Overview

Hands-on practical guide covering all aspects of recording, ideal for beginning and intermediate recording engineers, producers, musicians and audio enthusiasts. Filled with tips and shortcuts, this book offers advice on equipping a home studio (both low-budget and advanced), suggestions for set-up, acoustics, choosing monitor speakers, and preventing hum. This best-selling guide also tells how to judge recordings and improve them to produce maximum results. New material covered in the 5th edition to include: * complete revision and update of digital media sections * new section on mixing tips * new section on podcasts and file sharing * new section equipment and connector levels * new section function and connector types * new section on digital metering * new section exporting projects from other studios * new photos

Full Product Details

Author:   Bruce Bartlett (Microphone Engineer / Designer; Audio Journalist; Recording Engineer) ,  Jenny Bartlett (Freelance technical writer specializing in audio and computer software) ,  Bruce Bartlett (Microphone Engineer / Designer; Audio Journalist; Recording Engineer)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Focal Press
Edition:   5th New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 18.90cm , Height: 3.60cm , Length: 24.60cm
Weight:   1.361kg
ISBN:  

9780240811444

ISBN 10:   0240811445
Pages:   648
Publication Date:   17 November 2008
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Replaced By:   9780240821535
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements 1 Music: Why You Record Increasing Your Involvement in Music Different Ways of Listening Why Record? 2 The Recording Chain Types of Recording Live Stereo Recording Live Mix Recording Multitrack Recorder and Mixer Stand-alone Digital Audio Workstation (Recorder-Mixer) Computer Digital Audio Workstation MIDI Sequencing Pros and Cons of Each Method Recording the Mixes 3 Sound, Signals, and Studio Acoustics Sound Wave Creation Characteristics of Sound Waves Amplitude Frequency Wavelength Phase and Phase Shift Phase Interference Harmonics Envelope Behavior of Sound in Rooms Echoes Reverberation Diffusion How to Tame Echoes and Reverb Controlling Room Problems with Recording Techniques Controlling Room Problems with Acoustic Treatments Controlling Standing Waves Making a Quieter Studio Signal Characteristics of Audio Devices Frequency Response Noise Distortion Optimum Signal Level Signal-to-Noise Ratio Headroom 4 Equipping Your Studio Equipment Recording Device Microphone Phantom Power Supply Mic Preamp Direct Box Monitor System Effects Miscellaneous Equipment MIDI Studio Equipment Setting Up Your Studio Cables Equipment Connectors Cable Connectors Cable Types Rack/Patch Bay Equipment Connections Hum Prevention Reducing Radio Frequency Interference 5 Monitoring Speaker Requirements Nearfield[tm] Monitors Powered (Active) Monitors The Power Amplifier Speaker Cables and Polarity Control-Room Acoustics Speaker Placement Using the Monitors Headphones The Cue System Conclusion 6 Microphones Transducer Types Traits of Each Transducer Type Polar Pattern Traits of Each Polar Pattern Frequency Response Impedance (Z) Maximum SPL Sensitivity Self-Noise Signal-to-Noise Ratio Polarity Microphone Types Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone Small-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone Dynamic Instrument Microphone Live-Vocal Microphone Ribbon Microphone Boundary Microphone Miniature Microphone Stereo Microphone Digital Microphone Headworn Microphone Microphone Selection Mic Accessories Pop Filters Stands and Booms Shock Mount Cables and Connectors Snake Splitter Summary 7 Microphone-Technique Basics Which Mic Should I Use? How Many Mics? How Close Should I Place the Mic? Leakage (Bleed or Spill) Don't Mike Too Close Where Should I Place the Mic? On-Surface Techniques The Three-to-One Rule Off-Axis Coloration Stereo Mic Techniques Goals of Stereo Miking Types of Stereo Mic Techniques Comparing the Four Techniques Hardware How to Test Imaging 8 Microphone Techniques Electric Guitar Miking the Amp Recording Direct Electric Guitar Effects Electric Bass Synthesizer, Drum Machine, and Electric Piano Leslie Organ Speaker Drum Set Tuning Damping and Noise Control Drum Miking Drum Recording Tips Percussion Acoustic Guitar Singer/Guitarist Grand Piano Upright Piano Acoustic Bass Banjo Mandolin, Dobro, Bouzouki, and Lap Dulcimer Hammered Dulcimer Fiddle (Violin) String Section String Quartet Bluegrass Band and Old-Time String Band Harp Horns Saxophone Woodwinds Harmonica, Accordion, and Bagpipe Lead Vocal Miking Distance Breath Pops Wide Dynamic Range Sibilance Reflections from the Music Stand and Ceiling Vocal Effects Background Vocals Spoken Word Choir and Orchestra Summary 