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
Zoom H6: A Complete Guide
Four preamps, swappable capsules and six-track recording in one handheld box — here's what actually makes the Zoom H6 tick.
Drum Microphone Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A complete guide to the drum microphone: high-SPL requirements, dynamic vs condenser types, close-mic and overhead techniques and dedicated microphone kits.
Cable Management: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing the right cable management tools depends on your budget, setup size, and whether you're building from scratch. What matters is knowing which tools solve which problems.
Dj Headphones for Beginners: A Complete Guide
New to DJing? Here's the simple, no-jargon version of what to look for in your first pair of DJ headphones — and what you can safely ignore for now.
The Ultimate Guide to 3 Inch Studio Monitors
3 inch studio monitors provide professional-grade monitoring in compact form, ideal for home studios and spaces with acoustic constraints.
Common De Esser Mistakes to Avoid
Beyerdynamic: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Common Boom Mic Mistakes to Avoid
From holding it too far away to skipping headphone monitoring, these are the boom mic mistakes almost everyone makes at first — and the free fixes for each.
The Ultimate Guide to 500 Series Rack
The 500 series format makes professional-grade signal processing genuinely accessible — this guide explains how the chassis and modules work together and what to look for in each.
Everything You Need to Know About Midfield Monitors
Midfield monitors are the standard choice for professional mixing, offering accuracy and perspective in typical room sizes. This guide explains how they work and why they matter.
Rode Microphone: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Rode makes a lot of products and the range can be bewildering. Katie cuts through the options and explains what to spend your money on.
Silent Club Headphones Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A gentle, step-by-step explanation of how silent club headphones actually work, the different types available, and what those range and battery figures really mean.
Studio Monitors: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Dj Headphones Explained: Features, Types and Tips
DJ headphones look like ordinary headphones but do a very different job. Here's what the isolation, the swivelling earcup and the cable are all actually for.
Beyerdynamic Dt 770 Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A closed-back studio favourite for years, but the DT 770 only makes sense once you understand its three impedance versions and where its sound leans.
Common Guitar Instrument Cable Mistakes to Avoid
Most cable problems aren't dramatic – they're small, avoidable habits. Here are the six mistakes that catch guitarists out again and again.
The Ultimate Guide to Presonus Monitor Station V2 Desktop Studio Control Center
Desktop studio monitors deliver accurate, neutral audio essential for reliable mixing and recording. This guide covers selection, placement and room optimisation.
The Best Yamaha Hs8s for the Money
There's only one Yamaha HS8, but there are smarter and less smart ways to spend around it — here's where the money actually pays off.
Boundary Microphone: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A boundary microphone only works well when it's the right tool for the job. This guide cuts through the variables — pattern, capsule, budget — and tells you exactly what to look for.
Everything You Need to Know About Overhead Microphone
An overhead microphone captures ambience and cymbal detail that close microphones miss. This guide covers placement strategy, microphone selection, and technique for drums, piano, and ensemble recordi...
Neumann Tlm 103 for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The Neumann TLM 103 is a precision instrument — but getting started with it is simpler than it looks. Here is everything a first-timer needs to know.
Audio Technica Headphones: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A practical, no-nonsense walkthrough of what to check before buying Audio-Technica headphones — from impedance to comfort to warranty.
Monitor Controller for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Setting up a monitor controller is straightforward once you understand the signal flow. Here is the connection sequence, the initial level-setting process, and how to use speaker switching and the mon...
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.
