General Music Recording Software Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-24-2022

Recording music at home means you play several roles — producer, mixer, and probably musician, too. Be sharp by knowing recording-studio lingo and how to get "your effects" by setting effects parameters for reverb and the compressor quickly and easily.

Article / Updated 03-17-2021

Congratulations! You have used your home recording studio and produced a final product. Now you have to work on getting people interested in buying your music. You’ve just gone from being a musician-composer-engineer-producer to being all those plus a record-company-owner-businessperson. (Exactly how hyphenated can a person get, anyway?) Your friends and some acquaintances will probably buy a few copies, but after you’ve sold copies to all of them, you need to promote your music to the broader world. This can be tricky. After all, you’re now competing with the big boys and—face it—you don’t have nearly the resources they do. Traditional channels of distribution and marketing are pretty much out of the question for you. So, to succeed in selling your music, you need to try some alternative approaches. Market yourself You can create a nice niche for yourself and your music. All it takes is a little imagination and a lot of hard work. Here are a few ideas that have worked for enterprising, independent artists: Take yourself seriously. Take the job of promoting and selling your music seriously—treat it as a business. Getting people to notice and buy your music is a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be a drag (if it is, you’re better off getting someone else to do it for you). Get organized. Get your new business off on the right foot by developing a habit of keeping track of your sales and developing a contact list. One of the best investments that you can make is to get a contact management database (Act! is a good one for Windows, and Contacts is serviceable for Mac users) to keep track of promotion contacts (newspapers, radio stations, and clubs), CD and download sales, and fans. Also, do yourself a big favor and keep meticulous records of your income and expenses; you’ll be grateful that you did when tax time comes. Create a mailing list. This is one of the most cost-effective and powerful ways that you can start to develop a following. Make a signup sheet for your mailing list available at every public appearance. (Ask people to include not only their postal mail addresses but also their email addresses.) Then enter those names into your database. You can then either send out snail mailings or email notices whenever you play or do anything worth mentioning. Get out and be seen. This one is pretty straightforward. Get out in the world and let people know about your music. This can mean playing gigs or talking about your music. Look beyond the music store. It’s nearly impossible to compete with the labels—indies and majors alike—in the music store. Unless you live in a small town or know of a music shop that has a section devoted to local bands and can sell your CDs, you need to think of other places to put your music. For example, another friend of mine has his CD at quite a few of the local businesses in his neighborhood around the holidays. Every place, from the local pack-and-ship to the video store, has a countertop display with his CD. He creates a small poster that fits on the counter describing him and his music. He sells quite a few CDs and gets a handful of more gigs each year this way. Capitalize on your style. Another one of my friends composes folksy, New Age music, and he managed to get his CDs into a handful of New Age gift shops. He often puts them in the stores on consignment and checks each store once a week to refill the countertop display and collect money that the store took in (minus the store’s cut, of course). Going into the stores every week helps him to develop a relationship with the store owners, many of whom have arranged for him to do performances in their stores, increasing exposure and sales. Try something different. Years ago, I teamed up with a local author and played at her book signings. She read a passage from her book, and then I played for a few minutes. I always ended up selling a few dozen CDs at these events. Don’t be stingy. Give away your CD. Count on giving away about 10 percent to 15 percent of the CDs you print. These can be for reviews, to try to get gigs, or for any purpose that may spread the word about your music. Giving out your CD as a promotional tool is an inexpensive way to let people know what you’re doing. Set up your own music website No matter what else you do, you need to have your own website. A website is your calling card—a place where you can showcase yourself and your music. With your own site, you can provide a lot more information for visitors to read. You can also offer more products that may make you more money than your CDs—T-shirts, for instance. Having your own website is not without challenges. For example, you have to design and maintain the site, which can take a lot of time. You also have to pay for things like hosting (that is, a service that will host your site files on its servers so that people who visit your web address can see your site). If you intend to sell products on your site, you need to provide online ordering, which you can do with simple options like adding a Checkout button via PayPal or Google (which charge a small fee for each sale) or by setting up an account with a payment processing company, such as Stripe or Square. In all, having a website can be time-consuming and costs money, so be prepared to do a fair amount of work if you really plan on making money from your website. Musician-friendly hosting services Some hosting services make it easy to create a website for you or your band and allow you to offer downloads or streams of your music, CDs, and other merchandise. All of the following sites are geared toward musicians. The one you choose will likely depend on the fit for you or your band. Here are some options: Bandvista Bandzoogle Squarespace Wix Each of these sites offers slightly different features for the money. Take a close look at their plans and keep in mind that, while all offer free trials, you’re unlikely to move from one host site to another, so choose the site that you feel best about and whose features most closely match your needs. Design your site Your first step in getting a website up and running is designing it. When you design your website, keep the following points in mind: Make your site easy to navigate. Make sure that your visitors know where they are on your site at all times. It’s often a good idea to have a menu bar on each page so that they can at least return to the home page without having to search for it. Make sure your site is mobile responsive. Smartphones and tablet computers are an important segment of online users, and having a site that utilizes responsive web design means that your site will look as good on a small screen as it does on a large one. Include an email newsletter opt-in form. Offer something of value, such as some music, for free to get your fans on your list. Then use your newsletter to develop a relationship with them. The more you engage with your fans, the more music and merch you will sell. You need an email service provider to do this. Make ordering your CD (or other stuff) easy. Put a Buy My CD button or link on every page. Also, consider including upsells, such as T-shirts or behind-the-scenes videos, in your shopping cart sequence. Double-check all of your links. Nothing is worse for a web surfer than clicking on links that don’t work. If you have links on your site, double-check that each one works. And if you have links to other people’s sites, check the