9 Digital Recording Analog versus Digital Digital Recording Bit Depth Sampling Rate Data Rate and Storage Requirements Digital Recording Level The Clock Digital Audio Signal Formats Converting Signal Formats Dither Jitter Digital Transfers or Copies 2-Track Digital Recorders Portable Hard-Drive Recorder The Digital Audio Workstation CD Recordable Flash Memory recorder Multitrack Digital Recorders Hard-Disk (HD) Recorder Recorder-Mixer (Personal Digital Studio) Pros and Cons of Three Multitrack Recording Systems Backup 10 Effects and Signal Processors Software Effects (Plug-Ins) Equalizer Types of EQ How to Use EQ When to Use EQ Uses of EQ Compressor Using a Compressor Connecting a Compressor Suggested Ballpark Compressor Settings Limiter Noise Gate Delay--Echo, Doubling, Chorus, and Flanging Reverberation Reverb Parameters Reverb Connections Preverb Enhancer Octave Divider Harmonizer Vocal Processor Pitch Correction Tube Processor Rotary Speaker Simulator Analog Tape Simulator Spatial Processor Microphone Modeler Guitar Amplifier Modeler Distortion De-Click and De-Noise Surround Sound Multi-effects Processor Looking Back Sound-Quality Glossary 11 Mixers and Mixing Consoles Stages of Recording Mixer Functions and Formats Analog Mixer Input Section Output Section Monitor Section Additional Features in Large Mixing Consoles Digital Mixer Digital Mixer Features Software Mixer Control Surface 12 Mixer Operation Session Preparation Set Up the Mixer and Recorder Assign Inputs to Tracks Set Recording Levels Set EQ Recording Playback Overdubbing Punching-In Composite Tracks Getting More Tracks Drum Replacement Mixdown Set Up the Mixer and Recorders Erase or Delete Unwanted Material Panning Compression Set a Balance Set EQ Add Effects Set Levels Judging the Mix Changes During the Mix Record or Export the Mix Summary Automated Mixing Types of Automation Systems Snapshot vs. Continuous Automation Automated Mixing Procedure Lo-Fi Recording: How to Trash Your Tracks Lo-Fi Frequency Response Distortion Noise Leakage Room Sound Lo-Fi Aesthetics 13 Computer Recording Basic Operation Recording and Playback Editing Mixdown The Computer Audio Interfaces Sound Card (PCI audio interface) FireWire or USBAudio Interface Audio Interface Features Control Surface Alesis FirePort DSP Card Analog Summing Amplifier Recording Software Features Plug-Ins Pro Tools Optimizing Your Computer for Digital Audio Using a DAW Connections Software Settings Editing Tips Maintaining Audio Quality Audio for Video 14 Judging Sound Quality Classical versus Popular Recording Good Sound in a Pop-Music Recording A Good Mix Wide Range Good Tonal Balance Clean Sound Clarity Smoothness Presence Spaciousness Sharp Transients Tight Bass and Drums Wide and Detailed Stereo Imaging Wide but Controlled Dynamic Range Interesting Sounds Suitable Production Good Sound in a Classical-Music Recording Good Acoustics A Natural Balance Tonal Accuracy Suitable Perspective Accurate Imaging Training Your Hearing Troubleshooting Bad Sound Bad Sound on All Recordings Bad Sound on Playback Only Bad Sound in a Pop Music Recording Session Bad Sound in a Classical Music Recording 15 Session Procedures, Mastering, and CD Burning Preproduction Instrumentation Recording Order Track Assignments Session Sheet Production Schedule Track Sheet Microphone Input List Instrument Layout Chart Setting Up the Studio Setting Up the Control Room Session Overview Recording Relating to the Musicians Overdubbing Breaking Down Mixdown Mastering Burning a Reference CD Sending Out Your CD for Mastering Mastering Your Own Album Transferring the Mastered Program to CD-R CD-Text and ISRC Codes Master Log Copyrights and Royalties 16 The MIDI Studio: Equipment and Recording Procedures MIDI-Studio Components Recording Music Made by Soft Synths The MIDI Signal Chain MIDI Recording Procedure Recording a Hardware Synth No sound MIDI Troubleshooting Recording with a Keyboard Workstation Recording with a Drum Machine and Synth Using Effects Loop-Based Recording Making Your Own Loops Types of Loops Working With Loops Loop Libraries Loop Creation Software Summary 17 On-Location Recording of Popular Music Record Off the Board Record with Mics and a Portable Digital Recorder Gear Preparing for the Session At the Gig A Recording Session with No PA After the Gig Record with a 4-Tracker Connect the PA Mixer Insert Sends to a Recording Mixer Connections Monitoring Setting Levels Splitting the Mic Signals Using Splitters Multitrack Recording in a Truck Preparing for the Session Preproduction Meeting Site Survey Mic List Track Sheet Block Diagram Equipment List Preparing for Easier Setup Protective Cases Mic Mounts Snakes and Cables Rack Wiring Other Tips At the Session: Setup Power Distribution System Power Source Interconnecting Multiple