Customer Reviews

Guerrilla Home Recording: How to Get Great Sound from Any Studio (No Matter How Weird or Cheap Your Gear Is)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title of this book is somewhat inaccurate, since it doesn't really cover a wide variety of types of studio gear or types of recording. Rather, reading this book is more like spending several hours in the particular studio of one patient, experienced home recordist who is generous with his time in explaining, engagingly, his own set-up and how he uses it.

A problem anyone new to home recording will confront is the feeling of coming in late on the conversation: frustratingly, the manuals for even entry-level gear seem to have been written by engineers (often, Japanese engineers) who assume everyone else has been working with audio recording gear since at least 1950, just like them. And, it is always engineers, not musicians, who write the manuals. Thus, we get instruction on "attenuation" instead of being told how to produce a diminuendo, and we get pots instead of knobs.

A key benefit of this book is that it is written by a musician, and explains what the engineers are talking about in words musicians use.

This is, overall, an outstanding book for any musician assembling a home studio. The author understands, from experience, that no home studio is going to match a pro one, and that understanding how to use ordinary gear is more valuable than spending many thousands of dollars on equipment that won't achieve much benefit outside the environment of one of those pro studios. The author's specific target is a recording that will sound good to a musical listener, while realizing that a home studio will never impress (or fool) a pro sound engineer. Particularly valuable here is his advice on when to stop trying -- e.g., he is right that recording drum sets in a home studio is bound to lead to disappointment, so why spend a few more hundred or thousand dollars on a set of matching drum mikes?

The author plainly came of age in recording well before the digital era. As a result, his recommended set-up is perhaps heavier on hardware, and makes less full use of software, than a brand new set-up would. As an example, he considers a hardware mixer a core piece of equipment, and devotes considerable space to describing work-arounds to deal with the limited connections available on most (affordable) hardware mixers. Whether a hardware mixer is needed anymore if you are using mixing software is an open question (and a good way to start heated arguments on the appropriate forums). Still, understanding how to use a hardware mixer will make using mixing software much easier, since most software products aim to emulate the functions of hardware models.

The book is a nice mix of specific tips, general theory, background explanation, problem-solving, and arcanely entertaining trivia. The more detailed tips tend to be specific to rock recording, so musicians in other genres may get less out of this book. However, at the price there is plenty here to benefit any musician wanting to make home recordings.

I docked one star from my rating out of irritation with small factual inaccuracies (e.g., the author doesn't understand that the panning of a drum set can be affected by whether the drummer is left-handed) and larger limitations (e.g., the author has never learned to record with multiple mikes and therefore never explains how to do this -- his approach is strictly one track at a time.) Again, though, for the money this is a great book to have.

I've purchased several books on recording, mixing, etc. and some good, some bad. This book is incredible. Especially for a beginner. I've played in bands for half my life (I'm 30 now) and always relied on studios and occasionally a 4-track recorder. Now that I'm getting into recording and building a studio, on a budget, I have many questions about gear, mixing, what goes where, how this happens . . . Anyway, its like this book read my mind and answered all the questions I had. Some experts might find this book novice but come on read the title. If you're a pro why would you (a) buy this book (b) need to buy a book on the subject at all. For those of us starting out in recording or anyone who still needs advice on the subject, this book is perfect.

This book is excellent. As a musician who spent many years both performing and as a live sound engineer, I've already had a good comprehension of signal paths and equipment prior to reading this book; however, I never had much experience with recording. Recently, I decided to build a home recording/MIDI studio as a hobby. I purchased a handful of books related to home recording, most of which were either too elemental, too specific to a particular piece of gear or software, or loaded with too much theory to be of much use to me. This book hit the nail right on the head.

Karl Coryat's writing style is concise, yet thorough. He uses many examples of some unorthodox and innovative solutions that he developed to solve some common recording problems, without the aid of thousands of dollars worth of pro audio equipment. In addition, his explanations of techniques are generic enough that they can be applied to most equipment types and/or manufacturers. For example, when he explains how a technique would be accomplished in ProTools (the author's weapon of choice), he tells the reader how the same result could be accomplished in other software and/or hardware recording platforms. This was especially useful for me, since I use both Cubase and an 8-track digital recording unit.

My only complaint about this book, and it's a minor complaint, is that the author seemed to cut the "Separation" chapter a little short. The discussion of separation, which is very important to achieving a good sound, is relatively short compared to the remaining chapters. This is not to say that the chapter is not well-written - it is - however, I just feel that the author missed an opportunity to take the reader a step or two further.