links occasionally to make sure that the page you’re linking to still exists. Test your site. Before you sign off on your site design, check it from a slow connection and multiple devices if you can (or have your web developer do this for you). You instantly get a sense of whether your site’s download time is speedy. If it’s slow to load or confusing to navigate, keep working on it until it works. You may also want to check your site using different internet browsers and screen resolutions to make sure that your site still looks good. Make your site your browser’s home page. This ensures that you know if your site is down or having issues. Put your music on a music host site A music host site is a website that allows you to add your music to its list of available music downloads. Putting your MP3s on a host site can give you exposure that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get. You can direct people to the site to listen to your music and also benefit from traffic that the site itself, other musicians, and the site’s fans generate. For some of the larger sites, that can be a lot of potential listeners. Although MP3 host sites are constantly changing, a few have managed to hang around for a while: Bandcamp: Bandcamp lets you offer downloadable music, physical CDs, and even merchandise like T-shirts. A basic plan is free (pro plan is $10 per month) to offer your music or merch, though it does take a cut of your sales. Bandcamp’s cut is 15 percent for digital sales and 10 percent for CDs or merchandise. CD Baby: CD Baby, aside from letting you sell CDs and letting you sell your music digitally, also offers a place for you to put up your website. Last.fm: Last.fm is a streaming radio service with a dynamic community. You can put your music on the site plus offer links to your CDs and downloads. You can also sign up for a plan that pays you for the streaming, but it won’t amount to much unless you have a ton of plays (check out the Terms and Conditions for details). ReverbNation: ReverbNation is kind of a one-stop shop for releasing and promoting your music. It offers website hosting, digital distribution, email contact management, newsletter delivery, and more. It has a free plan that lets you upload and offer your music for download, but if you want to monetize it, you’ll need to pay some money. The price varies depending on what services you want to use, but its basic full-service plan runs $20 per month. Soundcloud: Soundcloud lets you upload your music and make it available as a download or online stream. It’s free and it’s popular, so it’s a worthwhile place to add your music. Soundcloud is very strict about ensuring no one is uploading material that he or she doesn’t own the copyright to, which is a good thing for musicians. Engage in social media networking People are atwitter (sorry, I can’t help myself) about social networking as a way to promote themselves. I’m personally still a bit cool on the actual sales that can be made using Twitter, Facebook, and the other social networking sites, but I won’t deny that these sites generate a lot of activity, and activity is always a good thing. So, I’m not really going out on a limb to suggest that you join the social networking world, too. It can be a great way to connect with your fans (and possibly attract new ones). Musicians are also using general social networking sites as well. Here is a list of the most popular ones (as of mid-2020 anyway — chances are this list will be out of date before too long): Facebook Instagram TikTok Twitter YouTube Offer free downloads Offering a freebie can be a good way to get people interested in your music and a way to turn people into fans. Online promotion of your music almost requires you to make downloads available to your potential fans. You can talk about your music all you want, but what people want is to hear your music. The purpose of the free download is to get your listener excited enough about your music that he buys your music or comes to see your show. Turning a freebie listener into a buyer isn’t that difficult. My company offers a variety of free download demos, and we have found that more than 10 percent of the people who take a free demo end up buying a CD, MP3 download, or program from us. This is an inexpensive way for us to get new customers and a very good return on investment. On top of that, by allowing our customers to try our recording first, we receive fewer requests for a refund (contrary to what most music creators do, we offer a money-back guarantee on all our music and programs). So, you won’t be surprised to hear me suggest that you should offer free demos/downloads of your music. Give people a taste of your music and sell an upgrade — other tracks, physical CDs, vinyl records, boxed sets, CD-and-T-shirt packages, tickets to a live concert stream — anything that turns a casual listener into a fan. There are some good models out there for monetizing your music if you look around. Sell your music digitally Digital delivery of your music will be the main source of revenue. Sure, you’ll sell a few CDs at your shows and maybe a couple more through a local store or one of the online music sites, but fewer and fewer listeners own CD players and many more prefer listening on a phone or tablet and don’t want to hassle with importing a CD into their device. Aside from being the format of choice for listeners, digital music files is a better choice for musicians because you don’t need to invest a ton of money in a garage full of CDs that you’ll likely not sell. There are two forms of digital distribution: Downloads: Downloads allow your listeners to own and load the digital file on to a device so they can listen anytime, forever (or until they lose the file). You get paid once for this download, no matter how many times your buyer listens. You can sell a download directly to your listener, but most musicians will make more sales by putting their downloads on other sites, such as iTunes or Amazon. Streaming: Streaming delivers your music to your listener without downloading it on her device. You get paid every time your song is listened to. It’s a much smaller fee than you get for a download, but you can end up with a lot more in the long run. Unless you can build an infrastructure and fanbase to support serving the music yourself, you’ll need to distribute through existing sites. This is not a problem because there are a ton of them. Regardless of which digital distribution method you want (choose both), and channels you want to be on (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Google, and others — the list is long), you’ll need a distributor, also called an aggregator. Following is a list of popular music aggregators that can get your music on most, if not all, of the most common music sites: AWAL: AWAL doesn’t charge an upfront fee for its distribution services, but it does take 15 percent of your sales. Depending on how much music you sell, that can add up to much more than you’ll pay through some of the other services. CD Baby: As an aggregator, CD Baby charges a one-time fee for each album ($35) or single ($9.95) you want them to distribute your music beyond their site (you can get a free account and sell on their site for a 15 percent commission). They also take a 9 percent fee on all your digital sales. Distrokid: Distrokid also charges an annual fee for distributing your music and doesn’t take a percentage of your sales. Distrokid also offer other services for distribution that can add to your cost. Ditto: Ditto charges $19 per year for one artist and no commission on sales. You can pay more for some other services, such as pre-releasing your music. TuneCore: TuneCore charges $50 per year for each album and $10 per year for each single you upload. Like Ditto and