Samuel Adams
Samuel came up through Dundee's small but stubborn indie and electronic scene, making tracks with friends in flats and cheap rehearsal rooms. He's drawn to music made on a budget and a bit of nerve. He writes about indie, electronic music and home recording.
Native Instruments Komplete: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing between Komplete Standard, Ultimate and Collector's Edition can be confusing. Here is a clear comparison to help you decide.
Reaper Explained: Features, Types and Tips
REAPER combines a flexible routing architecture with deep customisation and a modest licence fee — this overview explains the key features and what makes it different from other DAWs.
Soundtoys: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying the wrong bit of this range, or more of it than you need, is an easy way to waste a budget. Here's how to actually decide.
Valhalla Reverb Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Valhalla Reverb isn't one plugin but a family of them — here's how the whole range works and what sets each one apart.
A Guide to Valhalla Plugins
The full rundown of Valhalla DSP's reverb, delay and modulation plugins, from VintageVerb to the free Supermassive, and what sets them apart.
The Best Uad Audio Plugins for the Money
There's no single best UAD plugin. Here's the smartest order to buy in, by what you're actually recording and mixing.
Dorico for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Dorico has a learning curve, but it's front-loaded. Here's a clear step-by-step path through your first project, from Setup mode to a finished score.
Metronome App for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The click from a metronome app is a reference, not a test. Here's how to start using one properly — what to do, what the numbers mean, and how to build from there.
The Best Spitfire Audios for the Money
There's no single best library — here's where the value genuinely sits, from free experimentation to full orchestral scale.
Autotune: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Free, bundled or a dedicated standalone plugin? Here's how to work out which autotune purchase actually fits how you record.
The Best Serums for the Money
Instead of one overall winner, here is a tier-by-tier breakdown of where Serum sits against the other wavetable-style synths, so you can pick what actually suits your budget.
Serum: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Skip the history lesson — here is what actually matters before you hand over money for Serum: what you get, what to check, and where to buy it properly.
Musescore for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Free, cross-platform and straightforward to learn — this guide walks through the essentials: creating a score, entering notes, adding dynamics and saving your work.
Valhalla Plugins: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A practical buyer's guide to Valhalla plugins: flat pricing, format compatibility, and matching the right reverb or delay to the job at hand.
Garageband Explained: Features, Types and Tips
GarageBand is Apple's free DAW for Mac, iPhone and iPad — here is what it can do, where its limits are, and what the upgrade to Logic Pro adds.
Sibelius Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Sibelius is the notation software professionals reach for when a score has to read as well as it sounds — here's how it actually works.
The Best Uads for the Money
No single 'best' UAD plug-in exists, so here's how to spend wisely at every budget tier, and exactly where most people waste their money.
How to Set Up and Use Antares Autotune
Getting pitch correction running properly takes about ten minutes if you know the steps — here is the full process from installation to your first session.
The Best Looper Studios for the Money
Not a ranking — a straight, situation-by-situation guide to which looper setup actually earns its keep.
Izotope: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Staring at an iZotope product page with eight names and three tiers each? Here's what you actually need before spending a penny.
The Best Fabfilters for the Money
There's no single 'best' FabFilter plug-in — only the best one for the job in front of you. Here's an honest pick for each task.
Arturia V Collection: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The Arturia V Collection is a serious bundle — here's what to look at before buying, what you're actually getting, and whether it suits your setup.
How to Set Up and Use Serum Presets
Installing Serum presets requires placing .fxp files and any associated wavetables in the correct folders on your drive. Here is the full process from download to browsable preset library.
Looper Studio: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Forget the marketing copy. Here's how to actually decide what kind of looper studio setup fits how you work.
What Samuel Adams covers
AI Music Generator
AI music generator tools create instant song ideas, backing tracks and sketches for songwriting, demos and content produ...
GarageBand
garageband is an easy Mac music-making app for recording, arranging and producing songs and demos.
Logic Pro
logic pro is a Mac DAW for recording, composing, mixing and producing music at a professional level.
MuseScore
musescore is notation software for writing, editing and sharing sheet music and full scores.
Native Instruments
Discover Native Instruments’ software, virtual instruments and creative tools for production, sound design and live perf...
1 topic
Reaper
REAPER is a flexible, low-cost DAW for recording, editing and mixing with deep routing and efficient workflow.
Sibelius
Sibelius is professional notation software for composing, arranging and preparing clear, publication-ready scores.
3 topics
Steinberg
Steinberg is a major music software brand known for professional tools in production, composition, mixing and audio work...
2 topics
