The Musician's Home Recording Handbook (Reference) [Paperback]

Ted Greenwald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1992

This is the ideal handbook for musicians who want to make high-quality recordings at home. The author's basic philosophy is that musicianship, not equipment, is the essential ingredient in a great recording. With skill, creativity, and a can-do attitude, anyone can produce CD-quality recorded music at home with a minimum of technology and training. The book makes general, practical musical sense of the complex technology of home recording. It will prove useful to those just getting started in home recording, to those trying to fill in holes in their recording background, and to musicians who would just like to understand more clearly what goes on in the studio. The book is based on a popular series of columns in Guitar Player magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (April 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879302372
• ISBN-13: 978-0879302375
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,548,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars outdated, March 25, 2007

By 

Chemnitz (Northern Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Musician's Home Recording Handbook (Reference) (Paperback)

I returned this book after opening the cover and scanning the contents. If you are looking for help with computer based recording this is not it.

3.0 out of 5 stars Showing its age but still good on the basics, May 26, 2011

By 

Ben Wells - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Musician's Home Recording Handbook (Reference) (Paperback)

OK, this book was published in 1992, using articles going back as early as 1987. Clearly A LOT has changed in the world of home recording technology and what is available to the average musician's budget. In terms of computer technology, it talks about MIDI sequencers on Atari STs and Sound Tools on Mac (the early incarnations of what became ProTools). In terms of digital technology, it talks about using a PCM encoder with a stereo VCR as a poor man's DAT deck. Back then the average musician was limited to a 4-track cassette Portastudio and a couple of SM57s; if you had a 4- or 8-track reel-to-reel tape machine, a separate mixer, a few bits of outboard gear and a half-dozen mics you were sitting sweet!

If you're looking for a book that will show you how to turn your laptop or desktop computer into a usable recording studio and get your head around ProTools or any other DAW, you'll need to look elsewhere. This book won't help you.

What it is still very useful for is understanding the sheer basics of recording; how microphones, preamps and so on work, signal routing, noise management, the use of EQ and effects, bouncing and mixing. Even rudimentary stuff like like how to solder up your own cables, set up a patch bay and clean the heads on your tape - just in case you still have one - are still as relevant in 2011 as they were 20 years ago.

Also in the book's favour is its refreshing "make do" attitude. With pro-sounding gear more affordable than ever, it is easy to forget - and too many newer books do - that plenty of people still can't afford to drop a thousand dollars or more on their studio. So if you can still only afford a cassette four track and a couple of stomp boxes, it shows you how to get the most out of them.

Bit hard to recommend it has a first or only book these days, but if you happen to come across a secondhand copy for a reasonable price it would not be a wasted purchase.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for beginners and veteran musicians., August 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Musician's Home Recording Handbook (Reference) (Paperback)

Gives well explained information on all aspects of recording. Useful pictures and graphs. Explains the use of certain equipment well. A good, well rounded book for home recording.