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
Mic Stand Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A mic stand seems simple, but the choice of type and build quality affects every session — here's everything you need to know.
The Best Acoustic Panels for the Money
Most acoustic treatment products fall into two camps: cheap foam that performs poorly, and mineral wool panels that actually work. Here are the options worth buying.
Common Mic Stand Mistakes to Avoid
Most mic stand problems trace back to the same handful of avoidable mistakes — here's what to watch out for and how to fix it.
Rode Explained: Features, Types and Tips
If you've browsed microphones for a home studio, podcast or video rig, you've bumped into Rode constantly. Here's the plain-English version of what it actually makes.
The Best Mic Stands for the Money
Price is a poor guide in the mic stand market — here's what is actually reliable across different budgets and use cases.
Tube Microphones: A Complete Guide
Tube microphones deliver warm, musical character and exceptional clarity prized in professional studios. Explore valve technology, selection, and application for superior recordings.
The Best Cable Testers for the Money
Microphone Stand: A Complete Buyer's Guide
How to buy the right microphone stand for the job, from working out the real load to checking the clutch and thread size.
Common Acoustic Foam Mistakes to Avoid
Audio Interface Zoom: A Complete Guide
Zoom offers audio interfaces and standalone recorders for every budget and use case—from portable two-input models to eight-channel professional systems. Learn which Zoom audio interface fits your wor...
Yamaha Hs7: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The Yamaha HS7 is a strong choice for a home studio monitor, but there are a few things worth knowing before you buy — this guide covers all of them.
The Best Audio Technica Headphones for the Money
From the everyday ATH-M50x to the new open-back R-Series, here are the Audio-Technica headphones actually worth your money by use case.
Sennheiser Microphone Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Dynamic, condenser, shotgun, USB or wireless — here's what the Sennheiser range actually covers and how the main families differ.
The Best Monitor Stands for the Money
These monitor stands offer the best combination of isolation, stability, and build quality at each budget level, from desktop decoupling through professional floor-standing designs.
Sennheiser Microphone: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Work out the job first, the connection second, and only then compare models — here's how to actually buy the right one.
Multitrack Recorder for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A multitrack recorder lets you record each part separately and mix them together — this complete beginner's guide covers setup, gain staging, overdubbing and your first mix.
The Best Krks for the Money
No single best KRK monitor exists, only the right tier for your room and budget — here's how the range breaks down from first setup to critical monitoring.
Common Presonus Eris 3.5 Mistakes to Avoid
Most problems with these monitors come from placement errors and unrealistic expectations. Identifying and correcting them early produces a much more useful reference listening environment.
Adam Jones Tool for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Adam Jones's guitar style rewards beginners who approach it systematically. This guide explains where to start — before the expensive gear matters.
Common Shure Mistakes to Avoid
Most of the complaints I hear about Shure gear turn out not to be the microphone's fault at all. Here's what's actually going wrong.
Rode Nt1: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Rode NT1 now means three different microphones. Here's how to work out which one actually suits your setup before you spend a penny.
Common Singing Mic Mistakes to Avoid
Plenty of feedback and tone problems get blamed on the microphone when it's really technique or setup. Here are the mistakes I see most often.
Common Boundary Microphone Mistakes to Avoid
A boundary microphone produces poor results for very specific, identifiable reasons. Knowing the common mistakes before you set one up saves hours of troubleshooting later.
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.
