GuitarDTM

: The Complete Roadmap for Guitarists Starting DTM | Gear, PC, DAW, Amp Sims and Budget Plans

2026/10/14

Recommended for You want to start DTM but don't know what to gather first You want to be able to make band demos yourself You want to step up from GarageBand You want to know how to choose an amp sim To give the conclusion first, guitarists have an advantage in starting DTM. You know chords. You have an image of band sound. You have a sense of "I want it to sound like this." DTM is just a tool for giving shape to that sense. I myself started home recording with just an iPad and an iRig. Without thinking ...

DAW, Recording & Mixing

: Why Amp Sims Make Your Sound Degrade, and the Right Settings | Signal Order, Gain and Your Interface

2026/10/3

"I loaded an amp simulator, but the sound is somehow thin." "It's full of noise and unusable." This is where people who come into DTM from guitar first stumble. Most of the causes aren't the performance of your gear. It's that the signal order and gain settings are still in the habit of a real amp. What's scarier is using it wrong. It degrades your guitar's sound. Even with expensive gear, one setting can ruin it. This article sorts out the basics of amp simulators, written from a guitarist's point of view. By the time you finish reading, you should ...

Amp Simulators

: AmpliTube 5 MAX v2 Review | Is It Enough for Band Home Recording? Differences from Free, SE and Standard

2026/10/14

AmpliTube 5 MAX v2 in Three Lines AmpliTube 5 MAX v2 is the top edition of the guitar/bass amp simulator. It is a plugin IK Multimedia has developed for more than 20 years. It puts 435 gear models in one plugin. It includes officially licensed Fender, Mesa/Boogie and Marshall-type models. There are two biggest additions in v2. One is integration with the company's "TONEX," which brings in sound with AI machine modeling. The other is integration of "ToneNET," the preset sharing platform. AmpliTube 5 MAX v2 vs the Free CS, SE and Standard AmpliTube 5 comes in four grades. The ...

Amp Simulators

: Start DTM for Free | A Complete Comparison of Free DAWs for Guitarists

2026/10/14

"I want to start DTM for free, but which DAW should I actually choose?" The more you play guitar, the more people stumble at this entrance. DAW (pronounced "dee-ay-double-you") means music production software. You can handle recording, programming and mixing on a computer. It stands for Digital Audio Workstation. This article compares from the viewpoint of people who play guitar and people in bands. It thoroughly covers the free DAWs you can use in 2026. For those who only want the conclusion, I put the answer first. Conclusion: A Guitarist's "Free DAW" Can Be Chosen from These 3Before the detailed ...

DAW, Recording & Mixing

: Best Home Recording Gear by Budget | Minimum Sets for 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 Yen

2026/10/5

"I want to start home recording, but what should I actually buy?" Many people can play guitar but stumble on choosing gear. There is so much information that it's hard to tell what counts as "minimum." I started home recording myself with just an iPad and an iRig. From there I added things little by little, and now I've settled on a Mac with Logic Pro. My interface is an Apollo Twin Solo. In other words, "you don't have to gather everything from the start." After reading this article, it will be clear what to choose for your own budget. ...

Gear

: What Is Plugin Boutique? A Complete Guide to Signing Up, Buying and Virtual Cash

2026/10/4

What you'll learn in this article How to sign up, buy and download at Plugin Boutique How Virtual Cash (5% back) works and how to use it How to get free gifts and Rewards+ tokens How to check your license code The refund policy and cautions before buying When buying plugins, have you ever had questions like these? Plugin Boutique is a shop that carries many plugins used by guitarists and home-recording players. But its own points system and free gift mechanism are hard to understand. I get the impression that many people lose out. This article explains everything from ...

Sales & Buying Guides

: Black Friday 2026 Guide for Guitarists | TONEX, AmpliTube, UAD and How to Buy Without Regret

2026/10/22

To give the conclusion first, the main day of Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27. The first thing a guitarist should aim at is the TONEX MAX + AmpliTube 5 MAX two-in-one bundle. For the past two years in a row, there has been a sale where "buy one and get the other free." Black Friday (BF below) is the time of year when DTM plugins get cheapest. Discounts of 50 to over 80% are not rare. But if you buy everything in sight just because it's cheap, you only add to your pile of unused plugins. This page ...

Sales & Buying Guides

: Best Studio Monitor Headphones for Home Recording | Closed-Back vs Open-Back and 9 Picks for Guitarists

2026/10/5

"I mixed on regular listening headphones, and when I played it on my phone the low end was hollow..." It's a failure every guitarist who starts home recording experiences at least once. The cause is simple. Ordinary headphones have their sound flavored to make music "fun to listen to." If you mix using that sound as the reference, the balance falls apart when you hear it elsewhere. That's why you need monitor headphones. In this article, I'm ryo, 13 years of guitar and 8 years of DTM, and I explain how to choose monitor headphones and recommended models from the ...

Gear

: Best Dynamic Microphones | Picks for Both Home Recording and Live

2026/10/5

"I want one mic for both home recording and live." For people like that, a dynamic mic is the one I recommend. The short answer: for your first mic, the SHURE SM58 is never a mistake. It's sturdy, resists ambient noise, and works for both live and home recording. It's truly the versatile standard. What you'll learn in this article Why dynamic mics suit home recording Recommended models by purpose and budget Points for choosing without failing Why Dynamic Mics Suit Home Recording Too Many people think "home recording means a condenser mic." But in a home environment, a dynamic ...

Gear

: Mixing Basics | Putting Together Two Guitars, Bass, Drums and Vocals

2026/10/4

What Is Mixing? Why Is It Needed?If you stack recorded sounds as they are, problems like these happen. The guitar is too loud and you can't hear the bass The whole thing is "muddy" and doesn't cut through Only the drums sound like they're floating You don't need to overthink it. Once you have the basics, it comes together well. The Basic Mixing Steps | Follow This Order and You Won't Get Lost The steps are simple. First, turn off EQ and compression on all tracks. Build a balance that works with raw volume alone. Spread the instruments left and ...

DAW, Recording & Mixing