Product Description

Are you thinking of getting started in home recording? Do you want to know the latest home recording technologies? Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies will get you recording music at home in no time. It shows you how to set up a home studio, record and edit your music, master it, and even distribute your songs.

With this guide, you’ll learn how to compare studio–in–a–box, computer–based, and stand–alone recording systems and choose what you need. You’ll gain the skills to manage your sound, take full advantage of MIDI, mike common instruments, do overdubs and replace missed notes, understand the mastering process, and prepare your music for duplication. You’ll also discover how to:

• Put together all the things your home recording studio should have
• Perform multitrack recording and venture into MIDI sequencing
• Clean up your tracks by becoming an expert at mixing and editing
• Choose the gear that suits your project
• Add computers and software to your recording tools
• Set up microphones and connect electronic instruments
• Edit tracks, mix, master, and distribute your songs
• Work with MIDI and electronic instruments
• Get the most from guitars, horns, pianos, and vocals
• Enhance your sound with professional editing tips

Whether you’re a beginning musician or a pro, Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies teaches you home recording basics so you can begin recording music at home and create great CDs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31577 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From the Back Cover

Lay down tracks and make it to the big time — a pro shows you how!

It′s a great time to start recording, because today′s technology allows you to make terrific CDs in your garage instead of in an expensive studio. Of course, you need to know how to use the tools, and Jeff Strong shares the secrets in plain English. Here′s how to set up a home studio, record and edit your music, master it, and even distribute your songs.

• Pick the parts — compare studio–in–a–box, computer–based, and stand–alone recording systems and choose what you need

• Create the space — learn creative ways to manage sound in the space you have

• Meet MIDI — take full advantage of Musical Instrument Digital Interface, choose the MIDI gear you need, and use it to enhance your sound

• Now hear this — find out what microphones are available, what you should have, and how to mike common instruments

• For the record — explore multitrack recording, learn to do overdubs and replace missed notes, and venture into MIDI sequencing

• Clean up your tracks — become an expert at mixing and editing, and polish your sound with effects

• Master the magic — understand the mastering process and how to prepare your music for duplication

Open the book and find:

• What your home recording studio should have

• All about mixers — analog, digital, and software

• How to work with MIDI and electronic instruments

• Secrets for getting great sound

• Where to place mikes for different effects

• Tips for getting the most from guitars, horns, pianos, and vocals

• Professional editing tips to enhance your sound

• Creative ways to market your music

About the Author

Jeff Strong is a musician and the author of seven books, including Drums For Dummies and PC Recording Studios For Dummies. He has released more than two dozen CDs and is Director of the REI Institute (www.reiinstitute.com), a MusicMedicine research organization and therapy provider.

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended
A wonderfully clear and practical guide to making the most of your home recording and getting the best possible result. It is suitable for complete novices, like myself (I didn't have a clue about different sorts of mics, nor know what EQ or compression was, I just wanted to know why my recording of my violin sounded like a particularly nasty saw grating). On the other hand, I wouldn't call it superficial either. I particularly like the way the book starts with an overview of all the steps to go through until the finished product is achieved, and only then goes through each of the steps in detail. This is great for the beginner, but you can always skip it if that is known to you. For me it helped both keep in mind the process as whole and its ultimate aim, as well as clarify why I was being asked to learn something hideously technical I didn't really want to bother with. In short, I didn't lose sight of the wood for the trees. (Oh, and the violin actually sounds like a violin now, although I have still to get to grips with adjusting the EQ for it to improve it still more. I am currently studying that chapter).

Good but some problems
I bought this book a few weeks ago expecting that it would have been substantially updated since the previous edition that I also own. This was not the case though. In particular, as I have now got to the stage when I have a few tracks finished, I was interested in the recommended websites for MP3 hosting and Cd distribution, but none of the links seem to work and several of the recommended sites (Ampcast.com, iuma.com, vitaminic.com)seem to have closed down a long time ago. One even has a closure notice dated 2005! This was a big disapointment to me as I only bought the new edition in the hope of getting more up-to-date information.

Other than this annoyance, the book is just as good as the older edition, and I have found it very informative, and helpful. I particularly like the fact that although much of the focus is on DAW computer software recording, Studio In A Box (SIAB) based studios are praised and explained well (though once again the list and descriptions of popular models seems very out-of-date). I use a Boss BR600 (see my review elsewhere on Amazon) and find that although it is not specifically mentioned in this book, most of the recording, mixing and mastering principles explained are very relevant.

Descriptions and explanations about microphones, mixers, effects, eq, etc. are excellent. Oddly, studio monitor speakers are only superficially explained, and I could have done with some more information and advice about monitors when I was trying to decide which ones to buy. In the end I chose largely by guess work, but seem to have done alright on my very low budget as I bought Behringer MS20 monitors through Amazon (see my review elsewhere on Amazon).

If you are new to home recording, or are muddling along using only the instructions/help that came with your recording software/equipment/SIAB, and some magazine articles, or like me you are struggling with the transition from analogue to digital, I am sure that this book, will be very useful to you.

In fairness, this edition was published in 2005, but the speed with which products, software and internet information changes these days requires a faster response from publishers who should keep a record of described products and services to be regularly checked and updated. Smaller but more frequent print runs, or on demand printing are the answers to this problem, and some publishers are embracing such an approach. I really hope that when/if there is a 3rd edition, the product and web information is substantially updated. Overall it is still a good book, but it has temporal problems.

Extremely useful
As a trio of friends playing and recording for fun, this book provides an excellent introduction to equipment available, how to use it, best microphones to use for vocals, guitars, etc. Goes into some depth without being too technical as a hands-on guide should be. Covers all aspects of home recording from what to buy, through setting up and recording, the various options in hardware and software (including MIDI), to post-production techniques and even how to produce (or get produced) your own CD. 2009 edition so it's up to date. Great value for money with the usual touch of "Dummies" humour, highly recommended.