many bands and artists.

Shure SM57
A slightly different proposition to the SM58, the Shure SM57 is ideal for miking loud guitar cabinets in studios, where it copes with high sound pressure levels like a champ.

Sennheiser E945
A superb choice for vocalists, offering protection against feedback and a great overall sound.

Beyerdynamic M88TG
Highly versatile, the Beyerdynamic M88TG works well with vocals, percussion and even kick drums in a live situation.

Microphone types: Small Diaphragm Condenser Microphones

• Best for: anywhere where accuracy is king, strings, orchestras, acoustic guitars

For many, condenser mics mean the more common ‘large diaphragm’ style of condenser. These are more common, and indeed sought after, for many applications. Yet for detail, accuracy and purity of sound, it’s the small condenser that many producers will look to. The reason is in their construction and format. Any kind of condenser mic works on the same principle; two plates – a front plate, known as a diaphragm, and a parallel back plate. When an audio wave hits the front plate, it vibrates. This alters the distance between the two plates, altering an electrical signal. 

The size of the diaphragm, however, is important for a number of reasons, the most important being the accuracy of sound reproduction. With a small diaphragm the reproduction is more consistent and accurate across the frequency spectrum, making it ideal for situations where a sound needs to be recorded as close to its natural tonality as possible. 

Small diaphragm condenser microphones are usually slim, and are often called pencil mics. They receive audio usually front the end of the mic, rather than from the side, and as such have a unidirectional pickup pattern. As with any condenser mic, they require an electrical signal which can come from an internal battery or, more often, in the form of 48 volt ‘phantom power’ from an external preamp or mixing desk. 

Recommended Small Diaphragm Condenser Microphones

Neumann KM184
These high-end small diaphragm mics work great as a matched set, and deliver incredible performance for brass and stringed instruments.

Rode NT5
Another matched stereo set, but more affordable than the Neumann set. The Rode NT5s score highly for recording grand pianos, acoustic guitars and cymbals. 

Audix ADX 51
A specialist overhead recording mic, the Audix ADX 51 works best when positioned above a drum kit for capturing room ambience.

• Best vocal mics: recommended vocal microphones for the studio and stage
• The best podcasting microphones: record your first podcast today
• Make music on your iPad and iPhone: top mics and more for iOS

Microphone types: Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphones

• Best for: speech and vocals, great for adding colour to acoustic instruments

Large diaphragm condenser mics are great all-rounders in a studio environment. Where small diaphragm mics are all about accuracy and sparkle, large diaphragms are geared towards adding colour and flavour to a recording. They operate on the same principle as small diaphragm condensers, and also require a 48v power source, but can be thought of in the same way as the difference between hi-fi speakers and studio monitors. Where small diaphragms are about reproducing a sound accurately, large diaphragms are about adding tone or flavour to a recording.

High end studios will often have a collection of large diaphragm condenser microphones, each with their own speciality voicing. Some work best as vocal mics, others for guitars. A good producer will be able to match a mic to a desired outcome based on the mic’s unique voicing. Typically, they lack the high-end sparkle of a small diaphragm mic, but this is no bad thing. Acoustic guitars, for example, when captured through a small diaphragm can easily become overpowered by minute details like fingers brushing the strings or accidental pick scratches. A large diaphragm, however, would reject these super-high frequencies and produce a far more pleasing outcome. For speech and vocals too, large diaphragm condenser mics produce a rounded, balanced sound which accentuates the source material in a desirable way.

Recommended Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphones

Shure SM7B
A real workhorse of a mic, the Shure SM7B has found real success in the speech market, and makes a superb choice for podcasting and voice-over work.

AKG C414 XLII
We loved the versatility of the AKG C414 XLII, which features nine different switchable polar patterns making it ideal for recording almost anything.

Aston Spirit
British brand Aston is building a superb reputation thanks to mics like the Spirit, which delivers incredible performance for its price.

Microphone types: Ribbon Microphones

• Best for: guitar cabinets, brass, strings

Ribbon microphones are the rare beasts of the recording world. They operate on a similar electromagnetic principle to dynamic microphones, but instead employ a strip of extremely thin foil which follows changes in sound pressure far more accurately than a moving coil capsule. This provides superb reproduction of sound, but comes with a few caveats. Due to ribbon mics featuring a single conductor, they produce a far lower output signal than regular dynamic mics, therefore requiring a high quality, low noise preamp to produce a usable signal. 

Ribbon mics are bidirectional, or ‘figure 8’, in that they receive a signal from the front and rear but not the sides. They’re often used to capture sounds from electric guitar cabinets or brass instruments, where an extended or pronounced treble response isn’t required. They are also extremely fragile and often expensive, however for capturing the tone of an amplified electric guitar they are highly sought after. Just don’t take one on tour, right?

Recommended Ribbon Microphones

Beyerdynamic M160
New ribbon mics are becoming a rarity, but the Beyerdynamic M160 proves there’s still life in there. Great for brass and stringed instruments.

Coles 4038
Coming as a pair, the Coles 4038 set work superbly as overheads for drums, producing a tremendous response from toms and kick drums in particular.

SE Electronics VR1 Voodoo
It wouldn’t be right to typecast the ribbon mic as limited in its use, as the SE Electronics VR1 proves. We had great results across a variety of situations including vocals, drums and guitars. 

Looking for more great new gear? Get all our round-up, news, features, tutorials, tips and more at our Gear Expo hub page.

For players looking to make their rigs smaller, lighter and more portable, the best pedal amps are somewhat of a godsend. Pedal amps aim to deliver the sound, feel and response of (usually) a tube amp, all in something that fits on your pedalboard.

Some of the best pedal amps might only give you one style of amp - so it’s literally like you’re plugged into the front end of a Fender Deluxe Reverb, for example. Others might have a wide range of different amp sounds and effects, allowing you to dial in pretty much any sound imaginable. These can be great for players wanting to cover much ground sonically.

How they work differs from model to model. Some will utilise digital modelling technology where the pedal will replicate everything the original amp would do as closely as possible. Others are analogue devices and are basically amps in their own right, just in a compact pedal format. We’ve included some FAQs below to help you figure out which will be the best pedal amp for you.

The quick list

Best overall

This is one of the most powerful units out there. Like the Kemper, it’s an amp profiler, so if you’ve got access to some nice tube amps, then you can capture their tone and feel and save it within the Quad Cortex so you’ve got access to them wherever you take it. If you don’t have that kind of access, then don’t worry - there are still tons of incredible options straight out of the box.

The sounds this thing can conjure up really are very good - some of the best digital amp tones we’ve ever heard. They’re pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing. It also reacts well to playing dynamics. You’ve then got the practicality of it - it’s got 11 rotary switches as well as a variety of connectivity options, making it the perfect live performance solution, as well as a superb recording tool.

You pay a premium for the Quad Cortex, but it really is one of the best pedal amps currently out there.

Read our full Neural DSP Quad Cortex review

Best budget option

This is a really straightforward, powered pedal amp bursting with that classic Orange tone. It’s based on their Micro Dark head, and it’s got pretty much all the same features, but it’s in a pedal format. You can go from lovely chimey clean tones, through classic crunch all the way to punchy, high-gain saturation. What’s particularly useful with this though is the footswitchable volume boost, allowing you to set one volume for rhythm, and the other slightly higher for your lead sound.

This compact 20W pedal/head also houses a 12AX7, so you do get some of the feel and sound associated with tube amps. It breaks up nicely as you push it, and it reacts to playing dynamics. There isn’t a ton of flexibility with regards to EQ, but the single shape knob works well for most styles of music.

This little powerhouse will fit neatly at the end of your pedalboard - simply run a long speaker cable to a cab, or use the CabSim equipped output and you’re ready to go!

Read our full Orange Terror Stamp review

Best under $500

Universal Audio is known for its incredibly authentic-sounding plugins. It’s no surprise then that when it released a selection of pedals aimed at recreating some of the most iconic amps ever made, they were every bit as good as their famous plugins.

Each one of these pedals gives you the sound of a different amplifier, so whether you want the roar of a ’60s Marshall Plexi, or you want the chime and sparkle of old Vox AC30, these pedals can give you that. Their limitation is that they each only do one amp style, but they do it incredibly well. Within each pedal though, you have various options to shape your tone exactly how you want it, including different cab simulations. You can also save your favourite sounds as presets for easy recall.

If you’re trying to make your rig more compact, but you still want a great live sound, then these pedals can help you do that. They make for great home recording tools too, as you can forgo miking up an amp and just plug this into your audio interface. The feel and the tone really are close to the original amps, making them some of the greatest choices available to players when it comes to the best pedal amps.

Read our full UAFX Lion ’68 review
Read our full UAFX Ruby '63, Dream '65 and Woodrow '55 reviews

Best for live performance

This is a feature-packed pedal amp, packing a ton of different high-quality sounds into a compact unit. It can cater for most styles of music, with incredible clean tones, lovely on-the-edge-of-breakup sounds, as well as punchy and aggressive higher gain settings.

There are three main amp settings: a Fender Deluxe Reverb, the top boost channel of an AC30 and a Marshall 1959 Super Lead. You can match each one of the amps with three of their own virtual cabinets, giving you an amazing range of tones. Even on just the Deluxe Reverb amp setting, you can sort of model different versions of that amp - it’s clever stuff! There’s also a Room knob that helps add different levels of ambience and really helps recreate some of that ‘amp in the room’ type sound.

The Strymon Iridium is really versatile, and all of the sounds it creates are excellent. Some pedal amps excel at one particular sound, whereas this does it all amazingly well. Whether you’re playing mostly clean, or you’re after tube-style breakup and distortion, this is one of the best pedal amps available.

Read our full Strymon Iridium review

Best for rock

In collaboration with artist Tom Quayle, UK amp royalty Laney set out to distil its modern classic - the Lionheart - into a compact, durable pedal amp format. And, boy, did they nail it. The Lionheart Loudpedal is a twin-channel, 60-watt pedal amp that lives up to its name - this thing packs a punch.

But it is not just volume for volume’s sake. Laney has done a stellar job engineering the Class D power amplifier with an analogue solid-state preamp, giving the Loudpedal a valve-like character with all the sag and squishiness you would expect from a classic British valve amp.

At the same time, there is plenty of modernity built in. The Loudpedal features two impulse response (IR) cabinets, which you can toggle between with the flip of a switch. Through the LAIR app, you can choose from four IRs - two classic Laney cabs and two of Quayle’s own - or even upload your own. It sounds great, is easy to dial in, and offers enough modern features to satisfy. What more could you want?

Read our full Laney Lionheart Loudpedal review

Best for recording

The original Kemper was one of the most game-changing pieces of equipment that we’ve seen in recent years. It’s still an industry standard, and you’ll hear it on so many modern recordings.

The Kemper Player is a more compact pedal version of that classic amp modeller, so you’ve essentially got access to hundreds of different amp sounds at your feet. Instead of a digital screen, the Kemper Player is controlled largely through either a smart device or computer, though once you’ve set it up, you can get an array of different tones just with the switches and buttons on the pedal - you can store up to 50 rigs within the pedal itself.

Like the original Kemper, you can use this as an interface, or you can plug into a powered cab, or just run straight to front of house using the XLR output. It’s super compact, taking up roughly the space of two regular pedals and it houses some of the best amp modelling sounds you can get your hands on!

More options...

Building on the success of the Tone Master amps, Fender has managed to pack its amazing tube-like digital technology into this super easy to use floorboard modeller.

Of course, you can dial up the sounds of various classic Fender amps, so expect lovely clean tones with a rich bottom end and clear, sparkling treble frequencies, but the Tonemaster Pro also has models of loads of other well known amps. Get British-style crunch, modern high gain metal sounds, as well as a wide range of different effects.

Aside from its large selection of fantastic sounds, what makes the Tone Master Pro so good is its user interface. It’s got a large colour touchscreen that lets you easily build and edit your rigs, though there are plenty of great sounding presets already built in. It’s user-friendly and intuitive, so you can make tweaks quickly and easily, and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out!

Read our full Fender Tone Master Pro review

Designed to simplify the idea of amp modeling, the IK Multimedia Tonex Pedal does away with fancy screens and menu diving to give guitar players great sound with less hassle.

It doesn't do effects modeling aside from compression and reverb, so you're getting as pure an amp modeling experience as possible with Tonex, and boy does it do it well. We found the models to be astoundingly good, and the ability to quickly tweak using the physical knobs means you can always make the best of any guitar's natural sound.

Toggling the alternate modes is a little confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it you'll be quick editing using just the unit itself in no time. Of course, there's a companion app if you prefer to do your editing on the computer, and you can use it as an audio interface too.

Read our full IK Multimedia Tonex review

This is an all-in-one guitar pedal amp - it’s got a variety of different sounding amp models, front-end stompboxes and an effects section. There’s also a tuner on board, 100W of power should you wish to hook it up to a cab, and even the option to model how different tubes react and sound. There’s a lot packed into this, making it one of the best value for money options when it comes to pedal amps.

With 100W, you’ve got a good amount of clean headroom, though you do also have the option of running it at 1W and 20W. As we’ve come to expect from Blackstar now, the AMPED 2 delivers a good selection of fantastic tones, making it a solid choice for any style of player - you can get warm, thick clean tones, mid-heavy crunch and chunky high gain sounds. What’s especially great about this pedal amp is that it’s really easy to navigate. Everything is done via knobs and switches, so you don’t have to go menu-scrolling.

It’s versatile, it sounds great, it’s easy to use and it’s relatively affordable; definitely one of the best pedal amps on the market today.

This packs a lot of the power of the flagship Helix in a much more compact unit. The HX Stomp gives you access to a massive range of amp sounds, effects, and IRs, enabling you to create tones suitable for any style of music.

There’s a lot you can do with this, and we’ve seen players use them in different ways over the years. You can use it as your sole tone generator - plug your guitar into it and run cables straight to front of house, or in-ears, or use it alongside your pedalboard and/or traditional amp. The sounds are great too - from cleans to high gain sounds, there’s literally something in there for everyone, whether you’re using it live or in the studio.

Its only potential downside is, due to the fact it packs so much in there, you don’t have quick access to all the sounds, as there are only three footswitches. If this might be an issue for you, you can expand it by adding an external foot switch, or you could punt for the larger Stomp XL.

Read our full Line 6 HX Stomp review

Each one of these pedals aims to replicate the sound of a particular classic amp. The JIMS45 is based on a Marshall JTM45, the Combo Deluxe ’65 is TC Electronic's take on a mid-’60s, black panel Fender Deluxe Reverb, and so on.

These pedals do a great job of getting you in the right zone in terms of sound and how they respond. They’re not identical to the real amps, but they’re pretty close. They’re also incredibly well priced, coming in at around a third of the cost of the Universal Audio pedals. Each pedal has a boost function, and a channel switch. There is only one set of knobs on each pedal (which is great as it saves space), but the pedal remembers where each knob has been set for the channel that you’re on.

The pedals have two outputs – one for running into the effects loop of an actual amp, allowing you to use them as a preamp, and the other with official Celestion speaker emulation for going direct. These things are simple, work well and they’re super affordable.

Read our full TC Electronic Ampworx review

FAQs

How easy are amp pedals to navigate?

A lot of pedal amps offer you a variety of amp sounds. This is great for players that want to explore different tones and styles of music. With more choice comes the issue of how you navigate it all. Some pedals use LCD or digital menus - these allow you to deep-dive into particular settings and tweak all sorts of parameters to really nail the sound you’re after.

Many pedal amps will also offer a dedicated program you can use on your computer, as tweaking these settings on the units themselves can be particularly time-consuming. These dedicated apps are useful for getting your sounds in order before you take them to rehearsal or a live show.

Not everyone likes menu scrolling though, especially when the screens are small. Some prefer pedals that have good old fashioned knobs and switches, like you’d get on a traditional amp. These give a more tactile experience and let you see where all your settings are, right there in front of you.

Size considerations

If you’re thinking of getting a pedal amp, then there’s a good chance that size and portability are important to you. Some of these units are amazing space-savers. The Kemper Player, for example, is about the size of two regular-sized pedals, and gives you access to hundreds of different amp tones. Some of them do get quite chunky, though. If you’re wanting to add your new amp solution to a pedalboard, then make sure you’ve considered the dimensions first!

How we test

When testing a pedal amp, we'll aim to comprehensively put a unit through its paces in a home recording scenario, at the rehearsal room, and for live performances. Pedal amps are designed to replace your amplifier, so we'll judge the sound first and foremost, but always with an eye on its user friendliness too.

