TechTV's Secrets of the Digital Studio: Insider's Guide to Desktop Recording

by Maguire, James

• ISBN13: 9780789726865
• ISBN10: 0789726866
• Format: Paperback w/CD
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Que

Summary

Learn to turn your PC into a recording studio!TechTV's Secrets of the Digital Studio: Insider's Guide to Desktop Recordingenables audio do-it-yourselfers to turn a home PC into a nearly professional recording studio and provides the guidance necessary to use this desktop studio to produce high quality sound. This book covers a wide array of basic (and not so basic) audio techniques, from recording and mixing to burning CDs to developing a home set-up.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(7)
I AUDIO STUFF IT REALLY HELPS TO KNOW
Our Analog Ancestors and the Basics of Sound
Frequency, Amplitude, and Elvis	8	(6)
Tape Is Rolling: Take One	9	(3)
Pity The Audio Engineer	12	(2)
Just One More Glance Back Before Plunging Madly Ahead	14	(4)
Fast Forward: Digital Audio and the Nonlinear Now
So What Is Digital Audio?	18	(1)
Sample Rate	19	(6)
Important Digital Audio Terms, or, How to Use Jargon to Impress Your Friends	25	(7)
Nyquist Frequency	25	(2)
Aliasing: A Bad Thing	27	(5)
Digital Audio, Continued
Quantization: One Step at a Time	32	(6)
But What's a Bit?	35	(1)
The 16-Bit Word and Quantization	36	(2)
The Ear Proves (Once Again) It Has a Lot to Offer	38	(2)
Dither: Compensating for a Digital Problem	40	(4)
MIDI: The Virtual Orchestra
Is It Live...Or Is It MIDI?	44	(1)
A Bunch of Jargon	44	(5)
What Is MIDI?	45	(2)
Can I Turn a MIDI File into a WAV File?	47	(2)
The Brains of a MIDI System: Software	49	(8)
How Musicians Use MIDI	51	(1)
General MIDI and Standard MIDI Files	52	(3)
Hardware Ins and Outs	55	(2)
Additional MIDI Links	57	(5)
II LET'S START BUILDING
The Desktop Philosophy: Virtually Everything Should Be Virtual, or, How Can We Do This Cheaper and Better?
The Eternal Rules of Desktop Audio	62	(4)
It All Comes Down to You	62	(2)
Some Rules That Will Save You Money	64	(2)
Virtually Everything Should Be Virtual	66	(3)
Traditional Analog	67	(1)
Digital Traditional	68	(1)
All Digital	69	(1)
Exceptions to All-in-the-Box	69	(7)
Software: The Basics
The Joy of Software	76	(5)
Peace, Love, and Nondestructiveness	78	(2)
The Joy of User Definability	80	(1)
Your Software Is the Center of Your Audio Studio	80	(1)
It's a Digi, Digi, Digi World	81	(15)
Cool Edit Pro	86	(2)
Acid	88	(1)
Sound Forge	89	(1)
GoldWave Multiquence	90	(1)
Cubase	91	(5)
Software: The Extras
The Ever-Expanding Universe of Audio Plug-Ins	96	(4)
Real-Time Versus Offline	97	(1)
A Plug-In for Every Occasion	97	(1)
The DirectX Files	98	(1)
VST and Plug-Ins	99	(1)
Software Synthesizers: Easy to Carry	100	(2)
Software Synthesizers	102	(2)
Conversion Software: Turn Lead Into Gold	104	(2)
Utilities You Need: The Backup Players	106	(4)
Hardware: Have PC, Will Travel
Enough Options To Make Your Head Spin	110	(10)
But Let's Face the Music: We Want Hardware	111	(4)
Building Your Own DAW (Digital Audio Workstation): The Big Three, Plus the Really Important One	115	(3)
