Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting Started with Home Recording 5
Chapter 1: Understanding Home Recording 7
Examining the Anatomy of a Home Studio 7
Exploring the recording essentials 8
Checking out recording system types 10
Getting a Glimpse into the Recording Process 11
Setting up a song 11
Getting a great sound 11
Recording 12
Overdubbing 12
Making Sense of Mixing 12
Cleaning up tracks using editing 13
Equalizing your tracks 13
Processing your signal 13
Blending your tracks 13
Adding the Final Touches 14
Mastering your mixes 14
Putting your music out into the world 15
Promoting your music 16
Chapter 2: Getting the Right Gear 17
Determining Your Home Studio Needs 18
Detailing Your Digital Options 21
Computer-Based Digital Recording Systems 23
Finding the right computer setup 23
Getting the sound in and out 26
Choosing the right software 30
Studio-in-a-Box Systems 33
Taking a look at the benefits 33
Examining some popular SIAB systems 33
Mobile-Device Recording 34
Android 35
Apple iOS 36
Exploring Sample Setups 37
Live and MIDI studio 38
MIDI-intensive studio 38
Live studio 41
Podcasting studio 42
Audio-for-video studio 43
Mobile on-location studio 44
Chapter 3: Getting Connected: Setting Up Your Studio 45
Understanding Analog Connections 46
The ¼-inch analog plug 46
XLR 49
RCA 49
Delving into Digital Connections 50
MIDI 50
AES/EBU 50
S/PDIF 51
ADAT Lightpipe 51
TDIF 51
USB 52
FireWire 53
Thunderbolt 54
Working Efficiently 55
Taming heat and dust 57
Monitoring your monitors 57
Optimizing Your Room 58
Isolating sound 58
Controlling sound 60
Chapter 4: Meet the Mixer 69
Meeting the Many Mixers 69
Analog mixer 70
Digital mixer 71
Software mixer 72
Computer control surface 73
Understanding Mixer Basics 74
Examining inputs 75
Checking out the channel strip 76
Recognizing mixer routing 82
Opting for outputs 83
Chapter 5: Multitrack Recording 85
Understanding Multitracking 85
Getting Ready to Record 86
Setting up a song 87
Creating and organizing your tracks 87
Selecting a sound source 90
Setting levels 92
Getting the sound you want 92
Choosing a monitoring source 95
Setting a Tempo Map 95
Saving Your Work 95
Sharing Files with Others 96
Part 2: Working with Microphones 97
Chapter 6: Understanding Microphones 99
Meeting the Many Microphone Types 100
Construction types 100
Polarity patterns 106
Assessing Your Microphone Needs 110
Deciding How Many Microphones and What Kind 111
Getting started 111
Movinâ on 113
Going all out 115
Finding the Right Mic for the Situation 117
Partnering Mics with Preamps 120
Solid-state 120
Vacuum tube 121
Hybrid 121
Considering Compressors 122
Analyzing Some Microphone Accessories 123
Microphone cords 123
Microphone stands 123
Pop filters 123
Caring for Your Microphones 124
Daily care 125
Storage 125
Chapter 7: Taking a Look at Microphone Techniques 127
Singling Out Close Miking 128
Detailing Distant Miking 130
Assessing Ambient Miking 131
Selecting Stereo Miking 133
X-Y pairs 133
Blumlein technique 134
Spaced pairs 135
Stereo microphones 136
Overcoming problems with stereo miking 137
Creating Miking Combinations 139
Chapter 8: Miking Your Instruments 141
Getting a Great Lead Vocal Sound 142
Making the most of the room 142
Choosing the best mic 142
Getting Good Backup Vocals 145
Examining Electric Guitar Miking 146
Using the room 147
Getting the most out of the mics 147
Exploring Electric Bass Miking 149
Managing the room 149
Getting the most from the mic 149
Miking Acoustic Guitars and Similar Instruments 150
Making the most of the room 150
Using your mics 150
Maneuvering Horn Mics 152
Understanding the role of the room 152
Making the most of the mics 152
Placing Mics for a Piano 153
Harnessing the sound of the room 153
Managing the mics 153
Setting Up Mics for Strings 154
Making the most of the room 154
Making sense of the mics 154
Digging into Drum Set Miking 155
First things first: Tuning your drums 155
Using the room to your benefit 156
Picking up the kick (bass) drum 156
