From a tech‑house set in Berlin to a high‑energy drum‑and‑bass festival, a dependable USB stick is essential for every digital DJ.Flash drives—also called thumb drives or memory sticks—have come a long way since the early 2000s. The first models held a modest 8 MB, enough for a handful of tracks. To

Reverb is often pivotal in crafting a professional and three-dimensional sounding mix. From the original spring, plate and chamber reverb techniques, through to hardware algorithms and captured impulse responses, there are many different techniques to add depth to your audio.READ MORE: The best rota

The room was silent during the Breakfast with Babyface session at Warner Chappell Music’s songwriting camp in Las Vegas. When a producer and songwriter with that much prowess talks, you listen closely.The Grammy-winning musician, real name Kenneth Brian Edmonds, has been in the game since 1977, pion

For a long time, Ableton’s clip-launching approach to music production was its unique selling point. That workflow has since been, uh, borrowed by numerous other DAWs (see Logic Pro’s Live Loops), but it’s Ableton’s close cousin, Bitwig Studio, that stands as its most compelling alternative.When Abl

It’s not easy to keep track of the best new plugins (trust us, we’ve tried), especially when plugin developers have dropped enough software to keep you busy for about a decade. Fret not, though; MusicTech’s reviewers have tried and tested dozens this year and, thankfully, found some absolute gems.Wh

Ad feature with SweetwaterBlack Friday 2025 is right around the corner, but the good folks at Sweetwater are already offering hundreds of killer deals on music gear – from synths and keyboards to audio interfaces and other essential pro audio gear.So if you’re still on the lookout for the perfect ho

You probably know you don’t need high-end gear to make music. But let’s be real — some hardware can inspire your creativity in a way software sometimes can’t. It might be a mind-bending synth, a slick new controller or a reimagined classic. And, rest assured, 2025 has seen a ton of new, exciting pro

After a year of taking song requests, the holiday season is the only time DJs can ask for something they truly desire. Below are the finest gifts to consider.From bedroom enthusiasts to mobile party starters and club veterans, these 10 carefully selected gifts cater to both vinyl and digital DJs—cra

Audio hardware is having a renaissance this decade. The 2010s were dominated by ‘analogue vs digital’ debates, an unstoppable avalanche of iOS apps and countless new, innovative plugins.In the 2020s, however — despite the furious noise around artificial intelligence — we’re seeing analogue circuitry

Ad feature with PreSonus.If you’re looking to start recording your own music, things can quickly get overwhelming. There are hundreds of audio interfaces on the market today, with various specs and capabilities that, to beginners, often seem like a foreign language.PreSonus, the name behind the grow

That time of year has come again, when you’re wracking your brain to come up with gift ideas for your music producer friend or family member. As a long-time producer myself, I can tell you that they probably have a very specific idea of the items they’d want when it comes to expanding their studio.

Shopping for loved ones is rarely as straightforward as you hope. You’re busy wrapping up the year at work as the holidays rapidly approach. Suddenly, you’re days away from Christmas without a single gift idea for that one singer-songwriter in your life.READ MORE: Best gifts for musicians and produc

For many, producing music is both a job and a passion. Even when commissions pause during the holidays, the urge to create doesn’t. In fact, a change of scenery often leads to a refreshed perspective. This is why many musicians travel with a laptop and a pair of headphones.READ MORE: Best gifts for

Visit any commercial studio, even smaller ones, and we’ll bet you find some outboard gear in use. Whether it’s a simple mic preamp unit, a hardware compressor, EQ, or master bus processor, or many rack units stacked together, producers everywhere appreciate the power, flexibility, and ultimately the

Although there are no end of expensive plugins vying for your attention, you shouldn’t overlook some of the amazing free tools that are also available. We’ve put together a list of our favourite free plugins and tools from 2025 so you can get creative in the studio whilst saving your wallet.READ MOR

Radiohead fans study their favourite band as if they were seeking a doctorate.Last year, the Abingdon-formed five-piece embarked on their first tour in nearly a decade, and the fans analysed and digitised every song they played at every stop. There’s a YouTube page filled with old interviews, and en

AKG is a respected manufacturer of reference-quality microphones, with its classic C414 mics being among the best ever created. Indeed, I’ve always maintained that if I had to record absolutely everything with one model of microphone, it would be a C414.READ MORE: “What’s currently out there isn’t g

Unless you only need a synth for basses and leads, polyphonic synths are a must-have.You could go down the software route, of course, but then you miss out on the deep hands-on control and — once you’re familiar with a synth — the intuitive interaction and sound design that results.READ MORE: Six sy

A handful of software synths can justifiably don the ‘super synth’ badge. Such instruments are so versatile and powerful that they simply couldn’t exist in hardware form.READ MORE: Arturia Pigments 7 review: “Almost a no-brainer at $199”Three synths in particular have long claimed such a title: Xfer

Hardware synthesizers may seem like an untenable luxury to many producers. The most coveted synths generally start at a price of four figures, with vintage models pushing into the tens of thousands. You’ll certainly need a big bank balance or a good line of credit for a Yamaha CS-80! But fret not, p