Distrokid, TuneCore doesn’t take a commission on sales and passes on 100 percent of your revenue. This is a very short list of music distributors. Look around for other places to sell your digitally formatted music. There are a ton of them — and more showing up every day. License your music Licensing (also called “sync” licensing) gets you paid for your music and gives you exposure to audiences that may not otherwise find your music. You can license your music to film, TV, commercials, and a host of other outlets—dance videos and shows, conferences, and other unexpected places. It used to be that you got lucky and someone called asking to license your music (this is how all my licensing happened), but nowadays, there are services that offer listings of libraries or producers looking for music. Here are three worth checking out: Audiosocket: Audiosocket vets the music that it offers its buyers but doesn’t charge its artists to list their music. So, if you’re interested in offering your music through Audiosocket, complete an application and a few songs. If they accept your music and sell any, they take a 50 percent cut in the placement fee and 50 percent of the publishing royalties. Broadjam: Broadjam helps you submit your music to publishers. It’s also a music hosting and download site. Membership starts at about $10 per month. Taxi: Taxi has been around a long time and has a very active member community, as well as a yearly “road rally” conference to help you get the most out of the service. Membership will cost you $300 plus a small fee for each submission, but for all they offer, this can be a bargain if you work to get the most out of the service. They don’t take a cut of the money you make on placements for royalties. Podcasting Podcasting is another way to offer audio online. Typically, podcasts are media feeds that your visitors can subscribe to and get updates automatically as they’re published. If you regularly update your music or if you want to have an audio blog (or video blog) your fans can listen to (or watch), this can be a great way to keep them involved in your music. The process of creating a podcast starts with recording the content and then putting it in an MP3 format (if you’re doing audio). So, you can create audio content easily. Next, you need to host it or have a podcasting site host it for you. This process can get pretty complicated, so check out Podcasting For Dummies by Tee Morris and Chuck Tomasi (Wiley). You can also check out these sites to learn more about podcasting: Apple podcast page: This page on the Apple website contains tons of information on creating a podcast and publishing it. This is a good place to start. Podcasting Tools: This site has information, links, and tools for creating a podcast. This is a good place to find quality information. If you’re ready to get started podcasting, here are a few sites worth looking into: Hipcast: Hipcast is an easy-to-use site that lets you create and publish your audio or video blogs. This site offers a seven-day free trial period, with plans starting at $5 per month. You don’t find a lot of information on this site about podcasting, but if you’re ready to give it a try, this is a good inexpensive option. Libsyn: Libsyn offers plans starting at $5 per month and, for an added cost, offers Apple iOS and Android apps for mobile listeners. PodHoster: PodHoster, as the name states, hosts podcasts. With this service, you record your audio and PodHoster hosts it. This is a good option for musicians who record their own music and know the ins and outs of the audio-creation process. PodHoster offers a 30-day free trial, with monthly plans starting at $5. Sell your CDs Regardless of whether you have your own site, you can always sell your CDs on the internet through other outlets. An advantage to selling your music through other online stores is that you can capitalize on the traffic that the store generates. A number of online retailers are out there, but the following list gives you the lowdown on some of the major players: Amazon.com: If you want to sell your physical CD on Amazon.com, all you need is a “retail-ready” package (professional manufacturer with a UPC code on it). Bandcamp: Bandcamp is a way for you to sell not only your CDs online, but also merchandise such as T-shirts, coffee mugs, and so on. Bandcamp doesn’t charge a monthly fee but does take a cut — 15 percent or less, depending on how much you sell and the prices you set. CD Baby: CD Baby puts your CD on its site for a small setup fee ($35). For this, you get a web page (which the people at CD Baby design) with pictures, bios, MP3s, and streaming audio. The site sells your CD for any price you set, takes $4 from the sale, and gives you the rest. You even receive an email whenever someone buys one of your CDs. Because the internet is constantly changing and growing, you may find other sites that allow you to sell your music online. Use your favorite search engine to search for the phrase sell your CD. This gives you a ton of other places to consider when selling your CD online. Promote your music The whole point of making CDs and putting MP3s of your music on the internet is to promote and sell your music. To do this, you need exposure. As with any promotion technique, there are no hard-and-fast rules except to use your imagination. Experience will be your guide, but here are some ideas to get you started: Start an email newsletter. An email newsletter is an inexpensive way to keep your music on people’s minds. Try to be somewhat consistent in sending it out, but don’t just send out the same message on a regular basis. Give your subscribers something. Provide new information in your email, such as a press release about where you’re playing next or a link to a new song that you’ve just uploaded. Put your website address on everything. People can’t come to you if they don’t know you exist. So, print your website address on all of your promotional materials, including the CD itself. Also, include your website address on all emails and internet correspondence that you do (as a signature on internet forums if you belong to any, for example). Check out as many independent musician sites as you can. You not only learn a lot about marketing your music, but you’ll also have an opportunity to spread the word about your music. Stay up to date. Keep track of where you put your music and check back often to make sure everything is working properly. Websites change and go out of business often. Unless you check the site occasionally, you might not know if your music suddenly disappears from there. Also, routinely search for new places to put your music. Get linked. Try to get folks to link from their sites to your own. Likewise, share the wealth and link to other sites that you like. Cross-promotion can be a good thing and allow you to pool your fan base with another band. This doesn’t take away from your sales (after all, you listen to more than one band’s CDs, right?). Visitors to your site will appreciate the link and will probably check back to see whether you added any new ones. Connect with an email newsletter An email newsletter is an inexpensive way to keep your music on people’s minds. Try to send newsletters to your subscribers somewhat consistently, but don’t just send out the same message on a regular basis. Give your subscribers new information, such as a press release about where you’re playing next or a link to a new song that you’ve just uploaded. Don’t send your newsletter to anyone who hasn’t asked to receive it. This is called spamming, and it’s illegal. To build a subscriber list, encourage people to sign up for your mailing list at your gigs and on your website. Or offer them a free download when they sign up on your website, and put a subscription form on every page. (Check