Setting up a pedal amp should be relatively simple, typically going at the end of an already existing pedalboard. As pedalboard users ourselves, we'll integrate it within our own rig to ensure the most realistic circumstances possible. We'll look at whether the connections are clearly marked, whether it has extra connectivity for integrating effects loops or running a signal to a desk as well as how easy the manual is to decipher.

Once things are set up we'll next look at the usability of the unit. Can you get a good sound out of it right away or does it need more finessing? We'll consider whether or not it requires an app to get the best out of it or can you use actual knobs to adjust the sound. We'll also live it with it for a period of time so we can really ascertain just how usable it will be for any musician.

Next, the sound. We'll usually start by putting all the dials at 12 o'clock before proceeding to tweak the knobs and see how effective the EQ is. We'll then adjust gain and volume settings to ensure its capable of operating in a variety of scenarios, whether that's at home or in a loud rehearsal space.

With our expert knowledge testing real tube amplifiers, we'll also use our well-trained ears to determine how close each pedal amp gets to the sound it replicates. Whether it can do edge of breakup well or even simulate the 'sag' of a tube amp. Does it have the same organic tone and harmonically rich distortion as the real thing? Only once we've answered all these questions will we then make a decision as to what rating it should receive.

Read more about how we test music making gear and services at MusicRadar.

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Not so long ago, significant updates to Ableton Live seemed to be few and far between. There was a full five years between the release of Live 9 and Live 10, and a four year gap since the release of Live 8 before that. 

The announcement of this latest version comes just a little over two years since Live 11 hit the market, and we’ve already had a significant ‘point’ update in the meantime, which added a new synth, Drift. That all comes on top of a new version of Push and Ableton’s first iOS app, Note.

You’d be forgiven for assuming that the speed at which it’s arrived might mean that Live 12 lacks much in the way of radical new features, but in fact this latest update marks one of the most significant shake-ups in years. This is due, in part, to changes to Live’s UI – which has famously remained strikingly similar for most of the DAW’s life – that overhauls both the browser workflow and the interaction between elements like the clip launcher, arranger and mixer.

Live 12 also introduces some new concepts to the DAW, including generative MIDI creation tools, a tuning pool and a new ‘scale awareness’ function. Oh and there’s a whole new synth, an update to the much-love Granulator, and a new, multi-faceted distortion effect too

5 big workflow changes for Live 12

1. The new browser requires some prep work

Upon opening Live 12, one of the most obvious changes is the redesigned browser. Gone are the old folders within each category – which broke, for example, Audio Effects down into Delays, Dynamics, EQ, and so on. These are now replaced by a system of filters that aims to help you find sounds or devices by type or characteristics. 

As well as searching by name, each browser window now has a Filters section at the top, which allows users to refine the list based on things such as sound type, format and characteristics. Clicking the Edit tab next to these filters allows you to assign tags to anything in the browser, either using the pre-existing list and categories, or ones you create yourself.

It’s worth making use of these tags. While the new browser works nicely for Live’s stock content and official Packs from Ableton, it has little to help you navigate your own library of sounds and third-party plugins – at least not without doing a little prep work first. The first thing we’d recommend doing is adding ‘type’ tags to your plugins – eg, ‘synth’, ‘delay’ ‘EQ’ etc – to help you quickly find groups of similar tools.

After this, it’s worth turning to your most commonly used sample packs and assigning any tags you think could be relevant, such as sound type – eg, ‘loop’, ‘one-shot’, ‘drum’, ‘bass’, ‘lead’ – as well as potentially tagging sound by characteristics such as musical key or general tone descriptions. While doing this does require a fair commitment of admin time, it will really help you get the most out of Live’s new browser.

Now, with sounds tagged up, it’s also possible to save browser filter combinations to the library sidebar to create automatically updating groups of sounds, devices or plugins. For example, under the All tab, you can filter sounds by ‘Loop’ and ‘Drum Pattern’, then hit the ‘+’ icon above the list of results to create a new sidebar shortcut. This will list anything tagged with these two characteristics, whether it’s part of Live’s stock library, a Pack or your own folders (assuming you’ve added tags). The list will automatically update as new sounds are tagged with these characteristics.

One final sound-finding feature worth investigating early on is Live’s new Similar Sample tool. This can be accessed in the browser or directly via some instruments, such as Drum Rack. It allows users to browse through a list of ‘similar’ samples that Live generates based on the qualities of the audio files, and isn’t bound entirely by tags. Similar Sample works particularly well with drum sounds, allowing users to quickly swap out single elements or entire kits to see how it affects that beat.

2. In Live 12 you can access the mixer from anywhere

One small but significant change to Live’s workflow for v12 is that the mixer can now be accessed in either of Live’s views – Session and Arrangement. The keyboard shortcut to show/hide the mixer (Cmd + Option + M on Mac, or Ctrl + Alt + M on Windows) allows you to pull up the mixer as needed, wherever you’re currently working. 

Using the hide/show controls at the bottom of the UI, it’s also now possible to display the contents of a clip at the same time as a device chain.

3. Scales are far more important now

You could already make use of predefined scales in Live 11, but they’ve become far more flexible and important in Live 12. 

There are now two places in the DAW where a scale can be defined. The first is the global scale setting, found in the transport bar next to BPM. This defines the overall scale for a project, and will dictate the scale automatically assigned to any new MIDI clips.

Scales can now also be set for individual clips in their respective menus, however, which makes it possible to change the playback scale within a single track or composition.

These scales are now considerably more important to Live’s workflow too. As with previous versions of Live, setting a scale for a MIDI clip can help when programming notes on the piano roll or playing an instrument using a MIDI controller. However, Live 12 also adds a ‘scale awareness’ function to a number of its devices. What this does is lock the harmonic output of various tools to generate only notes or overtones that fit the scale of the MIDI clip in use. 

Tools that feature this function include the MIDI effects, such as the arpeggiator, but also instrument devices such as the new synth Meld, where some oscillator and filter modes can be set to be ‘scale aware’.

Some functions in Live, such as oscillator tuning and the new generative MIDI tools, will operate in ‘scale degrees’ rather than semitones once a scale has been assigned. This means that the tuning of notes will move up and down by intervals in a scale rather than one note at a time.

This all means that by assigning different scales to different MIDI clips, it’s possible to make scale of key changes within a performance or project, and have any relevant MIDI effects or other scale aware devices change to match the new clip. You can also use a MIDI Clip’s ‘fit to scale’ function to quickly try existing Clips or Patterns in new scales or keys.

4. You can now generate ideas directly within MIDI clips

Live’s MIDI clips have been massively enhanced with a set of new creative tools that can generate and transform patterns. These fall under two new tabs found within the MIDI clips themselves. The first of these offers a suite of generative tools that can create MIDI patterns in completely empty clips. Broadly speaking, these each have intended uses, but they can be manipulated in order to perform multiple functions. 

Rhythm is a pattern-focused generator ideally suited to creating drum sequences. Seed is a randomised pattern generator best for melodic lines. Shape is a monophonic generator which will create riffs based around a user-defined shape, and is a great tool for lead and basslines. Stacks is a chord generator that will fill a MIDI clip with a variable set of chord shapes.

The second tab focuses on transformation tools, which will elaborate on or alter your existing MIDI. These cover a variety of creative functions that will shift the arrangement, pitch, timing and expression of MIDI notes. It’s worth noting that by selecting individual notes in a MIDI clip, it’s possible to transform only selected parts, rather than the entire clip.

Suite owners will also discover that some Max For Live tools – notably the Euclidean rhythm generator and Velocity Shaper – can now be accessed directly inside MIDI clips.

The Pitch and Time Utilities menu has had some useful enhancements too, our favourite being the new ‘Add Interval’ function, which can be used to generate harmonies and chords from existing MIDI notes.

5. Live 12 now has a tuning pool… which shouldn’t be confused with Scales

Live 12 has added a lot of enhancements that open up its accessibility and broaden what can be done with the DAW. One notable change is the ability to work with non-Western and non-traditional tunings – something that has been notably absent compared with some other applications. 

These are accessed via a tuning pool, which looks and acts like the existing Groove Pool. Here, users can drag and drop a variety of non-traditional tunings onto a project which will affect all clips and devices. It’s also possible to edit and import tunings yourself.

What’s important to note is that tunings and scales are not the same thing. Scales in Live are based on the 12 notes in familiar Western tunings. While applying a scale can lock out some of those notes, you’re still working within the same 12 pitched notes.

Applying a tuning will change the frequency and relationship between notes themselves, meaning you’re no longer working with those same 12 pitches. Applying a tuning will lock off the scale function, which helps to avoid confusion. 

3 stages of Live 12's new Roar distortion tool

Roar is Live 12’s new effect device. It’s a multi-stage distortion tool, although thinking of it as just a distortion would be doing the device a disservice. Roar can apply up to three stages of distortion or saturation, which can be arranged in serial, parallel, split across different frequency bands, applied to the mid/side elements of a sound, or applied to a feedback loop. 

The inclusion of this feedback loop, along with a versatile mod matrix and built-in compressor, means Roar can perform a variety of functions from multiband dynamics control to delay-like creative effects. It’s a great tool for adding gel to group tracks, but the many modulation sources also mean it’s ideal for creatively transforming elements and adding movement. Let’s take a look at its key elements…

1. Input section

As well as setting the routing for the effect, the input has Drive and Tone controls, which are handy for setting the balance of the sound as it’s applied to all of the distortion stages. Modulating these can radically change the balance of the effect. 

2. Shaper curves

These dictate the style of distortion applied. The amount control alters the depth of the effect. Bias and filtering alter the tonality of the distortion. Bias makes a sound more or less inharmonic. Switch the filter between post- and pre-distortion to change the harmonic quality of the effect.

3. Feedback

The feedback loop functions like a delay, looping some of the output back into the input with syncable timing. A band-pass filter is applied to the feedback loop, which helps prevent extreme frequency spikes. The Width control alters how extreme or subtle this filtering is.

6 things to know about Live’s new synth Meld

1. It’s bi-timbral, and you can link the two layers

Rather than simply having two oscillators, Meld has a fully bi-timbral signal path, meaning each oscillator feeds into its own distinct filter and amp section, with its own modulation tools. You can, however, treat these two sections – labelled A and B – more like a traditional two-oscillator synth, by using the link icon to couple its filter and amp section together.

2. The oscillators can do digital textures and analogue warmth

Meld’s oscillator modes run from bread-and-butter virtual analogue tones to digital modulation and textural generators like rain or ‘bubble’ sounds. Look out for modes with the Scale Aware icon (b#). This means that, when scale awareness is activated, the output of the osc will produce only harmonic content that fits with the scale set in your current MIDI clip.

3. There’s masses of modulation

Press the arrow at the top of Meld’s device UI to open the full modulation matrix. Making use of Meld’s modulation potential is key to unlocking the synth’s distinctive character. The Cross Modulation section is particularly powerful, as it allows for elements of one synth engine to be affected by the output of the other. You can also use the copy utility in the top-left corner to duplicate routings between the two engines.

4. LFO effects can enhance the sound

There’s a lot of complexity with Meld’s LFOs. Along with rate controls, LFO 1 has a Slew and Fold parameter to warp the LFO shape. Here we also have an LFO FX section with two shaping effect slots that can radically alter the LFO output. These can create complex modulations – at slower rates they’re great for unpredictable textures. With the rate cranked they’re great for abrasive modulated oscillator tones.

5. Filters can be effects too

Each of Meld’s two filters has a range of modes, which aren’t limited to standard filtering duties. These include a variety of combined filter and effect modes, offering distortion, bitcrushing, phasing and several tonal effects, including comb filters and resonator effects. As with some of the oscillator modes, the tonal filters can be set to be ‘scale aware’ in Meld’s settings menu and locked to match your selected MIDI scale.

6. MPE and tunings

Much like Live’s Drift, Meld has been designed with the DAW’s MPE capabilities in mind. As well as offering a variety of expressive presets, the multiple dimensions of MPE expression can be routed as modulation sources in the matrix – a handy tool for automation even if you’re not using an MPE controller. This also means Meld works well for experimenting with the non-western tunings in Live’s new Tuning Pool.

• Read more: How to use Granulator III, the new version of Ableton's powerful granular synth in Live 12

We're plunging into the world of piano production this week on MusicRadar, covering everything from essential piano production tips to advice on how to choose the right piano sound for your mix.

Many of us don't have access to an acoustic piano, but if you have a MIDI keyboard, the sound of a $10,000 grand is just a few clicks away, thanks to the ever-expanding range of high-quality piano plugins. Here's a handful of our favourite options, including an excellent free plugin from Spitfire Audio. 

1. Spectrasonics Keyscape

Keyscape is a total compendium for piano-related instruments. Instruments range from the Yamaha C7 concert grand piano, through to a felted grand, uprights, various Rhodes and Wurlys, electric grands, and more obscure instruments, such as toy pianos and electric harpsichords. It also integrates seamlessly with Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere suite.   

2. Synthogy Ivory 3

Recently released, Ivory 3 features one of the most carefully sampled Steinway Model D concert grand pianos available. Synthogy also offers a wealth of other piano-related library content, which is available to purchase separately. These include collections of upright pianos, and even the beautiful Italian Grand, which extensively reproduces a Fazioli.

3. Native Instruments Definitive Piano Collection

This bundle includes two grand pianos and an upright, all providing depth, detail and the ability to adjust mic signals, until you’re happy with the sound of the instrument. Being fuller in tone, they’re ideal for more soloistic and ensemble settings, where a defined tone may be required.  

4. Spitfire Audio LABS Soft Piano 

Amazingly, the free LABS Soft Piano has become a cinematic classic. Despite its non-existent price-tag, it has been used on so many television shows and soundtracks that it would have easily earned its keep as a paid product. It’s a classic felt piano, with all of the creaking and character of an acoustic instrument.  

5. Toontrack EZ Keys 2 

This update to the original package brings a number of enhancements to the fore. The included piano is a sampled Fazioli, recorded at RMV studios in Sweden. Apart from the rich nature of the sampled piano, there is a wealth of MIDI content, geared toward songwriting and composition. Pianistic inspiration awaits.  

6. Modartt Pianoteq 8

Pianoteq is a modular plugin that allows you to expand your preferred model. The elementary Stage pack includes two pianos, which can be chosen at purchase. Options are extensive, with both Steinway Model B and D, Bechstein, Blüthner, and a swathe of packs which include rock pianos, harpsichords and other keyboard and percussion instruments.   

7. Sonic Couture Hammersmith Free

This classic little freebie is sampled from a Steinway Model D, and includes a staggering 4.8GB of samples, which is quite something, given the lack of price. It sounds fantastic, but includes only one mic position. Other mic settings await, should you choose to upgrade to its paid, larger sibling. 

8. Cinesamples Randy’s Prepared Piano

For something more experimental and prepared, this is a great option. There is a substantial set of articulations, with different hammer types, as well as colours from foreign objects being laid inside the piano. It’s certainly worth a look for more ambient genres.

9. A real acoustic piano (not a plugin!)

You’ll be staggered what some people want to get rid of, and luckily you can often find pianos for nothing. A quick scour of the recycling or second hand ads will likely turn up a piano, with the caveat being that you’ll need to go and get it. Hire a van, and you’ve got yourself a real piano. If you've got the cash for a new model, check out our guide to the best acoustic pianos. 

Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) are essential for music production, but purchasing a premium version can be costly. Luckily, the best free DAWs offer a solid entry point, especially for beginners or those without a huge budget. These free platforms can lack some advanced features but provide all the essentials to create, edit, and produce music without breaking the bank.

Just because you're using free software and stock plugins, doesn't mean you can't create great music. Many famous songs use stock sounds, like Rihanna's 'Umbrella' which used a drum loop from Garageband, while Soulja Boy's 'Crank That' was made entirely using FL Studio stock sounds. For beginners, it's important to get your head around the basics before jumping deeper, so starting with a free DAW is a great way to get you making music without distractions. Once you know which features of a DAW you like, you can then commit to the one that best matches your workflow.

This guide explores the best free DAWs for 2024, highlighting their key features and helping you decide which software suits your production style. If you're totally new to DAWs, we've got a FAQs section that answers loads of common questions, otherwise, keep scrolling to see our top picks.

Top picks

Best for Mac

The most famous free DAW of them all comes bundled with every Mac, and makes it ridiculously easy for pretty much anyone to start making music.

