Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #394271 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From the Publisher
A technical expert has finally simplified the confusing process of buying recording equipment and setting up a home recording studio for hobby or business purposes. John J. Volanski, an electrical and audio engineer, has written a new book entitled Sound Recording Advice to help guide neophytes and even those with some audio recording background in the set up and operation of a home recording studio. The book is being released in October of 2002 and is being published by Pacific Beach Publishing.

The art of making quality recordings goes far beyond plugging a microphone into a tape deck and pushing the RECORD button. Adding confusion to the process, technology has now provided more ways than ever to record audio: multi-track cassette decks, multi-track reel-to-reel decks, multi-track MiniDisc recorders, multi-track disk-based and tape-based digital recorders, and even home computers with audio interface cards. If you add to that a bewildering array of digital and analog mixers, power conditioners, reverb and echo signal processors, equalizers, enhancers, synthesizers, samplers, amp and speaker modelers, and products to tame unruly acoustics, then you have a nearly vertical learning curve for any musician or hobbyist interested in recording audio at home.

Despite the daunting challenge, more and more people are now interested in making their own audio recordings at home rather than paying for time in a professional recording studio. These interested people include high school, college and private music students, singing groups, bands of all types interested in making demo recordings to interest record companies, individuals wanting to record advertising jingles or other commercial material, people developing slide shows or multimedia shows with audio content, authors recording audiobooks, and the hobbyists who simply enjoy recording their own musical creations at home.

The popularity of home computers has also fueled the interest in home recording. With new wideband networking available in the form of DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and Cable Modems, more and more people are trading recordings over the Internet. Properly configured home computers can now be used to record and mix multi-track audio (and video), send and received compressed audio over the Internet, and act as desktop music jukeboxes. Of course, with this increased technical flexibility comes an intimidating array of alphabet soup such as AES/EBU, CD-RW, DAT, DAW, dB, EIN, EMI, EQ, ESD, IEEE-1394, MIDI, MP3, MOV, PCM, RFI, SCMS, SMPTE, S/PDIF and USB. What does all this stuff mean? What do I do if I just want to record music as quickly and inexpensively as possible? WHERE DO I START? HELP!

The reason that John J. Volanski wrote the book Sound Recording Advice is to help people get started recording their own music at home. The book is a thorough yet simplified guide on how to overcome the steep learning curve of setting up a home recording studio. It reads easily and covers all aspects of recording including power, ground, acoustics, studio layout and furniture, what new and used equipment to buy and where to buy it for lowest prices, how to record various instruments and then mix, bounce tracks and generate a master recording. The 336-page book also includes hundreds of other important tips, including info on how to make and modify some of your own equipment and troubleshoot studio problems.

John J. Volanski is an electrical engineer with additional training in audio engineering. He has operated his own home studio for over 20 years where he has gained expertise in how to set up and operate a home recording studio. He has done technical writing during most of his professional career, including writing articles for Electronic Musician and Avionics magazines. As part of his professional engineering career, he has designed and developed many electrical and audio systems concerned with avionics, Virtual Reality (including a patented motion-base VR system), commercial entertainment, and surveillance.

From the Author
Home recording studios have never been more popular than they are today. The prices on recording equipment have come way down into the realm of affordability, while the quality of audio at these price points has improved drastically. If you are interested in recording or making music, the time has never been better to establish a home recording studio.

I have derived much joy and satisfaction from my own home studio, even from its humble beginnings as a single synthesizer, an old 4-channel reel/reel tape deck and a cassette deck. My own home studio has been through a constant metamorphosis since the beginning. I have documented in this book many of the lessons I learned from my own home studio experiences.

Most of the material presented in this book is mainly applicable to home studios and project studios, but some of it can also be helpful to the musician on the road. Details will be somewhat light on the construction of circuits, such as soldering, mounting components, identifying component values, etc. If you are handy with a soldering iron and electrical/mechanical kit building, you might want to try some of the simple modifications or useful little devices detailed in the book.

There is not enough room in this or any one book to adequately discuss all of the areas and topics concerning sound recording and audio engineering. I highly recommend you seek other sources for additional or supplemental material on these subjects. Many of those sources are identified in my book.

From the Inside Flap
Record Your Own Music!!

Wouldn’t you rather spend less time wrapped up in technical gibberish and more time making and recording your own music? This manual is your complete reference for the home studio owner or the person wondering how to get involved with home recording.

This book will clearly show you:

· What equipment to buy based upon your available budget.

· Where to find the best deals on new and used equipment.

· The functions of various equipments in the studio and how they work together.

· How to modify some of your equipment for even better functionality.

· How to build some simple yet powerful pieces of equipment for your studio.

· How to understand technical concepts relating to sound, power, acoustics, noise and grounding in simplified terms.

· How to tackle the process of setting up your physical studio to avoid common problems.

· How to set up the microphones, record the musical instruments, bounce tracks around on a recorder, set up the gain staging in a mixer, mix down multiple tracks, and master the final recording.

· How to track down and eliminate problems in the studio when they arise.

· How to handle your home studio security and insurance.

· Literally hundreds of tips and techniques to save time, money and effort in your studio.

John J. Volanski is an electrical and audio engineer who has operated his own home recording studio for over 20 years. He has been involved with electrical engineering, audio engineering and video engineering from the design and development side, and also from the user and musician side. This text gives his unique and simplified perspectives on the important aspects of home studio recording.

This manual on audio recording will

show you how to quickly master your

own home recording studio.

What are you waiting for?