Underground Hip Hop Gear: Software, Studio Gear & Synths Used by Underground Hip Hop Artists
Drawn from the documented rigs of 586 Underground hip hop artists and the Equipboard community — ranked by real usage, not opinion.
The Gear That Shapes the Underground Hip Hop Sound
The essential categories, ranked by how much more Underground hip hop artists lean on them than the rest of Equipboard.
Most-Used Underground Hip Hop Gear
Counts are artists & fans on Equipboard who own or saved each item and are associated with Underground hip hop.
Underground Hip Hop DAW Software
2.8× site average
$139.00 - $179.00
in DAW Software Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 72
$268.00 - $349.00
in DAW Software Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 66
#3 · Owned or saved by 41
$225.00 - $599.00
in DAW Software Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 30
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$409.00 - $499.00
in DAW Software Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 15
-m.webp?v=1784455242)
$99.99 - $344.00
in DAW Software Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 10
Underground Hip Hop Condenser Microphones
4.1× site average-m.webp?v=1784905101)
$2,349.00 - $3,995.00
in Condenser Microphones Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 20
$75.23 - $119.00
in Condenser Microphones Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 18
$899.00 - $1,295.00
in Condenser Microphones Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 12
$159.00 - $251.24
in Condenser Microphones Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 10
$14,995.00 - $14,999.99
in Condenser Microphones Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 10
$2,785.18 - $3,995.00
in Condenser Microphones Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 8
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Underground Hip Hop Production & Groove
7.9× site average-m.webp?v=1784905142)
$475.00
in Production & Groove Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 19
$1,191.44
in Production & Groove Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 17
$575.00
in Production & Groove Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 15
$4,170.06
in Production & Groove Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 12
$411.00 - $499.00
in Production & Groove Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 12
$450.00
in Production & Groove Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 11
Underground Hip Hop Audio Samplers
6.7× site average
$445.00 - $499.99
in Audio Samplers Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 15
$379.95
in Audio Samplers Rank
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#2 · Owned or saved by 15
-m.webp?v=1784905097)
$297.86
in Audio Samplers Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 14
$295.00
in Audio Samplers Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 12
$247.00
in Audio Samplers Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 12
$200.00
in Audio Samplers Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 9
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Underground Hip Hop Distortion Effects Pedals
$54.99 - $73.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 16
-m.webp?v=1784905089)
$79.00 - $89.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 6
$96.69 - $119.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 5
Gear That Defines Underground Hip Hop
Not just popular — disproportionately Underground hip hop. Multipliers compare usage among Underground 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.
Image-Line FL Studio
DAW Software
4.3× vs site-wide
2
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator PO-33 KO!
Tabletop Synthesizers
3.8× vs site-wide
3
Akai MPC 2000XL
Production & Groove
3.6× vs site-wide
4
Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable
Turntables
3.4× vs site-wide
5
Boss SP-303 Dr. Sample
Audio Samplers
3.4× vs site-wide
6
E-mu SP-1200
Production & Groove
3.3× vs site-wide
7
Roland SP-404MKII
Audio Samplers
3.2× vs site-wide
8
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Monitor Headphones
Headphones & In-Ear Monitors
3.0× vs site-wide
9
Serato DJ Pro
DJ Software
2.8× vs site-wide
10
Audio-Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone
Condenser Microphones
2.7× vs site-wide
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The Artists Behind the Data
This page is built from the documented rigs of Underground hip hop artists on Equipboard — a few of the 586:
Underground Hip Hop Rigs from the Community
Real, item-tagged setups from Equipboard members who make Underground hip hop.
How We Built This Guide
Documented artist rigs
Every count starts with the sourced, evidence-backed gear of 586 Underground 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 Underground 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 Underground hip hop's orbit.