Not only can you record audio - your electric guitar or microphone, for example - but you also get a strong selection of software instruments that can be played from a MIDI keyboard. There are plenty of rhythmic and instrumental loops, too - just drag them into the Timeline and start creating - and Apple’s excellent Drummer enables you to create customised drum tracks to fit your projects.

The effects library includes virtual guitar amps and stompboxes, and there are enough editing and mixing features for you to polish a track to completion. Projects are compatible with the equally excellent iOS version, and Logic Pro provides a ready-made upgrade path on the Mac.

Throw in AU plugin support and you realise that, If you need a free DAW on the Mac, there’s little reason to look anywhere else.

Read our full Apple Garageband review

Best for PC

Already one of the best free DAWs around - and certainly one of the most fully-featured and least restrictive - Tracktion Software Corporation’s latest update makes Waveform Free even better.

Offering an unlimited track count and plugin support, Waveform Free has a new welcome screen that makes it easy to set up your audio interface and offers a range of project templates.

There are new editing features, too - the likes of Range Selection, Ripple Delete and Heal/ Consolidate/Silence - along with a Step Clip Editor that’s designed to ease the process of clip programming.

Further workflow enhancements come in the form of the Actions Panel, which enables you to ‘favourite’ your most used actions and create custom actions that can be recalled with a click, and a MIDI typing feature that turns your computer keyboard into a musical one.

All in all, Waveform Free is so capable that you’ll wonder why you didn’t have to pay for it. A great option for PC users, you can upgrade to the Pro version whenever you’re ready.

Best for beginners

BandLab is a cloud-based DAW that allows musicians to create, collaborate and share music online. With its browser-based interface, users can record audio, use MIDI instruments and access a vast library of loops and effects.

BandLab supports real-time collaboration – very cool – making it ideal for musicians working remotely or in groups. It offers multi-track editing, mastering tools, and is accessible from both desktop and mobile devices.

BandLab is especially suitable for beginners or those seeking a free, accessible, versatile platform for collaboration and sharing projects seamlessly.

Best for beats

Akai’s MPC products have been inspiring electronic music and hip-hop producers since 1988, which saw the release of the iconic MPC60.

MPC Beats - a free ‘beatmaking DAW’ means that everyone can now experience the legendary MPC workflow. The software features a classic 4x4 drum sample grid (that’s 16 pads), a piano roll, a sample library browser and a sample edit window. You can switch between these different views whenever you like.

If you’re new to the production game, beat templates will help you to get started and understand the process, and MPC Beats ships with a 2GB library that includes content from some of the most popular MPC Expansion Pack sound libraries (you can add more if you’re willing to pay for them).

As well as the obligatory drum kits, there are also three plugin instruments (Bassline, Tubesynth and Electric) and 80 FX plugins that are lifted from the Air Effects collection. So, you have everything you need to create, mix and master your tracks.

Control can come not only from one of Akai’s own MIDI Keyboards or pad controllers, but also any other suitable MIDI controller you might have to hand. MPC Beats will auto-map to many of them, easing the setup process

Other features of the software include two stereo audio tracks, eight MIDI/instrument tracks and support for VST/AU instruments and effects. You can also use MPC Beats as a plugin in another DAW.

Best for DJs

Launched in 2019, Serato Studio is a simplified PC and Mac DAW that’s aimed at entry-level DJs who want to move into music production. Great for beatmaking, it's simple yet easy workflow makes it ideal for beginners.

The feature-limited free edition has full save and export functionality and no time constraints, but is limited to four Decks, four Scenes, one Audio Track and MP3-only export. Automation is disabled, too.

That said, it’s still perfectly possible to create a full track using the free version, and it offers features such as sampling and virtual instruments. DJs can also load full mixed tracks into it and use the software to create their own edits.

Best for pros

Cockos Reaper isn't technically free, but you can perpetually use it in trial mode much like unzipper software WinRar. It runs via an honour system, so if you love it you can eventually pay the $60 fee for it.

One of the most full-featured free DAWs there is, Reaper is well known for being a rock-solid DAW that's super customisable. It gives you all the tools you need to make music whether it's EDM entirely in the box, or recording full bands.

It's probably going to be too complex for a first DAW, so if you're brand new to digital music making we'd suggest looking elsewhere, but if you already have a little DAW knowledge, it's one of the best free options there is.

Read our full Reaper review

FAQs

How we test

Having been testing gear for well over 17 years now, we've tested pretty much every DAW ever made. That gives us a great overview of what would suit a beginner when it comes to getting a free DAW to get started making music.

When testing a DAW we'll be looking at several things, the most important of which is the workflow. A free DAW needs to be easy to navigate and setup, as most users won't necessarily be well versed in bussing track, send and returns, or MIDI editing. A good free DAW will lay everything out in an easy to use fashion, and ideally come with a tutorial of some description.

We'll also look at what's included in the package in terms of instruments, effects, and samples. Even a free DAW should have a wide selection of sounds to choose from, as ultimately these will for the core of your productions. We want to see a good selection of sounds from a range of different genres, which will enable users to make the type of sounds they're into.

Finally we'll take a look at the upgrade path. If you enjoy your free DAW, chances are you'll want to move up to a more full-featured version as your productions get more complex. A clear upgrade path that's good value is a huge advantage for a free DAW, as it gives existing users an easy way to continue.

As with any DAW, we'll test for around two weeks to really get used to the workflow and make the most of the available features. This allows us to get over the honeymoon period and really dive deep into its capabilities, so we can give a balanced review.

Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.

Read more:

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With the exception of ambient or orchestral genres, drums provide the backbone of basically all modern music. If you make music for clubs, good drums are essential - they’re what makes you want to dance - whereas in rock and pop they provide drive and dynamics. Capturing the right sound and rhythm is key to creating the feel of your track, so for most computer-based musicians a good drum plugin is a must-have.

In the digital realm, ‘drums’ can mean a multitude of things; it could be recording of a real drummer mic’d and captured live, a recreation of the real thing created using sampled and re-sequenced drum hits, or something more electronic and synthetic made from either samples or synthesis.

• The best free VST plugins: synths, drum machines and effects

The first of these methods is always going to be the best route to ‘authentic’ drums, but it relies on access to quality mics, a space where you can make a lot of noise and - crucially - a real drummer who can actually play. For those who want to fake their drums, either to work around these limitations or as a stylistic choice, there are a variety of different types of tool available.

Drum plugins can broadly be broken down into two categories: ROMplers, which are sample-playing instruments usually aimed at authenticity, and drum machines, which are more like their hardware namesakes and usually more sequencer-focussed. 

Both styles are present in the freeware realm, although the latter variety is probably better served than the former. Recording and creating large, realistic sample libraries can be a costly process, so it’s not surprising that freeware ROMplers tend to either be considerably smaller in scope than their paid counterparts, or be designed to act as demos enticing you to buy more sounds to flesh out the library.

Whether you’re looking to create convincing acoustic drums, emulate a vintage drum machine or synthesize something unique, the free plugins below have got your needs covered.

1. AudioSpillage MiniSpillage 

Mac | AU

MiniSpillage has been around a few years now, but remains one of the handiest freeware drum synthesizers going. The plugin is a trimmed-down version of the paid-for DrumSpillage, making use of the same impressive sound engine but paring things back to just three generators - kick, hat and wood drum.

Despite the limited sound engine, there’s more sonic scope than you might think from these three tools. The kick can do punchy hits and deeper bass sounds, hats can be noisy and complex, and the wood drum can create a nice variety of perc sounds. 

Each generator is equipped with an LFO and envelopes to help add shape and movement. Filters and an onboard distortion let users sculpt the tone of each drum further, too.

One important thing to note: MiniSpillage is Mac only and, like several tools in this roundup, doesn’t seem to work with Apple’s new M1 hardware. A factor worth bearing in mind if you’re on or considering a new system.

2. Native Instruments Beats 

PC/Mac | VST/AU/AAX

Beats is an updated version of Urban Beats, one of NI’s older Kontakt instruments, now offered free as part of the company’s Komplete Start bundle. The sound palette here leans toward hip-hop and R&B, although its selection of staple drum machine sounds works equally well for house, techno and other club-focused genres.

It’s easy to forget that NI do so many freebies as part of the constantly evolving Komplete Start single download. Beats gives you five instruments and a bunch of drum loop production kits and is more flexible than it looks. You should also be reminded that Start gives you eight other instruments and seven synths too – for free! 

The main appeal here is that the instrument lets users create grooves in one of three ways - by triggering individual sounds via MIDI, triggering pre-programmed loops or by step-sequencing patterns. Beats also offers a decent amount of effects processing power, with chorus, flanger, reverb and delay all included. 

3. Spitfire Audio Labs Drums

PC/Mac | VST/AU/AAX

Spitfire Audio launched its Labs project a few years ago, offering a variety of high-quality - and often fairly esoteric - free sampled instruments, all of which run in the company’s bespoke host plugin. Labs Drums is one the earliest entries to the series and is one of the more straightforward and conventional of Labs’ instrument range.

The sounds themselves date back to a recording session at Spitfire HQ in 2012, using top-of-the-range mics and the talents of drummer Oliver Waton and engineer Stanley Gabriel. The resulting sounds are a vibrant and characterful collection of acoustic drum hits.

The Labs interface puts slick design and ease-of-use ahead of sound design depth, but there’s still enough shaping and control here to balance sounds as needed for your project.

4. Synsonic BD-909 / BD-808 Free

PC/Mac | VST/AU

This pair of free percussion synths from German developer Synsonic focus entirely on just one drum sound: the kick. Specifically, the synthesised kicks found on Roland’s iconic TR-909 and TR-808 drum machines.

While a one-track drum plugin might not sound all that useful on paper, it’s worth bearing in mind that between them those two bass drums underpin entire genres, from house and techno to hip-hop, so having access to speciality tools dedicated to shaping the perfect emulation is nothing to scoff at.

In reality, the hardware that inspires these plugins is fairly limited - you can’t even tune a real 808 kick - but Synsonic has ramped up the flexibility significantly with a variety of parameters absent from the originals.

The BD-808 adds course and fine tuning, plus an extended Long Decay mode. RD-909, meanwhile, has individual controls to shape the tone, pitch sweep and noise of the drum, plus an added distortion effect. Both plugins can track incoming MIDI notes, too, meaning they can be put to use for percussive basslines and melodies as well as traditional drums.

5. Manda Audio MT Power Drumkit 2

PC/Mac | VST/AU/AAX

Unlike some of the more electronic or synthetic tools in this list, Power Drumkit 2 is a plugin aimed squarely at replicating the realistic sound of a real musician behind a genuine drum kit. In terms of sounds, you’re limited to just a sampled acoustic kit here, although the sounds themselves have been well recorded and pre-processed in order to cut through a mix. There’s a per-channel mixer with compressor included, to help adjust levels further.

The real highlight here is the extensive and flexible library of MIDI grooves. There are MIDI presets replicating a range of playing styles, each with its own sub-library of fills. Users can mix-and-match grooves and fills within the plugin to build their ideal beat, before dragging the MIDI composition onto their DAW’s timeline. Even if you don’t use the onboard sounds, this can be a handy tool for driving other drum samplers.

It’s probably rock and alternative styles that are best served by Power Drumkit 2. If you’re a guitarist or composer looking for a passable replacement to a real drummer to fill out your next demo, this could be ideal.

6. SampleScience 6o6 Koncept

PC/Mac | VST/AU/AAX

As you might be able to guess from the name, 6o6 Koncept is a sample-driven plugin based on the sounds of Roland’s classic TR-606 drum machine.

606 sounds are hardly uncommon these days - Roland, Behringer and others offer hardware emulations, and you can find sampled 606 kits included in many big name DAWs and paid-for beat plugins.

SampleScience’s take has a few tricks up its sleeve that helps it stand out from the crowd, though. These include additional Tape, Vinyl and Sub texture layers that can be dialed in to add extra character to the sounds. There’s also a flexible LFO section that can be used to add plenty of movement to your patterns. 

Each sound also gets its own multi-pitch sum mixer, which allows users to be far more creative with the somewhat simple 606 sounds than is possible using the original hardware.

It all adds up to a fun and interesting drum plugin that offers a fresh angle on a classic set of sounds.

7. Steven Slate Drums 5.5 Free

PC/Mac | VST/AU/AAX

In a similar vein to Power Drumkit 2 above, Steven Slate Drums is designed to offer a selection of realistic sampled drum sounds that can be triggered via MIDI in your DAW. SSD 5.5 itself is an extensive and powerful plugin packed with tons of sample content and MIDI grooves, whereas the Free version is essentially a non-expiring demo.

Unsurprisingly, SSD 5.5 free drastically cuts down the amount of content featured in the paid-for version, but you still a trio of kit presets, including one of Slate’s much-touted ‘mix-ready’ snares. 

Aside from the drastic reduction in content, SSD 5.5 free is fully-featured, with features to control the shape and dynamics of drums. SSD 5.5 is especially good for hooking up to a percussion pad or e-kit, too.

8. Smackos 808 Simulator / Smackos Amiga 909

PC/Mac | Ableton Live only

We’re bending our own rules slightly here, as these two tools are actually user-created Packs for Ableton Live rather than fully-fledged plugins. Their source warrants their inclusion on our list though, seeing as both emerge from the studio of Dutch producer and vintage synth connoisseur Danny Wolfers (aka Legowelt).

Anyone familiar with Legowelt’s prolific musical output will recognise the hard-hitting, lo-fi quality of the sounds here, which is what sets the instruments apart from Live’s own stock 808 and 909 kits. These aren’t simply sets of lo-fi samples, though - both instruments here load in Rack form, equipped with a carefully configured chain of Live’s stock effects, including compressors, reverbs and EQs, with Macros configured to tailor the retro-punchiness of the sounds.

The benefit of the Live Rack format is that both instruments here are easily customisable. Try loading your own samples in to run through the effect chains, or subbing Live’s effects out for your favourite third-party plugins, in order to make the kits your own.

9. Sampleson Sub

PC/Mac | VST/AU

Sub is a relatively straightforward virtual analogue drum machine heavily inspired by the TR-808. The controls are fairly limited, in most cases offering just pan and level, but also adding a few extra parameters for the kick and snare, plus tuning for the toms and congas. Sonically Sub does an excellent 808 impersonation, though (although to our ear the hats are more 606-ish).

Sub’s main USP, however, lies in the addition of sub-bass control (hence the name), that can be used to enhance and beef-up the low end coming from the kick. This lets users create and refine the distinctive long, bassy kicks often used as basslines by hip-hop and techno producers - and it’s worth a download for this alone.

10. StudioLinked Drum Pro

PC/Mac | AU/VST

Drum Pro is a drum ROMpler plugin that comes stocked with 20 free kits, with the option to add more via paid expansions. There’s little hiding the fact that Drum Pro is primarily designed as a means to tempt you into parting with your cash for said expansions, but its free sounds are still nothing to scoff at.

The primary appeal of these free sounds is that many of them comes sourced from iconic hardware – there are kits made from the 808, 909, Boss DR-55 and Novation DrumStation within the free line-up. 

The plugin itself isn’t much to write home about. There’s basic shaping for the drum sounds, via an ADSR envelope and mixer section, plus an onboard reverb with level control. The simplicity of the design does make Drum Pro feel quick and approachable though. For an easy-to-use source of classic drum samples, it’s worth a download.

11. Monster DAW Monster Drum

PC/Mac | AU/VST

We’re not going to argue with a drum ROMpler that has the word ‘Monster’ in its title – twice – and Monster Drum is not just one of our favourite freebies. It regularly gets voted top over at KVR and has a look and set of sounds for every genre you can imagine; making it one of the most flexible (and colourful) drum machines around. 

The best thing about Monster Drum is that it's never complete, as the developers are regularly updating the plugin with new kit expansions, designed and recorded by themselves and generous musicians and producers. 

12. Pepto Audio DR-84

PC/Mac | AU/VST

Pepto Audio’s freebie goes off road compared to other titles here in that it focuses neither on electronic classics nor acoustic drums but some more obscure machines. You therefore get the sounds from Simmons and Linn Drum machines plus the Oberheim DMX, E-mu Drumulator and Yamaha RX1 over 14 kits. Great if you want beats of a slightly different nature.

Equipped with a built-in reverb, low pass filter and individual controls for pitch, pan and volume, DR-84 provides enough room for sonic manipulation to keep things fresh. There's multi-output functionality, too, so you can route each sound to an individual track in your DAW for further processing. 

