MusicRadar outlines four beginner hardware setups split by genre

MusicRadar published a guide on 17 October 2026 laying out four hardware setups for producers moving beyond the computer, each built around a different genre. The guide assumes readers already own a computer with a DAW, studio monitors and an audio interface, and suggests a mixer for anyone connecting several devices.

For hip-hop, the magazine centres on the Akai MPC Sample, released this year: 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 32 stereo voices, a Chop mode for slicing loops, internal effects, the series' 16 RGB pads and a built-in audio interface. Akai's MPC line dates back to the MPC60 in 1988. For a grittier sound, MusicRadar points to Sonicware's LIVEN LoFi-12, a sampling groovebox with a built-in sequencer that records at 12-bit, like 1980s samplers. For trap, it names the Behringer RD-8, a drum machine modelled on the Roland TR-808, with a Wave Designer and an analogue filter.

For techno, house and UK garage, the guide starts from the Roland TR-909, which debuted in 1983, and mentions the TR-1000, Roland's recent remake of both the 808 and the 909, though the magazine calls it very expensive.

In October mbuzz reported that MusicRadar had published a set of ground rules for home recording as part of its Recording Week 2026 series.