Acoustic Design for the Home Studio [Paperback]

Mitch Gallagher (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 159863285X | ISBN-13: 978-1598632859 | Publication Date: July 1, 2006 | Edition: 1

With the advances in digital technology, musicians can now produce their own music at home. Over the years the gear has gotten much better, and musicians have learned a great deal about recording. So why do so many musicians and engineers have difficulty getting truly professional-sounding results? One reason? Acoustics. If the room you're working in has poor acoustics, it will be extremely difficult -- if not impossible -- to produce excellent results. You can't capture a true sound if the microphones don't hear the instruments and vocals correctly. You have to be able to hear what's truly going on with your tracks to make the proper decisions about editing, equalizing, processing, and mixing them. Acoustics can be a complex, math-laden science, but treating a room to make it sound great and function optimally as a recording studio needn't be difficult nor require hours in front of a calculator or computer screen. Improving a studio's acoustics can be simple and inexpensive -- all you need is some guidance. Acoustic Design for the Home Studio focuses on creating a greatsounding home or project studio in an existing room. It teaches the basic principles of acoustics that affect you in your home or project studio and how to solve any acoustical problems you may have without laying out much (or any) money. Whether you're converting a bedroom, a garage, a basement, or a corner of the living room, this book will help you improve the sound of the environment in which you're making music. The principles are easy to understand and the materials used for treating a room are readily available. Diagrams and photos of actual rooms created with the designs are included to illustrate concepts. Whether you want to pursue a no-cost solution, use "off -the-shelf" acoustic materials, or even splurge with an unlimited budget, you'll learn how to put your room together easily and effectively.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The former Senior Technical Editor of Keyboard magazine and former Editor-in-Chief of EQ magazine, Mitch Gallagher studied electrical engineering and computer science, eventually earning a degree in music. Graduate studies included music composition and classical guitar. He toured as a guitarist/vocalist in rock and country bands, also playing with big bands, fusion and experimental music groups, and as a classical and steel-string guitar soloist. As a music technology specialist, he has taught college courses, lectured, given clinics, and spoken at festivals, conventions, and conferences around the world. His compositions cover genres from classical to heavy metal. Prophecy #1: At First Glance, his experimental percussion ensemble/ synthesizer work based on the Fibonacci number series, received a Grammy award. He has published nearly 1,000 articles in magazines such as Performing Songwriter, Acoustic Guitar, EQ, EQ en Español, Keyboard, Pro Sound News, Guitar Player, Government Video, Extreme Groove, Music Technology Buyer's Guide, Videography, and Microphones & Monitors. His books include Make Music Now!; Pro Tools Clinic: Demystifying LE for Macintosh and PC; The Studio Business Book, Third Edition; and Acoustic Design for the Home Studio. In addition to freelance writing, and recording and producing a variety of projects in his studio, Mitch is the Editorial Director for Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Artistpro; 1 edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159863285X
• ISBN-13: 978-1598632859
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Acoustics & Sound
  • #21 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Recording & Sound
  • #36 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Music

More About the Author

Mitch Gallagher is an internationally respected music technology expert and the well-known author of over 1,000 articles on music and pro audio in magazines including Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, Premier Guitar, SweetNotes, and Guitars & Gear, as well as EQ, Keyboard, Pro Sound News, Performing Songwriter, Videography, and many more. He has been a guitarist (acoustic and electric) in many styles for 30 years, and is an award-winning composer. His has written six books and released one instructional DVD. In between recording and mastering projects in his studio, he is working on his oft-delayed classical guitar album.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Studio for the home recordist on the cheap, June 26, 2007

By 

Lone Centrist (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Acoustic Design for the Home Studio (Paperback)

There are a lot of books on setting up and working in a home studio - very few on treating the frequency response - fewer on doing it on the cheap using the room you have. This is such a book. The case studies are useful and after seeing a few, a pattern emerges and the mystique falls away and you realize that its not such a black art and you can do it yourself using various inexpensive materials. I definitely found this to be a great reasource for getting my room response under control while spending just a couple hundred dollars.

This book is a gem.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Studio Design Regardless of your Budget, October 18, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Acoustic Design for the Home Studio (Paperback)

The equipment available today at the 'advanced amateur' level far exceeds that which was available to the professional only a few years ago. But the quality of the recordings being made do not come up to professional standards. Apart from skill at using the equipment, the biggest difference is the studio where the work is being done.

If the sound is being bounced all around the room in an uncontrollable manner, this will be recorded faithfully by the equipment. The equipment cannot distinguish the sounds you want (and hear) but takes in what your ears are rejecting.

This is an excellent book that gives a bit of the theory of acoustics and studio design and then gives practical examples of studios that were constructed using these principles. There are a number of designs described which cover a range in cost from near nothing to designs that you'd better discuss with your wife before you start spending money. Most of these designs do not involve altering the basic structure of the room itself, just panels you might attach and then take down when you move.

This book is an excellent introduction to a fairly arcane subject.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tips on getting the most from such a project., November 5, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acoustic Design for the Home Studio (Paperback)

It used to be that musicians went to a professional studio to make recordings; but with all the advancements in computer and recording technology, such a studio is affordable for the home - and ACOUSTIC DESIGN FOR THE HOME STUDIO tells how to make a room perfect for the recording sound desired. Tips on how to sound-proof a home or project studio tell how to use an existing room, whether it be garage or bedroom, and provide diagrams, photos of revamped rooms, and tips on getting the most from such a project.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch