Home Recording Power: Set Up Your Own Recording Studio for Personal and Professional Use

by Milstead, Ben

• ISBN13: 9781592001279
• ISBN10: 1592001270
• Additional ISBN(s): 9781929685080
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-11
• Publisher: Cengage Learning Ptr
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Now you can record your music like a pro right from your own home! This book gives you all of the tips and techniques that you need to set up your home recording studio and see your musical project through to completion. You'll learn how to do everything from initially setting up your studio before you begin to promoting and marketing your finished product. This is the start-to-finish guide you need to take your musical inspiration from concept to completion.

Author Biography

Ben Milstead has been tinkering with the home recording puzzle for almost two decades. He has set up numerous home recording studios and recorded his own music for years

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
1-So You Wanna Be a Star?	1	(10)
Giving the Audience What You Have	1	(1)
Who Is Your Audience?	1	(1)
What's the Point?	2	(1)
Got Milk? Go Professional!	2	(1)
Analog vs. Digital Audio	3	(5)
Why Is Digital So Hot?	4	(2)
Yeah, but Analog Is Cool	6	(1)
More Power Means More Responsibility	7	(1)
Getting Ready for Your Home Studio	8	(3)
2-Choosing Your Space	11	(12)
Choosing Your Space	11	(1)
Common-Sense Considerations	12	(1)
The Complexities of Room Acoustics	12	(5)
Absorption and Diffusion	13	(1)
On the Surface	13	(2)
Speaker Placement	15	(1)
Size Matters	16	(1)
Soundproofing	17	(1)
Cabling Basics	18	(1)
In the Garage: A Dream Setup	19	(1)
In the Garage: A Practical Example	20	(3)
3-Assembling Your Digital Studio	23	(14)
Computing Audio	23	(2)
Real-World Costs	25	(1)
The Software, Uh, Really Works Now!	26	(1)
Go Direct with DirectX	27	(2)
But Shouldn't I Be Using a Mac?	29	(1)
Windows and the Wide World of Computer Geekdom	29	(2)
Briefly, the Computer	29	(1)
The Sound Card	30	(1)
If the Computer's the Heart, the Mixer's the Brain	31	(1)
Nearly Virtual Mixing	31	(1)
Mixing the Old School Way	32	(1)
You've Got to Have Connections	32	(5)
Cables	32	(2)
Connectors	34	(1)
Electric Studioland	35	(2)
4-Listen to You	37	(20)
Your Voice	37	(2)
Posture	37	(1)
Breathing	38	(1)
Support	38	(1)
Register	38	(1)
Resonance	38	(1)
Expressing Yourself	38	(1)
Selecting a Microphone	39	(6)
Microphone Types	40	(3)
Response Patterns, AKA "Pickup Patterns"	43	(2)
Vocal Microphone Placement	45	(3)
Singing Style	45	(2)
Getting the Right Kind of Feedback	47	(1)
A Multiple Vocal Primer	48	(3)
Stacking Vocals	49	(2)
Toward a More Perfect Harmony	51	(1)
Vocal Mixing	51	(1)
Troubleshooting Vocal Mixes	52	(4)
The Problem Could Be Noise	52	(1)
The Problem Could Be Space	52	(2)
The Problem Could Be the Level	54	(1)
The Problem Could Be the Frequency	54	(2)
The Zen of Microphones: Guidelines for Vocal Satori	56	(1)
5-Keyboards and Synths	57	(16)
Key Choices	57	(1)
The Technology of Synthesizers	58	(9)
Oscillators	59	(1)
Filters	60	(1)
Envelopes	61	(1)
Digital Synthesis	62	(5)
Virtual Synths	67	(1)
Making a Sound Decision	68	(5)
