Audio and Video Examples                           ix
Preface                                            xxiii
    Chapter 1 Acoustics                            1    (30)
      Controlling Your Acoustical Environment      2    (2)
        The Room                                   2    (1)
        Diffusion and Absorption                   3    (1)
      Mode/Standing Wave/Resonance                 4    (3)
        Calculating the Frequency of Standing      5    (1)
        Waves in a Room
        Axial Standing Waves                       5    (1)
        Tangential                                 6    (1)
        Oblique                                    7    (1)
      Calculating Problematic Modes                7    (4)
        Consider All Opposing Surfaces             7    (2)
        Red Flags                                  9    (1)
        Flutter Echo                               9    (1)
        Your Location in the Room Matters          10   (1)
        Everything Else in the Room Matters        10   (1)
      The Rectangle                                11   (1)
      The Goal                                     11   (1)
      Solutions to Acoustical Problems             11   (11)
        Dimensional Proportions                    12   (1)
        Adjusting Angles                           13   (2)
        Treating Surfaces                          15   (7)
      Portable Acoustical Treatments               22   (4)
        Tube Traps                                 22   (4)
      Monitoring: Turn It Down                     26   (1)
      Conclusion                                   27   (4)
      Guitar Fundamentals                          31   (1)
    Chapter 2 Electric Guitar                      31   (44)
      Tone and Timbre                              32   (4)
        Physical Properties                        33   (1)
        Pickup Placement                           33   (2)
        Tone Controls                              35   (1)
        Frequency Content                          35   (1)
      Recording the Electric Guitar                36   (3)
        Direct Electric                            36   (3)
      Miking the Speaker Cabinet                   39   (4)
      Combining the Miked and Direct Signals       43   (2)
        Miking the Strings and the Amp or DI       44   (1)
      Software Plug-Ins                            45   (1)
      Recording Levels                             46   (1)
        Analog Levels                              46   (1)
        Digital Levels                             46   (1)
        Transients                                 47   (1)
      Pickups                                      47   (3)
        Pickup Position                            48   (1)
        Pickup Types                               48   (2)
      Instrument & Vocal Recording
          Bill Gibson
      Basic Types of Electric Guitars              50   (2)
      Pickup Phase Relationship                    52   (1)
      Alternate Tunings                            52   (1)
      Processing the Guitar Sound                  52   (7)
        Compressor/Limiter/Gate/Expander           53   (1)
        Distortion                                 54   (1)
        All-in-One Effects                         54   (1)
        Stomp Boxes                                55   (1)
        Digital Modeling                           56   (2)
        Integration of Hardware and Software       58   (1)
        Software Control of Modeling Systems       58   (1)
      Reamping                                     59   (3)
        Reamping Guitar                            59   (3)
      Equalizing the Guitar                        62   (3)
        Delay                                      64   (1)
      Electronic Doubling                          65   (2)
      Multi-Effects                                67   (2)
        Chorus/Flanger/Phase Shifter               67   (1)
        Reverberation                              68   (1)
      Panning                                      69   (6)
      Preparing the Instrument                     75   (1)
    Chapter 3 Acoustic Guitar                      75   (26)
        Strings                                    76   (1)
        Picks                                      77   (1)
        Alternate Tunings                          77   (1)
      The Impact of Different Wood                 78   (1)
      Configurations on Tone
        Spruce Top                                 78   (1)
        Rosewood Sides and Back                    79   (1)
        Mahogany Sides and Back                    79   (1)
      Electric Acoustic Guitars                    79   (2)
      Recording Acoustic Guitar                    81   (1)
      Mic Techniques                               81   (8)
        Mic Type                                   82   (1)
        Mono Mic Techniques                        83   (4)
        Stereo Mic Techniques                      87   (2)
      Recording Acoustic Guitar and Voice          89   (12)
      Together
        Tuning/Instrument Selection                90   (1)
        Dynamic Processing and the Acoustic        90   (2)
        Guitar