The Apple Mac has been the music producer's dream machine for many years now. That's not to say that PCs aren't a great choice for music production, but Macs have a slick operation system that aids the music production workflow, the power to handle the required number crunching, and the style that creative producers love. But choosing the best Mac for music production can be a difficult task, which is why we have done it for you in this guide, which has been updated to include Apple's latest M3 machines.

Apple welcomes many music producers into its hardware world through the DAW (digital audio workstation) called 'Logic Pro'. This wonder music-making package has recently hit v11, and is full to the rafters with live clip launching, AI-backed music-making features, and a heap of content that emulates just about every real and synthetic instrument out there. At less that $/£200, it's a huge draw for music producers, and one that has helped shift countless Macs for Apple as this combination of hardware and software really is a great partnership for music-making.

But whether you use Logic Pro or not, an Apple Mac is a great powerhouse machine for music production, and for this feature we'll assume that you have opted for a computer with the Apple logo, so now you just need to choose which model. We'll guide you through the Mac range, detail the pros and cons of each, and by the end you should know which one to buy according to your budget, portability and power requirements.

• Our pick of this year's best Black Friday MacBook deals, updated live

Quick list

Best overall

The relatively new MacBook Pro M3 16" tops our best Mac for music production list because it gives you the best of the mobile and desktop worlds in one machine, although as with any 'best of', you'll have to shell out for it with the 'best part' of your bank balance for it.

That 16.2" screen has enough real estate to handle a lot of DAW workflows, though, and, of course, with the 'Pro' name, you can expect more than enough power for music production.

In truth, though, the fully upgraded MacBook Pro with the M3 Max processor, is probably too much for many music tasks. We've hardly stretched our 24GB RAM Air, yet the Max's memory starts at 48GB RAM! Similarly, you shouldn't pay the extra cash for the 8TB option, as a decent separate fast hard drive will bolster the 1TB bass model for much less cash.

Both 16" Pro models offer a great music production experience, though, and while they do have a power headroom you might not require, make the investment now and you will future-proof your music-making for some years to come.

Best desktop

As with the mini, the iMac can be a forgotten star for Mac music production, with the main headlines often stolen by fancy MacBook Pros and Mac Studios. But Apple always specs these machines up well, with great screens, decent processors and attractive price tags.

There are actually two near-identical machines in the latest iMac M3 range, one offering a slightly better graphics performance (10-core compared to the cheaper 8-core), a bigger maximum hard drive capacity (2TB versus 1TB), and two extra USB 3 ports (on top of two USB 4 ports). For the extra $/£200 you'll pay, these extras might be worth considering, especially with the extra ports for the keyboards, controllers and audio interfaces you might be connecting up.

Both iMacs max out at the M3 processor - with no M3 Pro or Max on offer just yet - and the storage tops out at 2TB (not a problem, really, as we do recommend using a fast and cheap external drive if you need extra storage). Otherwise, the iMac is a superb choice for music production, with a stylish approach, fabulous 24" screen, and is a great all-in-one option, with everything you need for not a lot of money in the grand Apple scheme of things.

Best lightweight

Apple has updated all of its laptops to the latest M3 range of chips, with the Air the only machine which is also still available as an option with the older M2 processor (see below). The newer Air M3 is available in two sizes: 13-inch (13.6-inch) and 15-inch (15.3-inch). We prefer the larger 15” screen size for music production as we have found 13" laptops slightly restrictive in the past.

We carried out several official tests between the Air M2 and the newer M3. Using the Ableton Live DAW, we got a 25% uplift in performance for the M3, which rose to 30% in Logic, more than even Apple claims! Our sister site TechRadar suggests that the Air M3's multicore stats are even up there with the entry-level M3 MacBook Pro.

We therefore think that the M3 Air is a better buy than that base-model MacBook Pro, as it boasts the bigger screen and equal power, but costs less. We also discovered in our tests that the bigger 15" model has a significantly better sound from its own speakers over the 13" Air.

Combine the performance with the quiet Air operation, the sleek design and larger screen, and we think the 15-inch Air M3 is currently a fantastic option for mobile music production.

Read our full Apple MacBook Air M3 review

Best all-rounder

We've included the 16" MacBook Pro in our top position as it is the best overall Mac for music production, with the bigger screen size and power. But the 14" MacBook Pro is a cheaper way of getting that power, although you can also spec it up to a price that gets close to the 16" if you load it up with the top-end M3 Max processor.

However, if you dig deep into the MacBook Pro 14" range, you should be able to find a model that balances both power and price.

At the bottom end of the scale you can get a 14" MacBook Pro for less than $/£2,000 with an M3 processor, but in our tests the M3 Air had just as much power and also boasts a bigger screen - hence it being recommended above. So if the smaller 14" screen is something you are after, you might want to take advantage of the faster M3 Pro or Max processors, but either way you'll greatly add to the asking price.

The 14" MacBook Pro is a great machine, but you will have to decide which one you need because there's a machine for everyone in the range, but you might have to do some weighing up of specs versus price to find it.

Best on a budget

The Mac mini is Apple's no-nonsense, compact Mac where you get a choice of core computer and add the keyboard, mouse and monitor yourself to save costs on the original machine. The company's latest mini range retains this ethos - there are still cheap machines available to buy and if the spec of the latest M2 base model fulfils your needs, then $/£649 is a great price to pay. However, the range has also very much expanded upwards, and the sky is the limit in terms of power and price.

Two main types of Mac mini are now available, and are built around the M2 and M2 Pro processors, although there are many available spec options around these to choose from.

As you can now supersize the spec of your Mac mini into something altogether different, the 'mini' name almost does the range an injustice. 'Mac mini XL' or 'Mac maxi' might be a better description.

Inevitably, any upgrades and additions all come at a price and, much like the MacBook Pro, that price rises sharply as you bump up the spec of the memory and storage. Even so, and despite the non-upgradable design, there can be no denying that the Mac mini offers an excellent performance for the price.

Read our full Apple Mac mini M2 review

Best compact option

In many ways Mac Studio is a top choice Mac for music - it starts off at a reasonable $1,999/£2,099 for a base machine that has a decent 32GB memory and powerful M2 Max processor, and this standard machine sits perfectly at the top end of the Mac mini range in terms of price and specs (as Apple has clearly planned it to).

As ever with Apple, it's those tempting upgrades where things might come undone and your bank balance comes under threat. Upgrading to the M2 Ultra chip - as found in the Pro - essentially doubles the price in an instant, but is still a way away from the cost of the Pro. And maxing out the storage adds a huge $/£2,400 for 8TB, so you're seriously better off investing in a fast external drive for this.

And like the mini, you will need the extras - keyboard, mouse and monitor - with the Mac Studio so you'll need to factor these in. But this machine does perfectly bridge the gap between the mini and the excessive Pro to make it a fine choice for music production. If you are in the market for a powerful and very serious desktop Mac for music, then this is a great high-end choice.

Read our full Apple Mac Studio review

Best affordable Air

Apple's new M3 MacBook Air (see above) is available in either 13.6" or 15.3" options, but this older M2 machine could still be a great introduction to the Apple music production world as it is a relatively cheap option.

The sound emanating from the Air's four speakers (which also support Spatial Audio) is so much better than a small form device like this should be capable of. You're not going to be using it for detailed mastering, granted, but it's almost good enough to mix with and very decent just for music listening.

The battery life of the Air is good, although at a quoted 18 hours it's not quite up there with the 22 hours you get on some of the new MacBook Pros. You also only get two Thunderbolt USB 4 ports on the MacBook Air (you get three on the larger Pros), so if you want more than a monitor and interface connected, you might need to think a little outside the box.

Some have said that not having a fan to cool it down is a big disadvantage when you compare this MacBook Air to the latest MacBook Pro. As music producers we'd disagree, to a point, and say that having no fan is a huge advantage, just in terms of noise.

The older M2 MacBook Air is still a beautiful mobile option for Mac music making, and the cheapest one at that.

Read our full Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) review

Best high-end

OK, so here we are at the top of the Apple Mac tree with a machine that, on the face of it, boasts many of the same specs as the Mac Studio – the storage and memory options are the same, and if you want to, you can even spec the processors up to be similar. The difference is that the Mac Pro boasts Apple's M2 Ultra processor as a standard (whereas it's an option for the Studio) and the Pro has many more connectivity options.

However, even Apple admits that the Pro is designed for those who require the absolute peak of processing power. So think animators, visual effects producers, 3D processing… any and all kinds of video production, basically, where the number crunching needs this kind of power to back it up. Music producers, even at the very highest level, don't really require this kind of power or, more importantly, can get much of it cheaper in Apple's existing range.

And that's where Pro slightly falls down. As incredible as this machine undoubtedly is, it's the price hike between this model and the Studio (and top end MacBook Pro) that puts it out of any league or recommendation. The base model of the Pro, for example, is $6,999/£7,199 whereas you can configure a Studio up to a similar spec for $3,999/£4,199. Yes, you get extra connectivity, but that is a huge difference in cost for that 'Pro' label.

So unless you are making more money than you can spend in music production – and if you are, we'll send you our address details – then you should really consider the Mac Studio as your Desktop Apple ceiling. And just to finish, for your information, if you want the fully maxed out Mac Pro, it'll cost you $12,299/£12,499. We'll take two.

Buying advice

How to choose an Apple Mac for music production

As we say in our introduction above, Apple has produced a Mac computer for every task and occasion. While the range can be initially confusing, there is some logic to it – of course, there is! Once you have made some key decisions, you should find that you quickly hone in on the correct Mac for your music making. So let's look at those buying decisions.

How we test Apple Macs

When testing Macs – any computer, in fact – we look at the overall product design, specs, value for money and, if relevant, how easy the system is to set up and get up and running.

With so many different Macs in the Apple range, we'll also see how they work in the environment for which they were designed, so portable Macs are tested for mobility and durability, while desktop Macs will be tested for the amount of noise they make and whether they produce excessive heat under duress.

And it's this musical number crunching that we test for the most, with a number of different tried and tested methods employed to measure a Mac's performance. The first is to download the Logic or Ableton Live benchmark projects from www.logicprohelp.com and www.music-prod.com. With these, you load up the project and then add tracks on until 'System Overload' is achieved. It therefore gives you comparable benchmark numbers for each Mac tested so we can reveal how upgrading your Mac to a better processor will impact your music production.

Similarly a music producer's DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) has a performance which can be slowed down by CPU-intensive plugins such as reverbs and software synthesisers. We therefore often insert multiple instances of Logic Pro’s ChromaVerb on multiple audio tracks to get a measure of a particular Mac's performance so we can then tell you how each Mac compares with another. See our full reviews via the links in the shorter reviews above.

Read more about how we test music making gear and services at MusicRadar.

Related buyer's guides

• Smaller budget? Explore the best budget laptops for music production
• Going the desktop route? These are the best PCs for music production
• Best budget PCs for music production: power and performance for less
• Best mouse for music production: top choice mice, trackpads and trackballs
• Best computer monitors for music production: DAW-friendly displays
• Best studio desks: budget-spanning options for organising your studio

Trust us, we know how hard it is to think of the perfect Christmas present for any type of musician, and the wonderful world of keys can seem completely alien to anyone who is unfamiliar with the specifics of digital pianos, beginner keyboards or stage pianos, the vast array of piano benches on the market or the latest piano-related gadgets. Well, MusicRadar is here to help. We’ve put together this guide to the best Christmas gifts for piano players, taking all the stress out of choosing a thoughtful present for your keys-loving partner, family member or friend.

We know it may be tempting to buy a piano-themed mug and be done with it, but frankly, you can definitely do better - and the recipient of this gift deserves better. We’ve made sure to populate this guide with useful gear that will transform their practice routine, help them carry their beloved instrument to and from rehearsals and even make them sound better.

We’ve selected a wide range of products covering various price ranges, so whether you're looking to splash out on a state-of-the-art piano or keep costs down with a modest accessory that would fit perfectly in a stocking, you’ll be sure to find something here to suit your budget.

Where to shop

• US
• Guitar Center: Huge keys department
• Sweetwater: Synths and keys for days
• Musician’s Friend: All major brands covered
• Reverb: Fantastic range of new and used gear
• Pianote: Unbeatable online lessons (30-days free)
• UK
• Thomann: Fast shipping, great prices
• Gear4Music: Wide range of brands
• Pianote: Unbeatable online lessons (30-days free)

Best Christmas gifts for piano players: Accessories

Best Christmas gifts for piano players: Benches

A solid, comfortable piano bench is a must-have accessory for any piano, so it's an ideal gift if you're looking to give them something practical. Below are our top three choices at three price points.

Best Christmas gifts for piano players: Headphones

If your loved one has a digital piano or a keyboard, then a good quality set of headphones is a brilliant gift. Not only will it allow them to practice day or night, but the right set will actually make their piano sound better!

Best Christmas gifts for piano players: Stands

A high quality stand would make a welcome gift for any piano or keyboard player. Below we've selected three stands which are sturdy, reliable and affordable. For more options, check out our guide to the best keyboard stands.

Best Christmas gifts for piano players: Pianos

Now, if you're looking to really spoil them, a brand new piano is the way to do that. Below you'll find three of our favourite models, from beginner-friendly to an affordable upright.

How to choose a gift for a piano player

Searching for some guidance on how to begin and what to purchase for the pianist or keyboardist in your life? Follow these tips, and you’ll be sure to impress them this Christmas.

Inquire directly!
It may seem straightforward, but simply asking them what they’d like, or requesting a list of gear they’re interested in, can simplify your task significantly.

Understand their playing level
Knowing whether they’re just starting out or are already experienced is crucial. Beginners often need tools to aid in practice and skill development, while more advanced players might have different requirements.

Conduct some research
Utilize resources such as this guide, along with buyer’s guides and reviews on music websites. If the person plays in an ensemble or takes lessons, try chatting with their bandmates or instructor. They might have valuable insights into what’s currently needed.

Set a realistic budget
It's really important that you set a reasonable spending limit and stick to it! If you come across something you love that exceeds your budget, either pivot to another option or think about getting a gift voucher to help them acquire the item they really want.

Look for discounts
This season is perfect for snagging great deals on piano and keyboard accessories, so keep an eye out for sales events like Black Friday or pre-holiday promotions from reputable retailers.

Gifts to avoid

When it comes to selecting gifts for piano and keyboard players, it’s crucial to steer clear of generic music-themed items like mugs or T-shirts. Trust me, having been a musician for over 20 years, I can say with confidence that we don't want or need more items with pictures of pianos or music notes on it. While these may seem like fun choices, they often lack the meaningful connection that a thoughtful gift should embody. Instead of relying on novelty items that may quickly gather dust, consider how beneficial practical gifts can be in enhancing their musical journey.

A well-chosen gift could be a high-quality metronome, a comfortable piano bench, or premium sheet music that they’ve been eyeing. These gifts not only show that you understand their passion but also support their growth as musicians. For instance, a subscription on an online lesson platform, such as Pianote, can help improve their technique, while a book of sheet music can provide endless inspiration.

Remember, a practical gift will be cherished, reminding the recipient of your thoughtfulness every time they sit down at the piano to play.

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With more than 17 years of experience, MusicRadar is the premier music-making website in the world. Run by musicians for musicians, we offer expertly written gear round-ups and high-quality, authoritative reviews by an extensive team of highly experienced industry professionals.

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Shopping for a multi-instrumentalist? Check out our other gift guides below

• No matter the instrument, these are the best gifts for musicians
• Dive deeper into the best gifts for drummers
• And explore our pick of epic gifts for guitar players
• Surprise the mix master in your life with the best gifts for DJs

Just about the first thing you learn when you start playing guitar is how to tune your instrument, but unless you’re a musical prodigy with perfect pitch, chances are you’ll need some assistance in doing so, and many have turned to the best guitar tuner apps for that help.

Whilst pedal tuners are still the gigging musician’s favourite, and headstock tuners offer another compact solution, the emergence of the tuner app has made it easier than ever to tune your guitar wherever you are - because who is ever without their phone nowadays? Our pick of the best tuner apps range from the simplistic to those with bells and whistles, which offer much more than just standard tuning. The best thing about our choices is that they are all free to download; you'll only need to pay if you want to unlock more advanced features.

Let's take a look at the top picks. And you can scroll further down for some expert buying advice.

Best guitar tuner apps: MusicRadar recommends

For the best all-round tuning option, with plenty of additional features readily available, Fender’s Guitar Tuner app is superb - as you’d expect coming from Fender. The tuner is simple, with options for alternate tunings and instruments, all displayed on a crystal clear display, perfect for beginners or professionals.

