Answers
One question, one straight answer
89 questions, each on its own page, each answered in a few hundred words rather than buried at the bottom of a listicle. Where the honest answer is "your cable is the wrong one", it says so.
Instruments
How each family differs, what to buy first, and what the specification on the box actually means.
- Do I need a MIDI controller or a keyboard?
- Do I need lessons to learn an instrument?
- How do I choose between two similar instruments?
- How long until I can play a song?
- Is a cheap instrument worth buying?
- Is a starter pack worth buying?
- Is it too late to learn an instrument?
- Should I buy a second-hand instrument?
- Should a child start on piano or guitar?
- What do I need to start a podcast?
- What is the difference between a keyboard and a digital piano?
- What is the easiest instrument to start with?
- What should I buy first to learn music at home?
- What should I not buy first?
- What size guitar should I buy for a child?
Consumables
Which string, which head, which battery — and why the wrong one cannot be fitted at all.
- Do I need a capo?
- Do I need a guitar stand?
- Do I need a metronome?
- How do I choose a guitar strap?
- How do I choose drum sticks?
- How long do headphone earpads last?
- How often should I change drum heads?
- What cable do I need for studio monitors?
- What cables do I need for a first setup?
- What is a patch cable?
- What is a strap lock?
- What is a string winder?
- What is a microphone windscreen for?
- What thickness of guitar pick should I use?
Connections
Jack, XLR, TRS, MIDI, USB: what plugs into what, and why a working setup makes no sound.
- Can I plug my audio interface into a USB hub?
- Can I connect two pairs of headphones?
- Can I use a guitar cable for a microphone?
- Do I need a mixer?
- Do I need an adapter for my studio headphones?
- How long can an instrument cable be?
- What does balanced mean in audio?
- What is a combo input on an interface?
- What is a DI box for?
- What is a speaker-emulated output?
- What is phantom power?
- What is the difference between TS and TRS cables?
- What power supply does a guitar pedal need?
- Why does my condenser microphone make no sound?
- Why does my guitar hum?
- Why does sound only come out of one side?
Keys & pianos
Weighted actions, polyphony, pedal sockets and the difference between a piano and a controller.
- Can I connect a keyboard to a computer?
- Can I learn piano on a keyboard?
- Can I put a digital piano on a desk?
- Do digital pianos need tuning?
- Do I need 88 keys, or are 61 enough?
- How heavy is an 88-key digital piano?
- How many pedals does a digital piano need?
- Is a digital piano quiet enough for a flat?
- What does polyphony mean on a keyboard?
- What is a graded hammer action?
- What is a stage piano?
- What is a weighted key?
- What is MIDI out for?
- What is the transpose function for?
- Why does my keyboard sustain all the time?
Drums
Mesh against rubber, beaterless pedals, hi-hat control, and what the floor below actually hears.
- Are electronic drums quiet enough for a flat?
- Can I add pads to my electronic kit?
- Can I record with an electronic drum kit?
- Do electronic drum kits need a mat?
- Do I need a drum throne?
- How do I connect headphones to an electronic drum kit?
- How much space does an electronic drum kit need?
- Mesh heads or rubber pads?
- What does dual zone mean on a drum pad?
- What is a drum module?
- What is a hi-hat controller?
- Why does my drum pad trigger twice?
Amps
Stated watts against a real room, headphone outputs worth using, and recording without a microphone.
- Can I record my guitar amp without a microphone?
- Can I use headphones with any guitar amp?
- Do I need a footswitch for my amp?
- Do I need pedals, or does the amp do it?
- How many watts do I need in a guitar amp?
- What is the difference between a clean and an overdrive channel?
- What is a combo amp?
- What is a modeling amp?
- What is ISF on a Blackstar amp?
- What size speaker should a practice amp have?
- Why does my amp hum with nothing plugged in?
Maintenance
What wears out, what is replaceable, and which parts a manufacturer still sells five years on.