Hardware

I own multiple pairs of headphones. Some of these headphones I use solely for certain music production activities. Others are general use “normal” headphones. However, there are circumstances when I will use the “normal” headphones for some music production tasks, where they are particularly suited to the task at hand. Normal headphones can be used…

Many of us electric guitar players have a computer in addition to our guitars, amps and pedals. And a lot of us use the computer for music-related activities, probably using an audio interface and running some sort of Digital Audio Workstation software. So surely it must be possible to connect a guitar amp to the…

Studio monitors are often touted as essential equipment for a home recording studio setup. But are they really necessary, and can you realistically record without them? Studio monitor speakers are not required for recording. Monitoring while recording is almost always done using a quality pair of closed-back headphones, not speakers. Studio monitors are more important…

No matter what sort of home studio setup you have, however simple, sooner or later you will have to consider purchasing a microphone. There is much conflicting advice on the internet for the home recording enthusiast as to what type you should get. Should you buy a condenser microphone, or a dynamic microphone? As a…

If you are looking to buy a new computer for music production, there are many machines available with widely different specifications. How do you know what specs you actually need for your music computer requirements? A music production computer with the following specs will run most music software comfortably: Core i7 2.5GHz CPU, 16 GB…

We are spoiled for choice when it comes to audio interfaces on the market today. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, right from the smallest 1-input unit, up to much bigger rack-mountable units with 18 or more inputs. So when you go to buy an interface, how do you know how many…

Both laptops and desktop computers are frequently used in music production these days; indeed I have used both for making my own music. They each have advantages and disadvantages, but which is the better computer for music production – a laptop, or a desktop? Desktop computers are better than laptops for music production, except if…