Recording Equipment Reviews and Rankings

Best Condenser Microphone under $500

Winner: AKG C214 Condenser Microphone
The only thing more essential to successful recording than having a good condenser microphone on hand in the studio, is having a few good condenser...

Best Kick Drum Microphone

Winner: AKG D 112 Kick Drum Mic
Of all the acoustic instruments on the bandstand and in the recording studio, the choice of microphone on the kick drum provides some of the greatest...

Best Digital Mixer

Winner: Digidesign Venue SC48 Mixer
Although many will claim all the way to their graves that digital mixing boards are lacking in the character and warmth that their analog peers pass along...

Best Powered Studio Monitor

Winner: KRK VXT8 Active Studio Monitor
The near-field studio monitor industry is populated mostly by powered monitors, and this is because the built-in amps can be more easily fine-tuned to...

Winner: Audio Technica AT2020 Studio Microphone
Condenser microphones are known to produce the highest quality of sound and are the preferred choice of microphone for any studio or vocal recording...

Best Drum Microphone Package

Winner: Earthworks DK25/L DrumKit Microphone System For Live Performance
Drums can be an engineer's nightmare with either the wrong set of microphones, or not enough microphones in the first place. Both situations can be solved...

Best Powered Mixer

Winner: Mackie PPM1012 12-Channel Powered Mixer (Stereo, 1600 Watts)
The "powered" mixer is named due to the phantom power it supplies to microphones and is different than regular mixers with that feature. These...

Best Mic Preamp under $1000

Winner: Daking Mic Pre One Microphone Preamp
Finding the proper Mic Pre can be a dizzying prospect in the modern world of recording. However, Mic Pre's are an essential part of the overall sound and...

Best Multitrack Recorder

Winner: Korg D888 8-track Digital Recorder
When you purchase a recording system, the first decision to make is always whether you're going to be recording into a dedicated piece of hardware, or a...

Best Cymbal Microphone

Winner: Audio-Technica ATM450 Condenser Microphone
Because of the high frequency content of cymbal recordings, and intended musical effect we strive for in great percussion recording, getting the right...

Best USB Microphone

Winner: Audio Technica AT2020USB Condenser USB Microphone
As more and more people are drawn into the world of video chat, given the explosion of high-speed internet throughout the country, the accessories are...

Best DI Box

Winner: Radial JDI Passive Direct Box
There are people out there who insist that Direct Boxes, better known as DI boxes, aren't really necessary for recording purposes, but rather are only...

Best Mixing Board

Winner: PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2 Mixer
If you have ever been to a public speech or an outdoor concert, you can bet that somewhere on stage you were able to find a heavy duty mixing board...

Best Tom Microphone

Winner: Sennheiser MD 421-II Dynamic Microphone
Because of their proximity to every other vital element of the drum set, getting a great sound on toms is perhaps the hardest task of a studio recording...

Best Snare Drum Microphone

Winner: Shure SM57 Cardioid Dynamic Microphone
When recording snare drums, the engineer encounters the dual challenges of controlling the inevitable high SPLs (sound pressure level), as well as...