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Home Studio Recording Guide?

“People always wonder why somebody is giving away something for free. Truth is that I’m giving this away because I want to get in touch with and collaborate with musicians and home studio enthusiast around the globe,” Malene

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Impress yourself and your buddy with these recording studio techniques

From: Malene Brune 
11:25 PM

Hi,
My name is Malene, I’m a sound engineer and I’ve made a funny little PDF  I would like to send you.  I have given it the very creative name “Home Studio Recording Reference Guide”
Yes, it is a reference guide, filled with killer recording studio stuff. But that said, it’s not a boring one. There are pictures, stories and also some of my fancy studio setup drawings! So if you want it, then make sure you enter your email below( or to the right side→) and I´ll send it to you right away!
Here’s some of the things I’ll discuss in this PDF book.

• What gear you need and how to pick the right one in this jungle of microphones, monitors, headphones, recorders/software, plug-ins etc.

• How to set up and wire your studio
  

• Plus I´ll give you some quick and easy tips that I wish someone would have shared with me when I first got started

Look, I´ve been to school learning these things and also worked as a sound engineer for some years. And I REALLY want to help you get started. But you gotta take a little action to get off the ground.
Enter you email below, read this free e-book and start learning.
You can thank me later!
I´ll send you the funny little PDF here:

the love with you all!
To get you started we’ve listed a few simple steps to using Audacity software.
Recording on Audacity–What You Will Need
The Audacity download – go to their website and simply follow the prompts to download
A computer with 1.6GHz at the least, and 2 gigabits RAM.  If you want more storage space, use any of the social media or music-sharing venues.
Speakers and headphones–get the best you can, but average quality will do.  You can work without speakers if you want to, by using your headphones plugged into your computer to both monitor while recording, and to playback.  Speakers are a big plus though.
Note Regarding CD Distribution: You only need the CD burner on your computer to copy your Audacity recording project, rendering professional quality CDs, as many as you desire.  You can easily distribute your professional CDs/MP3s for personal or financial gain.

Recording Your Music
Select desired audio source. If you want to use Midi, you will need to download midi to audio conversion software. The Easy Pro, one option, runs about 27.00 USD
Click on and highlight one track, just as you would highlight something in a word document- this is the track you will record on.
Record, hit stop, then you can edit, erase and so on by right clicking and highlighting a certain segment of the recording you want to edit.  There is an editing bar next to the control toolbar–there you will find options to cut/copy/paste etc.
Helpful Audacity tools:
Envelope tool allows you to increase or decrease volume. You can fade in and out just like songs you hear on the radio.
Snap tool  – If tracks sound like they are in different speeds, or if you have some tracks in digital and others in analogue, this tool snaps the track you are working with to the closest beat, so all tracks are in time with each other.  Wish you could have this for your live band, don’t ya?
Undo/redo – lets you undo and re-record any piece of audio, as many times as you want to.  This tool is on the top right hand side – you will see forward and reverse arrows, like on a tape player.
Transposing the key of any track.  If you have tracks or audio samples / loops that are not all in the same key, use this tool to match them up
Quick mix- in audacity it is one click mixing, whereas other software can have a multi-step mixing process
Be sure to save everything continually throughout your recording
You don’t want to loose all that hard word. Then simply choose export, and pick the format you want–probably MP3.  Are you ready to enhance your Audacity knowledge?
Go to the Audacity tutorial where you will enjoy professional guidance
…all in easy to understand language.  And be sure to tell your friends about the fantastic, FREE, Audacity download.

The power of this software is the multi-track recording ability: standard on Mac in the form of Garageband. This amazing software has revolutionized music recording methods, making recording affordable and doable for anyone willing to dedicate some time and effort to learning. Does that sound like you? If so, read on…

The First Time You Open Computer Music Recording Software

This is a touchy situation. You must relax, take some deep breaths, and go in with an opened mind. The best way to learn is “in person” from a teacher or friend perhaps. If you want to learn right now, you can use video taped tutorials, such as the one on our “3 Free Sound Recording Videos” site.

How Does Computer Music Recording Software Record Sound?

In real time, you sing or play an instrument and your computer converts the music from analogue to a digital format. This empowers you to plug into a computer, play, and record.

If you want a higher quality sound, you can introduce hardware external to your computer.