out this website to see this in action.) Always provide an easy way for users to unsubscribe from your list. If you’re serious about sending out an email newsletter, an email service provider (ESP) can collect and manage addresses and send out your messages. The advantages of using an email service provider include ease of use, but most important is that a good ESP will help your messages get to your subscriber. Sending emails directly from your email account can get your messages blocked — and if the email host (such as Gmail or Yahoo!) labels you as spam, they will ban your messages. The rules on this get pretty complicated, and trying to keep up with changes and be compliant is a full-time job. Your best solution to make sure your messages go through is to use an experienced ESP. Here are a few I recommend: AWeber: AWeber has been around a long time and has great customer service. You can actually get someone on the phone. In fact, they encourage it. Their plans start at $19 per month (for up to 500 subscribers). You can try AWeber for a month for only a dollar, and they offer excellent email marketing advice (through a newsletter, videos, and blogs). Constant Contact: This is a popular ESP that is easy to use and offers a 60-day free trial. Their basic (500-subscriber) plan is $15 per month. Plans with more subscribers cost about the same as the other providers I list here. I haven’t used Constant Contact, but I have friends who are very happy with this provider. MailChimp: This ESP is super-easy to use and their data tracking (of clicks and whatnot) is very good. However, they will not get on the phone with you if you have problems. You’re stuck with instant chat or email (not the worst thing but kind of annoying if you have a complicated problem). They have a free account option that allows you to try them out and see if you like them. Once you get to a couple thousand subscribers, their cost is about the same as everyone else in this list. You can find a lot more by doing an internet search using “Email Service Provider” or “email marketing” as your search term. If you choose a music-centric company to host your website, you may find that your blast email needs are taken care of and you don’t need to hire a separate ESP. However, if you end up with a lot of fans, you may find the features offered by a dedicated ESP useful.

Article / Updated 03-17-2021

In your home recording studio, besides a computer with enough speed and muscle, you need the appropriate hardware to transfer sound into and out of it. This requires a device called an audio interface. Audio interfaces are available with three types of connection methods: PCIe, Thunderbolt, and USB. Here’s a quick rundown on the three types: PCIe: PCIe interfaces are inserted into one of the PCIe slots located inside your desktop computer’s case. USB: USB 2.0 and 3.x interfaces are the most common types of audio interfaces, with options starting under $100. Thunderbolt (USB-C): Thunderbolt has gone through several iterations since its inception. The current version is Thunderbolt-3 or USB-C. Thunderbolt offers speeds that are considerably faster than PCI and USB options. PCIe interfaces Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) is the old standard for getting audio into and out of a computer. This technology consists of a slot into which you place a card containing the audio transfer components. PCI Express (PCIe) replaced the original PCI slot in computers starting in 2004 and it has essentially replaced them in any computer you’ll find working today (or at least any computer capable of recording music). PCIe had an advantage over the other interface types because of the fast transfer speed of PCIe technology. This type of interface isn’t without its problems, though: Many computers (for example, laptops and all Macs except the Mac Pro) don’t have a PCIe slot. Because PCIe technology is changing, all cards don’t fit in all computers, so make sure that the PCIe interface that you’re considering can fit into your computer. PCIe interfaces come in the following varieties: Separate sound card with no analog inputs and outputs: In this case, you need to buy separate preamps, direct boxes, and analog-to-digital (AD) and digital-to-analog (DA) converters. For most home recordists, the separate-sound-card route isn’t the best solution. In fact, even for the pros, this isn’t the most popular choice—so much so that this option is quickly falling from the marketplace. This figure shows examples of PCIe sound cards. Analog inputs and outputs within the card: Having the analog connection located in the card used to cause interference with the other components in the computer’s housing (such as fans and hard drives), which caused low-level hums in the recorded audio (not a sound you would want, I can assure you). This is generally no longer the case unless you buy a really inexpensive card, but the bad rap led buyers to shy away from this approach and it has become uncommon as a result. You can find some less expensive audio interfaces configured this way, but the higher end of the market has generally abandoned it. The following figure shows an example of a PCIe card with analog connections. Analog inputs and outputs housed in a separate box: This box is called a breakout box. Because of the low-level hum problems in the early interfaces, most manufacturers of PCIe-based audio interfaces put their analog circuitry in a separate box with a cord attached to the PCIe card. One advantage to this — besides eliminating the hum in early models — is that you can tweak the input and output levels without having to use a software menu. The dials for the levels are placed on the breakout box within easy reach, as shown. If your preferred audio recording computer doesn’t have a PCIe slot, don’t worry (or don’t bother adding one). Thunderbolt and USB are both excellent technologies to use for recording music. USB interfaces USB interfaces (see the following figure) come in two varieties: those using USB 2.0, and those using USB 3.0. Most computers have at least one USB port. USB is a great option for your audio interface. They can be inexpensive and offer a variety of input/output configurations. Beware of used USB 1.1 interfaces. The latency (delay between the sound entering the interface and exiting your speakers) is too great to keep from being frustrating. You can find decent USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces for very little money, often starting at about $100 (USB 2.0), though they can run as much as $1,000 (USB 3.0), depending on the manufacturer and the number of tracks and other options they include. Thunderbolt interfaces Though it would be a stretch to say that Thunderbolt has reinvented audio recording, it does offer some benefits that makes it better than either PCIe or USB. Compared to USB, Thunderbolt offers eight times faster transfer speed and the ability to chain a variety of devices through the same port without any loss of speed. This means you can have more analog inputs and outputs than USB. Compared to PCIe, Thunderbolt connectivity is more available—you can find them on laptops as well as on desktop computers. There are also many more interface options to choose from. Thunderbolt audio interfaces tend to be more expensive than USB, not because of the technology, but because these interfaces often include better analog components, such as preamps, and more inputs and outputs. Expect to spend at least $500 for two input channels and $1,000 and more (often much more) for higher counts. Quite a few audio interfaces have both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports. If you’re unsure of which to choose, or you plan to upgrade your computer from USB to Thunderbolt, these interfaces are excellent options.

