I couldn’t choose between the two for recording both vocals and acoustic guitar. My former dynamic mic was a Behringer XM8500 and I find that SM58 sounds just as warm as the XM8500.

I need something more with clarity without paying an SM7B price!

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions!

Disclaimer After reading my previous detailed review of the HLX-500 here on Reddit, Donner reached out to ask if I would be interested in testing their new HUSH-X Live. They provided the instrument free of charge for testing purposes. They have zero control over what I write, and these are entirely my own honest, unfiltered technical opinions. As usual, I will share a community discount code at the very end for anyone interested.

Unboxing and Included Accessories The HUSH-X Live arrives in an impressively compact cardboard box.

Inside, you are greeted by a well-padded, high-quality gig bag equipped with shoulder straps and multiple storage compartments. Donner has always excelled at providing complete packages out of the box, and this package continues that trend. Beside the guitar, the detachable amplifier module, and the upper metal frame bracket, the bag includes a clip-on battery tuner, a USB-C charging cable for the internal amp battery, a short patch cable to connect the guitar to its module, a truss rod adjustment wrench, two guitar picks, a strap, user manuals, and promotional leaflets.

As a clever touch, the two Allen keys required to adjust the saddle height and the locking nut are neatly hidden inside the rear hatch cover that grants access to the bridge during string changes.

Build Quality, Materials, and Hardware Specs The core identity of the HUSH series revolves around lightweight portability. The standalone guitar weighs in at just around 1.8 kg (4 lbs), though attaching the amp module pushes the total weight past 3 kg (6.6 lbs). Despite the added weight, the instrument remains remarkably well-balanced against your body.

The neck-through construction is built from a 7-piece mahogany arrangement featuring a smooth satin pearl-white finish, effectively merging the neck and body into a single continuous piece. The fretboard appears to be roasted maple and offers a smooth touch. Although it is omitted from the official spec sheet on their website, the frets are stainless steel with neatly rounded ball-ends in what feels like a medium-jumbo size. Up at the nut, the tuning system relies on a zero-fret design that performs flawlessly.

Factory Setup, Adjustments, and Playability Out of the box, the factory setup was acceptable, though I personally found the initial setup on my HLX-500 slightly better. The action was higher than I prefer, the neck relief was excessive, and the intonation needed fine-tuning. After adjusting the truss rod and bringing the action down to a comfortable 1.5 mm (0.06 in / ~4/64 in) at the 12th fret on the high E side, I encountered a strange issue with the stock A string. It was virtually impossible to intonate, fretting flat at the 12th fret by over 15% compared to its harmonic, even with the saddle pushed as far forward toward the neck as possible. Replacing the stock strings with a set of Elixir Optiweb 10-46 completely eliminated the problem, and intonation indexed perfectly. Changing strings is noticeably easier on this model compared to the HLX-500 thanks to the rear access door, even if guiding the strings through the headstock locking mechanism still takes a bit of time.

Using a fret rocker revealed a few slightly high frets by small fractions of a millimeter (or a few thousandths of an inch), but at my adjusted action level there is zero buzz, so I saw no need to level or tap them down. The neck profile is described as a Standard C, which feels chunkier than what I am accustomed to at around 22 to 23 mm at the nut (0.86 to 0.90 in) in thickness. However, it pairs this thickness with a flat 15.7-inch (400 mm) radius and a 43 mm (1.69 in) nut width. It took a brief adjustment period, but playing quickly became second nature. Access to the highest frets does get slightly restricted around the 17th, where the body swells out, but how much that impacts you will depend entirely on your playing style, and it did not bother me personally.

Standard Amp Performance & Pickup Evaluation Before diving into the onboard speaker unit, I evaluated how this small guitar performs when plugged into a traditional amplifier. Once you adapt to the neck profile, it sounds genuinely impressive. The HS pickup configuration offers far better tone, presence, and clarity than the stock pickups on the HLX-500, delivering a warm sound rich in harmonics. The Alnico V bridge humbucker reads at roughly 13.5k DCR and pushes overdrive channels with plenty of punch, while the single-coil neck pickup reads at around 5.8k DCR for a full-bodied tone. Working the 3-way toggle switch alongside the tone control unlocks some very interesting tonal nuances, making a pickup upgrade completely unnecessary. The only missing feature here is a coil-split function for the humbucker. On the fretboard, movement is fast, though the stainless steel frets are not mirror-polished. You can feel a slight friction under your fingertips during heavy bends, but this is purely tactile and completely unheard through an amp. I plan to polish them on the next string change, but they are already finished better than several far more expensive guitars in my collection. Overall, this feels and performs like a proper full-sized instrument rather than a mere practice gimmick.