About External Hardware

For some recording processes you may need a converter box: it will send signals between your computer and external equipment such as a mixer or guitar amplifier. This box is sometimes called an IO box– which means incoming-outgoing. Usually the IO box plugs into the Firewire or USB port on your computer.

NOW that you’ve connected via the USB or Firewire port, adjust the audio options built into your computer. Be sure the audio is set to accept IO interface.

The I/O interface is what transmits all sound as it is being recorded and as you listen back to it.

The I/O interface replaces the sound card that came with your computer. It converts sound from analogue to digital. This component will run 40.00 and up, available used if you are budget conscious.

Now for using the recording software:

Open the program and click on “new track”. The software has a visual area for each track you have or will be recording.

Set the track for mono if only recording one thing – i.e. voice or a solo instrument. If recording 2 or more tracks, set it to stereo.

Click on record: begin playing/singing.

To add many tracks, simply repeat steps one to three. Now you are doing multi-track recording, which used to only be possible in a professional recording studio.

Recording secrets: Check on this page for some tips to make recording fun and make recordings you’ll be proud to share, sell or use for promotional purposes

The fact is, this type of software makes a genuine professional sound provided you have the right microphone and external devices. Of course, it helps if you play and sing well But you do, or why would you be reading this!

Apparently not, since both are still chugging along and vinyl as well as analogue methods of recording, are making a small but strong come back.  Read all the history below and you’ll have a complete picture of the evolution of recorded music.

Audio recording history came into the public discourse in 1877, when Thomas Edison came up with a tin foil covered tube or cylinder that could record sounds. He recorded his speaking voice by use of a stylus making indentations on a foil cylinder.

But a German US immigrant, Emile Berliner, invented the gramophone; the first widely used sound equipment, about ten years after Edison introduced the tin foil contraption. Sadly, Edison is credited with inventing the Gramophone. Berliner’s invention was on the market in 1889. It was the first to record sound onto a disc.

In the late 1890s the first recording artists’ music was available on 7 inch records or discs: The John Phillip Sousa Band, operas, ragtime, musical comedy, and a speech called “Hope”. The hand cranked gramophone machines were replaced with a clockwork record player at the end of this decade.

Through patent disputes over the next decades, Columbia emerged to record the first jazz (Dixieland) in 1917, and vocals of Bessie Smith and similar artists. Many of the first artists recorded by Columbia were African Americans, but not all. Also in 1917, the Victor company recorded the first orchestral music. This was the beginning of a long competition between Columbia and Victor. Victor filled the role of serious music while Columbia had the corner on popular music.

In 1925 recording history took a monumental turn, when the first electric recordings were made through the Western Electric recording system, by both Victor and Columbia. Electric recordings far surpassed the earlier discs in sound quality and durability.

Victor and Columbia continued to compete with Big Band Music recordings– Guy Lombardo, Rudy Vallee and lesser known artists. Many of the talented players and singers switched between the two companies. The 30’s brought swing: Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and many more.

Many smaller companies worldwide also made recordings through the 20s and 30s. A company named Gennett was the first to record famous names like Jelly Roll Morton, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Louis Armstrong, The Mills Brothers and Burl Ives.

The crash of Wall Street and the radio virtually killed recorded music. People did not see a reason to buy records when they could hear the same thing free on the radio. Most recordings were by European artists during this phase.

The Abbey Road EMI studio in London opened in 1931. It was the first studio to record in stereo. The studio was the largest in the world, and used the electronic recording methods, the binaural sound invented by Alan Blumlein.

By the mid 30s Decca Records of London recorded what was called “canned music”, and opened a subsidiary in the US. Their artists, including Bing Crosby, Guy Lombardo, the Dorsey Brothers, the Mills Brothers, and several other pop singers and musicians, made them a great success. Victor kept going with classical music, considered the only record company to sell “serious”, i.e. classical and opera music.

By the time the US entered the 2nd World War, virtually all American record sales were by Victor, Decca and Columbia.

Then in 1942 the musicians’ union instigated a ban on recorded music, because the artists were not being paid for the music that was played continually on radio, live, and on records. They wanted, and of course got, royalties for each time a song or piece was sold on a record, played in public, or over the airwaves.

