I write about music gear for a living - these are the 7 home studio bargains I'm considering in Amazon's October Prime event

M-Audio AIR 192x4: was $119, now $79
With $40 off the regular price, the M-Audio AIR 192x4 is a great way to get into home recording for beginners, or even get a travel rig on the go if you're a more experienced engineer. The 2-in, 2-out makes it perfect for guitars, bass, and vocals, and whilst it comes a little short of recording a full drum kit, you can always do the Glyn Johns method of recording in a pinch.

Audio-Technica AT2035: was $149, $94.05
Speaking of mics, the excellent Audio-Technica AT2035 condenser microphone has got a tempting reduction of $54.95 in the Amazon sale. It’s renowned for being a reliable workhorse in the home studio, performing equally well on instruments as it does on vocals. We gave it four and a half stars out of five in our review, praising it for its superb value for money, included shock mount, and tolerance of ultra-loud sources. 

M-Audio Oxygen Pro 25: was $199, $129
With its myriad of assignable buttons, comfortable keybed, and small, yet surprisingly usable drum pads, the M-Audio Oxygen Pro 25 often gets overlooked for other MIDI keyboards. It shouldn’t be though, because it’s excellent value for money at full price, never mind with a massive $70 discount in the Amazon sale. The transport buttons for your DAW are invaluable time savers and while it takes a little knowledge to set up, once you get it going it becomes an indispensable part of your home studio. 

Samson Mic Stands: was $63.73, now $41.54
Whilst mic stands aren’t the sexiest bit of studio gear you’ll own, they’re undoubtedly one of the more useful bits of kit you can buy. There’s nothing worse than going to mic something up and finding out you’ve run out, so stocking up on this Samson Mic Stand three-pack is a no-brainer. With a $22.19 discount, these three mic stands are just $41.54 which is incredible value for money. The pack also comes with three XLR cables and a handy carry case, ensuring you’ve got everything you need for your next recording session. 

Samsung T7 Shield 2TB: was $119.99, $99.99
Arguably worse than running out of mics or mic stands is running out of space to store your sessions. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to rapidly build up a collection of space-hogging synth VSTs, LA-2A compressor plugins, and 808 samples, never mind space for the actual recordings. This handy little external, solid-state hard drive from Samsung gives you peace of mind for your next session, as well as exceptional performance when transferring data. It’s only a $20 discount on the regular price, but more space for your music is invaluable to us. 

Sennheiser HD 650: was $499.95, now $326.86
If you want reference-quality headphones for your mixes, the Sennheiser HD 650 is a top choice. The sound quality of these cans is absolutely phenomenal, so you’ll hear every fine detail of your mix like never before. They’ve got a massive 35% discount over at Amazon, which equates to $173.06 in real money. We love the comfortable oval-shaped ear pads and although there’s a slight sub-bass roll-off, we found it gives a lovely and balanced sound for mixing with.

Zonder Studio Monitor Stands: was $48.99, $24.49
One of the critical mistakes newbie home studio users make is not decoupling their studio monitors from their studio desks. Not only do the tweeters of your monitors need to be at ear level, but you also want to ensure separation so you don’t get any sympathetic resonance, which can affect the overall sound of your mix. These studio monitor stands by Zonder decouple your monitors but they also serve another purpose, which is freeing up space on your desk. They’ve got a $24.50 discount in the Amazon sale at the moment, taking the price down to just $24.49 - well worth the investment to improve your recorded sound.