Article / Updated 03-17-2021

If you’re going to record music using a digital recorder or mixer, you’re going to run into digital connectors (plugs and cables/cords). Digital audio equipment is a recent invention, and as such, no one standard has emerged. Because of this lack of standardization, a variety of digital connection methods are on the market, only a few (or one) of which may be on the equipment that you own or intend to purchase. Regardless, knowing about the most common types of connectors and their purposes can help you decide what equipment is right for you. MIDI MIDI, short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a handy communication protocol that allows musical information to pass from one device to another. To allow the free passage of such information, MIDI jacks are located on a whole host of electronic instruments. Synthesizers, drum machines, sound modules, and even some guitars have MIDI jacks. And, to connect all of these instruments, you need some MIDI cables. The MIDI connector contains five pins (male) that plug into the female MIDI jack (port) on the instrument or device. AES/EBU AES/EBU (Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcasting Union) cables are much like S/PDIF cables (described in the next section). The AES/EBU standards require these cables to transmit two channels of data at a time. They differ from S/PDIF cables in that they consist of XLR plugs and use balanced cables. (The following figure shows what the inputs look like on the recording equipment.) AES/EBU was developed to be used with professional audio components (hence, the use of balanced cords — the kinds used in professional-level equipment). S/PDIF S/PDIF (short for Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format) cables consist of an unbalanced coaxial cable (one wire and a shield) and RCA plugs. (The figure above shows what the inputs look like on the machine.) These cables can also be made from fiber-optic cable and a Toslink connector. The S/PDIF format can transmit two channels of digital data at one time. S/PDIF protocols are similar to AES/EBU standards, except that S/PDIF was originally designed for the consumer market — which explains why unbalanced cords are used. In spite of being developed for the consumer market, S/PDIF connectors are found on a lot of professional recording gear, along with (or instead of) AES/EBU. If you want to use cords that are longer than 3 to 4 feet when using an S/PDIF connector — or about 15 feet for AES/EBU connectors — your best bet is to use video or digital audio cables. Regular audio cables degrade the sound at longer distances because they can’t transmit the type of signal that digital produces without affecting the quality of the sound. If you use audio cables for longer distances, you lose some of the sound’s definition. Some people describe this sound as “grainy.” ADAT Lightpipe The ADAT (Alesis Digital Audio Tape) Lightpipe format allows eight tracks of digital audio to be sent at once. Developed by Alesis, ADAT Lightpipe (or simply Lightpipe for short) has become a standard among digital audio products. It consists of a fiber-optic cable that uses a special connector developed by Alesis. TDIF TDIF (Teac Digital Interface Format) is Teac’s return volley to the ADAT Lightpipe format. TDIF uses a standard computer cable with a 25-pin connector. Like the ADAT Lightpipe, TDIF cables can transmit eight channels of digital data at a time. TDIF isn’t nearly as common as ADAT Lightpipe because Alesis made its Lightpipe technology available to other companies to use for free. Alesis encouraged these companies to adopt it as a “standard” because the Alesis ADAT recorders were so common. USB USB, which stands for Universal Serial Bus, is a common component in nearly all modern computers. In fact, your computer probably has more than one USB port. USB connectors are directional and contain two end types: A Connector: This is used for a receiving device such as your PC or USB hub. B Connector: This is used for a sending device, such as your USB audio interface or printer. USB connectors come in three sizes: Standard: This size is used for computers and peripheral equipment, such as printers. Mini: This size is generally used for larger mobile or portable devices. Micro: This size is used for phones and thinner mobile devices. Aside from having two different types of jacks and plugs, USB also has different standards. These are the ones that matter for audio recording: USB 1.1: This standard (the original) can handle a data rate of up to 12 Mbps (megabits per second). You’ll still find some USB 1.1 audio interfaces on the used market, but I recommend skipping them because you’ll be disappointed in their performance. USB 2.0: Also called High-Speed USB, this standard can handle 40 times the data flow of the earlier standard — 480 Mbps. This is the most common connection for audio interfaces and can meet most home recordists requirement. USB 3.x This is also referred to as SuperSpeed or SuperSpeed+ USB. This connection transfers data ten times faster than USB 2.0 and will allow you to record a full symphony without a problem (you would need an audio interface with a lot of inputs and this will cost you) USB C: USB-C is twice as fast as USB 3. Though it uses the same connector as Thunderbolt, it is considerably slower. It is fast enough, however, for any audio you may want to record. FireWire Developed by Apple, FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or iLink) is a high-speed connection that is used by many audio interfaces, hard drives, digital cameras, and other devices. You won’t find FireWire ports on any new computers, but you will still find some audio interfaces with them. Luckily, all of these audio interfaces also have USB ports. Like USB, FireWire comes in two flavors, which are described as follows: FireWire 400: This standard supports data transfer speeds of up to 400 Mbps. Many audio interfaces currently use FireWire 400 as a way to connect with your computer. These interfaces can handle quite a few inputs and outputs. FireWire 800: Yep, you guessed it — this standard can handle data transfer rates of 800 Mbps. Several FireWire 800 devices are available. Thunderbolt Thunderbolt is the fastest connectivity format to date, with speeds between 20 gigabits per second (Thunderbolt 2) and 40 gigabits per second (Thunderbolt 3). Audio interface manufacturers are excited about this amazing speed, and many experts see Thunderbolt as the next format that the pros will embrace. Unfortunately, things got confusing when Thunderbolt 2 was quickly replaced by Thunderbolt 3, just as audio interface manufacturers rolled out a variety of Thunderbolt 2 interfaces. Each has a different type of connector (see the figure below) and a different protocol, which I outline here: Thunderbolt 2: Thunderbolt 2 uses the mini DisplayPort and can transfer data at speeds up to 20 gigabits per second (Gbps). This was available on computers between mid-2013 and late 2015. Thunderbolt 3: Thunderbolt 3 employs the USB-C connector and doubles the speed of Thunderbolt 2 to 40 Gbps. You can find Thunderbolt 3 ports on computers and peripherals made after late 2015.