By 1944 the record companies agreed to pay, though they tired to fight royalties. Their resistance again virtually killed the record business. During this time, Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra were big stars, and were not members of the union, so they continued to record.

Around 1948 tape recorders came into use. In the US, the Ampex tape recorder taped shows such as the Bing Crosby Show, audio and visual, with 3m acetate tapes.

The 40s brought the successful MGM and Mercury Records. Also, in 1948, the LP (long play) was introduced. It was high-fidelity, made with grooves on vinyl. Even now, this technology has never been surpassed, in the ears of record aficionados. The 45s and 331/3rd rpm records brought the death of 78s in 1958.

The LP brought numerous small record labels with a vast array of musical talent.

In our modern era, 78s by artists such as Louis Armstrong, opera singers, or any other original recordings, especially jazz and blues (not fakes), fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars and are on par with a Picasso when contrasted with visual arts.

Jumping into the 1960, it was 1963 when Philips came out with cassette tape. It was 1/8th inch polyester tape. First used as a dictation machine by Norelco.

In 1966 the 8 track cartridge tape player was installed in cars in the US. The rest of the 8 tracks as they say, is history. They were not durable or popular for but a brief time in music recording history.

The rest of the 60s and 1970s, tape was still used to record music. 1979 was the beginning of digitally produced music. It was recorded on a 32 track digital machine by 3M Corporation.

1982 was the start of audio CDs. In the late 1990s a few giant companies controlled the recorded music sales. In 2001 the Apple iPod came out.

Music continues to be recorded on computer hard drives and there seems to be no need for tape recording in today’s world of innovations in computer technology.

That being said, there is a resurgence of interest in analogue and vinyl. For the past three years, on April 17th, Record Store Day is celebrated around the world, with groups like the Rolling Stones releasing records, and famous musicians performing live in indie record shops. Its part old hippies, and part 20 something’s that are driving the interest in the old sound. It is something you can hold in your hand, and since CD’s are passé
there is a spot for the old records.

Who knows what the future holds for recording history. Or will it be about more people going out to hear live music. Now that would be a real change. Seeing live people playing live music. That is the best sound quality of all, and can only be played again in the memory of your own ears.

Get Your 3 Free “Learn Music Recording” Videos

Impress yourself and your family with these super easy music recording techniques.

From: Malene Brune
0:25 AM

Hi,

My name is Malene and I´ve made 3 music (sound) recording videos I would like to send you.

If you’re already a pro, then you won´t need these…. but if you´re just starting out, then make sure you enter your email below( or to the right side) and I´ll send you new videos over the next few days.

You´ll learn how to get started doing recordings using a free music recording software. Plus I´ll give you some quick and easy tips that I wish someone would have shared with me when I first got started

Look, I´ve been to school learning these things and also worked as a sound engineer for some years. (Yes, I must admit that this is sort of a fulfillment of my dream). And I REALLY want to help you get started. But you gotta take a little action to get off the ground.

Enter you email below, watch these freebie videos and start learning.
You can thank me later!

I´ll send you videos here:

For now we’ll assume you’re doing your work from home.

Here are the steps to prepare for the vocal recording session.

1. First you need a great vocal! Make sure you get a good night’s sleep and you record on a day when you are feeling at the top of your game. If you must go forward with the session, you can learn quickly to fake it. That is, empty your mind of stress or future tasks and be 100 percent in the present, not thinking what you’ll do next, or what you just did.

2. Then, find a room that sounds good. Here’s an easy test: Sing a few songs. See how it feels. If it feels uncomfortable (your voice is “ringing” in your ears), it’s not a good room. Also if there is no life to it, that is not a good room. If it’s comfortable to sing there, it might also be good enough to do a recording.

3. Find a room with little or no disruptive background noise. This comes from opened windows, traffic noise from the street, barking or meowing pets, talking neighbors outside, appliances, and so on. It could even be sounds from appliances that are not turned on. Just being plugged in can cause a buzz.

Sounds are multiplied greatly when recorded vs. when you hear them naturally. In a test recording you may hear things that need to be eliminated.

To help eliminate background noise, vibration, distortion:

1 Close windows and place a blanket or heavy fabric over them, and cover or remove hard objects such as wood or plastic furniture or appliances. If you think of a sound hitting a soft pillow (or fabric sofa cushion) versus a wooden table, you realize that a hard surface makes sounds bounce.

