Audio Recording

Newbies Guide to Audio Recording – eBook

June 14, 2010 by Ken Leave a Comment

Recording and creating great audio (music, your voice, etc.) from your computer is easier, faster, and way less expensive than you ever imagined.

You can give it a try right now! What, you don’t think you can because you don’t already have a home studio?

Did you know you could set up a recording studio on your computer that is capable of creating high quality audio in less than 30 minutes, without spending a dime for gear or software?

In 2012 all you need is a computer with a sound card, an mp3 player (for the ear phones;)), and any kind of microphone…even those cheap plastic PC mics will do to start out! With that set-up you are capable of creating multi-track recording projects, and learning the methods used by the pros to make high-quality audio.
Here is the big secret: Knowledge trumps gear when it comes to audio quality. It is possible, actually common for people to spend many hundreds of dollars on a microphone, only to turn around and make the same crappy audio with it. Why is this? It is a lack of knowledge…and not even hard knowledge!
Despite what many people think, regular people (not just tech geeks) can create professional quality audio from a home studio that pretty much anyone can afford. In fact, even if you’ve never done any audio recording before, the video tutorials here at Home Brew Audio will guide you through your first recording, your voice-over with some music behind it, for free.

If you have done audio recording at home, but aren’t satisfied with the quality of your recordings, you’ll discover several techniques for greatly improving that quality without having to buy any expensive microphones or other gear, in our eBook Audio Recording Awesomeness: 5 Things I Wish I’d Known As An Audio Newbie.

What is the benefit for you? There are lots of reasons for learning to record and produce great audio from home,like:

Improve your videos with superior audio content
Record your music without having to leave your house and pay through-the-nose at a commercial studio
The awesomeness that is multi-track recording (Sing harmony with yourself, play rhythm AND lead guitar, add music to your voice-over, etc.
Start a voice-over business
Make audio versions of your e-books and reports, add podcasting to your website or business

The list is almost endless. So what’s in the eBook?
Ive been guerrilla recording for well over 20 years, learning as I go, and made a huge number of mistakes that taught me very valuable lessons. Those 20 years can be condensed to days or weeks for your learnin’ pleasure. The most important of the lessons are in this report.

Take a gander at the table of contents:

toc

If you’ve always wanted to record and produce audio, or if you’re serious about improving the quality of your current audio, you will get this report right now and read it today.

For the price of a large cup of coffee you will have all of the information you need to jump full force into professional audio recording.

Why $2.99?

I’m only charging $2.99 for this report, and not giving this report away, for 2 reasons.

$2.99 puts the report within reach of the vast majority of people. It’s not too expensive for even the humblest beginning online businessperson.
Anyone who’s not serious enough about their audio quality to invest $2.99 into this report isn’t going to take the time to use the methods laid out in the report anyway.

So if you’re serious about your music or other online businesses in 2012, click the “Buy Now” button below. If you need to justify the expense, skip getting that large coffee once this week and it’s paid for.

Secure Payments
Made Through PayPal

P.S. Seriously, for just $2.99 I’ll teach you the most important techniques that the pros use to create professional quality audio. How can you pass on that?

Questions? Comments? Need support? jake@homebrewaudio.com

The Trouble With Self-Hypnosis and Self-Doubt – I Don't Believe Myself

June 13, 2010 by Ken Leave a Comment

I should preface this post by explaining why I’m talking about hypnosis on a home recording studio blog. the reason is that audio recording can be of great help to people in the hypnosis arena. Induction scripts, trance content, etc. is often recorded for patients for them to listen to regularly. Whether you’re a hypnotherapist or someone wanting to benefit from hypnosis, knowing how to make good quality hypnosis tapes (funny how we still use the word “tape” isn’t it?), hypnosis CDs or hypnosis mp3s can help immensely. So now for the guts of the post:
In much of the hypnosis literature and training I’ve been through, much emphasis is placed on “congruence,” how well the behavior of the hypnotist supports and is supported by her words and body language. It makes sense, especially considering how much communication occurs on a subconscious level between humans. So the early phases of trance work involve using conscious and unconscious means to establish rapport with the other person. That trust is at the heart of everything.
What do you do, then, when you don’t trust your hypnotist? Well, most would agree that not much is going to happen between you. It may not be that you think the hypnotist will do something bad. It may be just a bit of doubt that he does not truly have confidence that what he is doing is going to work. That’s enough.
By extension, this means I can rarely, if ever, successfully engage in self-hypnosis! Oh sure, I know on an intellectual level what hypnosis is and isn’t. I also know how powerful a tool it can be to help people. These are certainties. What is NOT certain, however, is whether hypnosis will work the same way…even with the same underlying techniques, with every person. In fact, since people are so very different, the skilled hypnotist needs to be able to adapt to the personality, belief-system, etc. of each individual. And even then, some will not respond…at all. This I have experienced.
Residing next to the knowledge that hypnosis can and does work…for many people, is the sure and certain knowledge that it does not work for everyone. THAT is enough doubt to make me not trust myself enough to hypnotize myself! Do I think I’m “one of those people” who can’t BE hypnotized? Nope. I don’t believe those people exist, especially since trance states are naturally-occurring. I believe that if I had the right hypnotist, I could realize some of the changes I want to make. But I’M NOT THAT GUY, apparently. One part of my brain is always saying to the other, “oh, I know what you’re trying to do there.” And though I may successfully enter a relaxed trance state, I can not utilize it…or at least have not to this point.
This entire article really points to the importance of rapport and trust between hypnotist and subject/patient. It isn’t that I don’t trust myself, it’s that I don’t really believe myself fully. And that, unfortunately, amounts to the same thing.
Record hypnosis audio at home, and learn to get the best quality from Home Brew Audio’s tutorials.

