"Sound Recording Advice |
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John J. Volanski is a veteran electrical and audio engineer who has operated his own home recording studio for over 20 years. In addition, he has worked in his professional life for several large engineering companies and won a patent for work on a motion based Virtual Reality machine. This book is a great resource for the beginning to intermediate home audio recording enthusiast or someone who is a professional. Volanski does a great job explaining basic, as well as advanced concepts. Part One covers the various recording format choices available today and which one suits each user best. Power distribution set-up and mics and preamps are covered here and later in other parts of the book, as well as a basic primer on MIDI units. Peppered throughout the book are loads of good links to sites for follow-up of information provided in the book. Part One continues on to give tips and instruction on choosing equipment and placement advice for each piece. This part concludes with configurations for a variety of price ranges from 1,500 to 5,000 dollars. Again here is a web listing for purchasing equipment, new and used. Part Two coaches the reader on studio layout and furniture. Everything from a small corner studio to a proprietary set up gets coverage. Along with furniture placement, acoustics and the relationships between sound and furniture is clarified. Included in the section on furniture is equipment racks, how to make your own or where to buy pre-built. There is also a good amount of type here on noise and control room choices, if you decide to have one. Parts Three and Four delve deeper into modifying and accessorizing your equipment. There are some schematics here and lots of plug-in and accessory part advice. I have to admit I had to call up a couple of home recording friends to get through this part of the book. Although it is not overly technical, this part of the book does go into a great deal of electrical information. Something I could understand was the recommendations on micing instruments and their placement. Just about every instrument you will record is individually covered. Volanski goes over bouncing tracks and general mixing here also. Part Five covers all the miscellaneous add-on parts and gadgets the reader will encounter. Plus, here are lots of little tips that come in handy in the studio. Also included here are security issues and best practices for the home recording studio. The best ingredients here are the many links throughout the book. There are plenty of further informational sources for the reader to pursue. The book is written in plain English that a reader of any experience level can follow. Volanski stays on subject and the info is well organized and complete. If you are just starting your home studio or you are looking for a good reference for further instruction this is a good place to look. |
Book Review |