2. Turn off built in heating/air conditioning, if you want to avoid the sound of it cycling on and off. Run on full before session, so you will be at a comfortable temp for the session.

3. You need a great microphone. Not necessarily the most expensive, but if you have a few choices, try them all, and use the one that fits best. This will determine how soundproof the room must be — some mics pick up every room noise, and others only what is directly aimed into the mic.

4. Use a windshield: If you want to keep in the budget, it is possible to make you own with nylon stocking material. Also you will need good balanced cables.

5. Remember to warn people to avoid making noise. Best is to record when no one else is home. Place a sign on the door(s) saying, “Do not ring, recording in session.”

Testing Your Room Before Full On Recording– Practice Recordings

Try singing in different places in the room

Try different microphones

Experiment with different angels of the microphone and various distances from the mic.

If possible, also try to place a mic somewhere else in the room, as an ambient mic. This can be an ad into the mix as a natural “room ambience” reverb.

Try different things, and don’t be afraid to go a little bit crazy;) This is creative expression –unique — not like any other artist or band.

Sign Up For Your Free Music Recording Video and Learn Recording Today!

With that, you are ready to plug in your recorder, push the record button, and your vocal recording is underway. If you are making a promo package, be sure to check the blog on recording a demo.

There are basically 3 levels of studios:

• Your home studio (or that of a friend or band mate)

• A project studio or small studio operated by a professional sound engineer

• A commercial music recording studio.

To decide what type of studio and equipment you need

• Chat up your fellow musicians, local recording acts, sound techies, studio owners and personnel.

They are usually happy to lend their knowledge for the price of a few beers. This is “from the horses mouth” and may be a quicker way to get started recording, compared to time sucking web surfing with conflicting opinions from unknown sources.

• Listen to music with the knowledge of how it was produced.

Who were the personnel? Someone you may hire to produce? A small studio you can avail yourself of? Or a 100% home recording that sounds terrific? Get all the details on what configuration was used, preferably while visiting the home or space at which the recording was made.

• Take notes during your research, as you don’t want to keep bugging your information sources with the same questions over and over.

If you are leaning toward a space owned by someone else, visit in person

• Go to the site at least a few times. Many studios will allow a complimentary session so you can experience their skills first hand. Ask to go in and jam on a few songs, with band mates if you have them. They can record the session and give you a raw recording of it on CD (bring them a blank CD). The result will tell your ears what their equipment can do.

Having been there in the flesh, you will find out if you have good rapport with the engineers and staff, and the overall vibe of the location and the facilities. Still it is hard to find many applications beyond that of a full blown recording star, where you cannot get the sound you need at your own home, or small project studio with professional engineering oversight.

It’s sadly nostalgic, home and digital recording juxtaposed with commercial studios of yesteryear; gone are the days of glamour and prestige of an Abbey Road, or Sun Studios where Elvis, The King, got his start.

But time waits for no one. We must embrace the new technology in music recording studios: Virtual studios, band in a box, pro tools and the diverse capabilities of the digital age that make our lives easier. A pathway paved in gold for musicians, singers and songwriters to distribute, legitimize, popularize and sell music in a way that no one could have imagined in their wildest dreams twenty years ago.

The clock is ticking; this fantasy come true — free recording software and capability– may not last much longer.  Act now!

Lucky for musicians, music recording software has pretty much replaced the traditional recording studio and all the accompanying logistics of getting there and recording on site. Recording software ranges from free downloads to products costing thousands.  There is something for everybody, for every reason you record, and everything you want to accomplish with the recorded material.

This article covers a basic overview of music recording software without going into detail on what each does. You are better off to start looking for what you want the software to do, then seeing which types will have that capability.
Following is a list of some things you can do or create with various types of software.

• Instant Accompaniment

• Edit audio tracks

• Remix

• Mixing master track for commercial sale

• Create an entire home recording studio

• Enable plugs-ins

• Create your own sound loops and sampling

• Burn CDs

Here is a basic look at some available recording software

• Free programs: In stereo or multi-track, including Audacity, Kristal, and several others. If you want to record voice only, a rehearsal for training purposes, or teach yourself how to use multi-track recording for the first time, the free programs are perfect.