If you want a super simple, no frills tuner, which delivers every time - and makes you believe you’ve got your pedalboard in front of you - the Boss Tuner app is the perfect companion. With a tiny storage size, it’s ideal for those who haven’t got room for a big app on their device.

Best guitar tuner apps: Product guide

With two modes - Auto Tuner and Manual Tuner - which work across electric, acoustic, bass, and ukulele - the Fender Guitar Tuner offers elegant simplicity and reliability, with a super smart graphic interface. The Auto Tuner has a superb display, which is easy to use even for novices, while the Manual Tuner plays a note for you to tune to, which may be preferable for some. A ‘Pro Tuner’ with chromatic mode is available when you sign up for an account, but for everyday use, the standard options are more than enough for most players.

While tuning is at the core of this app, there are a host of other features including a metronome, chords, scales, and even songs to play along to. For access to the majority of these features, Fender will try to get you to sign up for an account - though this is currently free to do - and if you want to avoid that, this may not be the app for you. Still, if you can put up with the odd offer popping up, it’s the best tuner app around.

Download (iOS)
Download (Android)

Type in ‘tuner’ on your app store of choice and this will likely be the first one you find.

Where GuitarTuna excels is in that you can tune almost any hand-held string instrument with it, including viola, mandolin, balalaika and more. For electric guitar, you can even choose the layout of your guitar’s headstock - 3-a-side (Gibson) or 6 in row (Fender). Of all the tuning apps, it feels amongst the most thorough, and will appeal to technical players.

The app will try to get you to sign up for a free 7-day trial followed by a rolling monthly or annual subscription, but you don’t need to do this to use the tuner. There are some handy features in the app that may encourage you to upgrade, such as an ear trainer, but you will generally be upsold subscriptions to the Yousician tuition platform - the parent company of this brand.

Download (iOS)
Download (Android)

The best thing about SimplyTuner? All of its features are totally free. The majority of competitors with the same level of features implement a paid tier for access, but SimplyTune gives you ad-free access to everything, totally free.

With access to the likes of chord graphs and a superb tutorial on how to tune your instrument on first open - everybody has to start somewhere! - this is among the very best apps for beginners. After tuning, it has a number of songs you can play along with too. If you are new to guitar, SimplyTune is the app for you.

The only caveat is that, currently, it is only available for iOS users. Android soon, please!

Download (iOS)

Boss’s TU tuning pedals are unquestionably the most popular pedalboard tuners of all time. With that level of industry approval, it is no surprise that Boss has also delivered a stellar app version, which retains the simplicity of its pedal counterpart.

Whilst controls are relatively limited, if you delve into the settings menu, you will find plenty of useful features, such as changing the reference pitch and sensitivity, as well as allowing you to make a host of visual changes including choosing between the classic ‘Boss TU series look’ or their limited edition, black ‘Waza’ version - though it should be said, functionality is exactly the same in either mode.

The only real drawback of this app is if you have notifications enabled you will be bombarded with ‘news’ and sale offers, which can only be removed by clicking each notification individually - though this can easily be avoided by turning off notifications on your device.

Download (iOS)
Download (Android)

Pitched tuner is an app that focuses on the more traditional way to tune, which won’t be everybody’s cup of tea. With a full reference tone wheel spanning 7 octaves, this is, however, absolutely ideal for singer songwriters who may be looking for a reference pitch.

The highlight of this app comes when you upgrade to the ‘full version’ - for a one time fee of around $4 - where you can build your own tuning templates, which is perfect for players who don’t stick to ‘standard’ tunings. For those who don’t want to upgrade, you won’t be short of options as there are plenty of pre-built tuning templates, for guitar, bass, and several other string instruments.

Download (iOS)
Download (Android)

A unique spin on the visual display makes this tuner stand out from the crowd, showing you very clearly each of your strings and whether you need to tune it higher or lower. Unfortunately, only standard tuning is available on the free version of the app and you will need to sign up for premium on a rolling subscription to access other tunings and the rest of the features.

Chordify’s party trick is the ability to tune all of your strings at once - much like TC Electronic’s Polytune pedal - though in reality, this isn’t actually particularly useful and you’ll most likely revert to tuning one string at a time - again, much like the Polytune. Regardless, it’s a nice option to have, and the rest of the tuner functions excellently.

Download (iOS)
Download (Android)

Positive Grid’s Bias is best known for the superb modelling and effects of its software and hardware, but it isn't specifically known for making great guitar tuners.

The reality is, if you’re going to tune your guitar with an app, it’s probably because you’re about to start playing at home. BIAS FX 2 means you can tune and have a full-blown rig with pedalboards and mammoth amp tone in one simple location, so there’s no need to sit down and tune, then go and prep your practice rig.

The tuner is a little tucked away, but is nice and bright in use and impressively detailed, though this sometimes comes across as being oversensitive through your device’s microphone. For full use of all of BIAS FX 2’s features, getting hold of an audio interface that works with your device is necessary, plus it makes the tuner less susceptible to outside interference. As a full rig on your phone, it’s definitely worth considering, but be warned it’ll take up almost 1GB in mobile storage.

Download (iOS)

The Pro Guitar Tuner app feels simple, but also very stable, with reviews citing the ease of use and accuracy of the tuner. The octave up-tuning feature is handy, particularly if you are trying to find out whether you need to adjust your intonation - a simple feature, but one that is often not specifically included.

To unlock the full version, a one-off payment of $9.99 is required, which removes the advertisements from the app - which you will want to do as they are pretty constant - and gives access to many other tunings and instruments - only standard tuning and 6-string guitar is available for free. For a one-off fee, this is palatable, but some of the other apps on this list offer these features without payment.

Download (iOS)
Download (Android)

Best guitar tuner apps: Buying advice

How to choose the best guitar tuner app for you

It doesn’t matter how good you are at guitar, if your instrument isn’t in tune, you’ll sound terrible. Tuning apps are among the latest tools to help guitar players achieve that, and whilst most will do a decent job, it is worth ensuring you pick the best one for you.

If you’re a novice player, simplicity is recommended. Whilst there are a number of apps that will provide you with plenty of extras - with some offering even a whole mobile practice studio's worth of features - sticking to making sure your instrument is perfectly tuned is most important. Multi-instrumentalists should look for an app that caters for their specific repertoire. Whilst standard tuners, such as the Boss Tuner, may be the perfect solution for strict guitar players, if you’re likely to bust out a ukulele or violin, you’d be better looking elsewhere.

Whilst most tuner apps will include at least a couple of different tuning options - standard tuning being a prerequisite, and the likes of ‘drop D’ and ‘DADGAD’ typically available - if you are into particularly complex tunings, you will most likely have to look at ‘pro’ versions of apps, which often unlock additional features. Many apps will give you a trial period to try out these features for free, so you can see if their cost is worth it for you.

The core functionality of tuner apps is based around the use of the microphone, so if you’re planning on using one for all your tuning needs - gigs included - you may be disappointed with the results, or require additional peripherals, such as a mobile audio interface. For the live environment, we recommend sticking with the tried and tested floor pedal tuners, or even headstock clip-on tuners, which are also less susceptible to external influences.

Unlike hardware, apps require constant updates, which some smaller companies may not be able to meet. The last thing you want is to update your device to the latest operating system to find that your tuner app is no longer supported. For this reason, it is always worth reading app store reviews to see how other users have got on with the app over prolonged periods and check to see what the app developer’s support network is like. The fact is, you can spend hundreds of dollars on tuner pedals and rack-mount units - and those high end products absolutely have their place - but tuning apps (in their basic form) are largely free; for that reason alone, every guitarist should download one.

How we choose the best guitar tuner apps

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

When choosing what we believe to be the best guitar tuner apps available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best guitar tuner apps on the market right now.

Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.

If you’re working in a cramped home studio, producing on a desk, or building a travel rig you can actually carry, small studio monitors can offer a bigger upgrade than you’d expect.

Speaker design has moved on fast in the last few years, and it’s now realistic to get genuinely mixable clarity from cabinets that won’t dominate your workspace, with some models even offering room correction or desktop tuning to help when your setup is less than ideal.

The compact monitoring market is also broader than it used to be. Some options are purpose-built for portability and quick setup, while others are simply the smallest versions of serious studio ranges, aimed at producers who need proper translation but have limited space.

Either way, the goal is the same: accurate, repeatable decisions at close listening distances, without the compromises that come from relying purely on headphones or hi-fi speakers.

My top pick in this guide to the best small studio monitors is the IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Pro, thanks to their great build, size and sound that's closer to proper studio monitors than most small speakers.

Best overall

IK Multimedia’s iLoud Micro Monitor Pro takes the original iLoud Micro idea and pushes it into prosumer territory.

It’s still tiny enough for desks, hotel rooms and mobile rigs, but the voicing is far more “monitor” than “mini speaker”, with a tighter midrange, cleaner top end and DSP control that’s aimed at clarity and accuracy over what ‘sounds nice’.

The headline feature is built-in calibration that works with IK’s ARC X software and included measurement mic in the pair version, letting you tame common nearfield problems like boundary boom and desk reflections without external DSP boxes.

You also get practical onboard filters for LF extension, LF and HF trim, plus a desk setting, so you can quickly adapt to awkward placements. Connectivity is studio-friendly, too, with balanced XLR alongside consumer RCA and USB-C for control and calibration.

Best budget

M-Audio has long been one of the most notable brands in the realm of entry-level and budget-friendly music tech gear. The company’s BX monitors are well regarded for offering decent quality at a very reasonable price.

These aren’t as small or portable as many of the truly ‘compact’ monitors listed above, but they are some of the best value, studio-quality nearfields on the market. If both space and budget is an issue, you could do a lot worse.

There’s no EQ or customisation options here, perhaps unsurprisingly considering the price, but the BX3s do have both RCA and TRS inputs on the rear, plus front panel aux and headphone connections.

Read our full M-Audio BX3 review

Best sound quality

Genelec’s 8000 series monitors have been on the market in various forms for almost 20 years, and it’s probably fair to describe them as modern classics. Easily recognisable thanks to their distinctive rounded design, which aims to eliminate diffraction for a flatter frequency response, the 8000s are also built to last thanks to their die-cast aluminium build and metal grilles.

The 8010As are the smallest in the range, aimed at those working in tight spaces or putting together a portable production set-up. They come equipped with Genelec’s adjustable Iso-Pod rubber stands, which are designed to help maintain isolation between the monitors and whatever surface they’re placed on, as well as allowing for easy angle adjustment. They can also be easily mounted to a variety of stands and sockets though.

The 8010As are 2-way monitors and have rear-ported (bass reflex) enclosures. Just beneath the port is a recess housing five dip switches. Three contour the low-frequency response: -2dB and -4dB bass tilts which combine for -6dB, and Desktop Control which dips -4dB at 200Hz.

Best value

Not so long ago, the idea of finding a set of compact studio monitors with the clout required for serious music production was somewhat unthinkable, but IK’s iLoud Micros prove that small speakers don’t have to sacrifice on sound. Despite the small, 3” drivers, these monitors provide clear and accurate sound, and are capable of surprising volume levels given their size.

What’s more there’s a host of features here that make the iLoud Micros flexible for on-the-move use. Room correction EQ is handy, particularly if you plan on using the speakers in different locations and need the ability to adapt to varying spaces.

Mini-jack and RCA input connections mean they can easily connect to a laptop, DJ gear, a home stereo, or make use of Bluetooth for home listening. The lack of larger ¼” jack or XLR inputs make them slightly more awkward to use with an audio interface, although this is easily overcome with cheap adapters.

Best for bass

ADAM Audio’s D3V is a desktop-first monitor system that borrows the company’s pro-audio credentials and packages it for producers working up close.

The star of the show is the 1.5-inch D-ART tweeter, designed to keep highs precise and low-fatigue when you’re sat a metre from the speakers for hours. Low end comes from 3.5-inch aluminium woofers supported by dual passive radiators, which helps the D3V reach further down than you’d expect from something that fits beside a laptop and controller.

Connectivity is unapologetically modern: USB-C for plug-and-play digital audio, plus balanced ¼-inch TRS for a traditional interface setup, and there’s also a front headphone socket for quick switching.

Add DSP room adaptation switches and the included angled desk stands, and it’s clearly built for real-world workspaces rather than idealised studio placement.

Best for travel

KRK’s Rokit monitors are some of the most popular speakers for home studios, particularly among electronic musicians. The newer GoAux range takes a lot of what makes those popular – including the distinctive yellow and black look – and puts it into a smaller speaker specifically designed for use on the move.

Sonically, these aren’t quite a match for their larger counterparts – notably in the low-mids, which lack a little presence – but for their size and price they still impress. The high frequencies are not unpleasant and the mid and upper mid-range is reasonably forward. The rear-ported configuration enhances the low end enough so you don’t feel they lack punch.

If your budget stretches to the approx £50/$50 more for the 4s, we’d recommend the upgrade. Not only do you get a larger driver – meaning more power – but that model also adds automatic room correction (ARC). This uses a test tone to apply an automatic corrective EQ curve, allowing the speakers to adapt to new spaces – undoubtedly handy if you plan to use them on the go.

Best high-end

Unlike some of the explicitly ‘compact’ speakers in this round-up, Focal’s Solo6 monitors aren’t necessarily pitched as being uniquely small. We’re into the realm of standard studio monitors here, although as the smallest speakers in Focal’s range, these are probably the best option you’ll find if you’re looking for a properly high-end, professional-grade monitor suitable for a small studio space.

The Solo6s sound absolutely excellent, and are incredibly honest and detailed. The frequency response extends way up to 40kHz with no distortion, which means it’s possible to listen to mixes with extreme precision while suffering little fatigue. Around the back of the Solo6 you’ll find extensive EQ controls that enable it to sound at its best whatever the room.

These are hand-made monitors and the thick wooden cabinets both look and feel classy. Of course, all of this comes at a fairly substantial price. A pair is likely to set you back well over £/$2k. While that’s money well spent if you want the best possible sound for a small studio, it’s also something of a significant investment.

Best for streaming

Like many compact monitors, JBL’s One Series are designed to function in a variety of different scenarios, with features to suit musicians, podcasters and home-listening set-ups alike. Core to this flexibility is the range of inputs – RCA and 1/4” jack inputs can both be used together to connect two sources and a 1/8” input on the front overrides rear connectors. These BT models include Bluetooth 5 too, for wireless use and home listening.

Given their very reasonable price point, these monitors sound impressive too, with plenty of power from the 4.5” driver and decent bass response.

The main drawback here, compared to many comparable monitors, is the lack of any kind of onboard EQ. That means there’s no option to adapt the sound to different spaces when moving from studio to studio (or anywhere else).

Best mid-range

While they lack the compact portability of something like the iLoud Micro or JBL One Series, PreSonus’ two-way Eris monitors are certainly small enough for use in small studio spaces. In fact, given their very attractive price point, modest size and broad level of connectivity, these are a perfect first step up for bedroom producers graduating from working purely on headphones to their first proper monitoring set-up.

The low-end reproduction isn’t amazing here – even compared to some more ‘portable’ speakers – but it’s respectable for the price. In our tests we found they suffer a little in terms of sound quality at higher volumes, but given their primary suitability for small spaces, it’s unlikely you’ll need to crank them up too high in any case. Rear panel EQ makes it easy to adjust the overall sound to your studio space too.

This BT model is a shade more than the standard Eris 3.5s. They add Bluetooth alongside the analogue connectivity, which is a handy option if you’re looking to balance production and home listening duties.

FAQs

Glossary

Nearfield: A monitor designed to be listened to from a short distance, typically on a desk or small stands, so you hear more direct sound from the speakers and less of the room.

Ultra-nearfield: An even closer listening approach, often around 0.7 to 1.0 metres, where the system is tuned to give a coherent stereo image at arm’s length.

DSP: Digital signal processing built into the speaker, used for tuning, EQ, protection limiting, and sometimes time alignment.

Room correction: Measurement-based EQ and calibration that compensates for predictable room and placement issues, usually via onboard DSP or companion software.

Boundary EQ: A switch or DSP preset that reduces bass build-up when speakers are placed close to walls or corners.

Passive radiator: A non-powered diaphragm used to extend low-frequency performance in small enclosures without a port, common in compact desktop designs.

Coaxial driver: A design where the tweeter is mounted within the woofer, aiming for point-source imaging and consistent dispersion, often useful at close listening distances.