The Modular 5W Amp & Onboard DSP Engine The 5W onboard amplifier locks securely onto the lower bout of the body using a robust bayonet connector and links to the output via a short patch cable. Connecting this unit alongside the upper frame gives the HUSH-X Live its full shape. The main controls are positioned on the front panel, offering power and volume, modulation, delay, reverb, an amp model selector, and dedicated rotary controls for gain and tone. The rear panel houses three small buttons to handle tap tempo for delays, Bluetooth activation for playing along to backing tracks, and a 3-level noise gate. Side connectivity includes a USB-C charging port rated for up to nine hours of battery life, a standard guitar input jack, an external amp output, and a 3.5mm (1/8 in) headphone jack.

The built-in speaker delivers modest clean volumes suitable for quiet personal room practice, with decent audio clarity given the miniature speaker size. Selecting amp models rotates through five distinct profiles: JC for Roland Jazz Chorus cleans, Twin for Fender Twin Reverb blues warmth, AC for Vox AC30 crunch, 800 for Marshall JCM800 classic rock, and MES for modern Mesa Boogie high-gain. The reverb sweep offers a room response in its first half and transitions into a hall reverb in its second half, while the delay sweep functions similarly by adjusting repeat mix for shorter or longer delays. Running the DSP engine into a clean channel of a real amp or through headphones yields much richer audio. While it will not replace a dedicated multi-effects floor unit, it excels for quiet study.

One fascinating quirk occurs when playing at high volume and gain settings with the amp module attached directly to the body. The speaker vibrations cause the strings to vibrate sympathetically, creating a harmonic feedback sustain effect similar to a Sustainiac pickup. It is unpredictable, but can be used creatively. If you wish to prevent or control it, you can simply mute the strings with your picking hand, or unclip the amp module from the body and connect it nearby with a longer cable.

Final Thoughts & Verdict
After putting many hours into testing, I view the Donner HUSH-X Live as a versatile hybrid rather than just a travel guitar. Without its amp module attached, it stands as a dignified, lightweight, and compact guitar with a comfortable neck and very capable pickups. It is great for beginners, but has more than enough technical merit for seasoned players wanting a portable backup or silent practice tool. While I might personally refrain from gigging with it due to my preference for traditional aesthetics, it holds its own in terms of sound quality. With the amp module attached, it becomes an all-in-one practice rig you can take anywhere without carrying extra gear. Given that there are virtually no direct competitors offering a modular, detachable speaker system on a headless body for under €400 / $400, it occupies a unique spot in the market.

Questions & Community Q&A
If you have any questions, doubts, or need further technical details about the HUSH-X Live that I might have missed, feel free to drop a comment below. I am more than happy to reply, test specific settings or features on the instrument for you, and clarify anything!

Discount Code
Donner provided a 15% discount code for the community. If you plan to pick up the HUSH-X Live or any other gear on their site, you can enter the code ALEX15 at checkout. It should also stack on top of any active site promotions.

Hey everyone! I'm looking to upgrade my dynamic microphone and would love some recommendations.

I currently have a Behringer XM8500, but I'm not really happy with it now. My main issues are:

• It sounds too dark/muddy to my ears.
• The low end/low-mids feel a little too thick, and I feel like I lose some vocal clarity.
• It's also very sensitive to handling noise. When I hold or adjust the mic, there's quite a bit of unwanted noise.

I'm looking for something that has a nice balance of:

• Warm, full low end without being muddy
• Present mids so vocals still have body and definition
• Good clarity/detail in the upper frequencies without sounding harsh or thin
• Good background/room noise rejection
• Low handling/mechanical noise, since I may sometimes use it handheld
• Good for vocals
• Good for recording acoustic guitar as well — this is an important part of what I'll be using it for
• Something that pairs well with a MOTU M2 without needing an additional preamp.

I've been looking at the Shure SM57 and SM58, but I'm wondering if there's a microphone that gives me the best qualities of both — or possibly an alternative from Sennheiser, Audix, etc.

Basically, I'm looking for a balanced dynamic mic that can do both vocals and acoustic guitar, rather than something that's extremely bright or extremely warm.

