The most complete guide to music recording ever written, this fast-find resource delivers everything a musician or sound recording student needs to get the studio results they want from any type of musical instrument from electric guitar to violin. The author skilfully interweaves basic sound engineering principles with effective hands-on guidance to create the ultimate "why and how" recording resource. It combines expert coverage of studio recording technology and recording techniques with a master-class on mixing and reveals the technologies you really need to know, and the ones you can pass on.

Table of Contents

PREFACEINTRODUCTIONChapter 1: The BasicsWhy the Big Mystery About Decibels?Basic ElectronicsSeries and Parallel InterconnectionsAlternating CurrentPassive Electronic ComponentsActive Electronic ComponentsImpedance ExplainedAudio Recording MetersAudio Gain Stages and the Weak LinkExamples of the Charting of Gain StagesA Side Trip for More BackgroundBack to Examples of the Charting of Gain StagesChapter 2: The TourThe Studio TourInput Selector SwitchSendsAuxiliary ReturnsEqualizersDynamics ProcessorsStop the Presses!Time Delay ProcessingReverberation ExplainedOther EffectsMulti-Effects ProcessorsThe Control Room Monitor SystemMonitoring Systems Part IIChapter 3: MicrophonesMicrophone TypesMicrophone CharacteristicsPolar PatternsChapter 4: The Recording Process (The Job)A Basic SessionINDEX

About the Author

Mike Shea has been a leader in music recording for over 20 years. Staff Engineer at the Hit Factory in New York City in the mid-eighties when it was the leading, state-of-the-art recording facility in the world, he has built (and recorded in) numerous studios around the country. A writer for Pro Sound News, International Musician, Recording World, and The Record, he is former Technical Editor of Recording World. He teaches audio engineering at the Institute of Audio Research and lives in New York City.