You Can't Always Get What You Want-So Get What You Need	68	(1)
Chasing Down the Right Synth	69	(4)
6-Getting the Guitar Sound	73	(8)
First Things First: Do You Like Your Guitar?	73	(2)
Evaluating Quality: Basic Tips	73	(1)
How Does It Feel?	74	(1)
Recording Guitars	75	(6)
The Basics	75	(1)
Stereo Separation	75	(1)
The Acoustic Guitar Sound	76	(1)
The Electric Guitar Sound	77	(4)
7-No More Drummer Jokes, Please!	81	(12)
Drums for Non-Drummers (Or Dig Those MIDI Drums!)	81	(6)
MIDI (Musical Instrument Drumming Interface)	82	(4)
Drum Loops and Samples	86	(1)
Recording Acoustic Drums	87	(6)
Close Miking	87	(1)
Triangular Miking	88	(1)
Phase Cancellation	89	(1)
All Skins Are Not Created Equal	89	(1)
Drums and EQ	90	(1)
Reverb and Compression Are Your Friends	91	(2)
8-All Kinds of Other Instruments	93	(10)
Live Recording or Recording Live?	93	(1)
Recording the Bottom End	94	(2)
First, the Bass-ics	94	(1)
Bass Recording Techniques	94	(2)
Acoustic Piano Techniques	96	(2)
Woodwinds	98	(1)
Strings	98	(1)
Brass	98	(1)
GigaStudio	99	(4)
Getting Started with GigaStudio	100	(1)
Hard Drive	101	(1)
Soundcards	101	(2)
9-Wading in MIDI	103	(28)
What Is MIDI?	103	(1)
How MIDI Works	104	(5)
MIDI Channels	105	(1)
The MIDI Interface	106	(1)
Hooking It All Up	106	(1)
Masters and Slaves	107	(1)
Hooking Up 1,000 MIDI Devices	108	(1)
MIDI Is Not Audio, Really	109	(2)
FM Synthesis	109	(1)
Wavetable Synthesis	110	(1)
Sequencing	111	(1)
General MIDI: The Standard	111	(10)
The Cost of Doing General MIDI	113	(6)
The Cost of Doing GM Percussion	119	(2)
MIDI Computing	121	(10)
Connecting Your Computer	122	(3)
The MIDI File Format	125	(1)
Using MIDI Software	126	(5)
10-Diving Deeper into MIDI	131	(20)
Messages, Messages, and More Messages	131	(1)
Bytes in the Message	132	(1)
Types of MIDI Messages	132	(1)
Voice Messages	132	(3)
Note On	133	(1)
Note Off	133	(1)
Aftertouch	134	(1)
Pitch Bend	135	(1)
Bank Select and Program Change	135	(1)
Controller Messages	135	(2)
Modulation	136	(1)
Volume	136	(1)
Pan	136	(1)
Sustain Pedal	136	(1)
Other Controllers	137	(1)
Mode Messages	137	(2)
All Notes Off	139	(1)
Reset All Controllers	139	(1)
Local Control Off	139	(1)
System Messages	139	(2)
System Common Messages	139	(2)
System Real-Time Messages	141	(1)
System Exclusive (SysEx) Messages	141	(1)
A MIDI Sequencing Tutorial	141	(7)
The Setup	142	(1)
Hooking It Together	142	(1)
The SONAR Interface	143	(1)
Enabling MIDI Tracks	143	(2)
The MIDI Recording Process	145	(2)
Quantizing	147	(1)
Copying Tracks	147	(1)
Editing MIDI Notes	147	(1)
On the Horizon: New MIDI-Based Audio Technologies	148	(3)
DLS-1	149	(1)
DLS-2	149	(1)
DownLoadable Algorithms	149	(2)
11-Fun-Da-Mental Audio	151	(22)
Audio Engineering 101	151	(5)
A Little Math, Please	151	(2)
Sound Waves	153	(2)
Tone Reality	155	(1)
Analog vs. Digital Recording	156	(2)
Digital Is Cheaper, Much Cheaper	156	(2)
Digital Is Easier	158	(1)
Gearing Up	158	(11)
DAW-Gonnit, Maw, I Need to Move	159	(1)
Real Power for the Home Studio: The Computer	160	(7)
Monitoring and Mixing with Headphones	167	(2)
Signal Processing Basics	169	(4)
Reverb	169	(1)
Compression	170	(1)
Delay	171	(2)
12-Serious Audio	173	(10)