I recommend this book to anyone getting into home recording, whether it be digital, analog, or both, or to anyone who records as a hobby and is looking for effective, yet inexpensive, methods to improve the quality of their recordings.

After reading the first couple of chapters I thought "maybe this book is too basic". After reading further, however, I discovered that I may have overestimated my understanding of the basics of recording. I would guess many home recordists are like me: learning as you go with a "just make it work" attitude. While that helps get projects done it doesn't always use the full potential of my equipment. I thought this book was written in an easily digestible manner and organized to make it a good reference book. If you are building a professional studio this book will certainly be useless. If you have convinced your wife to let you use one of the guest bedrooms as a studio and are debating with her why purchasing a condenser microphone is essential to your development as a human being (and might even end world poverty and war) then this book can be extremely useful. I suspect that I will eventually outgrow this book, but it is a good recording primer, has helped even out my knowledge of recording, and has made me realize that I have much more powerful equipment than I thought I had. I just have to learn how to use it. This book has helped immensely.

After a 10 year hiatus from serious recording, I decided to pick up a book to refresh myself. The problem with learning how to record properly is that a lot of knowledgeable engineers give bad advice. Many are prone to losing perspective, focusing on inconsequential aspects of the recording process. On the other hand, some concepts appear trivial to the novice but are extremely important. Karl Coryat explains complex concepts effectively and provides solid essential advice. This book can be read in a weekend and contains the requisite information to successfully record at home or even in a modest commercial facility.

I have some years of experience at audio restoration, mixing and mastering, but I keep a look out for books that can offer a different perspective on elements of audio production. Guerilla Home Recording was a very useful read, as it's explanations of EQ, EQ slotting, compression, etc. were written in such a way that the information could be employed quickly. Many books concentrate on theory rather than real world application, and Karl Coryat teaches you to start the car and drive down the street rather than teach you how fuel injection works. This book is particularly good at covering how to get mixes to sound more open, to hear all the instruments clearly. My only beef would be that the book concentrates a lot on recording scenarios that use hardware recorders, mixers, compressors, etc., whereas I use Pro Tools software to do anything past the initial analog capture. The book's best information still translated, I just didn't feel quite as "at home." This book is a must have for serious beginners, maybe the best available, but it is also useful for a mid-level pro who wants to strengthen some some concepts and get new ideas to use at his or her next session.

I'm amateur musician. I own rehersal/studio room in my basement. I'm also an electronic engineer too. This is book for me. My gear is weird and cheap. Tascam 688 ($200), Behringer XM8500 (vocal mic - $50), Behringer XM1800S (drum mics $10 each), Behringer DSP Ultramizer 2024 ($120). Instruments are much better. After reading this book I've tried to do a recording following advices from it. After we listen my "production" my friend have been sitting with opened mouth for maybe 2 minutes. After that he say something like: "Well.... it definitely DOES NOT sound like it was recorded in a basement"

Advices are simple, clearly explained. They engage also Your own imagination and gain Your creativity.

This book helped me to explore what I've already had. I've got a rare kind of satisfaction to do something better while spending a few dollars.

I cannot say what value this book presents to professionals, but for amateurs I can give it the highest notes. What definitely have helped me is the fact that I was very familiar with such terms as "signal path", "freqency spectrum" and overall electronical knowledge. But people who doesn't understand all this there is well fitted explanation. Not too detailed, only as much as You need to follow.

Great book.

This is a good, very basic introduction to home recording. For many of us who have been at it a while, the tips and tricks described will be tips and tricks you've already instituted in your home studio. To the beginner, this book will introduce you to the basic principles of recording, both analog and (mainly) digital.

This book will help a recording artist to achieve a great sound with limited means.

I just started Home Recording and this book was exactly what I was looking for. Enough theory to give you a good understanding, but not so much that it bores you. Great explainations of effects and dynamic controls, as well as where and how to use them. The full chapter on humanizing drum patterns was worth the price alone. If your just beginning or haven't had good luck with Home Recording, this is the book for you.

Finally a book that addresses what I wanted and needed to know. I am new to home recording so I needed a push start. Something to get me looking in the right directions. Anyway, this book starts from the beginning and provides a good foundation. It is well written, not dry and boring, and goes in depth when it needs to. Very appropriate and in a down-to-earth style, as the title may suggest.