How to Set Up a PC Recording Studio for $5.00 and STILL Record Good Quality Audio

June 12, 2010 by Ken Leave a Comment

I see guides all the time that purport to instruct new home recording hopefuls on the best equipment and software needed to start their home pc recording studio. There is one thing these “how-to” articles seem to have in common, which is that they explain very well how to set up an intermediate home studio, not a starter one.
I remember how overwhelmed I felt when I first started recording my own stuff, mostly music, but then audio books, voice-overs, podcasts, audio-for video, etc. That was about 20 years ago, and to be honest, there are STILL topics in the realm of audio recording that confuse me! And I’m an engineer and producer! So I’ve developed a rule-of-thumb for what constitutes “audio recording guidance for beginners” that goes something like this: If that guidance contains the acronym, “MIDI” (or any acronym for that matter), it isn’t for beginners.” Why?
First, let’s look at why someone might want to start recording audio from home. Guess what? Not everyone is a musician! In this multi-media, internet-dependent, YouTube-watching age, audio is everywhere; well, at least crappy-to-mediocre audio is everywhere;). From podcasts to audio books, advertisement voice-overs to e-learning, and video narration to, yes, music, we consume audio just about every minute of every day. So it is a mistake to assume that all, or even most, of the folks out there who really want good beginner advice on setting up and operation their own home recording studio are musicians. There is little need to tell those folks anything about the musical the instrument digital interface (MIDI) protocol.
Second, let’s talk about musicians who have little-to-no experience recording. A LOT of these folks are singers and guitar-players, garage rock bands or folk singer-songwriters. In other words, they just want to get their music “out there” in the world in the form of recordings. Musicians tend to be artists…yeah, I know, that’s a shocker, eh? Well artists are not always fabulous with the hard sciences, like electrical engineering or computer science. So even among the recording newbies out there, MIDI is not something they need immediately, if ever.
So now that I have described what advice for recording beginners does NOT look like, I suppose you’d like to know what it DOES look like. Okay, here goes. Download free audio recording software. There are a few good ones out there that are open-source “freeware,” like Audacity for example. Total cost so far: $0.00. Next, get yourself some headphones or ear buds. If anyone in your house has an mp3 player, you already have at least one set lying around. Total cost so far: $0.00. Now all you need is a microphone. Your beginner home studio only needs a PC mic. Thanks to on-line role-playing games and internet communication, most folks will already have one of these as well. Total cost so far: $0.00. If you don’t already have a PC microphone, you can get one almost anywhere for about $5.00. So the most expensive beginner home recording studio so far is $5.00. Once you have those things, you have your home studio!
Now I did promise in the title of this article to explain how to record good quality audio from a $5.00 studio. So what do I have to say for myself on that score? Only this: when it comes to audio quality, knowledge trumps gear. If you understand just a few key principles of audio recording, you can produce better quality audio from your $5.00 studio than someone with a $500 studio who doesn’t know what they are doing! I’ve seen/heard this all too often.
Oh now I suppose you want me to “reveal” those few key principles, huh? Well, if you insist. First, and most importantly, record as little “noise” as possible. Second, be able to reduce and/or eliminate the noise you couldn’t prevent. There will always be some, especially with the $5.00 studio. Said a different way, record as much of what you WANT people to hear as possible, and minimize stuff you don’t want them to hear.
You can learn more about those key principles from the tutorials on the Home Brew Audio website. The video tutorials there start out assuming you’re a beginner…a REAL beginner, and will show you how to set up the $5.00 studio and make your first recording in the first 5 lessons, which are FREE by the way;). Come check it out. I promise that “MIDI” isn’t even mentioned in the first several videos;).

What is Sound Editing and Why Should I Care?