Article / Updated 03-17-2021

Writing automation for your home recording is easy— simply enable the parameter for which you want to write automation data, choose your automation mode, and then adjust the parameter as the session plays. The following sections detail this process. While automation is being written, it appears in your track as breakpoints with lines (ramps) between these points. The breakpoints are placed in the track’s automation playlist: that is, the playlist section of the track when you have the Tracks view set to one of the Automation views via the Track View drop-down menu. The number of breakpoints that appear is determined by the complexity of the changes to the automation levels and also by your setting in the Degree of Thinning drop-down menu on the Mixing tab of the Preferences dialog box. When the Smooth and Thin Data After Pass check box is enabled, choosing None from the Degree of Thinning drop-down menu creates lots of breakpoints — you might not even notice any lines between them. Comparatively, selecting Most from the drop-down menu creates many fewer breakpoints, with longer, more pronounced lines between them. Pro Tools places lines between these breakpoints to connect them. These lines follow the level from one breakpoint to another, going up, down, or staying the same. The combination of breakpoints and connecting lines represent the automation curves for your track. To keep from accidentally erasing or overwriting automation data, suspend the writing of automation for the parameter by using one of the methods of suspending automation. Writing automation on a track To write automation on a track, follow these steps: Show automation for your song session. For example, in Logic Pro X, you choose Mix→Show Automation (or press A). In Pro Tools, you choose Window→Automation from the main menu. In Pro Tools, the automation window opens where you can choose the parameters you want to automate. In Logic Pro X, you need to click the Show/Hide automation button in the Tracks area menu to see the automation parameters for your tracks. Select the tracks and automation parameters you want to write automation data to in the Automation window by clicking the buttons of the parameters you want to enable. Choose the Automation mode you want to use by clicking the Automation selector (Pro Tools) or pop-up menu (Logic Pro X). Click Play in the Transport Window or press the spacebar to start your session. Move the control for the parameters you want to automate. For example, move the track’s fader (located in the Channel strip of the Mix window) up and down to record changes in the volume level of your track. Click Stop in the Transport window or press the spacebar to stop the session. Your automation shows up as a line with breakpoints (little dots) in the track’s playlist — that is, as long as you have the automation view visible. If this view isn’t visible, click the Track View selector in the Track Controls section of the Edit window to open the Track View drop-down menu and then select the automation parameter — Volume, Pan, Mute, Send Level, Send Mute — you want to view. Writing plug-in automation Here’s how to write automation data for plug-in parameters in Pro Tools: In the Mix window, click the name of the plug-in in the Insert section of the track’s channel strip. The particular Plug-In window appears. Click the Auto button below the word “Auto” in the Plug-in window. The Plug-In Automation dialog box appears, as shown. Select the parameters you want to automate by clicking them in the column on the left and then clicking Add. The selected parameters are added to the column on the right. Click OK. The dialog box closes. Click Play in the Transport Window (or press the spacebar) to start your session. Carefully move the control for the parameters you want to automate. Click Stop in the Transport window (or press the spacebar) to stop the session. Your automation shows up as a line with breakpoints (little dots) in the track’s playlist as long as you have the automation view visible. If it’s not visible, click the Track View selector in the Track Controls section of the Edit window to open the Track View drop-down menu and select the automation parameter — Volume, Pan, Mute, Send Level, Send Mute — you want to view. After you finish writing the automation for the plug-in, click the Safe button in the upper-right part of the Plug-In window to make sure that you don’t accidentally record over the plug-in automation. Writing send automation To write automation in Pro Tools data for Send Level, Mute, and Pan settings, follow these steps: Choose Window→Automation from the main menu. The Automation window appears. In the Automation window, click the buttons of the Send parameters that you want to enable. Choose View→Mix Window→Sends from the main menu. Doing so displays the Send controls for the track(s) you want to automate. Select the Auto Write (choose Auto Touch or Auto Latch for subsequent times) in each track you want to write to by clicking the Automation selector. You can find the Automation Mode selector in the Edit window. Click Play in the Transport Window (or press the spacebar) to start your session. Carefully move the control for the parameters you want to automate. Click Stop in the Transport window (or press the spacebar) to stop the session. Your automation shows up as a line with breakpoints (little dots) in the track’s playlist, as long as you have the automation view visible. If it’s not visible, click the Track View selector in the Track Controls section of the Edit window to open the Track View drop-down menu and then select the automation parameter — Volume, Pan, Mute, Send Level, Send Mute — you want to view.