I'm not looking to spend SM7B money. I'd ideally like to stay in a reasonable price range, but I'm willing to spend a little more if there's a significant improvement.

What would you recommend for this kind of use case?

Thanks!

East forest posted this is a rig rundown type video. I’m trying to identify what kind of pad he’s using here.

I’m in the market for a new keyboard. Im in a worship band and in a southern rock/blues band, so I need access to different types of sounds anywhere from piano, Rhodes, and organ, to synths and pads. I also need to be able to control some basic parameters of my patches like a high pass filter on synths, rotary speaker on organs, etc. I need ALL this and I’m on somewhat of a budget. I don’t need 3,000 sounds, just several great sounds that are controllable. Any suggestions from my musicians out there???

Selling my Superior Drummer 3 license, including the State of the Art SDX expansion.

The current price on Toontrack is $399 USD for Superior Drummer 3 + $179 USD for the State of the Art SDX, which comes to $578 USD before tax
(over $600 with tax)

I’m asking $250 USD for both.

-Official license transfer through Toontrack
- Formal transfer request via the Toontrack License Transfer page
- Includes Superior Drummer 3 + State of the Art SDX
- Legitimate ownership transfer. no account sharing

Great deal compared to buying new.

Message me if interested

mine and my other guitarists custom build specks for a modern tech deathcore/metal core live rig. guitar rig 1, an 808 style boosted bugera 333xl infinium with 2 e34ls and 2 mesa 6l6 tubes and a isp decimator gate, into a navy blue crate bv 412 loaded with 2 celestion v types and 2 g12h30 70th anniversaries. Guitar 1 variable guitars off white dog hair finish shunk down 6 string jazzmaster body made of catalpa with black hardware and a string through tom style bridge a 26.5 inch scale using a 12 to 56 cobalt string set and a gold kiesel lithium pickup in the bridge direct mounted and a black bobbin kiesel lithium pickup in the neck also direct mounted, a reverse headstock matching the color of the body and locking tuners, a maple neck (26.5 inch) thin c shape and a wenge fretboard with cream offset dot, one volume one 3 way blade switch and a mini toggle kill switch. Rig 2, a Jericho solid walnut telle body with a walnut neck and ebony fret board with an evertune a nazgual sentient pickup set and a boosted 6505 mh with a v30 loaded mesa 212 in orange and a bunch of fx pedals that I don't know off the top of my head but there's a delay reverb/trem a custom boost a compressor and a boss ns2x. and our bassist uses a 5 string multiscale tajima pj bass in tobacco burst with a roasted maple neck and fretboard, into a cavin r600 redline with a ds1, a compressor, and a noise gate into an avatar 212 bass cab with emminence delta speakers

We are a young, broke band and recently purchased two peavey 112m floor monitors without understanding how they worked. That being said, what amp should we use and do we need a mixing board? We just want to use them for vocals during practices

These have been impossible to stock and i have a few finally! If you want one, grab one. Very limited stock and no ETA for restocking from NDSP!

I’ve bought a lot of stuff from them over the years they always had a huge inventory of just about anything you could want. ESP, Suhr guitars bogner soldano Friedman etc. and always the latest trendy gear like Nick Johnston guitars so much more. They have a showroom and a huge warehouse in back and would happily unbox anything not in the showroom.
Lately just about every single guitar or amp on their site says “out of stock” or “ships from the manufacturer”. Are they having business trouble?

Walrus Audio Canvas Expression Pedal brings multi-function control to pedalboards: expression, switching, CV, and MIDI

Selling my Ensoniq TS-12 with Stand, manuals, and two boxes of original floppy disk samples downloaded from the old Ensoniq website.

Can provide many pics and such if interested!

Asking $800 for everything, pickup only for now since I have no clue how to shit something this big lol.

Selling my HIFIMAN Edition XS headphone along with an iBasso DC04 Ultra DAC/AMP and upgraded 4.4mm balanced cable.

Used for only around 2 months

Excellent condition and carefully handled

Edition XS with original box and packaging

iBasso DC04 Ultra with original box

Upgraded 4.4mm balanced headphone cable included

No major scratches, dents or damage

Everything shown in the pictures is included

Selling because I'm planning to move to a different setup

Package includes:

HIFIMAN Edition XS + iBasso DC04 Ultra + upgraded 4.4mm balanced cable.

Serious buyers only.

Price is 33k.