May 10, 2010 by Ken Leave a Comment

To partially answer the question what is sound editing? I will say that if you have no intention of ever dabbling in the exciting, inexpensive and fun world of audio recording (it really is much easier and cheaper than most people ever thought possible), then I guess you really don’t have to care. Let other folks have the fun. But if you are one of the curious ones, or have already started recording and producing audio, then audio editing is not just a good idea, it is absolutely and utterly essential…but still cool!
I don’t care what the real definitions are of some of these terms I define in these articles. This is my definition. Audio editing is making changes to already-recorded audio on purpose. I’d bet THAT definition isn’t written down anywhere else. Let’s examine it. It’s always a good idea to get the best quality sound at the source, with good space, adequate equipment and good technique. If you get THAT part perfect, there MAY not be any editing required. But in the real world, where I believe I am living, those instances are rare.
How about an example? Okay, let’s say you are recording your voice for a podcast or audio book. After the recording, you play back the result and notice three things. Your “P” sounds were too loud, causing that sort of “splat” sound. Some parts of the reading are very soft, and others are quite loud. Someone coughed in the background while you were reading and you can hear it between words. What will you do? You can always start over and do the whole thing again. Before computers, that would have been pretty much our only choice. Or you could fix all three problems with some audio editing software.
So you open the audio in an editor, like Audacity (which is open source audio software). First you zero in on the first place where the letter “P” popped out too much. You highlight that bit of audio on the screen and reduce its volume. You might also want to lower just the low frequencies there with some equalization (EQ). You do that to all the P-pops. Then you notice that there are three or four places where the audio looks like it spiked…was much louder than most of the audio in the reading, which was actually not quite as loud as you would have liked it. But you can’t increase the volume of the entire passage because once those spikes are turned up a little, they will distort…very nasty. So you zero in on the spikes and reduce their volume (they shrink in size on the screen) to where it is closer to the average. Now you can turn everything up quite a bit without any distortion. Finally, you zero in on where that guy coughed between your words, and you simply delete it. Now you have fixed all the little problems in a matter of seconds.
There are obviously many more possible editing actions in audio. But with these tools you can produce higher quality audio much faster than having to re-record a million times. There are lots of tutorials on the web that talk about editing techniques. At the Home Brew Audio website you can learn recording and editing and all nature of wonderful home recording stuff from short enjoyable video tutorials. Regardless of how you go about it, audio editing is vital if you work with audio. Now get recording!

Singing Harmony With Your Vacuum Cleaner? Learn Home Music Recording and Sing With Yourself Instead

April 19, 2010 by Ken 2 Comments

This article is about home music recording – in case the title was a little misleading;). If you’re like me…and a few other people I know (which is why I assume I’m not insane), you love vocal harmony so much that you find yourself singing with inanimate objects that make noise. OK, assuming there are still people reading this article who don’t immediately know what I mean, let me explain.
Some singers must work and live with non-singers. It isn’t fair, but there it is. Those folks who discovered that harmony with one or more other singers is the closest thing to magic in real life can get a kind-of addiction to it. So what do people like that do when they don’t know a single soul who can hold a harmony…or even hold the melody if you try to sing harmony? A lot of people can sing, but not all of them can sing harmony…or even know what it is! I know…it’s crazy. Have you ever noticed someone near you can sing, so you try to add a harmony and they immediately jump onto your harmony? Don’t you hate that?
Well I’ll tell you what “harmony-lovers-surrounded-by-the-harmony-handicapped” do. They get it wherever they can find it. For me, that includes inanimate objects that make an even vaguely musical noise. I’ve sung duets with the repeating warning bell in my car, my car horn, vacuum cleaners, and trains. Those last two are great because they usually have their own harmony going on that I can add to. Are you in this category, and you own a computer with an internet connection, you are in luck. You get to sing harmony with yourself….yup….no surgery involved.
Here’s what you need: a computer with a sound card and an internet connection, an mp3 player (for the headphones), and a microphone, and a pc microphone. If you don’t already have one, you can get one for about $5.00.
Next, download and install the open-source (free!) audio program called Audacity. Plug your mic into your sound card’s input jack (usually a pink hole), and your headphones into the green jack. You may need to unplug your speakers, but that’s actually what you want to do for this, otherwise you’ll record what’s coming out of the speakers, which you don’t want to do. Now you’re all set up.
All you need to do at that point is open Audacity, punch the button with the big red dot on it (which means “record”), and start singing into your microphone. Now you can either just play that back and sing 2-part harmony with a voice rather than a vacuum cleaner, or you could record a 2nd track along with the first one to record two harmonies. That way, two of you will be singing, and you can sing along for 3-part magic! Actually, you can keep doing that until you turn yourself into a choir if you want to.
How cool was that? Now all you need to do is clean up all the hissy noise from your soun dcard, which Audacity can do. There are tons of tutorials out there showing you how to use Audacity if you get a bit lost. Home Brew Audio even has a video tutorial lesson on singing harmony with yourself. Give it a try if you have 30 minutes to spare. It will be a trip! Plus, you can stop singing with your appliances… or not 😉
Here are some audio and video examples of what results you can get singing harmony with yourself: https://www.homebrewaudio.com/vocal-harmony-experiments

Learn more home music recording tips at Home Brew Audio. It really is a blast.

Jake Weston