The 14 Best ASMR Microphones for Any Budget

ASMR is one of the most popular, if not slightly unusual, entertainment trends of the last several years. ASMR creators attempt to trigger the listener’s “autonomous sensory meridian response”—a tingling sensation that begins at the scalp and moves down through…

Best Home Studio Microphones For Recording Music In 2024
Sweetwater is a treasure trove of gear, with an enormous store and massive warehouses filled with musical goodies. So, we took up the challenge and decided to embark on a journey to uncover our top five microphones. Now, selecting just…
The 15 Best Dynamic Microphones for Any Budget in 2024

Looking for the best dynamic microphone to fill out your recording arsenal? We’ve tracked down 15 of them for a variety of instruments and applications. What Is a Dynamic Microphone? Dynamic mics are a style of passive microphone that operate…

The 6 Best Shure Microphones for Your Home Studio

Shure microphones have a wonderful reputation in the recording industry as some of the best, most reliable, and most affordable mics around. Shure started as a one-man radio company back in 1925, and by the early 1930s were one of…

The Best Violin Microphones to Add Some Live Strings to Your Mix

The best violin microphone for stage or studio does a solid job of capturing the detail and nuance of the instrument. Violin can be incredibly intimate, so you’ll want to try and retain that delicateness with a microphone that captures…

The 10 Best XLR Cables for Microphones [2023 Guide]

It may not seem like it at first, but having quality cables is very important. You can spend thousands on a signal chain, but it’s often said that it’s only as good as the weakest component. Even though cheap cables…

The 10 Best Cheap Microphones for Any Budget in 2023

Mics are some of the most diverse pieces of gear we can own as recording engineers and producers. Some are super versatile and sound great on lots of different sources, and others are a bit more purpose-built. As you look…

The 5 Best LEWITT Microphones for Your Studio

Founded by Roman Perschon in 2009, the Vienna-headquartered LEWITT Microphones is one of the fastest-growing companies in the market, on track to become the industry’s not-so-best-kept secret. The design philosophy and manufacturing techniques behind all their products challenge the legacy companies…

The 5 Best Shotgun Microphones for Your Home Studio

The shotgun mic is a film/TV industry staple for capturing extremely directional audio with little ambient noise. We’ll cover a few of the top shotgun microphones around if you’re looking to pick one up for your personal collection. What Is…

The 5 Best AKG Microphones for Any Budget in 2023

AKG microphones are among the most reputable in the industry. Best known for their high-end offerings, AKG produces a wide range of mics for any budget and application. For 75 Years, AKG Has Been Perfecting Their Line of Microphones AKG,…

The Best Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphones?
When looking for a new microphone, you can spend countless hours or even days on blogs, review sites, reading articles and watching demo videos. The variety of microphones available is just as vast as the number of opinions on each…
The 17 Best Home Studio Mics in 2024 [Any Budget]

What differentiates a “home studio” mic from a “pro studio” mic is generally the budget of whoever’s purchasing it. Aside from that, the best mics are the best mics! We usually recommend starting out with the highest quality microphone you…

The 13 Best Studio Subwoofer Options for Music Production

Most of us work on two-way active speakers which include a tweeter and a low/midrange driver anywhere between 5″ and 8″ in size. Many of the larger popular speakers have impressive low-end extension, but even then, they lack the power…

The Best Condenser Mics for Your Studio in 2024 [Any Budget]

The best condenser mic will see constant use in your studio. There’s so much variety out there that it can be a bit overwhelming trying to sort the good from the bad, so we’ve put together a shortlist of some…

The 15 Best UAD Plugins for Vocals [2024 Guide]

Over 20 years ago, Universal Audio ushered in a new standard for plugins and interfaces. UAD’s plugin catalog is a huge collection of some of the best analog emulations out there. Most importantly, the software runs on dedicated DSP supplied by…

The 9 Best Ribbon Mics for Your Home Studio in 2024

Ribbon microphones first emerged in the 1920s. In 1931, RCA began commercially manufacturing the PB-31, which had a huge impact on the recording and broadcast industries. Ribbon mics remained popular throughout the ’50s, though gradually started to see less use…

15 Best Closed Back Studio Headphones in 2024

Closed back studio headphones are an essential piece of equipment to have on hand. They provide the best isolation with minor sacrifice to sound quality. But because they isolate the listener from the room, they’re the ideal option to use…