How we choose the best small studio monitors

Choosing small studio monitors is mostly about matching the speaker to your listening distance, your room, and the kind of decisions you need to make. And, of course, the budget you have to play with. Start with the physical reality of your setup - your actual setup, not the idealised Instagram version.

If you’re producing at a desk with the speakers less than a metre away, look for designs that are comfortable at close range and don’t rely on being cranked to come alive. Ultra nearfield systems and compact nearfields are built for exactly this, giving you focused imaging and a clear midrange without needing a big room to breathe.

Next, think about placement constraints. Small rooms often force speakers close to walls, corners, or computer screens, which can exaggerate bass and blur the low mids. This is where practical tuning features matter. This is much of an art as it is a science, but look for rear switches for boundary compensation, desktop filters, or - better still - DSP-based calibration, which can reduce predictable problems caused by tight placement. If you cannot treat your room properly, these tools can be the difference between speakers that feel trustworthy and speakers you constantly have to second-guess.

Connectivity is another quiet deal-breaker. If you’re using an audio interface, balanced TRS or XLR inputs keep things clean, especially if you have other gear on the same desk. Some compact monitors lean towards consumer-style inputs like RCA and mini jack, which is not inherently bad, but it may affect how easily you can integrate them into a studio chain without adapters. If the speakers also include Bluetooth, treat it as a bonus for referencing and casual playback rather than the main production path.

Finally, be realistic about bass. Small cabinets cannot cheat physics, so the smartest approach is to choose monitors with an honest low end rather than an overhyped one, then build your workflow around cross-checking. Use reference tracks you know well, occasional headphone checks, and careful gain staging to get you further than chasing an extra few Hertz on a spec sheet. If you later add a subwoofer, do it to improve confidence, not to compensate for monitors you never truly learned in the first place.

How we test

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

When choosing what we believe to be the best small studio monitors available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best small studio monitors on the market right now.

Our tests for small studio monitors are exactly the same as those we'd perform when using a regular-sized set. We'll look at the overall build quality of the unit, from the tweeters and woofers to the construction of the cabinet. We'll then check out the connectivity and any additional features present such as trim controls or gain boost options. This overview allows us to determine who the product is intended for.

Next up we'll test the sound using our regular set of reference tracks. These are songs we know intimately, professionally mixed and mastered in top-of-the-range studios. Comparing the test set of monitors with our regular set allows us to make a judgement on the quality of their sound, based on years of mixing, mastering, and listening experience.

We'll try and live with any studio monitors we test for a good amount of time, ideally somewhere around the two-week mark. This allows us to gauge how they work over a period of time, and get over that initial rush of getting a new piece of gear. It also gives us time to use the monitors in various situations, whether that's writing music, mixing it, or mastering it.

Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.

Why you can trust us

✔️More than 9,500 reviews on-site
✔️Over 17 years of product testing
✔️ 2.9 million monthly users globally

With more than 17 years of experience, MusicRadar is the premier music-making website in the world. Run by musicians for musicians, we offer expertly written gear round-ups and high-quality, authoritative reviews by an extensive team of highly experienced industry professionals.

We also interview world-renowned musicians and stars about their creative processes and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. This gives fans an insight into the actual craft of music-making that no other music website can.

But that's not all. We also provide excellent tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced techniques and guidance from recognised musicians.

As well as delivering high-quality written reviews and features, we also produce a wealth of video content on YouTube. MusicRadarTV is where you'll find all of our access-all-areas interviews, hot gear demos and exclusive video lessons.

Meet the experts

Read more

Latest updates

• Best studio monitor stands: Optimise your home studio
• Best studio monitors under $500/£500: High-range sound on a mid-range budget
• Best budget audio interfaces: record for less than $100/£100

We’ve been treated to hardware reboots of countless classic drum machines over the past few years, but one in particular has remained in the rhythmic history books: Roger Linn’s LM-1. Now, though, it looks like it’s coming back, this time as the Luma1.

Although this isn’t being built by Roger Linn, it is being created with his consent. Luma1 is in fact the work of Joe Britt, a Silicon Valley CEO who set about the task of not only emulating but also enhancing the LM-1 for a new generation.

And this really is a love letter to the LM-1: no corners have been cut, it would seem, with every circuit board reverse-engineered then redesigned with the new features. Oh, and the new boards are purple, something that Roger Linn, quite reasonably, believes notable LM-1 lover Prince would have loved.

Writing on his website, Linn says: “A few years ago, a friend of [Joe Britt]  gave him one of my old LM-1 drum machines. He enjoyed playing with it, but he wished it had a few extra features like loading alternate sounds from files, and pitch and pan knobs on the front panel. So he decided to make his own enhanced LM-1.”

For Britt, the project has been a labour of love: "For me, as a kid growing up in the ‘80s, the sound of the LM-1 was the sound of my people,” he says. “The Human League, Heaven 17, Yazoo, Gary Numan - so many of my favourite bands from that time built their sound around the LM-1. And of course Prince, who used the LM-1 to create the ‘Minneapolis Sound’. So I started with a very emotional attachment to work created with the LM-1.”

Released in 1980, it’s believed that only around 700 LM-1s were made before it was superseded in 1983 by the more affordable LM-2 LinnDrum. In fact, Britt was originally working from some incomplete schematics, and only got hold of a real LM-1 in 2021.

For LM-1 obsessives, the good news is that it’s been confirmed that a limited number of Luma1s are set to go on sale. They don’t come cheap, though: the target price is a whopping $4,995 (the same as the original). DIY kits will be announced later this year.

You can find out more and message the manufacturer via the Luma1 Instagram page.

Starting a new instrument is an exciting time, particularly when that instrument is a shiny new drum kit. But with so much already to consider in terms of shells, heads, cymbals, hardware, pedals and more, it can be easy to forget one of the most important parts of a new drummers’ toolkit: your sticks. With so much choice we want to help you overcome option paralysis with this guide to the best drumsticks for beginners.

For drummers, sticks are the primary form of contact between yourself and your instrument. A decent pair of sticks is an essential tool to begin your drumming journey, but how best to navigate a potential minefield of different options, sizes, materials, weights and colours? This guide aims to help budding drummers choose their perfect first pair.

This writer was a beginner once - and has taught many beginners - so knows exactly what to look for in a pair of beginner-friendly sticks. Let's take a look.

Best drumsticks for beginners: Product guide

Best drumsticks for beginners: Buying advice

How to choose the best drumsticks for beginners

To the uninitiated, a pair of sticks is just that – a couple of pieces of wood used for beating the tar out of a drum kit. Those in the know however will appreciate the considerable and tangible difference that just a few millimetres in the length or thickness of the sticks can make. Not only does this affect the feel and playability of the stick but also the tone that it draws from the drums and cymbals.

How we choose the products for this guide

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

When choosing what we believe to be the best drumsticks for beginners available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best drumsticks for beginners on the market right now.

Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.

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It's fair to say Roland is a pioneer in the digital piano space. In 1974, the forward-thinking company introduced the first-ever touch-sensitive electric piano, an innovation that forever changed the face of digital pianos. Today, Roland continues to push boundaries, offering pianos for every budget, style and musical aspiration. So, if you're looking for a stunning high-tech piano that sounds just as good as it looks, my in-depth guide to the best Roland digital pianos is sure to help you find the perfect model for your needs.

Now, as a professional music gear reviewer and writer, I've had the privilege of immersing myself in the world of musical instruments, but my journey began long before that. I spent nearly a decade selling digital pianos in a music store, which gave me invaluable insights into what makes a truly great instrument.

As you'd expect, Roland’s piano range is wide and varied, catering to every type of player, regardless of where you are in your playing career. Throughout my years in the industry, I’ve seen how beginners of all ages love the celebrated RP and F series. The fantastic HP range is a welcome addition to any pianist's home - and is what I use personally - while the luxurious LX and GP series are ideal for the more advanced players looking to make a statement.

My top pick is currently the Roland HP702. For me, this piano is super playable, sounds fantastic and is surprisingly affordable. For those seeking a more premium option, look no further than the Roland LX708. This piano is simply stunning in every way, but be warned, an instrument this good comes with a sizable price tag. Lastly, for beginners, I have to recommend the Roland F701. This piano is accessible, playable and affordable - everything you need in a good beginner instrument.

So, whether you’re a complete novice or a seasoned professional, I invite you to join me on this journey through the greatest pianos produced by this iconic Japanese electronic instrument manufacturer.

Our top picks

Best overall

The Roland HP range of digital pianos targets home users, beginners, and students, featuring two models: the HP-702 and HP-704. Now, while both use Roland’s SuperNATURAL acoustic piano technology, the HP-704 offers an upgraded keyboard and a more powerful speaker system. However, due to a sizeable price difference between the two, I've chosen the HP-702 as my top choice.

The HP-702 is equipped with the PHA-4 Standard keyboard, Progressive Damper Action pedals, and over 320 sounds. It also supports Bluetooth connectivity for audio playback from mobile devices. Available in four wood finishes, it perfectly resembles a compact upright piano and is incredibly user-friendly.

Build: The HP-702 features a traditional wooden cabinet design and a comprehensive interface with a retractable keyboard cover. Controls include volume, metronome settings, and sound selection, arranged around a clear OLED display. Like all Roland products, this piano is built to last, and once assembled, it feels sturdy, robust, and very well-made.

Performance: The PHA-4 keyboard offers natural escapement and progressive weighting, making it highly playable. This is a key action found in a number of Roland models, and while it may not be the most realistic when compared to heavier hammer-action pianos, it's a firm favourite of mine. I love how smooth and responsive this keybed is under my fingers.

Sound: In our review, we praise this piano's tone, saying, "In terms of sound quality, the HP702’s wooden cabinet and room-filling dual 12W speaker system showcase the SuperNATURAL modelled acoustic piano tones at their best, delivering a warm, bright and faithfully-acoustic tone that’s incredibly close to the authentic acoustic piano experience." Of course, the 3D Ambience effect only enhances the experience with headphones on, creating an immersive playing experience that's hard to beat at this price point.

Best for beginners

The Roland RP701 is a value-oriented digital piano designed for home players, beginners, and students. It sits between the more advanced HP702 and entry-level models like R107 and F107. With a classic upright piano aesthetic, it offers a slim and affordable option for those seeking a quality small upright without the high price tag.

Build: This model features a full-size console design with a real wood cabinet that is available in four finishes: Dark Rosewood, Contemporary Black, Light Oak, and White. In my experience, this is a very straightforward piano to build and assemble.

Performance: The PHA-4 Standard keyboard found on the RP701 is the same as that found on the majority of Roland's entry-level and mid-range digital pianos. Its implementation here is excellent, as usual - playable and responsive. For beginners who may find the action a little too heavy, the Piano Designer mode's key touch setting can be adjusted to make things easier.

Sound: With 324 onboard sounds and Bluetooth audio streaming, the RP701 excels in the sound department. While it features sampled attack transients for its piano sound, it doesn't offer the same range of expressiveness as the HP702. Still, its nuanced sounds make it a rewarding choice for budding pianists.

Best intermediate

The Roland FP-E50 is a versatile digital piano that cleverly blends features from home keyboards, synths, and stage pianos. Designed for both casual players and those seeking performance capabilities, it offers a rich array of functions that you simply can't find on other digital pianos. I think this is the perfect intermediate piano for players looking to dive deeper into new sounds and experiment with accompaniment.

Equipped with a PHA-4 keybed and Roland’s ZEN-Core engine, the FP-E50 is half synth, half home piano - and for that reason, we love it. It features 177 preset styles for automatic accompaniment, an interactive function that adjusts backing tracks based on your play, and a chord sequencer with 140 presets. Additionally, it includes a mic input with vocal effects and Bluetooth audio.

Build Quality: The FP-E50's build quality is commendable, featuring a sleek design that certainly wouldn’t look out of place in any home. Its downward-facing 11-watt speakers provide adequate volume, although they may sound boomy at high levels.

Performance: Speaking on the key action in our full review, we said, "This action might feel heavy at first if you’re graduating from a home keyboard, but stick with it and let it loosen up. You’ll be rewarded with a fine playing experience that allows for plenty of expression, even if it’s not quite on a par with the PHA-50 keybed that you’ll find in Roland’s more expensive pianos."

Sound: The sound quality is impressive, thanks to the latest ZEN-Core engine, delivering a wide range of acoustic instruments, synth tones, and drum sets. The auto-accompaniment features add an entertaining dimension, making it ideal for solo jam sessions

Best for professionals

The gorgeous and grand LX708 towers above all others in its series with its taller cabinet, resulting in quite possibly the best-looking piano in the rather packed Roland catalogue. Its elegant and sleek design means it's sure to be a stunning centrepiece for any room.

Build: Housed inside this extravagant cabinet is Roland's Hybrid Grand Keyboard action, which combines the nuanced touch of an acoustic piano with cutting-edge digital technology. The keybed features weighted keys that respond effortlessly to a light touch, while the Unique Key Vibration technology replicates the slight micro-movements felt when playing real acoustic pianos. The attention to detail in the build quality is exceptional, reflecting craftsmanship that goes beyond aesthetics to enhance the playing experience.

Performance: For me, the LX708 offers an incredibly lifelike playing experience that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing, making it a total joy to play. The responsive keys allow for expressive playing, whether tackling intricate classical pieces or dynamic contemporary compositions.

Sound: Fortunately, this luxurious piano boasts a sound to match its charming appearance and stellar playability. The piano's Acoustic Projection System is seriously powerful, producing rich and resonant tones that fill any space. The intelligently placed speakers ensure clarity across the full dynamic range, from the softest whispers to thunderous crescendos.

Best portable

Roland's latest release, the GO:PIANO 88PX, builds upon the success of its predecessor, the GO:PIANO 88, offering a compact, ultra-portable digital piano designed for both beginners and advanced players. With a focus on playability, realistic sound, and intuitive usability, the GO 88PX is my top choice for players on the move.

Weighing just 5.8 kg and measuring 128 cm by 27.6 cm, the GO 88PX is highly transportable, powered by either 8 AA batteries or an AC adapter. It features 88 touch-sensitive keys with an ivory-textured surface, improved speaker technology, Bluetooth connectivity, and a variety of built-in sounds, including a new grand piano sound. The model also supports half-damper functionality and includes a one-year membership to Roland Cloud Core.

Build: Okay, this piano may be lightweight, but thankfully, it still feels as robust and sturdy as any other Roland product. I also like the sleek and minimal design.

Performance: Overall, the keys feel remarkably good under my fingers with a comfortable ivory texture on the white keys. However, where the new Roland GO:PIANO 88 will fall short for some is in its key action. While the keys aren’t weighted, we found them to be quite heavy and at times awkward to play. While it worked fine for louder, more energetic passages, we struggled to achieve soft and expressive nuances.

Sound: Its sound engine utilises sympathetic resonance modelling for a more natural sound and offers 40 built-in voices. While polyphony is now 64 notes, I never had a problem with the reduced polyphony - 64 is certainly plenty for most players.

Best grand piano

There is something so inspiring about a grand piano. The look, the feel and that all-encompassing sound just makes you want to play and play. Now, you don't need me to tell you that owning a real grand piano isn't a walk in the park. They require a lot of ongoing maintenance to keep them playing their best, they weigh more than a small car and usually have a pretty hefty price tag. Luckily, Roland has a solution - the GP-9M.

Build: Simply put, this model is built like a tank. Its large frame isn't just grand, it feels fantastic and suitably luxurious. The GP-9M is Roland's premier grand piano and comes fully loaded with the best piano technology Roland has to offer. At the heart of this striking instrument is what Roland refers to as the "Piano Reality approach". Simply put, this is an ecosystem of connected technologies that combine to perfectly recreate the sound and feel of an authentic acoustic grand piano.

Performance: While the GP-9M shares many of the same features as others in the GP range, it does bring a few unique features to the table, such as moving keys, audio outputs and a microphone input for singing along through the onboard speaker system.

Sound: Roland's "Piano Reality" approach is an advanced ecosystem of connected technologies that work together to recreate the sound and feel of an authentic acoustic grand piano. The sound quality is exceptional, delivering rich, dynamic tones that resonate beautifully through the onboard speaker system. Whether you're playing classical pieces or contemporary songs, the GP-9M provides an immersive auditory experience that truly satisfies any pianist's aspirations.

Spec comparison

How to choose

Much like many other piano heavyweights, the Roland range can be broken down into a few categories - stage pianos, portable pianos, upright pianos, premium upright pianos and grand pianos.

So, when deciding which is the best Roland piano for your needs, you'll want to first determine what you want a digital piano for, i.e. recreational playing, performance or recording.