• Two track recording, music editing software: This works well if you are creating your own sound library or recording live classical music, or in other situations where you only need stereo sound. It is also used for final mastering of a CD.  The best known of this type is Adobe Audition.

• Loop Programs: If you are not an instrumentalist or musically trained, these allow you to make music with sound loops; some commonly used include Garage Band for Mac, Acid Pro for PC, and Ableton for Mac or PC.

• Software for changing and stretching notes and tempo of vocals or instruments:  This capability is found in Celemony Melodyne, a fairly new product.  They have a free demo and it goes up from there–can be pricey.  Thought to be a good add on, because other programs generally don’t allow you to change pitch, and even change the actual melody of a track.

• Complete recording systems used in studios worldwide, which you can also use in your own home.  With this level of equipment, you can record and mix over 97 tracks(If you need it, AND if you can handle so many tracks!) .  You will be investing real money here.  The most frequently used of this type include Pro Tools (Digidesign for Mac or PC), which does have a free trial version, Cubase Steinberg (Mac or PC), Logic Audio (Mac), and Cakewalk Sonar (PC).

It does not matter how much you spend, it only matters what is the right software for what you need to do. There are so many free downloads, if you include free trials, that you will be amazed at the power of it.  For those of us who came up before computers, it is no less than a dream come true that we can now record with such wonderful sound quality, in some cases by simply buying a good computer and adding software for free.

That’s not to say music recording equipment is not important. But the point of “to much information” is quickly reached in such a technical field. And you don’t need to know all that to become skilled at picking and using your virtual recording studio.

You can get a great sound, professional as what’s on the radio. Or you can simply please you own discerning ear. The sound should be crystal clear, free of background noise and distortion, if you want your listeners to take the music seriously.

Today we will touch on the essential components of music recording equipment, which will be expanded in future blogs.

Microphones: There are several types, including dynamic, condenser, ribbon, and boundary microphones. The sound quality must be there, or no matter what other gear you have, the recording will S—, ah…. not be good.

• Dynamic is used primarily in performance. The sound source must be very close to the mic. Moving away causes diminished quality. Dynamic mics of good quality start around 100.00

• A condenser mic is more sensitive, more expensive, and the mainstay for recording. Cost for a good one begins around 300.00. They feature a brighter sound.

• A ribbon mic is the type that was used in the old days of radio, and in most of the vintage recordings. They are still used. At this time they are used when a grainier more natural sound is desired.

• Boundary mics: Used for outdoor recording, smaller than regular mics. Beneficial in that they pick up sound the same no matter whether the sound source is close to the mic or moving away from it. They can pick up several sound sources at once in a way that all will come out audibly, for example a recording of a board meeting in which people are talking from all sides of the room.

Choose the one that fits best for your project! Often you can get by with dynamic mics such as Shure SM58 and SM57. Some bands, including the Rolling Stones, prefer to record with dynamics for a more rough scrabble sound.

Cables should be balanced. Nothing gets better than the weakest part of the chain. If you can afford only a few good cables, the most important are running from the mic to your recording unit, and from the recording unit to the monitors.

Sound or audio interface. There are a number of different types. How many inputs and outputs do you want or need? Can you carry around bulky equipment? If you are recording just vocals and guitar or keyboard, a system with 2 inputs is fine and you can use USB ports. If it’s more than that, say a full band with drums, you’ll need more inputs and outputs, and fire wire instead of USB.

The Computer. Most modern computers can do simple recordings, recording a few tracks at the same time. But keep it clean! No adware, virus, spyware. Do a registry clean up.

Digital Audio Workstation DAW (recording software). DAW allows you to record digitally, which was not possible before the 1980s. It is your virtual music studio. You can record, edit, mix and master your song with your DAW. Some widely used include: Logic Pro, Digital Performer, and Cubase. They range from free or free on a trial basis to upwards of $1,000. Choose one and learn to master it!

Headphones and preferably speakers. This is your monitor system. You may prefer headphones because it affords you the ability to record without disturbing neighbors or housemates. Listening is critical in the world of music recording. Use the best listening gear you can afford!

If some of this doesn’t make perfect sense, keep in mind that things will jell in your head when you keep your focus on the purpose of your project. Soon you will know exactly what music recording equipment to use. And better yet, you’ll realize all the stuff you don’t need to learn about for your type of recording application.