        Double-Tracking the Acoustic Guitar        92   (1)
        Constructing Acoustic Guitar Parts         93   (2)
        Equalizing the Acoustic Guitar             95   (1)
        Reverberation                              96   (1)
        Classical Guitar (Nylon String Guitar)     97   (4)
    Chapter 4 Drums & Percussion                   101  (54)
      Drum Conditioning                            102  (2)
        Tuning                                     102  (2)
      Drumsticks                                   104  (1)
      Muffling Drums                               105  (1)
      Hardware                                     106  (1)
      Room Acoustics                               107  (2)
      Theories of Drum Miking                      109  (3)
        Essential Microphones                      110  (1)
        Mic Choices                                110  (1)
        Positioning the Microphones                110  (1)
        Phase Interaction between Mics             111  (1)
      Recording Level                              112  (2)
        Digital                                    113  (1)
        Analog                                     113  (1)
      Acoustic Considerations                      114  (1)
      Recording a Drum Set with One Microphone     114  (3)
      Recording a Kit with Two Mics                117  (3)
      Recording a Kit with Three Mics              120  (1)
      Recording a Kit with Four Mics               121  (1)
      Close-Mike Technique                         122  (1)
      Equalizing Drums                             122  (7)
        Kick Drum                                  125  (4)
      Snare Drum                                   129  (2)
        Two Mics on the Snare                      129  (2)
      Toms                                         131  (2)
      Overhead Microphones                         133  (2)
      The Hi-Hat Mic                               135  (1)
      Mono Room Mic on the Floor                   136  (1)
      Gating the Drum Tracks                       137  (1)
      Aiming the Mics                              138  (1)
      Phones                                       138  (1)
      Baffles, Gobos, and Screens                  139  (1)
      Click Track                                  139  (2)
      Phase Coherence                              141  (3)
        Adjusting Phase in the DAW                 141  (1)
        Shifting DAW Tracks                        142  (1)
        Multiple Kick Mics                         142  (2)
        Maybe It's Better the Way It Was           144  (1)
      Effects on Drums                             144  (2)
        Compressing Drums                          145  (1)
        Panning the Drums                          146  (1)
      Compare Your Work                            146  (2)
        Does Your Mix Sound as Clean in the        148  (1)
        High Frequencies as the Reference?
      Triggering during Mixdown                    148  (1)
      Automation                                   149  (1)
      Percussion                                   149  (6)
        Congas and Bongos                          149  (1)
        Shakers, Tambourines, and Triangles        150  (1)
        Whistles and Rattlers and Stuff            151  (4)
      Electric Bass                                155  (1)
    Chapter 5 Electric & Upright Bass              155  (40)
      Condition of the Bass                        158  (2)
      Direct Box/Direct In (DI)                    160  (1)
      Pickup Output Level                          161  (1)
      Instrument Differences                       162  (2)
      Musical Style                                164  (3)
      Recording Levels for Bass                    167  (1)
      Mic Techniques                               168  (5)
      Compressing the Electric Bass                173  (2)
      Equalization of the Bass Guitar              175  (3)
      Panning the Bass                             178  (1)
      Reverberation and Bass Guitar                179  (3)
      Recording Synth Bass                         182  (8)
        Plugging In the Synth Bass                 182  (2)
        Miking the Synth Bass                      184  (1)
        Synth Bass Range and EQ                    185  (3)
        Compressing the Synth Bass                 188  (1)
        Recording Level for the Synth Bass         188  (1)
        Panning Synth Bass                         188  (1)
        Effects and the Synth Bass                 189  (1)
      Acoustic Bass                                190  (2)
        Close-Miking the String Bass               191  (1)
      Conclusion                                   192  (3)
    Chapter 6 Vocals                               195  (62)
      Vocal Phrasing                               196  (4)
        Breathing                                  197  (1)
        Choosing Breath Points and Phrases         198  (1)
        Releases                                   198  (1)
        Pronunciation                              199  (1)
        Enunciation                                199  (1)
        Smile---Mouth Shape Matters                200  (1)