If you are seeking a piano for gigging or simply moving around easily, a stage piano or portable piano is the perfect option. These lightweight instruments are designed specifically for this purpose, and Roland has plenty to choose from. Whether it's the revolutionary V-Piano, the beloved RD series or the beginner-friendly FP range, there is sure to be a portable piano for you.

Perhaps your new piano is going to be a permanent feature in your home. Well, in that case, a digital upright could be the best option. These pianos look much more like their acoustic brethren and are sure to be the centrepiece of any home. If this sounds like the piano style you are after, you'll want to check out the LX, HP, RP and F ranges.

Lastly, if you want to go big and have the space, then the grand piano is the instrument for you. Roland's acclaimed GP series showcases the very best advancements in technology, offering an out-of-this-world playing experience and a lavish look that is sure to make a statement in any room.

FAQs

Meet the experts

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With more than 17 years of experience, MusicRadar is the premier music-making website in the world. Run by musicians for musicians, we offer expertly written gear round-ups and high-quality, authoritative reviews by an extensive team of highly experienced industry professionals.

Below you'll find more information on the expert authors of this guide.

How we choose the best Roland digital pianos

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

When choosing what we believe to be the best Roland digital pianos available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best Roland digital pianos on the market right now.

Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.

About our videos

Filming locations: It’s a fact that most digital pianos are quite heavy, making them difficult instruemts to transport. Therefore, we employ two methods for recording our demo videos. When filming several models from the same brand, it’s more efficient to do so at a music shop or the brand’s showroom. This method enables us to record multiple pianos in one go without the hassle of shipping large instruments nationwide. However, if on-location shooting isn’t feasible, we film at our dedicated photo studio located in Bath, UK.

Capturing the audio: To keep things straightforward, we perform the same three pieces on every piano. We have specifically crafted the music for our demonstrations, creating three unique pieces designed to highlight the characteristics of each piano's sound. The audio is recorded either through the dedicated line output or the headphone jack. This approach maintains a clean audio signal, ensuring it mirrors the sound as it would through your own headphones, without being affected by the acoustics of the filming environment.

Post-processing: As you might anticipate, we do conduct a minimal amount of post-processing on the audio once recorded. We add a slight amount of compression to help maintain uniform volume levels throughout the demos, but we do not apply any EQ or post effects like reverb. The audio remains true to its captured state, with just enough compression to ensure consistency across various pianos.

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The piano has been with us in one form or another since the early 1700’s, after which it evolved into one of the most popular and versatile musical instruments on the planet, with one elegantly-turned wooden foot firmly planted in each of the classical, jazz and pop music universes. These days, we’re not just able to enjoy the wonderful experience of playing a quality acoustic piano, but we’re now in a golden age of digital instruments that continue to inch ever closer towards being indistinguishable - to most people at least - from the real thing.

Due to its innate versatility and ability to straddle genres like almost no other, the piano is one of the world’s most popular instruments to learn. So in this guide, we highlight a few of the major piano brands that - having accrued a lot of experience evaluating and reviewing both acoustic and digital pianos - we feel lead the way in innovation, build quality and track record when it comes to piano production. We should point out that the manufacturers featured here are listed in no particular order - this is not a ‘best of’ feature - just that if you’re in the market for a piano, be it acoustic or digital, these are just some of the names you should be aware of when making your shortlist.

Best piano brands: Acoustic piano

If you asked a random person on the street to name the first piano manufacturer they could think of, chances are that Yamaha would be the first name on many people’s lips. Yamaha acoustic pianos have been the byword for excellence for more than a century, having produced their first upright model in 1900 and a staggering five million instruments by 1991. 

Since then, Yamaha concert grands have attained legendary status, to the point where the current flagship model, the acclaimed CFX, is the weapon of choice for a multitude of international classical piano festivals and competitions, and is favoured by a plethora of virtuoso musicians such as Maria João Pires, Vassily Primakov and Ayako Uehara. 

Aside from the concert stage, the Japanese company has attained equal prominence in the domestic and upright piano markets, with the relatively affordable b1 upright topping the best seller lists in homes and educational establishments for many years. Yamaha’s technological knowhow has also brought them to the forefront of modern acoustic piano design with products such as the hybrid piano, silent piano and Disklavier, an acoustic piano fitted with electro-mechanical controls for performance recording and playback. 

The one thing that unites all Yamaha acoustic pianos though, is an unmistakably warm, clear tone that makes them brilliant all-round instruments, whatever your genre or level of experience.

Founded in Manhattan in 1853 by German piano builder Heinrich Steinweg, Steinway has a long and respected pedigree for producing some of the finest concert grand pianos on the planet. Instantly successful and favoured by classical composers and royalty across the globe, due to high standards of quality and innovative manufacturing processes, Steinway have rightly attained a reputation for high-end excellence that persists to this day. 

The Steinway sound is particularly favoured in the classical realm, with none other than Franz Liszt himself opining in 1883 that “the new Steinway grand is a glorious masterpiece in power, sonority, singing quality, and perfect harmonic effects”. This explains why a Steinway piano is a fixture in a high percentage of concert halls and classical venues worldwide - the fact that Steinway was Leonard Bernstein’s preferred choice of piano speaks volumes.

Steinway pianos are currently manufactured in two locations - the Queens factory supplies North and South America, while the rest of the world is served by the Hamburg factory, which of the two arguably produces instruments of higher quality. Most famous for their 9’ D-274 concert grand, the company does produce two upright models, the V-125 and the K-132. In addition to the flagship Steinway piano line, Steinway also incorporate two more affordable brands marketed under the subsidiary brand names Boston and Essex. Boston pianos are manufactured in Japan by Kawai and Essex pianos are manufactured in China by Pearl River.

Renowned for exquisite craftsmanship, rich tone and illustrious history, Bösendorfer pianos are rightly regarded as some of the best in the world. The company dates back to 1828, founded by Ignaz Bösendorfer in Vienna, and enjoyed early success thanks to meticulous attention to detail and use of high-quality construction methods and materials. 

Bösendorfer pianos are known for their warm, singing tone, powerful bass register, and exceptional dynamic range, exemplified by the most famous model in the range, the legendary, 97-key 290 Imperial concert grand piano. This has an extra octave of keys in the bass register, below the regular 88 of a normal piano. The addition of these extra bass strings gives the instrument a fuller, darker sympathetic resonance when played in the normal register. Its remarkable richness of tone makes the Imperial a shoe-in for romantic classical works by composers like Beethoven or Prokofiev, but also works exceptionally well for styles such as jazz, boogie and stride.

Currently, the Bösendorfer brand is owned by the Yamaha Corporation, but its pianos are still manufactured in the original factory in Vienna, where traditional craftsmanship is combined with modern engineering techniques to create instruments that are not only musically exceptional but also visually stunning.

1853 was apparently a good year for starting piano companies, for it was in that year in Berlin that Carl Bechstein (the ‘C’ in C.Bechstein) established his original piano workshop. The C.Bechstein brand went on to be endorsed by composers such as Liszt, Grieg, Scriabin and Debussy during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and by 1914 had become the largest German manufacturer of high-end pianos.

The current incarnation of C.Bechstein operates out of a factory in the Czech Republic, together with subsidiary brand W.Hoffmann, a more affordable brand produced for the mid-level market, while an entry-level Bechstein brand, Zimmermann, is manufactured under licence in China.

Renowned for their meticulous attention to detail, impeccable construction and the use of premium materials, C. Bechstein pianos are highly regarded for their exceptional tone, warm and resonant sound, and outstandingly wide yet controllable dynamic range. A prime example is the C.Bechstein Concert 8, widely regarded as the finest upright piano in the world. This is due in part to an acoustic architecture similar to that found in the company’s Masterpiece class of grand pianos, giving the Concert 8 the volume, tone and voicing of a grand piano in the footprint of an upright.

From a piano-builder’s perspective, Fazioli are the new kid on the block, first muscling in on the high-end acoustic piano market in 1981. The brainchild of Italian engineer and pianist Paolo Fazioli, the brand achieved early success, with early models produced at their Sacile factory north of Venice rapidly adopted by major players such as Marta Argerich and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Recognising a need for an instrument with the kind of power and harmonic richness necessary to fill larger concert venues, Fazioli created the iconic F308 concert grand, currently the longest piano on the market at 308 cm in length. The F308 features a unique fourth pedal that reduces the hammer-blow distance, which in turn reduces the volume without modifying the timbre. 

Outside the classical arena, Fazioli have also made forays into the jazz world, with Herbie Hancock possibly the most well-known Fazioli devotee among its ranks. The company’s current range consists of six grand pianos - no uprights - ranging in size from 156 cm to 308 cm, and are regarded by many artists as the finest pianos in the world - with a price tag to match!

Another highly-regarded Japanese brand, Kawai was founded in 1927 by Koichi Kawai, a former apprentice of Torakusu Yamaha, in Hamamatsu, Japan and has since become one of the world's leading piano manufacturers.

Handmade by skilled technicians, the Shigeru Kawai grand piano series are of sufficient quality and reputation to hold their own against rival manufacturers such as Bosendorfer, Steinway, Yamaha and Fazioli when it comes to garnering the attention of professional pianists, concert halls and conservatories. Kawai’s speciality is innovation in the use of advanced composite materials in place of wood in their piano mechanisms, a practice which has culminated in their Millennium III ABS Carbon action, which boasts increased strength and reduced weight, making the overall action faster and more responsive.

The current range of Kawai acoustic pianos is enormous, consisting of several series of both grand and upright models. Worthy of note are the flagship Shigeru Kawai SK-EX 9’ concert grand and the highly-regarded K-800 professional upright piano, together with the Novus NV5 hybrid piano - a full acoustic piano keyboard action mated to a digital sound source and speaker system.

Another member of the ‘Est. 1853’ club, Blüthner was established in Leipzig in 1853 by Julius Blüthner. Blüthner pianos are renowned for their “golden tone”, featuring rich harmonics, and exceptional clarity. This is achieved through the implementation of Blüthner's patented Aliquot stringing system, which adds a fourth string in the upper register, resulting in a unique tonal brilliance and sonority. Blüthner aficionados include a number of the great and the good amongst their ranks - classical composers Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff were both big Blüthner fans, as is Stevie Wonder.

Two noteworthy examples from Blüthner's line-up are the Model 1 and the Model 6. The Model 1 is a 9’ concert grand piano whose superb dynamic range, expressive capabilities, and tonal richness make it a favoured choice of professional pianists and concert halls worldwide. Meanwhile, the Model 6 is a 6’ baby grand that delivers a resonant sound and exceptional playability, making it an ideal choice for both professionals and discerning enthusiasts. The sought-after Blüthner golden tone is also available in a range of five upright models, ranging in height from the 116cm Model D to the 146cm Model S. Also resident in the Blüthner camp are the subsidiary brands Haessler, Rönisch & Irmler, which provide a more affordable gateway into the world of Blüthner pianos.

Another Leipzig-based company, Schimmel was originally founded in 1885 by Wilhelm Schimmel with a view to producing very high quality instruments. Schimmel’s continuing commitment to craftsmanship, attention to detail, and ‘quality will prevail’ philosophy have made them a trusted name in the piano industry for decades. Currently owned by the Chinese Pearl River Piano Group, Schimmel pianos are still manufactured in Braunschweig, Germany with the subsidiary mid-level Wilhelm Schimmel brand made in Poland and the entry-level Fridolin Schimmel brand designed by Schimmel and manufactured in China for the Asian and beginner market.

The current Schimmel Konzert range, developed for professional pianists, consists of 6 grand piano and 3 upright models, while the Schimmel Classic range features 3 grand and no less than 12 upright models. It’s their upright models where Schimmel is known to excel, highly regarded for their exceptional tonal depth, projection, and dynamic range. As an example, the Schimmel K122 is an upright piano celebrated for its compact size without compromising on sound quality, offering a remarkable balance between space-saving design and impressive performance.

Best piano brands: Digital piano

These days, Yamaha are just as highly regarded for their digital pianos as they are for their acoustic models. The first Yamaha digital piano (the Clavinova YP-30) appeared in 1983, so after four decades at the forefront of digital piano development they definitely know what they’re doing by now! Known for their clear, bright tone, the company’s diverse current model range includes the P-series portable pianos, the Arius (aka YDP) budget domestic range - these are similar to the P-series but designed more to be a permanent fixture in your home - and the more premium Clavinova console-style digital home pianos. 

There are also other notable instruments on the Yamaha roster such as the CK-88 stage piano, which has been widely praised for its excellent keyboard and lifelike grand piano tone sourced from the iconic 9’ CFX concert grand piano, while the newly-announced P-145 and P-225 portables look set to take the portable digital piano world to new heights of quality and playability. Meanwhile, Yamaha continues to innovate, spearheading the hybrid era with their TransAcoustic pianos - true acoustic models that offer digital features such as headphone outputs and volume control, as well as the ability to replicate different grand piano models through software.

Since bringing affordable portable electronic keyboards to the masses in 1981 with the Casiotone CT-201, Japanese watch and calculator brand Casio have been steadily raising their digital piano game. This evolution has culminated in their Privia and Celviano digital piano brands being regarded as some of the best in the world.

Known for being very beginner friendly and offering great piano sounds on a smaller budget, Casio’s digital piano range just keeps on getting better. The current Privia portables, the PX-S series, are marketed as the world’s slimmest digital pianos, and with their small footprint and classy touch panel interfaces, they certainly make an appealing proposition for those just starting out.

Meanwhile, the Celviano series, marketed with the ‘AP’ model nomenclature are great mid-priced console home pianos that combine Casio’s Smart Scale Hammer action keyboards with the company’s bespoke AiR digital sound source. Then there’s the Grand Hybrid GP-310 and GP-510 that use authentic acoustic keyboard mechanisms to replicate a piano experience that’s up there with the best. On top of all this is the integration with the companion Casio Music Space app that provides an even richer user experience.

Originally best known for their pioneering 1980’s synths and drum machines such as the iconic Jupiter-8 analogue polysynth and TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines that changed the sound of popular music as we know it, Japanese brand Roland began producing electric pianos in 1973, with their first digital piano, the HP-300, debuting in 1983.

The current Roland digital piano lineup includes numerous product families like the portable FP series, the RD stage piano series, the HP, F and R ranges of home console pianos and the premium LX and GP ranges of professional standard digital upright and grand pianos. There’s also the ultra-portable GO:PIANO 88 if you’re in the market for a great piano sound on the go. The more affordable instruments are based around the company’s renowned SuperNATURAL sound engine, which has a characteristically bright tone, while at the upper end of the scale is the V-Piano engine, which uses physical modelling technology rather than samples of actual acoustic pianos.

Another Japanese electronic keyboard and synth brand that rose to prominence in the 1970’s with products like the classic MS-20 monosynth and PolySix analogue polyphonic synthesizer, Korg first arrived on the digital piano scene in 1980 with the decidedly non-piano-like LP-10, but it was in 1988 that they changed the game completely with their unique and remarkably realistic acoustic piano sample for the M1 workstation keyboard. This instantly recognisable sound rapidly became the staple sound for 90’s Italo-house music and is still incredibly popular with house music producers to this day.

Now recognised as one of the world’s premier digital piano manufacturers, and with a string of high-profile celebrity endorsees such as Rick Wakeman, Greg Phillinganes and Bill Laurance, the current Korg range features gems such as the excellent sounding, retro-styled SV-2 stage piano and the range-topping G1 digital home piano, that features three intricately-sampled concert grand pianos from Germany, Austria and Japan.

American inventor Ray Kurzweil started Kurzweil Computer Systems in 1973 to produce text-to-speech reading systems for the visually impaired. His first customer was none other than Stevie Wonder, and the two began to envision a digital instrument that would combine the rich, nuanced tone of an acoustic piano with a digital control system. With Stevie on board as music consultant, the newly formed Kurzweil Music Systems unveiled its first digital piano, the Kurzweil 250, to widespread critical acclaim in 1983. The company has persevered with pursuing the perfect digital reproduction of the acoustic grand piano experience ever since.

The current Kurzweil product range encompasses a wide selection of pro keyboards, home digital pianos, speakers, studio gear and accessories, but from a pianists perspective, highlights include the SP-7 Grand 88-key stage piano with its A.T.S.T. (Authentic Timbre Synthesis Technology) sound engine and fantastic Fatar weighted keyboard. Meanwhile, the domestic console end of the market is ably served by the MP120 digital console piano, which features some of the best sounds from the Kurzweil Artis keyboard series, including the esteemed German 9' Concert Grand voice.