Setting up the snare drum 159
Tackling the tom-toms 160
Handling the hi-hats 161
Creating the best cymbal sound 161
Miking the whole kit 162
Getting Your Hands on Hand Drums 163
Perfecting Percussion Miking 163
Exploring the impact of the room 163
Choosing and using the mics 164
Part 3: Recording Live Audio 165
Chapter 9: Getting a Great Source Sound 167
Making Sense of the Signal Chain 167
Setting Optimal Signal Levels 169
Understanding Pre and Post Levels 171
Interpreting the various levels 171
Looking at examples 173
Getting Great Guitar, Bass, and Electronic String Instrument Sounds 174
Connect directly 174
Process beforehand 175
Leverage your amp 176
Creating Killer Keyboard Tracks 176
Recording E-Drums, Drum Machines, and Electronic Percussion 177
Making the Most of Microphones 178
Placing mics properly 179
Compressing carefully 179
Chapter 10: Recording Audio 183
Performing Your First Take 183
Punching In and Out 185
Manual punching 185
Punching with a foot switch 185
Automatic punching 185
Repeated punching (looping) 186
Exploring Overdubbing 187
Submixing 188
Bouncing 189
Keeping Track of Your Tracks 190
Chapter 11: Understanding Electronic Instruments and MIDI 191
Meeting MIDI 192
Perusing MIDI ports 192
Understanding MIDI channels 194
Appreciating MIDI messages 195
Managing modes 196
Taking orders from General MIDI 197
Gearing Up for MIDI 198
Sound generators 199
Sound card 202
MIDI controller 203
Sequencer 204
MIDI interface 204
Chapter 12: Recording Electronic Instruments Using MIDI 207
Synchronizing Your Devices 207
Synchronizing two (or more) synthesizers 208
Synchronizing a computer sequencer and a synthesizer 209
Synchronizing a sequencer and an audio recorder 210
Using the transport function from one device to control another 212
Sequencing 214
Recording MIDI data 215
Overdubbing 217
Saving Your Data 218
Transferring Data Using MIDI 219
Chapter 13: Working with Loops 221
Understanding Loops and Loop Types 222
Choosing Loop Formats 222
Setting Up Your Session 223
Setting tempo and time and key signatures 223
Creating song maps 224
Enabling a metronome 225
Adding Loops to Your Sessions 226
Browsing loop libraries 226
Previewing loops 227
Adding loops to your session 227
Editing Loops 229
Creating Loops 229
Part 4: Editing and Enhancing Your Tracks 233
Chapter 14: Getting into Editing 235
Understanding Digital Editing 236
Copy 237
Cut/Delete/Erase 237
Insert 238
Paste 239
Move 240
Export/Import 240
Undo 241
Finding the Section You Want to Edit 241
Editing aurally 241
Editing visually 242
Editing to Improve the Sound of a Performance 244
Replacing a bad note 245
Evening out a performance 246
Getting rid of distortion 247
Getting rid of noise 248
Correcting pitch problems 248
Creating a Performance That Never Happened 249
Creating loops 249
Assembling a song 250
Making compilations of your tracks 250
Discovering Other Ways to Use Editing 251
Adjusting the length of a performance 251
Reversing a phrase 251
Chapter 15: Editing MIDI Data 253
Understanding MIDI Windows 253
Selecting track material 255
Setting MIDI patches on tracks 255
Adding MIDI events 256
Deleting MIDI notes 257
Editing MIDI Data 257
Changing a noteâs pitch 258
Changing a noteâs duration 258
Changing a noteâs velocity 259
Changing time locations 259
Moving notes freely 260
Editing Program Data 260
Changing program patches 260
Moving program change markers 260
Changing Continuous Controller Data 261
Editing lines with the Pencil tool 261
Editing breakpoints 262
Scaling breakpoints 262
Quantizing Your Performance 263
Transposing Your Performance 266
Saving Your Data 267
Transferring Data Using MIDI 267
Part 5: Mixing and Mastering Your Music 269
Chapter 16: Mixing Basics 271
Understanding Mixing 272
Managing Levels as You Work 272
Getting Started Mixing Your Song 273
Mixing in DAWs 274
Using a control surface 274
Using a digital mixer 274
Using an analog mixer 275
Using the Stereo Field 276
Left or right 276
Front or back 278
