Reviews, guides and buying advice for microphones, audio interfaces, studio monitors and acoustic treatment for UK home and professional studios.
- 101 topics
- 731 articles
Inside Studio Recording
All 101 topicsThe 12 most-searched of 101 topics. The full index is at the foot of the page.
Acoustic Panels
Acoustic panels absorb reflections and improve clarity, making studios sound more accurate and professional.
Monitor Stands
Place studio speakers at the right height and reduce resonance with sturdy monitor stands.
Soundproofing Panels
Shape your room for cleaner sound with soundproofing panels for recording, monitoring and mixing.
XLR Cable
Professional XLR cables for clean, balanced microphone and studio connections in home and commercial recording setups.
Audio Interface
Audio interfaces connect mics, instruments and monitors to your computer for recording, playback and mixing.
1 topic
Dictaphone
Record voice notes, lyric ideas and quick demos with a portable dictaphone for simple studio and mobile use.
Mic Stand
Shop mic stands for stable microphone placement in recording sessions, rehearsals and live performance.
Focusrite
Discover Focusrite studio gear for recording, monitoring and producing music with dependable sound quality and easy ever...
4 topics
Sound Proof Panels
Improve studio acoustics and listening accuracy with sound proof panels for recording and mixing spaces.
Apogee
Apogee is a premium studio brand known for high-quality audio interfaces, conversion and professional recording workflow...
1 topic
Cable Management
Keep your studio neat, safe and easy to patch with practical cable management solutions for any recording setup.
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Shop Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interfaces for compact, reliable recording of vocals, guitar and small studio sessions.
Articles on Studio Recording
All news
Bass Traps: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing bass traps is about understanding what actually absorbs low frequencies — and why the thin products filling most catalogues often fail to deliver.
Sennheiser Lavalier Microphones: A Complete Guide
A guide to lavalier microphones: features, types, buying advice and practical use for public speaking and video work.
Active Subwoofers: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying one properly means resisting the urge to chase the biggest driver or the highest wattage number on the box. Here's what actually matters.
U 87 Neumann for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Everyone speaks about it with reverence, but do you actually need one yet? Here's the step-by-step beginner's answer, no assumptions made.
Monitor Stands: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing monitor stands involves height range, load capacity, isolation quality, and form factor. Here is what each variable means and how to select the right design for your setup.
Noise Cancelling Headphones for Beginners: A Complete Guide
If you are new to noise cancelling headphones, here is exactly what you need to know to make a good first purchase without overcomplicating it.
Everything You Need to Know About Dynamic Mics
How a dynamic mic actually works, the difference between moving-coil and ribbon designs, and why this rugged, unglamorous microphone still runs the show on stages and in studios everywhere.
In Ear Monitors: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Comfort, budget and movement drive the choice. Learn which specs matter, when to invest in custom earpieces, and how to choose between wired and wireless.
Common Rode Nt1a Mistakes to Avoid
Ten easy-to-fix habits that make a Rode NT1-A recording sound worse than it should — and the quick fix for each one.
Shotgun Microphone for Beginners: A Complete Guide
You don't need to know every spec to get a good first recording. Get one habit right — distance — and the rest of your first setup falls into place.
Common Akg Headphones Mistakes to Avoid
From tracking in the wrong design to trusting unverified rankings, here are the AKG headphones mistakes worth knowing about before they cost you.
Focusrite Explained: Features, Types and Tips
From a bedroom Scarlett Solo to the professional ISA C8X, here's what Focusrite actually makes and how the range fits together.
Patchbay: A Complete Buyer's Guide
TRS or Bantam, 48 or 96 points, fixed or configurable normalling — these are the decisions that determine which routing panel is right for your studio.
Common Shotgun Microphone Mistakes to Avoid
The same handful of errors keep turning up in ruined location recordings. Here are the seven that catch people out most often, and how to fix each one.
Common Closed Back Headphones Mistakes to Avoid
The most common errors when buying and using sealed studio headphones — from impedance mismatch to relying on subjective reviews alone — explained with practical fixes.
Se Electronics Microphones: A Complete Guide
SE Electronics microphones deliver professional studio quality without prohibitive costs. Explore their diverse range of condensers, ribbons, and dynamics designed for recording excellence.
Marshall Headphones for Beginners: A Complete Guide
First pair of wireless headphones? Marshall headphones are straightforward to set up and use. Here's everything a beginner needs to know.
Drum Microphone for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A beginner's guide to drum microphone recording: starting with overheads and a kick mic, positioning techniques, gain settings and what to expect from your first session.
The Best Genelec Speakers for the Money
Microphone for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Setting up a microphone for home recording is more straightforward than it looks once you understand the basic chain. Here's where to start.
Audio Technica: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Audio-Technica makes excellent microphones at every price point — but only if you choose the right one for your application. This guide cuts through the catalogue and points you to the right model.
What Studio Recording Covers
Studio recording brings together the equipment and techniques used to capture, edit, mix, and produce music to a professional standard. From a compact home setup in a spare bedroom to a purpose-built commercial facility, this discipline is the foundation of virtually every release heard on UK radio, streaming platforms, and beyond. This category covers the microphones, interfaces, monitors, and acoustic treatment that make great-sounding recordings possible at any budget.
Microphones and Signal Chain Essentials
The microphone is the starting point of any recording chain. Dynamic models from Shure and Sennheiser handle loud sources and live applications, while large-diaphragm condensers — from Sontronics, RØDE, AKG, and Neumann — capture the detail and air that vocal and acoustic instruments demand. Ribbon microphones add vintage warmth for strings, brass, and room ambience. The signal then passes through a preamp: either the built-in circuitry of an audio interface or an outboard unit from Neve, API, or Universal Audio that adds character and clean gain before conversion.
Audio Interfaces and Monitoring
An audio interface is indispensable for this process, converting analogue signals into digital audio while providing inputs, outputs, headphone monitoring, and phantom power for condenser microphones. Focusrite's Scarlett range is the UK's most popular entry point, with Audient, Universal Audio, RME, and Apogee offering more headroom for professional use. Accurate monitors from Yamaha, Adam Audio, Focal, and Genelec are essential for making mixing decisions that translate well on other playback systems — placement and room treatment matter as much as the speakers themselves.
Acoustic Treatment and the Recording Environment
Acoustic treatment is frequently the most overlooked element of home and project studio recording setups. Broadband absorption panels, bass traps in room corners, and diffusion panels control reflections and standing waves that would otherwise mislead your mixing decisions. Treatment is not the same as soundproofing — you can significantly improve a room's sound quality with relatively modest investment in panels and corner traps before spending thousands on additional microphones or monitors.
Building Your Studio: From Home to Professional
A UK home setup can begin with a computer, an audio interface, a condenser microphone, closed-back headphones for tracking, and a DAW such as Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, or Cubase. This foundation covers songwriting, demo production, and basic mixing for a few hundred pounds. As requirements grow, investment shifts towards more microphone options, a higher-channel interface, outboard preamps, monitor controllers, and patchbays. Professional commercial rooms additionally require isolation, extensive acoustic treatment, robust backup systems, and client-ready acoustics that justify their hire rates.
