Home Studio for Digital Audio Recording

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HOME STUDIO FOR DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDING

Home Studio Setup Guide: Acoustics, Setup, Equipment, Know-How

A guide to creating and setting up a home studio for professional results. Basic sound engineering knowledge, acoustics, equipment, setup, settings, and tips.

Format 21 x 29 cm (A4) – Pages 428 – More than 180 illustrations with captions

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INDEX

Preface

Part 1 – BASIC CULTURE

01 – SOUND AND WAVEFORM

Sounds

Noises

Waveform, phase and phase problems

The sound wave

Harmonic motion

Wave superposition and phasing

Polarity reversal

Time lag

Harmonic Generation

The Hammond organ drawbars

The beat

Tartini's Third Sound

Composite resultant wave

Phase problems during recording and mixing

Chorus via time shift (delay)

02 – MUSICAL SOUND PARAMETERS

Height

Stamp

Stamp components

Manipulation of the stamp

Intensity

Dynamics

Dynamic excursion

Average dynamics and average intensity

Lufs

Dynamic variation within a single sound

Envelope

ADSR

Attack

Decay

Sustain

Release

The synthesizer

Waveforms in sound synthesis

03 – PROPAGATION AND USE OF SOUND

Speed of sound and wavelength

Sound propagation and obstacles

Echo

Reverb

Spatiality

Sound directivity simulation

Monophony

Stereophony

Quadraphony

Surround

Octophony and point systems

Presence and proximity

Perception of volume and sustain

Ideal volume for critical listening

Sound level meter

04 – ANALOG AND DIGITAL

High definition digital

Comparison of definition and dynamics in recording

The sampling

Bits and dynamics

The quality audio chain

Aliasing

Signal levels

The analog signal

The digital signal

The limits of the floating point

The Montgomery test

The sound

The future of digital

A personal opinion

05 – THE VALUE OF MUSIC

Purpose of music nowadays

Filling underlay

Game support

Narrative support

The abstract narration of music

The growth of awareness

Music Influences and Classifications

Popular, classical, commercial music

Ethno-geographical and historical-cultural influence

The technological revolution in music

Globalizing and liberalist influence

06 – THE MUSICAL ELEMENTS

Technical analysis of musical elements

Melody

Keys, modes, scales and intervals

Diatonic system and chromaticism, comma, cent, tuning

Harmony and chords

Rhythm and groove

Dynamics, punctuation, bearing

Themes, structures and styles

Arrangement and orchestration

Critical listening

Part 2 – ACOUSTICS AND SETTING

07 – CHOICE OF LOCATION

Limitations of the home studio

The rooms

Acoustic recording room

Control room

Single or double room

Ideal proportions and dimensions of the studio

Rooms with unsuitable shape and size

Control room orientation

08 – SOUND INSULATION

Purpose of sound insulation

First: Do not disturb

Second: Don't get disturbed

Third: isolate the rooms from each other

How to proceed with soundproofing the studio

Floating floor

Floating side counter walls – long side

Splaying of the walls

Floating false walls front and back – short side

Suspended false ceiling

The dividing wall between the control room and the recording room

Insulation and acoustic optimization, common remedies

Final considerations

Insulating cabins

Movable partition panels

Soundproof doors

09 – ACOUSTICS AND STUDIO SETUP

The path of sound

Propagation

Obstacles

Standing waves

Calculating the basic modal resonance

Axial, tangential and oblique modal resonances

Modal multiples

Schroeder frequency

Calculate all modal resonances

Frequency response analysis

The large rooms

Critical distance

Echo and flutter echo

Acoustic Troubleshooting

Room selection

Flutter echo elimination

Elimination of early reflections

General bass reduction

Selective bass reduction

Diffusion and homogenization of the mids and highs

Reverberation time optimization

Using EQ for acoustic correction

Standing Waves and Drum Tuning

Visual communication between rooms

Intercom for sound communication between rooms

10 – MONITORS AND MONITORING

The main monitor speakers

The subwoofer

Alternative monitors

Positioning of the listening point and monitors

Stereo image

General criteria

Modal nodes and listening point

First retrospective reflection

Early lateral reflections and comb filter

Subwoofer placement and calibration

Some advice

Environmental equalization

Linearity check with musical notes

Critical listening volume during monitoring

Critical evaluation of low frequencies

Medium mix test

Monitoring for the recording room

The speakers for the main room

Monitors for communication

Auxiliary lines for monitoring

Headphone preamplifiers

The connection panels

Headphones

How to proceed

Pre or post fader monitoring

Managing latency

11 – WIRING AND AUDIO SIGNAL

The acoustic signal

The acoustic transducer

The electroacoustic signal

Balanced and unbalanced conductors

Electromagnetic disturbances and shielded cables

Balanced line cables

Unbalanced line cables

Balanced and unbalanced stereo cables

Hardware processors, amplifiers and speakers

Preamplifier inputs

Micro

Line

Instrument

Signal levels

Noise level

Attendance band

Nominal level

Headroom band

Distortion and clipping level

The gain levels to use in the preamplifier

Part 3 – EQUIPMENT

12 – COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS

CPU and DSP

Ram

HD, SSD, RAID

Fine-tuning your computer settings

Updates

Energy

Archive indexing

Journaling

Multitasking

13 – DAW AND CONVERTERS

DAW Settings

H/W Buffer size

Host processor

Usage limit

Delay compensation engine

Cache Size (Pro Tools)

Disk cache

The most useful plugins for the DAW

Time adjuster

Stereo Phase Correlation Viewer

Gain

Equalizer

Single-band compressor

Multiband compressor

Reverb

Echo/Delay

Exciter

Saturator

Inflator

Metering

Analyzers

Generators

14 – MICROPHONES

A little history

The transducers

Dynamic microphone

Ribbon microphone

Condenser microphone

Tube microphone

The membrane

Shooting angle and polar diagram

Dual-diaphragm microphones

Frequency response

Impedance

Sensitivity

Dynamic space

Dynamic speed

Distortion and electromechanical resistance

Choosing a microphone park

Some suggestions

15 – PREAMPLIFIERS

Input

Micro

Line

Instrument

Controls

Input selector

Phantom

Pad

Micro impedance selector

Line level selector

Input gain

Input level LEDs

High-pass filter

Output gain

Output level LEDs

Output

16 – OTHER EQUIPMENT

Mixer and controller

Analog Outboards

MIDI system, interface, musical keyboard

Virtual instruments and grooves

Plugin format

General Music Format and Sound Libraries

Grooves

Microphone stands and supports

Cables

Furnishings

Toolbox

CONCLUSION

Know-how

The sound engineer and the artistic director

In conclusion

Further information

Publications

How to buy

Book conventions

Services

Seminars and partnerships

Copyright

Information and licenses