"Using Your Portable Studio" published in 1996, is a 300 page manual about home recording by award winning producer Peter McIan. The book is a technical, hands-on book to using professional studio multi track recording techniques on a consumer 4 Track recorder in a home studio environment. Only the content dealing with the limitations and physics of recording with physical tape and tape recorders are obsolete.
This is a book about sound and how to capture it cleanly. One has read 225 pages into the book before there's ever an instruction to hit the 'record' button. There are chapters on set ups for recording drums, bass, guitar and vocals. A chapter on microphones.
After 216 pages of theory presented in lay terms, Mr. McIan begins a chapter that gives step by step instructions how to record and mixdown sixteen instruments using a four track portable home studio machine. Each with it's own EQ, panning and special effects. The book is still in print because it's still relevant today to the home recordist even if they use a DAW with unlimited tracks.
Why? First, because there are still tens of thousands stand alone analog and digital recorders being used by home recording enthusiasts today. There are still tens of thousands of studios using mixing consoles recording into dedicated hard disk recorders whether they are stand alone devices or computer based DAW's. This manual is useful to home recording enthusiasts that use current devices such as the Zoom H4n or similar. The Similar Tascam digital recorders like the DR-05 and more so, actual dedicated home studio recording devices like the DP004,006,008,02,03,Dp24/32 and their newest release, the Model 24. This manual is relevant to owners of units such as the Zoom L12, L20 and the Zoom series of hybrid recorders R8, R16 and R24. It's also applicable to brands by Roland, Korg and older units by Tascam and Zoom.
It's a book about channels, tracks, hard wired busses, Fx busses, subgroups, inserts, sends and returns. It's about sub mixes, premixes and bouncing while capturing the absolute quietest audio signal or combinations of signals as possible. It's about getting the most out of routing and mixing.
The best part. It's available on sites like Amazon and Barnes and nobles for as little as $2.90 USD. Regardless of your recording medium of choice, there's a lot of useful information in this book for everybody.
For those who are completely 'in the box' users of BIAB, this manual is for you too. BIAB works quite well and easily as an 8 channel one input (mono or stereo) digital multi track recorder. The principles of submixing, premixing and bouncing work marvelously with BIAB. In fact, because it's digital, the signal and quality exceed anything possible with original tape based portable studios. It is surprisingly easy to quickly mix and export a song of 70 instruments on dozens of tracks to a high quality radio ready stereo mix.
Manufacturers like Teac, Tascam, Korg, Yamaha and Roland used to spend a lot of money educating their audiences through seminars, videos, handouts and teacher programs. +++ HERE +++ is a link to download the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement manual. The manual provides a comprehensive guide to using a mixer. While directed at live sound all the information is true for mixing too.
I've gotta have this. Off to Amazon. You know, I've never really sat down with the guitar and recorder for the purpose of tweaking the guitar sound. Oh, I'm constantly tweaking the sound through the amp, as part of regular practice and rehearsal, but never thought of making the recorder an integral part of that process. Hope that's not putting it too hazy. I'm on a high today. I traded in my Les Paul for a PRS standard 22 and cash. Guitar Center. What a great sound master that Paul Smith is!
Charlie let me borrow his book. I liked it so much I decided I gotta have this. Charlie's book is soft bound. I lucked up. I found a used library copy that is hard bound.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!
We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!
Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.
You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.
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