      When and How to Make Suggestions             200  (2)
      Getting Vocals in Tune                       202  (5)
        Headphones                                 203  (4)
      Mic Techniques                               207  (5)
        Placement                                  207  (2)
        Small Room versus Large Room               209  (1)
        Moving-Coil/Ribbon                         210  (2)
        The Room                                   212  (1)
      Stylistic Considerations                     212  (1)
      Wind Screen                                  213  (5)
      Repairing a Problem Plosive                  218  (4)
        Electronic Plosive Repair                  219  (3)
      The Proximity Effect                         222  (3)
        Bass Roll-Off                              222  (3)
      The Pad                                      225  (1)
      Different Sounds of Different Pickup         226  (1)
      Patterns
      Positioning the Microphone                   227  (1)
      Dynamic Range                                228  (2)
      Compressor/Limiter/Gate/Expander             230  (3)
        Sibilance                                  231  (1)
        The De-Esser                               232  (1)
      Equalization                                 233  (1)
      Recording Environment                        234  (1)
      Physical Aids                                235  (1)
      When to Start Recording                      236  (1)
      Punch In/Punch Out                           237  (5)
        Executing the Punch                        239  (3)
      Control the Environment                      242  (1)
      Perseverance: When is it Good Enough?        242  (2)
      Characteristics of Excellent Vocal Tracks    244  (3)
        Panning                                    244  (1)
        Breaths                                    245  (1)
        Tuning                                     245  (1)
        Finding the Groove                         246  (1)
        Phrasing                                   246  (1)
      Backing Vocals                               247  (2)
      The Digital Domain                           249  (2)
        Channels, Tracks, and Takes                249  (1)
        Comping                                    250  (1)
      Recording Vocals to Computer                 251  (1)
        Separate Mixer                             251  (1)
        Plug-Ins versus Outboard Processing        252  (1)
      Conclusion                                   252  (5)
      Grand Piano                                  257  (1)
        The Basics                                 257  (1)
    Chapter 7 Grand, Upright & Rhodes Piano        257  (38)
        Mic Choice and Technique                   261  (6)
        Stereo or Mono                             267  (1)
        Instrument Maintenance                     268  (1)
      Setting the Mood                             269  (1)
      Processing Piano Sounds                      270  (10)
        No Two Pianos Sound Identical              270  (3)
        Recording Levels                           273  (1)
        Equalizing the Piano                       274  (1)
        Compressing the Piano                      275  (1)
        Exciting the Piano                         276  (1)
        Reverberation                              277  (3)
      Multiple Pairs of Microphones                280  (1)
      Miking the Vertical Piano                    281  (2)
      Sampled Piano Sounds                         283  (1)
      Rhodes-Type Sounds                           284  (6)
        Rhodes Effects                             285  (2)
        Equalizing the Rhodes                      287  (3)
      Conclusion                                   290  (5)
    Chapter 8 Real & Synthesized Strings, Brass    295  (42)
    & Woodwinds
      Strings                                      296  (20)
        Considerations and Techniques              299  (1)
        Performance Technique                      300  (1)
        Mic Choice                                 301  (3)
        Caveat                                     304  (3)
        Mic Technique                              307  (9)
      Brass                                        316  (7)
        Mic Choice                                 316  (1)
        Recording Levels                           316  (2)
        Attenuation                                318  (1)
        Microphone Position                        319  (1)
        Brass Ensemble                             320  (3)
      Woodwinds                                    323  (2)
        Mic Technique                              323  (2)
      Recording Synthesized Sounds                 325  (12)
        Line Input Versus DI                       325  (1)
        DI                                         326  (2)
        Synth String Pads                          328  (4)
        Synth Brass and Woodwinds                  332  (1)
        Levels                                     332  (5)
Index                                              337  (5)
Test Answers                                       342