New to recording

[sly_h]

what books or online resources would you suggest for a new guy getting into recording???

[Rick Hunter]

this message board is where I learn everything. Really just stay here and read the messages board and ask questions.

Oh yeah, Stay in school and don't do drugs.

[I'm Painting Again]

actual practice is the best way to learn..im not into schools but im sure you can get things out of the right ones..books are cheap and a good way to learn definitions and basics..internships are better than books and school 99% of the time..this board of course is wonderful an interactive book written by 4221 amaing teacher/students at your fingertips and its all 100%free!

[Ben Logan]

Its been said lots of times, but experience and experimentation really are the best teachers when it comes to recording. That's kind of a double-edged sword - both the good news and bad news. But experimenting is free, unless you buy into the "time is money" equation!

I'm assuming you're recording your own music mostly. So your really after what sounds good to YOU. Books are useful for things like learning some standard mic placement positions for various instruments, but like Rick and Beard of Bees said, you can learn all that stuff here. Play around until you get the sound you want is my advice.

This is a great forum. I get snickered at by my wife all the time for the silly amount of time I spend reading here ("lurking"). Yesterday morning I spent two hours reading about mic preamps, for example. Even though this crowd of seasoned veterans (I'm more newbie than vet) can appear kind of a tough crowd, most people love sharing their hard-earned expertise if you can ask a fairly intelligent question, especially one that demostrates you've made some sort of attempt at researching the subject at hand.

Welcome to recording!

[Punkity]

Yoiks!

If you are starting from square one, nearly any book will help. There is one published by Yamaha that I see all over the place. I've never run across a book that would lead you in the completely wrong direction (except for a non-bound home recording guide that I can't remember the name of. It was a real vanity press sort of deal, and I seriously doubt you will run across it). In case you don't know TapeOp is a tops magazine and has free subscriptions.

This is a great place for info, and if you form decently thought out questions and perhaps add a bit of humor and self-defacement, almost any post will be answered. The forums on prosoundweb.com are a real treasure trove. For useful information look at R/E/P and the old, locked, archived RecPit stuff (R/E/P is really new while the RecPit has a few years of stuff in them). If you are new at this, most of the stuff will be a bit over your head. Check out the MARSH forum for hijinks and mayhem (especially the Mixerman Diaries). Post on Prosoundweb IF YOU DARE. Be incredibly polite and do not flip out if you get flamed. There are some real heavy hitters in those forums and they will eat you alive. Make sure to read any posting guidelines in the individual forums cause some of them require you to use your real name! Some of these people KNOW THINGS!! Gearslutz.com is another place to check out.

Do you play music? You have to to be able to understand 90% of the recording process. Anything will do, but I've found piano and guitar to be the best bets for me. Of course it depends on what you are interested in. Start a band. This will not only help you learn to work with pain in the ass musicians, you will also have something to record.

Get a Tascam 424 MKIII or similar piece of shit 4-track recorder, some cheap mics, cables, stands, and a home stereo. Record your band. Record yourself. Record anything whenever you can. This is the most important thing you can do if you really want to do this. $400 can get a rig that will do everything you need. Even for less money if you are smart. (Psssst. Don't get the Tascam 414, but do check out the 424 MKII. Older version but cheap, cheap, cheap). Ask around here about what sort of stuff could help you, but be specific (i.e. don't just ask "What 4 track should a newbie get" and leave it at that. People need more information than this to give you any advice).

Oh, by the way. If dropping $400 seems like something you don't want to do....Heh, are you in for a big suprise if you really get into this stuff.

Good luck!

[Zeppelin4Life]

Recording is a huge money pit...its like a big cycle and all the companies work together or something...ok, lets get this recorder, ok then this mic! but no, well need this preamp!, ok then these cables! now, now,dont forget vocal room treatment! hey, now its dead, lets get a reverb fx! hey, wtf, the reverb is too bouncy, lets compress this..o wait, we have no compressor..now I got cables everywhere, wheres the hell is my patchbay? Oh lets buy one of thoes too...but wait, I dont have damn rack, and my mics on the floor..wheres my boom stand? DAMMIT! ok final mix..to quiet, lets limit it, OH SHIT wheres my limiter?! DAMMIT cha-ching. How bout a decnet CD burner? cha ching...I hate digital, lets warm it up! get me a tape deck, cha-ching! wait, I cant hear the mix! Headphones, cha-ching,monitors, CHA-CHING, MONITOR AMPS, CHA-CHING, HEADPHONE AMPs, CHA CHING!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!



....so I hope you get my money pit example.


have fun!

Dave

[junkstar]

Do a search above to find old threads that discuss topics that interest you, and, check out some of the great books that people here have recommended: http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... ight=books

[markpar]

Ditto on the money pit thing. If I put all the money I've spent on gear and construction into my mortgage, it'd be paid off by now.

Would I do it differently if I had it to do over again? Probably not. Well, I'd probably have gotten off drugs sooner, but that's about it.

-mark

[trodden]

First you gotta get really really stoned. Everything sounds better stoned. Figuring out an unknown patchbay is easier stoned as well.

[markpar]

Good one, Trodden.

-mark

[psychicoctopus]

There is a soft-bound book called Home Recording for Musicians, and it is a misleading piece of crap. Avoid! This book actually says stuff like, "For bass, use a 3:1 compression ratio with a -20 dB threshold, and an attack of ... blah blah blah"

[magritte]

if i were you i would try recording, then come here when you fail at it and get answers to the reasons why. this is really the best way to go about it.

[Rigsby]

if i were you i would try recording, then come here when you fail at it and get answers to the reasons why. this is really the best way to go about it.

Yeah, i second this, good call. You'll have a far better understanding of what you're after and what you really don't want sound-wise and you definately get more and better answers here (for instance) if you have a fairly precise question. Have a ball!

[MoreSpaceEcho]

First you gotta get really really stoned. Everything sounds better stoned. Figuring out an unknown patchbay is easier stoned as well.

yes. this is crucial. especially if you're just starting out.

there was an article in TO a couple issues ago that listed a bunch of books about recording. that'd be a good place to start. i forget which issue it was but can find out if you like.

[Shabbadoo]

If you spend enough time learning through trial and error how to get a decent sound with basic (and cheap) equipment, you'll be better able to get really good sounds once you get some decent gear. If you love it, you'll spend lots of time with it, and if you spend lots of time with it, you'll figure out what's going on and what makes what do what.

And like everyone said, you gotta read tapeop! I've learned so much about gear and the way it's used and mics and mic techniques, all that. Nearly every article has given me an idea of something I'd like to try and see how it sounds.

Shop around a lot before buying anything and make sure it's something you really need and will use, that will cut down on the money pit aspect. Educate yourself by reading as much as you can about any peice of gear you're thinking about.

And as trodden says, get really stoned!