Adjusting Levels: Enhancing the Emotion of the Song 279
Dynamics 280
The arrangement 281
Tuning Your Ears 281
Listening critically 281
Choosing reference music 283
Dealing with ear fatigue 284
Making several versions 284
Chapter 17: Using Equalization 285
Exploring Equalization 285
Graphic 285
Parametric 286
Low-shelf/high-shelf 286
Low-pass/high-pass 287
Dialing-In EQ 287
Inserting an EQ plug-in in a track 287
Exploring EQ options 289
Equalizing Your Tracks 291
General EQ guidelines 293
Equalizing vocals 296
Equalizing guitar 296
Equalizing bass 297
Equalizing drums 297
Equalizing percussion 299
Equalizing piano 299
Equalizing horns 300
Chapter 18: Digging into Dynamics Processors 301
Connecting Dynamics Processors 301
Introducing Compressors 302
Getting to know compressor parameters 303
Getting started using compression 305
Using compression 306
Looking into Limiters 311
Understanding limiter settings 312
Setting limits with the peak limiter 313
Introducing Gates and Expanders 314
Getting to know gate parameters 314
Getting started using gates 316
Getting started using an expander 317
Detailing the De-Esser 317
Setting Up Side Chains 319
Setting up a side chain 319
Using a side chain 321
Chapter 19: Singling Out Signal Processors 323
Routing Your Effects 324
Inserting effects 324
Sending signals to effects 325
Rolling Out the Reverb 326
Seeing reverb settings 327
Getting started using reverb 328
Detailing Delay 329
Digging into delay settings 329
Getting started using delay 330
Creating Chorus Effects 331
Making Sense of Microphone Modeling 333
Applying an Amp Simulator 334
Detailing Distortion Effects 335
Selecting Tape Saturation Effects 336
Chapter 20: Automating Your Mix 339
Understanding Automation 340
Audio tracks 340
Auxiliary input tracks 340
Instrument tracks 341
Master fader tracks 341
MIDI tracks 341
Accessing Automation Modes 341
Writing Automation 343
Writing automation on a track 343
Writing plug-in automation 344
Writing send automation 345
Viewing Automation 346
Editing Automation Data 347
Using editing commands 347
Editing with the edit tools 348
Chapter 21: Making Your Mix 351
Submixing Tracks 351
Mixing in-the-Box 353
Examining bounce options 353
Performing the bounce 356
Using an External Master Deck 357
Chapter 22: Mastering Your Music 359
Demystifying Mastering 360
Processing 360
Sequencing 361
Leveling 361
Getting Ready to Master 361
Paying a Pro or Doing It Yourself 362
Hiring a Professional Mastering Engineer 363
Mastering Your Music Yourself 365
Optimizing dynamics 366
Perfecting tonal balance 368
Sequencing your songs 370
Balancing levels 371
Preparing for Distribution 372
Chapter 23: Creating Your Finished Product 373
Understanding File Formats 374
Lossy audio file formats 374
Lossless audio file formats 374
Putting Your Music on CD 375
CDs on demand 376
Short-run CD duplication 378
Large-quantity CD replication 379
Delivering Digital Files 380
Download card 381
USB sticks (flash drives) 381
Online music distribution 382
Streaming music sites 382
Creating MP3 Files 383
Bit rate 383
Mode 385
Pressing Vinyl 386
Part 6: The Part of Tens 389
Chapter 24: Ten Invaluable Recording Tips 391
Using an Analog Tape Deck 391
Layering Your Drum Beats 392
Decorating Your Room 393
Setting a Tempo Map 393
Listening to Your Mix in Mono 394
Doubling and Tripling Your Tracks 394
Recording Dirty Room Ambience 394
Overdubbing Live Drums 395
Pressing Record, Even during a Rehearsal 396
Leaving the Humanity in Your Tracks 396
Chapter 25: Ten (or So) Ways to Distribute and Promote Music 397
Marketing Yourself 398
Setting Up Your Own Music Website 399
Checking out musician-friendly hosting services 400
Designing your site 400
Putting Your Music on a Music Host Site 402
Engaging in Social Media Networking 403
Offering Free Downloads 404
Selling Your Music Digitally 404
Licensing Your Music 406
Podcasting 406
Selling Your CDs 407
Promoting Your Music 408
Connecting with an Email Newsletter 409
Index 411