The Audio Card/Interface	118	(2)
Audio Interfaces: Audio Cards, Sound Cards, A/D Converters	120	(8)
Examples of Audio Interfaces: Sound Cards, Audio Cards, and More	122	(2)
M Audio DiO 2448 Digital I/O Card	124	(4)
Extra Gear
Audio Gear: It's Beautiful, and It Wants You To Take It Home	128	(19)
Mixers	128	(2)
Hard Disk Recorders	130	(1)
Portable Digital Studio	131	(2)
Hard Drive	133	(1)
A/D Converter	133	(1)
Outboard Gear	134	(1)
Microphones	135	(4)
Microphone Pre Amp	139	(1)
Monitoring Systems	140	(2)
Power Amplifiers	142	(1)
DAT Machine	143	(4)
Hooking It All Up: Connections and Cabling
Connecting Gear to Your Computer	147	(4)
SCSI	147	(1)
USB	147	(1)
IDE	148	(1)
FireWire	148	(1)
PCI	149	(2)
Connections Beyond Your Computer	151	(11)
A Little Terminology: The Five-Minute Electrician	151	(1)
Cabling Concepts	152	(2)
Commonly Used Connectors	154	(3)
Digital Connections: The Way to Go	157	(5)
Typical Studio Setups: A Solution for Every Budget
Everyone's Invited	162	(1)
But Wait, There's One Thing You Need No Matter What	163	(13)
The Basic Desktop	165	(3)
Ready to Groove	168	(3)
Practically Big Time	171	(5)
A Professional's Home Studio: Chris Vrenna	176	(8)
Working at Home Versus Working at a Studio	177	(1)
The Low Cost of Audio Technology	178	(1)
The Relationship Between Technology and Music	179	(5)
III THE JOY OF RECORDING: HOW TO RECORD AND EDIT WITH YOUR DESKTOP AUDIO STUDIO
How to Record and Edit
Take One: Rolling	184	(2)
Edit Until Your File is Unrecognizable	186	(1)
Recording Good Sound: Using Microphones	187	(10)
Okay, You've Got a Microphone, What Do You Do with It?	189	(5)
Recording Different Instruments	194	(3)
Recording Direct	197	(1)
The Overdub: Let's Add Still Another Track!	197	(2)
But I'm Not Getting Any Sound!	199	(3)
Sampling
Sampling Is What's Happening Now	202	(16)
How a Sample Is Born	205	(2)
Tweak and Tweak Some More	207	(1)
Incorporating Samples in Your Mix	208	(2)
Hardware Samplers Versus Software Samplers	210	(1)
The Many Shades of the Software Sampler	211	(1)
A Sampling of Software Samplers	212	(5)
The Hardware Sampler	217	(1)
Sampling Tips and Techniques	218	(4)
DJ Nation: Getting Started as a Turntablist
Long Ago, in a Galaxy Far Away	222	(2)
The DJ and the Desktop	224	(14)
The Gear You'll Need	227	(4)
An Important (Groove) Technique	231	(2)
Techniques of the Rich and Famous	233	(2)
The Art of Programming	235	(3)
Audio Synchronization
Let's All Get Together	238	(9)
SMPTE Time Code	240	(3)
MIDI Sync	243	(2)
MIDI Time Code	245	(1)
Word Clock: Digital Communication	246	(1)
Today's Studio and the Great Sync Stew: Word clock, SMPTE, and MTC	247	(2)
Archiving	249	(12)
New Problems, New Solutions	250	(6)
CD-R/CD-RW	250	(2)
DAT Backup	252	(1)
Removable Storage Disc	253	(1)
Hard Drives	254	(1)
DVD-R	255	(1)
Online	256	(1)
Okay, So You've Chosen a Backup Option. What Else Should You Know?	256	(1)
The Raw Excitement of Library Work	257	(4)
IV CREATING YOUR SOUND: HOW TO MIX USING YOUR DESKTOP STUDIO
Mixing, Part 1	261	(130)
Finally, It's Time to Mix	262	(1)
Tools First, Then Techniques	263	(7)
The Mixing Desk: What the Heck Are All Those Buttons?	264	(2)