The 9 Best Drum Mics for Live Sound & Recording (2024 Guide)

We talk about the best microphones for vocals and various instruments all the time, but what about the best mics for drums? As with any quality microphone, there’s always some overlap. You probably already own at least one transducer that…

11 Best Orchestral Strings VST in 2024

Using string samples instead of real ones offers a lot of obvious advantages for the average home producer or songwriter. Just from a logistical standpoint, booking studio time and hiring musicians is costly and time consuming. But with samples, you…

The Best 11 Amp Simulator Hardware & Plugins [2024 Guide]

There are a lot of benefits to going the amp simulator route as a guitarist. Cost and versatility are both huge advantages over real amps, because modelers can give you access to hundreds of different heads, cabinets, and effects sims…

The 20 Best Guitar Impulse Responses in 2023 [Free and Paid]

Collecting impulse responses isn’t necessarily new tech. But it is becoming increasingly popular for capturing the sound of a unique speaker cabinet, microphone, and room for guitar. Beyond your amp settings, there’s a whole lot more that affects your recorded…

The 5 Best Drum Shield Options for Your Home Studio in 2023

It goes without saying that acoustic drums are a loud instrument. There’s little we can do to offset that volume, and asking a player to soften their touch isn’t practical. One thing live sound engineers can do is install a…

The 20 Best Virtual Amp Sims in 2023 [Free & Paid]

A great amp sim can take your guitar recordings to the next level since not many of us can record a 100-watt tube head at home. There are attenuators, sure, and lots of modern amps are being built with direct…

The 6 Best Neumann Mics for Vocals in 2023 (Live & Studio Sound)

Neumann has been synonymous with exceptional sound quality throughout the history of recorded music. Many, if not all, of these microphones are likely familiar to some degree both in part to Neumann’s longstanding reputation and the universality of many of…

The Best Patch Cables for Your Guitar Pedalboard in 2023

When you’re trying to build out a neat and functional pedalboard, it’s the details that truly matter. Cables are definitely the least interesting part of the board, but choosing the right ones can make connecting everything — in an orderly…

Finding the Best Pop Filter for Recording Vocals

If you’ve recorded vocals and wondered why you heard loud bursts of air when the singer hits certain consonants, then you already understand the use of a pop filter. While it isn’t the most earth-shattering piece of studio equipment we…

The 7 Best Mics for Guitar Amps to Get Killer Tone

Every guitarist is on a personal quest for the greatest tone ever. That’s half the fun of playing guitar! But just when you’ve found the right pickups, pedals, the perfect string gauge, the ideal plectrum material and thickness, and of…

The 15 Best Mics for Acoustic Guitar in 2023 [Any Budget]

Recording acoustic instruments can be a ton of fun. There’s intimacy in having an artist simply sit down with their acoustic guitar and play. Because there aren’t many moving parts from a technical perspective, you have more energy to focus…

The Best Portable PA System for Live Music [2023 Guide]

A public address (PA) system is a must for any sort of performance. It amplifies and projects your sound so you can be heard over a crowd and throughout a venue. For many years, PA systems have been multiple component…

What’s the Best Microphone for Hi-Hats? [2023 Guide]

To keep time and carry the feel of a song, hi-hats are one of the most important parts of a drum kit. It isn’t enough to capture them with overheads or a nearby snare microphone. In order to get the…

Choosing the Best Pickup for Classical Guitar

In order to amplify your nylon-string acoustic guitar for live performance, you’ll probably want to invest in the best pickup for classical guitar. It’s theoretically possible to just mike the instrument on stage, but you run the risk of bleed…

Best Mic for Rap Vocals: 15 Great Mics for $1000 or Less

Access to the best microphone in your price range is paramount for recording rap vocals. They’re the #1 thing that has to sound great; we can forgive a beat ripped from YouTube if the vocals sound crisp and professional. Even…

The 5 Best Tube Preamp Options to Add Some Warmth to Your Sound

One of the best investments we can make as engineers, producers, and home recorders is in a premium microphone signal path. Purchasing a high-quality mic preamp, such as a tube preamp, is a huge way to elevate your recording quality…

The 10 Best Keyboard Amp Options for Studio & Live Sound (Any Budget)

A keyboard amp is the best solution for gigging players who need to project to a crowd but also be able to hear themselves on stage. Even if you run straight to FOH through a PA system, many keyboardists find…

MXL 990 Review | Best Budget Condenser?

