Music Gear Guides

We analyze feedback from tens of thousands of music gear owners and process that data with the Gearank Algorithm to produce rating scores out of 100 for thousands of individual musical instruments and equipment.

Our results and recommendations are presented and explained in Gear Guides like these:

Acoustic Guitars - From $100 to $2000

Martin dominates the ratings yet again with their 000-15M and D-15M scoring an almost perfect 99! Taylor wasn't too far behind with their Academy 10 scoring 97.

Vocal Effects Processors - Pedals & Stand Mounted

Boss and TC Helicon dominate the ratings in this category and the top spot went jointly to the Boss VE-20 and the TC Helicon VoiceLive Play Acoustic.

Live Vocal Microphones - Handheld / Wired

The premium Neumann KMS 105 topped the rankings but shared that honor with the more modestly priced Sennheiser e935 along with strong results from Shure and Earthworks.

Powered PA Speakers - All Prices Up To $2000

QSC extends their dominance with no other brand out ranking them in any of the 3 main price brackets with their CP8, CP12, K8.2, K10.2, K12.2 and KW153.

Studio Condenser Mics - Small to Large Diaphragm

An amazing 5-way tie for the top spot in large-diaphragm condensers: LA-320, TLM 102, WA-251, KSM42/SG and WA-47.

Microphone Preamps - All Prices up to $1000

Grace Design's m101 is the highest rated for condenser mics while the Cloudlifter CL-1 topped the dynamic mic ratings.

88 Key MIDI Controller Keyboards

For the first time in 5 years, we now have a new number 1 with the Arturia KeyLab 88 MKII topping the rankings while the previous number 1, the Kawai VPC1, came in 2nd.

Electronic Drum Sets - Standard & Hybrid

Covering all price ranges, the highest rated overall is a standard kit, the Roland V-Drums TD-17KV, while the highest rate hybrid set is the Roland VAD306.