Equalization: What a Beautiful Bottom End You Have	266	(1)
The Many Flavors of EQ	267	(2)
Filter, and Then Filter Some More	269	(1)
Pratical Applications	270	(2)
Compression: My Track Is Louder Than Yours	272	(3)
The Expander	274	(1)
Noise Gates	274	(1)
The Effects: An Ever-Expanding Palette	275	(5)
Delay	276	(1)
Reverb	276	(4)
Mixing, Part 2
Let's Sit In on a Mix	280	(17)
Time to Get Going	280	(2)
Building from the Bottom Up: The Kick Drum	282	(2)
The Snare Drum	284	(1)
The Overhead Drum Mics	285	(1)
MIDI Percussion	286	(1)
The Bass Guitar	287	(1)
The Acoustic Guitar	288	(1)
The MIDI Guitar	289	(1)
Keyboard	290	(1)
The Lead Guitar	291	(1)
The Sample Tracks	291	(1)
The Vocals	292	(5)
Interview with a Working Professional	297	(3)
DVD Audio and Surround Sound Mixing
Coming to a (Home) Theater Near You	300	(2)
DVD: Format Versus Media	302	(4)
DVD-R	303	(1)
DVD-RW	304	(1)
DVD+RW	305	(1)
DVD+R	305	(1)
DVD-RAM	306	(1)
Uses for Musicians: DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, and SACD	306	(3)
DVD-Video	306	(1)
DVD-Audio	307	(1)
SACD	308	(1)
The Magic of Surround Sound	309	(2)
Your Studio's Surround Setup	311	(4)
Surround Sound Mixing Setup	312	(2)
The Surround Panner	314	(1)
Surround Mixing: The Quantum Leap	315	(3)
And Don't Forget: Stereo Is Still the Default	318	(4)
V THOSE DISCS WERE MADE FOR BURNING: DESKTOP CD BURNING
CD Burning, the Basics
The Inner Workings of a Compact Disc	322	(1)
Let's Get Started: First, CD-R or CD-RW?	323	(10)
Preparing to Burn: What Kind of CD Are You Making?	325	(4)
The Writing Modes	329	(4)
Burning: It's Easy, Except When It's Not	333	(2)
Hardware: How Cheap Can It Get?	335	(3)
CD Creation, Part 2: Before and After the Burn
The Leap From Analog to Digital	338	(2)
(Improving) The Sound of Music: Restoration and Mastering	340	(9)
The Master/Restoration Philosophy: Less Is More	342	(1)
The Basics: Volume Levels and EQ	343	(3)
Software Programs	346	(1)
A Mastering Engineer's Master Tools	347	(2)
Psychoacoustic Concerns	349	(1)
Duplication: Do It Yourself--or Not	349	(7)
VI THE INTERNET: THE DESKTOP RECORDIST'S BEST FRIEND
Preparing Your Sounds for Uploading
Global Self Promotion	356	(1)
Prep Work	357	(9)
Help Yourself by Helping Your Encoder	359	(3)
The File Formats	362	(4)
Copyrighting Your Music	366	(4)
File Swapping: Inside the Revolution
Here to Stay	370	(1)
Where Did P2P Come From?	371	(7)
How to Use P2P Software	375	(2)
Power User's Tips	377	(1)
How File Swapping Affects the Desktop Musician	378	(4)
Educate Yourself	378	(1)
Promote Yourself	379	(3)
Collaborating Across Town---Or the Globe
The Biggest Studio in the World	382	(5)
The Many Flavors of Distance Collaboration	386	(1)
The Technophobe and the Madman	387	(1)
ISDN: The Speed of Real Time	388	(1)
The Future	389	(2)
A TechTV Quick Facts	391	(6)
Audience	392	(1)
Web Site	392	(1)
International	392	(1)
Tech Live Quick Facts	392	(1)
Mission	392	(1)
Format	392	(1)
Network Program Guide	393	(4)
AudioFile	393	(1)
Big Thinkers	393	(1)
Call for Help	394	(1)
CyberCrime	394	(1)
Extended Play	394	(1)
Fresh Gear	395	(1)
Silicon Spin	395	(1)
The Screen Savers	395	(1)
Titans of Tech	396	(1)
Index	397