Article / Updated 03-17-2021

One of the best things about recording with MIDI (the Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is that, aside from being able to change the sound at any point without any compromises to the performance, you have immense control over nearly all aspects of your musical performance. In most newer sequencer programs, you have two main windows from which to do your editing. These are: Piano-roll graphic window: This is the most common way to edit MIDI performances. Look at the following figure. In this window, the horizontal bars in the center are the MIDI notes recorded on the track. Each of these notes can be lengthened, shortened, and moved. The top of this window contains navigation tools, editing options, and quantization values (the note value used to adjust the timing of a performance). Just select the note, and you can use any of these editing functions. You can also view detailed note data including the note’s start time and length, pitch, velocity (volume—both on and off), and MIDI channel by double-clicking a note in the grid. Score window: If you read music, the score window may be your choice for editing. This window looks just like a piece of sheet music (as shown). Within this window, you can move notes around in much the same way as the piano-roll window. The only difference is that you can see the musical score as you edit your performance. Some sequencers allow you to print the score as well. This can be handy if you’re composing music that you want other people to play. Selecting track material You can select track material the same way you select material from audio tracks — well, okay, with a few variations. The following sections tell you about those variations. Selecting notes with the Pencil tool You select notes with the Pencil tool by clicking the notes. (No big deal, right?) To select more than one note, press the Shift key while you click each note. Selected notes become highlighted. Using the Selector tool When you use the Selector tool to select notes, certain conditions apply. They’re pretty straightforward: Before a note can be included in a selection, its start point must be in the selection range. Notes with end points outside the selection range are still selected. When you select notes with the Selector tool, you also select (automatically) all the underlying automation and controller data pertaining to the notes. Setting MIDI patches on tracks You can change the default program (sound patch) in use with your MIDI tracks so your MIDI device automatically resets to the program you want for your track. Here’s how to make it happen in Pro Tools (other programs have similar steps): Click the Program button in the Track Controls section of the Edit window. The Patch Select dialog box opens. Click the patch number or name that you want from the list in the main section of the dialog box. It becomes highlighted. Depending on your MIDI device, you might need to specify a bank along with the patch number. The bank number is entered in one of the Controller fields at the top of the dialog box. Check the specification for your device to see what to enter in this field. Click Done. The Patch Select dialog box closes, and the patch number/name is displayed on the Program button of the Track Controls section. Adding MIDI events You can add MIDI notes or controller data (collectively called MIDI events) to a MIDI or Instrument track by using the Pencil tool. (See the preceding section for more about the Pencil tools.) This section shows you how most programs perform this procedure. Inserting notes To use the Pencil tool to insert a note, do the following: Click and hold the Pencil icon and then choose the Pencil tool you want to use from the Pencil Tool drop-down menu that appears. Locate the place you want to add your MIDI note in the track’s playlist area. With the Pencil tool you select in Step 1, click in the playlist to insert a note with a duration equal to the grid value. Drawing velocity or continuous controller data To draw velocity or continuous controller data in a track’s playlist, do the following: Click and hold the Pencil icon and then choose the Pencil tool you want to use from the menu that appears. Locate where you want to enter your MIDI data in the track’s playlist. With the Pencil tool you choose in Step 1, click and drag in the track’s playlist to sketch in the velocity or the controller level you want to draw. Release the mouse button when you reach the end point of your edit. Inserting program changes To insert MIDI program changes, do the following: From the Track View drop-down menu, set the track to Program Change view. Click and hold the Pencil icon and then choose the Pencil tool you want to use from the menu that appears. Click in the track’s playlist where you want the change to occur. The Patch Select dialog box opens. Click the patch number or name in the main section of the dialog box to select it. Click Done. The program change is inserted, as shown. Deleting MIDI notes To delete a MIDI note, do the following: Using the Selector tool, select the note in the playlist you want to delete. Press Delete/Backspace on your keyboard or choose Edit→Clear from the main menu. In some programs, deleting the note also deletes all automation and controller data.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

You may think that you need to spend a ton of money to get everything you need to set up a home recording system. Fortunately, a lot of home-recording systems are available that contain many of the components you need, so that you don’t have to buy everything separately. Studio-in-a-box (SIAB) systems: These are all-in-one units that have everything in them except for the sound source, input device, and monitors. For very little money (starting well under $1,000), you get almost everything you need to start recording. These types of systems are also easy for a beginner to use and are great for musicians that don’t want to spend a ton of energy tweaking their setup. Computer-based systems: These systems use the processing power of your computer to record, mix, and process your music. Computer-based systems, parallel to the studio-in-a-box system, perform many of the typical recording functions at once. When you have one of these systems, you only need your sound source, your input devices, and your monitors. Stand-alone systems: These systems are reminiscent of traditional recording studios in that all the pieces of gear are separate. The downside is that you have to buy all your components separately, which can cost you more than buying one of the more inclusive systems (for example, the SIAB and computer-based systems). For people who already have a bunch of gear, such as a mixer and signal processors, this can be a decent option because you’re buying only what you need at the time. Ultra-portable systems: Ultra-portable systems are designed so that you can record nearly anywhere with little fuss. These types of systems include linear recorders and tablet computers. Like SIAB and computer-based systems, most of what you need is included so all you have to worry about are your sound sources, input devices (or not — some come with mics already), and monitors (most often just a set of headphones).

