Welcome to MSCGR

• Last Updated: September 4, 2018

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Instead of reviewing every single piece of music gear that comes out, we’re doing something different: giving you a smart, reliable buying guide.

No single piece of music gear will make you a better musician, songwriter, or producer. Only writing and playing does that.

So stop obsessing over the latest and greatest and use our recommendations. MSCGR focuses only on reviews of the best products in the most useful music gear categories, from computers and recording software, to guitars to keyboards to cables to microphones. You don’t find out everything, just what you need to know to get up and playing.

Graham Cochrane

You see, the entire marketing of gear industry is stacked against us.

Its very goal is to convince you that you’re one purchase away from great recordings and mixes – and if you’d only open your wallet and purchase (or upgrade to) their latest and greatest gizmo or software, you’d be that much closer to reaching your goals.

Want Proof? This recently showed up in my inbox:

Don’t get me wrong: Toontrack’s EZDrummer is easily my favorite drum software for songwriting and demo creation. But the message is one echoed by many music gear manufacturers – THIS is the ONE THING you need.

What do you mean, the “best” music gear?

Best doesn’t mean the most popular, nor does it mean the most expensive or the one with the most features. Sometimes a piece of music gear has a bunch of bells and whistles the manufacturer will make you think you need. But you don’t. A stripped down version that does exactly what you need could be a better choice. In such a case we’ll recommend that.

I don’t agree. I would have recommended something different.

That’s totally fine. If you’ve been happy with Pro Tools, or your Gibson Hummingbird for years, and we recommend something different, there’s no reason for you to switch. Nor should you take it as a war on Pro Tools or Gibson by MSCGR. Our recommendations are based on what is best for most people. There are always musicians with brand loyalty verging on religious fervor, as well as edge cases.

For most people, however, are gear recommendations are the best.

Oh, and if you don’t agree, simply figure out what your needs are, compare them to what we’ve recommended, and move up or down the scale from there.

Please let us know when you disagree, or if you have another piece of gear you think we should have considered. We have comment threads at the bottom of each guide and we’re always looking for new models or options to test.

What are all the product links sprinkled through the guides?

That’s how we get paid. If you’re curious, here’s more info.

How do I know your reviews are genuine if you are getting paid for those links?

Our readers buy via our site because they trust the reviews. If you don’t like a piece of gear, return it. We won’t get paid in that case, and that’s fine. It’s in our best interests to only recommend gear we know you will play/use/enjoy.

What if there is no MSCGR partner for a product you really like?

We recommend the best music gear. If it’s the best, but we’re not able to monetize it as a partner, we’ll still recommend the product. We always suggest what we think is the best product, commission or no.

(But in all honesty, between Amazon and eBay, we can often find a link for pretty much anything.)

We have also partnered with a company called Skimlinks, which can handle some of those harder to find affiliate programs. They share in the small monetary kickback with us if they happen to find a valid affiliate partner.

What happens if the customer is unhappy with the product and they return it?

We lose the commission.

That is why it is important we write great guides with great recommended products.

I’m confident you’ll be happy with our guides and recommendations.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Anything I didn’t cover? Hit me up.

 

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