Tier List for Home Recording Gear and Plug-ins

Every product SoundBounty has rated is lined up by genre in tiers of rank S, A, B and C. Open the genre you are interested in and you will see its products from the highest rank down, with a tier table for each rating criterion (for EQ, for example, handling problem bands, speed and stereo processing) under it. In those tables you can click a heading to sort by that criterion.

Disclosure: This site takes part in affiliate programs. Ranks are given regardless of stores and prices.

Tier lists by genre

Gear

Plug-ins and software instruments (compared by purpose)

How to read the ranks

A rank is worked out from the average of scores that apply the manufacturers’ official features and specifications to criteria set for each genre. For example, whether an EQ has dynamic EQ or automatic suggestions, or a microphone’s self-noise and sensitivity: items you can confirm in the specifications. It does not compare how good the sound is. Taste in sound differs by person, so this site does not include it in the score.

S: products at a high level on most of the criteria for that genre
A: products that meet the standard on many criteria
B: products that differ by criterion. They are quite usable if they fit your purpose
C: products with narrowed-down features, including free products and products made for a fixed use

A low rank does not mean a bad product. A product that is stripped down to stay light, or specialized for one use, has a hard time scoring high when counted by number of criteria. Check on the table of each genre’s comparison page whether the product has the features you need.

Overall tier and tier per criterion

The overall rank is decided by the average score of the criteria. So even among products that are all overall A, one may score 5 on one feature and 2 on another, while another scores 4 on everything. When you know exactly which feature you want, look at the per-criterion tier table. In the table, products are rows and criteria are columns, and clicking a heading sorts by that criterion. Each cell shows the score for that criterion (1 to 5): 5 is S, 4 is A, 3 is B, and 2 or below is C. A criterion with no score (for example, where the maker does not publish the specification) is shown as “—”.

How to choose a product

Instead of deciding by rank alone, going in the following order makes it harder to get lost.

First decide the features your purpose needs (for example, an EQ if you want to clear up a muddy vocal, a de-esser if breaths and sibilance bother you)
On that genre’s comparison page, narrow down to products that have the features you need
Among the narrowed products, read the rating pages from the highest rank
Before buying, check the supported DAWs and formats and the latest specifications on the maker’s or store’s page

Each genre’s comparison page also has recommendations by purpose, how to choose and frequently asked questions. The detailed rules for scoring are in How we rate specifications.

Products are added to the tier lists in turn. Specifications and ranks are reviewed when the manufacturers’ official information changes.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Which product should I pick among those with the same rank?

Within a tier, products are lined up from the highest score. But when the score difference is small, choosing by how you will use it and your taste is easier to be happy with than choosing by the difference in features. Look for the product closest to your purpose in “recommendations by purpose” on each genre’s comparison page and on each rating page.

Q. Why do some products have no image?

We use only press images that the makers publish for the media. Products whose images are not published are shown in a diagonal-striped frame. We add images in turn from the products for which we find one.

Q. When do you review the ranks?

We review them when a maker’s official information changes or when we add a new product. Each genre’s comparison page shows the date of the rating.

Q. What if I want a product that is not listed rated?

Please let us know through the contact page (currently available in Japanese only: contact). We add ratings in turn from products whose official information we can confirm.