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When setting up a recording system, it's important to begin by exploring the music software you want to use You can choose from numerous music-production software programs, including the ones in the following list: Apple (www.apple.com): Makes Logic Pro Audio and Logic Express. These programs run only on Mac systems. Logic Pro Audio has been around for a while and is one of the top programs available. The downside is that it’s for Macs only. Like all the programs, Logic has its way of working — some people like it while others have a hard time grasping the way the user interface functions. Cakewalk (www.cakewalk.com): Makes SONAR, and SONAR XL, among other programs. These are designed to run on both PCs and Macs. SONAR does a great job of recording (and editing and mixing) both audio and MIDI. Avid (www.avid.com): Makes Pro Tools, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered. These programs work on both Mac and PC systems. Digidesign’s Pro Tools TDM systems (the company offers several versions) are arguably the standard for digital audio in pro studios, although many pro studios are using any one (or more) of the other programs listed here. Mark of the Unicorn (www.motu.com): Makes Digital Performer. This program runs only on a Mac. Digital Performer is a powerful program that does MIDI and audio equally well. One advantage of this program is that MOTU makes very good audio interfaces that are designed to work well with its software. You end up with a better chance of having a stable system. Sony Creative Software (www.sonycreativesoftware.com): Makes Sound Forge, Vegas Audio, and ACID. These programs only run on Windows PCs. ACID is a very popular program for hip-hop and techno artists because of its strength in loop-based recording. Steinberg (www.steinberg.net): Makes Nuendo, Cubase, WaveLab, and Cubasis. These programs run on both Mac and PC platforms. Nuendo is Steinberg’s best program, and it is excellent for recording audio. Nuendo is not very strong in MIDI sequencing, so if this feature is important to you, this may not be the best program to use. In that case, if you like the Steinberg line, you may want to try Cubase, which is a great program that’s on par with SONAR, Logic, and the others and is stronger in MIDI sequencing than Nuendo. Most of these manufacturers offer program demos that you can download for free to see whether you like them. These demos work just like the full versions except that you generally can’t save or print your work. Some of these manufacturers also make audio-interface/sound-card hardware optimized for their systems; this hardware can generally work on other systems (check with the manufacturer to make sure). You may find an easy and great-sounding solution by choosing a software and hardware setup from a single manufacturer. If you do, you are likely to have fewer compatibility problems.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

No matter which computer platform you choose , the stuff that you find inside your computer plays a major role in determining how smoothly (or how less-than-smoothly) your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) runs. You should buy a computer that you can dedicate solely to recording audio, because running other types of applications (home finance software, word processors, or video games) can cause problems with your audio applications and reduce the stability of your system. The following list clues you in on the various pieces of hardware that you find in your computer: CPU: The CPU (processor) is the heart of your computer studio. The speed of your CPU ultimately dictates how well a program runs on it. As a general rule, for audio, get the fastest processor that you can afford. For most audio software, you need at least a dual core CPU. If you want a system that can handle the demands of recording or mixing many tracks (24 or more), you’ll need to step it up a notch or two and get a computer with a quad or multi-dual or quad core processors (Mac or PC – it doesn’t matter). Memory: Computer-based audio programs and all the associated plug-ins are RAM (random-access memory) hogs so buy lots of RAM. Okay, that’s not very specific, but how much you need depends on your recording style. If you record a lot of audio tracks and want reverb or another effect on each track, you need more RAM (and a faster processor). If you record mainly MIDI tracks with instruments that already have the effects that you want, you can get by with less RAM (and a slower processor). For most software programs, the recommended minimum amount of RAM is around 2GB (2 gigabytes), 4GB is recommended for typical use, and 8GB or more enables the program to run much more smoothly. RAM is relatively inexpensive, so get as much as you can. Regardless of the platform that you choose (PC or Mac), keep in mind that you can never have a processor that’s too fast or have too much memory. Hard drives: To record audio, make sure that you get the right type of hard drives. Yep, you should get more than one if you want to record more than a few tracks of audio. You need one hard drive for all the software and the operating system and another drive for the audio data. Having this setup greatly increases the likelihood that your system remains stable and doesn’t crash, especially if you try to run 16 or more tracks. As for the size of the hard drive, bigger is better, at least for the drive where you store your music. For the core system drive, you can get by with an 80GB (80-gigabyte) drive; for the audio drive, having even 120 GB is pretty conservative because audio data can consume a ton of space. Choose your hard drives wisely. For the software hard drive, you can get by with a stock drive (usually the one that comes with your computer). But for the audio side, you need a drive that can handle the demands of transferring audio data. Here are the main things to look for in an audio drive: Spindle speed: Also called rotational speed, this is the rate at which the hard drive spins. For the most part, a 7,200-rpm drive works well for recording and playing back audio. Seek time: This is the amount of time that it takes the drive to find the data that’s stored on it. You want an average seek time of less than 10 milliseconds. Buffer size: Often called a cache buffer, buffers are memory units that store data as the data is being transferred. According to the audio-recording software manufacturers, you need a buffer size of at least 2MB (2 megabytes), but an 8MB buffer is recommended. Interface type: Some audio-recording programs, such as Pro Tools, don’t interact well with USB 2.0 hard drives. so it is recommended that you go with either FireWire (400 or 800)- or eSATA-interfaced hard drives for best performance.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A stereo/TRS (short for Tip/Ring/Sleeve) 1/4-inch plug looks like an analog stereo headphone plug. The tip is the end of the plug, the ring is the small middle section located between the two plastic dividers, and the sleeve is the rest of the metal part of the plug. A TRS plug can be used for the following three types of cords: Stereo cord: A stereo cord is used for signals that contain two separate portions: one for the right channel and the other for the left channel. This type of cord is generally wired with the left-channel signal attached to the tip, the right-channel signal connected to the ring, and the shield wired to the sleeve. This type of cord is typically used for headphones. Use a balanced (TRS) plug to connect professional audio gear. Balanced cord: A balanced cord is used on professional audio gear to join the various pieces of equipment (to connect the mixer to the recorder, for example). The advantage with a balanced cord is that you can have longer cord runs without creating noise. Why are balanced cords so conveniently noise free? The balanced cord has two wires and a shield inside and has the same signal running through both wires. One signal is 180 degrees out of phase with the other (that is, their waveforms are opposite one another), and when the signals get to the mixer (or whatever they’re plugged into) one of the signals is flipped and added to the other. When this happens, any noise that built up in the signal is canceled out. Y cord: A Y cord consists of a TRS plug on one end and two TS plugs on the other, forming — you guessed it — a nice representation of the letter Y. This cord allows you to insert an effect processor — a compressor or equalizer, for example — in the line of a mixer (more specifically, into the insert jack of the mixer). The TRS plug both sends and receives a signal. This cord is wired so that the tip sends the signal and the ring receives it. The sleeve is connected to the shield of each cable. Use a Y cord to send and receive a signal.