MXL produces a range of cost-effective microphones. The MXL 990 is one of their most innovative creations, pairing high-quality sound with an unbeatable price. About MXL MXL Microphones is the pro audio sector of Marshall Electronics (not to be confused…

Aston Microphones Halo Reflection Filter Review

Aston Microphones is a young British company founded in 2015. They burst onto the market with the Origin large diaphragm condenser — a stylish and very original looking transducer, recognized by its brushed metal body and wire mesh grill. Over…

The Best Wireless Microphone for Singers [2023 Guide]

The best wireless microphone sounds great, is reliable, and most importantly, lets a performer roam the stage without restriction. Historically, there’ve been reservations about wireless systems, namely due to questions about interference, sound quality, and overall reliability. The truth is,…

Mono vs Stereo: Which Is Best for Mixing?

The difference between mono vs stereo sound is simply the number of channels used for recording and playback. If you’re new to mixing, you may or may not be familiar with the concept of checking your mix in mono. It…

21 Best FREE VST in 2023 [with Links!]

Steinberg developed Virtual Studio Technology in 1996 to bring synthesizers and effects into digital audio workstations. It’s a plugin format that numerous major DAWs host, like Ableton, Logic, FL Studio, Digital Performer, and Reaper, amongst others. VST instruments are a…

5 Best Overhead Drum Mics for Detail & Clarity

Overheads can be the difference between a great drum recording, or one that’s so-so. The best overhead drum mics will glue the whole kit together in a brilliant way and do more than just capture the sound of the cymbals.…

The 8 Best AKG Headphones for Any Budget [2023 Guide]

So you’re looking for a new pair of headphones…you’ve come to the right place. Shopping around can be overwhelming with how many companies are making top-notch stuff. If you’ve narrowed your search to AKG headphones, this list should help you…

The Different Kinds of Microphones and Their Applications

The more you get into the recording craft, the more you’ll start to recognize different kinds of microphones. There’s a huge world of mics out there, but knowing the major types will help you decide what to use. When you’re…

The best DAWs for music production in 2022 – Building A Home Studio pt 11
Your home recording studio probably includes a MIDI keyboard, audio interface, a pair of studio monitor speakers, and perhaps one or more microphones, but your music production software is at the heart of everything. Your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is…
Mojave Factory Visit: The Magic Behind Their Microphones
We LOVE a good studio tour but what is even better is when we can get behind the products that we all use. Today, I'm very excited to share my visit to Mojave Audio's HQ where we discussed their latest…
JZ Microphones vs $50,000 Vintage Microphones
Warren let Studio Manager, Eric and Production Editor, Mel Torres take care of things for the day. We had our friend and artist, Davon in the studio so Mel and Eric decided to film the entire process whilst shooting out…
Kick Drum: Killer Tips for the Best Sounding Low End

The kick drum is one of the most important elements of any mix. Together with bass, it forms the backbone of a song and establishes the groove which grabs listeners’ attention. It’s a challenge to get the kick sounding its…

Are these the Best Value Small Diaphragm Mics? (Only $149!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway Hello everybody! This year at NAMM we visited with our good friends at Lewitt and they showed us some brand new Microphones the LCT 140 AIR & LCT 040 MATCH. - They're finally coming out! One great thing…
The Best Vocal Mics for Under $500

For most of us putting together a home or project studio, cost dictates the gear we choose. In a perfect world we’d all have a locker full of $3000+ vocal mics, but that’s wildly impractical for the average bedroom engineer’s…

The Magic of Tube Microphones! – Marc Daniel Nelson
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson shares his experiences and stories of the magic of Tube Microphones. Join him in this fireside chat as he breaks down his personal experiences with a vast array of microphones. The great,…
The Best Microphone for Recording Drums? – Lauten Audio LS-208
Today, we are testing out the Lauten Audio LS-208 microphone! To test this mic out, we will be recording Get It On by T-Rex. On this track, I will be on guitar and bass, we have the amazing Blair Sinta…