Sound Systems Connections Running Cables Recording-Console Setup Mic Techniques Electric Guitar Grounding Audience Mics Sound Check and Recording Teardown 18 On-Location Recording of Classical Music Equipment Selecting a Venue Session Setup Mounting the Mics Connections Monitoring Microphone Placement Miking Distance Stereo-Spread Control Soloist Pickup and Spot Microphones Setting Levels Recording a Concert Editing 19 Surround Sound: Techniques and Media Surround Speaker Arrangement Setting Up a Surround Monitoring System Bass Management LFE Channel Filtering Surround Mixing Equipment Connections Calibration Recording and Mixing Pop Music for Surround Panning Using the Center Speaker Using the LFE Channel Downmixing Surround Mix Delivery Format Surround-Sound Mic Techniques Soundfield 5.1 Microphone System Delos VR2 Surround Miking Method NHK Method The KFM 360 Surround System Five-Channel Microphone Array with Binaural Head DMP Method Woszcyk Technique (PZM Wedge plus Opposite-Polarity 180-Degree Coincident-Cardioid Surround Mics) Williams Five Cardioid Mic Array Double MS Techique Surround Ambience Microphone Array Chris Burmajster Array Ideal Cardioid Arrangement The Holophone H2-PRO Surround Mic Sonic Studios DSM-4CS 4-Channel Surround Dummy Head Slotte Method Martin Method Mike Sokol's FLuRB Array Stereo Pair plus Surround Pair Surround Media Compact Disc DVD Blu-ray Disc (BD) Super Audio CD Encoding Surround for Release on Various Formats Surround Encoding for CD Surround Encoding for DVD-Video Surround Encoding for DVD-Audio Summary of Media Formats Encoding Hardware and Software for CD and DVD-Video DVD Premastering Formats Dolby Units for DVD Mastering 20 Web Audio and Online Collaboration Streaming versus Downloading Data Compression Web-Related Audio Files What You Need How to Upload Compressed Audio Files Putting Your Music On Your Website Flash Animation Collaborating by Sharing Files Sharing Multitrack Projects Finding Studio Musicians, Producers and Engineers A dB or Not dB Definitions Sound Pressure Level Signal Level dBm dBu dBv dBV Change In Signal Level The VU Meter, Zero VU, and Peak Indicators Balanced versus Unbalanced Equipment Interfacing Balanced and Unbalanced Equipment Microphone Sensitivity B Optimizing Your Computer for Multitrack Recording Speeding Up Your Hard Drive Increasing Processing Speed Preventing Interruptions Setting the Buffer Size Minimizing Latency Other Tips Windows Vista Optimizing MacIntosh for Multitrack Recording C Impedance What is Impedance? I'm connecting two audio devices. Is it important to match their impedances? What if I don't? What about microphone impedance? I'm connecting a mic to a mixer. Is impedance a consideration? Should I consider impedance when I connect two line-level devices? Can I connect one source to two or more loads? Can I connect two or more sources to one input? Summary D Where to Learn More Books and Videos The Library Pro Audio Books Plus Music Books Plus howaudio.com Focal Press Amazon.com Recording Magazines Pro Audio Magazines Consumer Audio Magazines Guides, Brochures, and Other Literature Guides to Recording Schools The Internet Recording Equipment Catalogs Experience Glossary

Reviews

This book is crammed full of everything you need to know to get started with professional recording...Overall this is a good general guide that could be useful to have on the shelf. - Future Music <br><br> This book is indispensable. - Stills Audio Motion <br><br> This book takes you through the basics very well and its real strong point is that it shares numerous nuggets gleaned from experience to do with all sorts of little things that become quite big things when you're faced with a problem. - www.mstation.org <br><br> It is packed with well-illustrated graphics and pictures and gives extensive guidance on everything from studio and location recording techniques through to publishing your sounds on the web. <br>James Eade, Lighting and Sound International<br>

This book is crammed full of everything you need to know to get started with professional recording...Overall this is a good general guide that could be useful to have on the shelf. - Future Music <br> This book is indispensable. - Stills Audio Motion <br> This book takes you through the basics very well and its real strong point is that it shares numerous nuggets gleaned from experience to do with all sorts of little things that become quite big things when you're faced with a problem. - www.mstation.org <br> It is packed with well-illustrated graphics and pictures and gives extensive guidance on everything from studio and location recording techniques through to publishing your sounds on the web. <br>James Eade, Lighting and Sound International

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