Old School Hip Hop Gear Used by Old School Hip Hop Artists
Drawn from the documented rigs of 387 old school hip hop artists and the Equipboard community — ranked by real usage, not opinion.
The Gear That Shapes the Old School Hip Hop Sound
The essential categories, ranked by how much more old school hip hop artists lean on them than the rest of Equipboard.
Most-Used Old School Hip Hop Gear
Counts are artists & fans on Equipboard who own or saved each item and are associated with old school hip hop.
Old School Hip Hop Wireless Microphones
12.1× site average
#1 · Owned or saved by 44
$539.00 - $639.00
in Wireless Microphones Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 26
#3 · Owned or saved by 12
Gear That Defines Old School Hip Hop
Not just popular — disproportionately old school hip hop. Multipliers compare usage among old school hip hop artists & fans to usage across all of Equipboard, so gear everyone owns doesn't crowd out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.
Shure U2 SM58
Wireless Microphones
7.9× vs site-wide
2
Shure ULXD2/SM58 Wireless Handheld Microphone Transmitter - V50 Band
Wireless Microphones
5.6× vs site-wide
3
E-mu SP-1200
Production & Groove
5.4× vs site-wide
4
Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable
Turntables
5.4× vs site-wide
5
Akai MPC 3000
Production & Groove
4.0× vs site-wide
6
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Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer
Drum Machines
3.6× vs site-wide
7
Serato DJ Pro
DJ Software
3.2× vs site-wide
8
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Neumann U87
Condenser Microphones
3.2× vs site-wide
9
Akai S950 MIDI Digital Sampler
Audio Samplers
3.0× vs site-wide
10
Solid State Logic SL 4000
Mixers
2.9× vs site-wide
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The Artists Behind the Data
This page is built from the documented rigs of old school hip hop artists on Equipboard — a few of the 387:
How We Built This Guide
Documented artist rigs
Every count starts with the sourced, evidence-backed gear of 387 old school hip hop artists on Equipboard — interviews, photos, and rig breakdowns, not guesswork.
Community signal
Saves and gear-photo tags from players who love this genre add weight, so the lists reflect who actually plays this stuff.
Distinctive, not just popular
We compare old school hip hop usage to all of Equipboard — so a tuner everyone owns doesn't drown out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.
Keep Exploring
Gear guides for genres in old school hip hop's orbit.