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
Everything You Need to Know About Yamaha Hs7
The Yamaha HS7 is one of the most popular nearfield studio monitors around — here's everything you need to know about how it works and what it can do.
Dj Headphones: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A crate-digger's honest checklist for buying DJ headphones — the handful of things worth checking, and the spec-sheet numbers you can safely ignore.
Guitar Audio Interface for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Setting up a guitar audio interface takes about ten minutes once you know the steps. This guide covers physical connection, DAW configuration and getting the gain level right.
The Best Sony Headphones for the Money
Budget, mid-range, premium and studio — the best picks from the range at each price point, with specific model recommendations and honest assessment of what each one does well.
Corner Bass Traps for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Almost every untreated home studio sounds boomy — and corner bass traps are usually the fix. Here's everything a beginner needs to understand room modes, trap types, and where to start.
Everything You Need to Know About Uad Audio Plugins
Detailed hardware modelling on real analogue gear, in two genuinely different flavours. Here's what UAD plugins actually are and how they work.
Monitor Stands Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Monitor stands position studio speakers at the correct ear height, decouple them from resonant surfaces, and improve stereo imaging. Here is how they work and what the main types offer.
Everything You Need to Know About Wireless Lavalier Microphone for Iphone
A guide to lavalier microphones: features, types, buying advice and practical use for public speaking and video work.
The Ultimate Guide to Arturia Audio Interface
Arturia audio interfaces prioritise software integration and thoughtful design for modern producers. Built by synthesizer experts, these interfaces excel in software-centric studios and electronic mus...
Common Yamaha Studio Monitors Mistakes to Avoid
Most problems with HS monitors come from setup and usage errors rather than hardware. Here are the mistakes worth understanding before they become problems.
Sony Headphones: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Getting the right pair from a broad range means knowing what you actually need. Here's a practical guide covering use case, format, budget and what to look for at each price tier.
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A clear look at what the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is, how its two inputs work, and how the 4th Generation compares with earlier models.
Bluetooth Microphone Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Pair it and speak — but understanding what happens next explains why a Bluetooth microphone shines for calls and struggles for recording.
Meze Headphones: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The Meze range covers three budgets, two driver technologies and two acoustic designs. Understanding which combination suits your listening situation narrows the choice to one or two models quickly.
Common Neumann Microphone Mistakes to Avoid
Most mistakes with a Neumann microphone happen outside the microphone — in the room, the signal chain and the gain staging. Here's what to check and fix.
Bass Traps Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Bass traps reduce the low-frequency standing waves that make small rooms unreliable for monitoring — here is how they work and which type to use.
De Esser for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Headphone Amp Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A headphone amp does more than just turn up the volume. It buffers the signal from your audio interface and delivers the clean, dynamic sound your headphones need to shine.
Mic to Xlr: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A clear, honest buying checklist covering what to plug into, whether you need phantom power, and which adapters actually do their job.
Ssl Audio Interface for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The SSL audio interface can seem intimidating at first, but the SSL 2 is designed with straightforward controls. This beginner's guide covers setup, connections, what to buy alongside it and how to re...
Everything You Need to Know About Shure Microphone
Shure has been a trusted name in audio since 1925. Here is a clear breakdown of the full range — from live dynamics to studio condensers.
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.