Another highly-regarded Japanese brand with its roots firmly established in high-quality acoustic piano manufacturing, Kawai is also well-known for manufacturing digital instruments. To accompany their wide acoustic range, the company also produces an extensive selection of digital models to suit a broad spectrum of budgets and ability level. 

Model families that sport the prestigious Kawai logo include the CA series of premium wooden-key digital pianos, the CN series of high-specification console digitals, the KDP entry-level home digital pianos, the ES portable and MP stage ranges, together with the DG digital grand series. The company also makes the VPC-1 Virtual Piano Controller, a weighted MIDI controller designed for use with virtual piano software.

A highlight of the lineup is the Kawai KDP120 entry-level console piano, which features the company’s Responsive Hammer Compact II keyboard action with triple sensor hammer detection, combined with a grand piano voice sampled from a top-of-the-range Shigeru Kawai SK-EX grand piano.

Best piano brands: Buying advice

Like anything that represents a significant investment, choosing which brand of piano to buy can be a difficult decision, and there are many possible reasons why you might lean towards one brand or another when making up your mind. You’d think it would be safe to assume that one piano sounds very much like another, which is true up to a point. However, when you play different brands side by side in a showroom, for example, it quickly becomes apparent that one brand can sound very different from another in terms of overall tone, clarity, bass volume and cabinet resonance. Very much like guitars, the materials used in the construction of an acoustic piano can have a big effect on the sound, while the sound of a digital piano is dependent on the source of the samples used to produce the sound and how they’ve been processed.

How we choose the best piano brands for this guide

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field. We live and breathe everything piano related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience when selecting the brands to showcase in this feature.

First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right instrument for them. So before recommending a brand, we'll always get hands-on with as many instruments as possible from the manufacturer to ensure we are assessing the full scope of what is available. 

We pay careful attention to the build quality, the range of options available and the price point of the models. We'll also look at the popularity of a brand within the wider community, before making a recommendation.

Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.

Looking for more piano advice? Our expert buyer's guides are here to help 

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Getting a decent pair of headphones could revolutionise your music mixing and mastering. As with a decent set of studio monitors, good headphones allow you to analyse all aspects of your mix to ensure you make the best decisions when adjusting instrument levels, tweaking effects and making other production enhancements. The great news is that you needn't spend too much on great headphones - and much less than studio monitors - so to help you find the right set for your needs, we've produced this guide to the best studio headphones under $/£200.

As well as being a cheaper option, using headphones to mix and master music has other advantages over using studio speakers. Headphones are obviously more portable - so you can work on music while out and about - and take up way less space, so could be the ideal solution if you have limited room in your studio.

Using headphones to mix on might also be a godsend if you have thin walls and angry neighbours! Some engineers and producers even prefer to mix on headphones over studio monitors, as a great set of headphones enables you to 'get inside' a mix and analyse it in extreme detail.

We have a lot more advice on what to consider when buying a pair of sub-$200/£200 headphones at the end of this guide and also information on how we test them. So if you want to learn about the different headphone types and which ones are more suited to your productions, we recommend you skip to the bottom first. If you just want to learn which models are best, keep scrolling.

Best studio headphones under $200/£200: Quick list

Want to cut to the chase and find out exactly which we think are the best studio headphones under $200/£200 on the market right now? Below, you’ll find a round-up of our top choices. You can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.

Best studio headphones under $200/£200 in 2023

Below you'll find full and detailed write-ups for each of the best studio headphones under $200/£200 in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.

Best 'pro' option

Røde used to be known only for its great recording microphones but now has a range of products including mixers aimed at podcasting and audio interfaces for content creators. It was only a matter of time, then, before it turned its attention to headphones, and now we have the over-ear NTH-100.

Part of the Røde philosophy is offering quality at a competitive price and the NTH-100 are a case in point. Much attention has gone into the design - the earcups have a distinctive, elongated shape for a more natural fit. The sound is great too, with the drivers delivering a fine balance of focus and width.

The NTH-100 are innovative, offer a clear and faithful sound, and are comfortable and well built. In short they are some of the best headphones under $200/£200 we have tested.

Read the full Røde NTH-100 review

Best on a tight budget

The Sennheiser HD-206 feature in many of our headphone buyer's guides simply because you get the Sennheiser name alongside a ridiculously low price tag. The HD-206 are remarkably accurate for that money, and sound as good as many sets of phones that cost a lot more.

The bass response is particularly tight, rich and crisp, but there is also plenty of detail in the mids and highs. As if that's not enough for 40 bucks/quid, the 'phones are comfortable to wear for long sessions, and the 'hypoallergenic' ear pads are great for blocking out extraneous noise.

The 3-metre cable is particularly prone to tangling - that might just be us being clumsy - but at this price these phones are an amazing buy. Hurry though, they are increasingly hard to find so grab them while you can!

Read the full Sennheiser HD-206 review

Best for sound

The DT 770 PRO come in three variants, each with a different impedance - 32 ohms, 80 ohms and 250 ohms. See more about impedance below, but basically this means you can use them to plug into a wide variety of devices. The length and type of cable you get depends on the impedance variant you go for - our preferred 80-ohm cans ship with a 3m straight cable.

The 80-ohm headphones seem to offer the best options of the three models. They’re well balanced across the frequency spectrum, don’t need a lot of power, and deliver crystal clear highs and enough weighty lows for a feel good mix without slipping into bass colouration.

These are comfortable headphones too, with enough padding to make them great for longer sessions. Overall, then, these are fantastic all rounders and some of the best performing headphones here.

Read the full Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro review

Best for comfort

AKG's headphone range includes models that cost over a grand and are used in music mastering where the utmost playback precision is required. The K361 on test here are less than a tenth of the price, but promise similar accuracy.

Specs include a wide frequency range of 15Hz to 28kHz, and they adhere to the AKG Reference Response Curve, a measure of performance over frequency that results in both accuracy and detail. The bass is controlled and tight and makes it easy to identify and correct any clashing low end parts. The rest of the response is flat and accurate too, with the kind of detail and control you find in those more expensive AKGs.

Finally, the 361 are light and comfortable enough for long sessions and their closed-back design means less spill while recording and good isolation for mixing.

Read the full AKG K-361 review

Best all-rounder

Audio-Technica’s venerable ATH-M50x studio headphones are a firm favourite here and for many professional studio users. They sound excellent, are comfortable, durable and great value.

The ATH-M50x offer a good balance of accuracy and sound. There’s a slight bottom end bump and lack of detail in the high frequencies. But the result is a less harsh playback that doesn't wear on your ears - often a problem with super accurate phones - and one that still translates well to other systems.

Although far from the cheapest cans on our list, a pair of ATH-M50x will be worth it in the long run. And if your budget won’t stretch to these, there’s also the more affordable ATH-M20x, M30x and M40x models out there. And if you'd like to go wireless, try the ATH-M50xBT Bluetooth version.

Read the full Audio-Technica ATH-M50x review

Best for value

Relative newcomer Austrian Audio has made impressive strides into the audio gear sector. Here you get two budget studio headphones models from its range, the Hi-X15 and its Bluetooth-enabled cousin, the Hi-X25BT.

Both feature Austrian Audio's High Excursion Driver Technology which gives them a great overall sound. Build quality is right up there for the price, with sturdy metal hinges providing strength and soft, memory foam earpads delivering the comfort.

The sound is neutral and accurate enough to reveal all the detail that you need when mixing and we think that the Hi-X15s will cope easily with anything you throw at them, sound fantastic and are a great value option.

Read the full Austrian Audio Hi-X15 review

Best for mixing

Audio-Technica struck gold with the ATH-M50x (above), and the newer the ATH-M60x 'phones have taken some of their best bits and put them in a more lightweight format.

The ATH-M60xs use an on-ear design. This makes for a very different feel, but with a memory foam headband and ear cushions, the headphones are very comfy. Also, the on-ear fit isn’t too tight. This provides good, but not extreme, passive noise cancellation, and although it’s less effective than the over-ear design of the M50x, it still provides some isolation.

Despite using the same drivers as the M50x, these headphones deliver a different tonal balance, with a sound that’s more focused on the midrange. They’re also less hyped in general, so the highs and particularly the lows are more subdued. We found this offered a less flattering, more true overall picture. Couple this with the fact that they’re very comfortable and it’s clear that the ATH-M60x is a great choice for mixing and mastering.

Audio-Technica continues to deliver quality headphones at prices that won’t break the bank, and the ATH-M60X is a perfect example.

Read the full Audio-Technica ATH-M60X review

Best budget Sonys

Sony’s MDR series of headphones feels like it's been with us forever and is widely used in the recording and broadcast industries. The current model, the MDR-7506, maintains the series' brilliant combination of comfort, practicality and value.

The MDR-7506 are comfortable to wear for those long mix sessions. They sound great too, delivering the detail you find in much more expensive models. We found them to be punchy and clear across the frequency spectrum and giving a good balance of accuracy and pleasant listening.

The fact that these headphones can be bought for $100/£100 these days still makes them a contender, even after all these years.

Read the full Sony MDR-7506 review

Best modular option

Beyerdynamic’s open-back DT990 Pro deliver a wider mix experience that you don't get with closed-back cans. At 250 ohms, these high-impedance cans will need to be driven by a high output device such as a headphone amp, mixing desk or audio interface for best results.

Offering a natural, wide soundstage and an even frequency response, the DT990 Pro’s relatively unique ear pads and lightweight, open-back design mean you can work comfortably for very long mix sessions.

The higher spill that is common in open-back designs make these more suitable for programming and mixing rather than tracking. That said, the DT990 Pro will find themselves at home in any studio due to their natural sound, super-wide stereo image and replaceable components.

Read the full Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO review

Best studio headphones under $200/£200: Buying advice

How to choose the best studio headphones under $200/£200

Getting your headphone choice right is crucial, as these could well be the studio items you use the most and you need to make sure you make the correct buying decisions. This is particularly important when you have a smaller budget, like the sub-$200/£200 ceiling we've set for this guide. Here's what we think are the most important factors to consider when buying headphones:

Budget studio headphones vs regular headphones

As with mixing through studio monitors, you want to hear an accurate version of your music while using studio headphones. Many hi-fi headphones for regular music listening are coloured to emphasise certain regions, just to make for a nicer experience. This means they aren't suitable for mixing music as they are not telling you the whole truth!

Studio headphones are the opposite - totally honest (or they should be). If they artificially emphasised the bass, for example, you might then reduce the bass in your mix to compensate, and the resulting mix would sound bass-light on any other system.

Studio headphones therefore have a flat response, reproducing frequencies at an equal volume, giving you an accurate picture so that you can focus in on and correct any problem areas. They also have an emphasis on comfort, as you might be mixing for very long sessions. Extra padding is great, as is a lightweight design to keep them feeling almost non-existent on your head as you mix.

Why comfort is key

You could end up mixing a track for a long time - not something we recommend, though - so you want your headphones to be comfortable. Padded ear pads are a must and also help with acoustic isolation, stopping outside noise getting in so you can focus on the fine detail.

Lastly, people lose body heat through the top of the head, so make sure your headband and ear cups aren’t going to make you sweat. Lightweight ’phones help here.

Wireless vs wired headphones

Headphones aimed at home listening, gaming or other day-to-day uses, often now use wireless Bluetooth connectivity. However we largely avoid wireless headphones because they still cause latency, a delay between the sound playing on your computer and you hearing it.

While the technology is improving, we still say go wired. However, an increasing number of headphones now have options for both wired and wireless operation – great if you’re looking for a pair to use both in the studio and on the go.

How we test studio headphones

We test headphones with a variety of reference tunes – very well produced standards, but some of our own trusted mixes as well. We use these to check frequency response, overall sound quality, spatial response, and how good the phones are at delivering detail at the low volume levels you should be mixing at to protect your ears.

For mixing you might prefer better isolation from the outside world so we also test for this – the sound getting in and out as you work. Weight and comfort are also important as we detailed above. Most of the time, the lighter the better, but how the headphones embrace your head is important. Too loose is obviously not good, but too tight can mean too hot.

Read more about how we test music making gear and services at MusicRadar.

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As a music producer you need to hear every detail of your mix, and that's why the studio monitor is the most important purchase you might well make. Luckily, in recent years, while the quality of monitors has gone up, many prices have come down and you can now get a great set of studio speakers for a very reasonable outlay. In this guide we've rounded up the best studio monitors under $500/£500 with models from some of the biggest names in the speaker business - and all at prices that shouldn't break the bank.

Studio monitors are designed to allow you to hear the intricate detail of a music mix and they have to be 'honest' in doing so. As a producer you need to hear everything - including any mix mistakes you have made - to correct them. This means your monitors have to deliver a flat frequency response across the board, with no peaks or dips emphasising or hiding certain bands.

At one time you'd have had to pay top dollar for this kind of accuracy, but we think we've unearthed some great models in our guide to studio speakers under the $500/£500 mark that deliver the detail and honesty you need, for a sensible budget.

We've also included some detailed buying advice at the end of this guide. If you'd like to learn more about what you need when choosing a new pair of speakers, we'd recommend you head straight there.

Best studio monitors under $500/£500: Quick list

Want to cut to the chase and find out exactly which we think are the best studio monitors under $500/£500 on the market right now? Below, you’ll find a round-up of our top choices. You can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.

Best studio monitors under $500/£500 available today

Below you'll find full and detailed write-ups for each of the best studio monitors under $500/£500 in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.

Best for bass heavy genres

KRK speakers have become famous for both their distinctive yellow design and their use in contemporary electronic music genres. The Rokit series of KRK studio monitors is now in its fourth generation - hence the 'G4' in the title - and is the Gibson-owned brand's affordable nearfield speaker range.

The G4 range has some rare features for this price, the most notable being its extensive graphic EQ power. There's built-in digital signal processing (DSP) which offers a suite of tools that includes a room analyser. This has become more popular among higher-end speakers and essentially ensures the speakers' sound compensates for the space you're working in, taking account of any anomalies your room is causing over the frequency range. It works very well too and is very welcome at this price point.

On top of these extras, you get a solid build and decent specs with the RP7 G4s. And overall these KRK Rokits are some of the best budget studio monitors you can buy for smaller mixing spaces, and are especially suited for working in any bass-heavy genre.

Read the full KRK Rokit G4 review

Best for value

The HS5 monitors feature the distinctive white cones that make Yamaha monitors famous, but these are more compact than most. Measuring only 6.7" x 11.25" x 8.75" and weighing around 12 pounds, the HS5 are most obviously more suited to smaller studio set-ups. That said, a 45W amplifier powers the woofer, while a 25W amp drives the tweeter, so that's enough juice to make a pair of these go loud enough in most rooms.

The HS5s are incredible for their price. The imaging, transient response, high-frequency detail and depth are all superb. But the highlights of this monitor are its tight upper-bass and open low-midrange reproduction, giving a great overall sonic picture.

The Yamaha HS5 series are reference speakers which are built solely with mixing and monitoring in mind, so have no extras like Bluetooth or a graphic EQ, and room correction is basic. For sheer accuracy, however, they're hard to beat at this price and they are great for a wide range of mixing tasks.

Read the full Yamaha HS5 review

Best for larger studios

Eris is Presonus's most traditional speaker range and the E8XT is one of the larger monitors to feature in this guide. This latest model features an EBM tweeter waveguide and elliptical boundary-modelled design. These help deliver both a wide horizontal and narrow vertical dispersion. The horizontal width is very obvious when working with the speakers, and the sweet spot is easy to find and mix within. This is good news with larger monitors like these as you will be further away from them while working, and a wide sweet spot also means more people can listen in during playback and mixing.

The E8XTs feature controls around the back including gain, mid-peak and high-shelf EQs, low-cut filter, and a room correction option which curtails frequencies below 800Hz and helps when the monitors are in corners or up close to walls. It's a little basic compared to the room correction features found on models elsewhere in this guide, but handy nonetheless.

These extra EQ controls might not be required anyway, as the balance of the E8XT's sound is good and we didn’t initially feel the need to use any EQ. However, the mids can be a bit restrained on occasion so a boost from the mid-EQ (1kHz) might be necessary.

The E8XT delivers the sort of sound and volume you'd expect from slightly larger speakers. And coupled with the broad sweet spot and extended bass, they’re great for both tracking and mixing in larger spaces. Build quality is excellent and they also offer incredible value.

Read the full Presonus Eris E8XT review

Best for small studios