It's a Pressure Cooker in There	173	(3)
Pulse Code Modulation	175	(1)
Audio Data Storage	175	(1)
The RIFF File Format	175	(1)
Wave Files	176	(1)
Perfect Digital Audio	176	(7)
The Big Julienne Fry: Oversampling	177	(1)
Dithering	178	(2)
Reverb under the Covers	180	(3)
13-Recording and Mixing	183	(26)
The Basics	183	(7)
It Helps to Hear What You're Hearing	183	(1)
The Mix Behind the Mask	184	(1)
Monitors	184	(5)
The Importance of Sound Cabling	189	(1)
It's All in the Mix	190	(12)
Preamps	190	(1)
Input Channels	191	(3)
Get On the Bus	194	(1)
Groups	194	(1)
Auxiliary Buses	195	(1)
EQ	195	(4)
Auxiliary Section	199	(1)
Channel Inserts	199	(1)
Mix B	199	(1)
Pan	200	(1)
Mute and Solo	200	(1)
The Fader	200	(1)
Bus Assignments	201	(1)
Other Functions	202	(1)
Software Mixers	202	(2)
Stepping Through the Mixing Chain	204	(1)
Using Effects Effectively	205	(4)
Noise Gates	205	(1)
Phase Shifters	206	(1)
Flanger and Chorus	206	(1)
Other Effects	207	(2)
14-Step By Step: Your First Eight-Track Song	209	(16)
Step 1: A Little Preparation	209	(3)
Step 2: Setting Up SONAR	212	(1)
Set the Sampling Rate	212	(1)
Set the Bit Depths	213	(1)
Step 3: Recording a Track	213	(4)
Input Levels	213	(1)
Rolling Tape-Er, Disk, That Is	214	(3)
Step 4: Looping	217	(1)
Step 5: Punch-In Edits	218	(3)
Step 6: Mixing Some Effect In	221	(1)
Step 7: Mastering to a File	222	(3)
15-Tracking Tips and Techniques	225	(8)
Plan the Session	225	(1)
Quick Basic EQ Settings	226	(1)
Cut, Copy, and Paste	227	(2)
Using a Patchbay	229	(1)
Master with Care	229	(1)
Track Sheets	230	(3)
16-Pack It and Ship It	233	(10)
Putting Your Music on CD	233	(7)
The Technology Is Better and Faster	233	(2)
CD Recording Software	235	(5)
Sleeves, Liner Notes, and Graphics	240	(3)
Jewel Case Creator	240	(1)
Advanced Media Labeling Tools	241	(1)
Doing a Big Burn	241	(2)
17-Wired for Sound: The Internet	243	(22)
The Internet Music Craze	243	(1)
How Audio File Formats Work	244	(7)
MP3: It's All in the Algorithm	245	(5)
Windows Media	250	(1)
Real Audio	250	(1)
Getting Your Music Out There	251	(2)
Timing Is Everything	251	(1)
The Look Is Important	252	(1)
Don't Limit Yourself	252	(1)
Make It Official	252	(1)
A Little Remuneration, Please	252	(1)
Designing a Web Site	253	(7)
FrontPage2002	253	(1)
An Overview of FrontPage	254	(5)
Web Graphics	259	(1)
Web Hosting	260	(2)
Hosting Services	260	(1)
Domain Names	261	(1)
Uploading Your Site	262	(1)
Intellectual Property What?	262	(3)
The Law	262	(1)
The Reality	263	(2)
18-Promoting and Marketing Your Music	265	(14)
Promoting Your Music	265	(1)
Have a Marketing Plan	265	(1)
A Little Airplay Would Be Nice!	266	(1)
Send Press Releases	266	(1)
Marketing Your Music	266	(13)
Music Sites That Want You	267	(3)
Search Engines and Directories	270	(4)
Advertising	274	(2)
Bringing In a Little Income	276	(3)
Appendix-Home Studio Recording Resources on the Web	279	(12)
Harmony Central	279	(1)
MP3.com	280	(1)
ProRec	281	(1)
Home Recording at About.com	282	(1)
ePanorama.net	283	(1)
Synth Zone	284	(1)
Scott Garrigus Web Sites	285	(1)
The Recording Web Site	286	(1)
What Is a Synthesizer?	287	(1)
CRMAV.com	288	(1)
Cakewalk	289	(1)
Sonic Foundry	290	(1)
Index	291