On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:00:32 -0800 Harry van Haaren <harryhaaren(a)gmail.com> wrote: The basics of the technical aspects. I recently posted here trying to clear up some questions I had come across in researching what audio interface I'd wanna get. People's responses gave me new questions, and I realized that there was a lot I didn't know and needed to. For instance, I don't feel like I know enough to discriminate between options for guitar/mic preamps or DI boxes. I know that some mics need 48V phantom power, but I don't know why. That sort of thing. And I'm reluctant to keep mining the users of this mailing list for answers to questions for two reasons. One is that it's a little off-topic, since I'm not really asking about *Linux* audio, but just audio. The other reason is that I come from a tradition where you don't ask other people questions about technical stuff until you've made an effort to learn about it and figure it out on your own (out of respect for other people's time as well as the higher education value of trying to get it yourself first). Thanks! -c -- Chris Metzler cmetzler(a)speakeasy.snip-me.net (remove "snip-me." to email) "As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I have become civilized." - Chief Luther Standing Bear

Hi, This is my first post to this list, and I'm trying to help rather than asking questions. This must be a first! By far the best book - the bible if you want - on working with digital audio is Mastering Audio by Bob Katz (1). It's written for mastering engineers, but the concepts it covers (and there's a lot of them!) are equally valid for mix engineers. It could do with a new edition, however, and the equipment it discusses is mostly way out of the budget of most home studio engineers. It also doesn't cover recording. To be honest, home studios setups are each so unique it would be pointless to write a general book on the subject. The manual for your interface and your DAW's documentation are your friends here. For general recording techniques, like how to point microphones at things, it's more just a matter of practise, listening, and experimenting. Don't blow money on a book for this, because it's all subjective. Eg, one book will tell you to record an acoustic guitar by pointing a Fig-8 mic at the 12th fret, another one will tell you to point a cardioid behind the bridge and a dynamic at the fretboard, etc, etc... Having said that, I would recommend Joe Gilder's Home Studio Corner blog (2) and its archives, where he covers a lot of this stuff. If you don't understand what "Fig-8" and "cardioid" means (I'm assuming nothing here), they're mic polar patterns. I learned that kind of stuff from the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook (3) but I wouldn't recommend it. It's for live engineers, and it's very dry. More of a manual, not fun to read. That kind of technical stuff I'm sure would be covered on Google, probably even on mic manufacturers' websites. The Master Handbook of Acoustics recommended previously is very dry as well. I'm the kind of audio nerd who enjoys that sort of thing, and every time I dip into it I find something new and fascinating, but it is very, very technical, even math-heavy in places. You have been warned. (1) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Audio-Science-Bob-Katz/dp/0240808371/ (2) http://www.homestudiocorner.com/ (3) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/08818890… Alan Russell ajrussellaudio(a)gmail.com On 11 January 2012 17:49, Moshe Werner <moshwe(a)gmail.com> wrote:

On Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:24:47 -0500 Chris Metzler <cmetzler(a)speakeasy.net> wrote: The book that I've kept referring back to over the years has been the Musician's Guide To Home Recording by Peter Mclan and Larry Wichman. While it was initially written in '93 when cassette multitracks were still very prevalent, it's been updated since (though I haven't seen the new edition). A lot of that content isn't very useful (I mean, how many people are still using DAT recorders?), but that's not why this book is so useful. What I liked about it was that it is written very clearly by audio professionals that can write (rather than by writers who may know about audio), and is laid out in very logical chapters. Chapter 2, for example, is Microphones. It explains the different types of mics, their applications, response patterns, impedance and the like. It has chapters on how to record drums (separate chapters on physical and electronic!), guitars, basses, acoustic pianos, synthesizers and vocals. It goes into mic choices, placement, EQ levels, and more. It talks about using effects on tracks and what's effective. it even goes into how to effectively approach a recording session, and what sort of notes a good engineer makes for a session. Off topic, I like the Stax Xface in your email - I had a chance to visit the Stax studios in Memphis a couple of years ago, and I reached Nerdvana when I got to put my fingers on the faders of the console used to record such things as Isaac Hayes' Shaft. -- ====================================================================== Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh(a)brainiac.com Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa

On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:03:11 -0500 Robert Vogel <vogel(a)ct.metrocast.net> wrote: Thanks; but I've been using free software at home exclusively for about 15 years now. I'm not really looking for information about free software, or about free software that's audio-related. I'm looking for information about audio in general; and since it's somewhat off-topic for this list (since the list is about *Linux* audio specifically), I was looking for people to point me to outside sources. Cheers, -c -- Chris Metzler cmetzler(a)speakeasy.snip-me.net (remove "snip-me." to email) "As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I have become civilized." - Chief Luther Standing Bear