Table of contents

PRESS RECORD: The Smart Musician’s Guide to DIY Recording guides musicians through each stage of recording a song, demo, EP or album using common audio multitrack software. The 2-DVD Training Course covers all steps from preproduction to final mastering. Both DVDs include real-life examples from real musicians—from solo singer-songwriters to five-piece pop/rock bands—at each stage of the recording process, as well as interviews, real musician home studio visits, and practical advice from recording pros.

Each tutorial is taught by indie music producer and audio engineer Michael Chambers. Take the entire DVD Training Course from start to finish in 3 hours, follow the real-life examples, or skip to the tutorial you need right away—it’s up to you!

The complete PRESS RECORD DVD training course includes:

DVD ONE: Step-by-Step DIY Recording Tutorials

Intro

How To Use This DVD
Who This DVD Is For
What This DVD Won’t Do For You
What This DVD Will Do For You

First Things First

You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby: A Brief History of the Economics of Music Recording Technology, And Why This Matters to You
The 80-20 Rule: How A 19th-century Italian Economist You’ve Probably Never Heard of Can Help You Make Better Recordings
How Not to Be Afraid of Your System
Michael’s Rules of Recording, and How To Break Them

PART 1—Getting Ready: How to Save Time and Anguish in the Long Run

What Kind of Recording Can I Realistically Expect From the Gear I Have?
Getting the Gear You Need
- Basic System Requirements
- What Do You Really Need For Your Project? No, REALLY?
- Renting vs. Owning Your Recording Gear
- PCs vs. Macs: Which is Better?
What’s Preproduction, and Why Do I Need to Do It?
- Essential Preproduction Gear: The Lowly Boombox
- Getting Your Keys and Tempos Right
- Arrangement 101
Getting Your Instruments Ready: Tuning and Intonation
Real Life Recording Project Examples

PART 2—Recording: Getting Your Music Inside The Box

Room Acoustics, Sound Proofing and Sound Isolation: When Does it Matter?
Mic Choice and Mic Placement
Demystifying Nerdy Engineerspeak
- Signal Flow: Getting Sound From A to B
- Gain Staging: Setting Your Levels—The Right Way!
- Bit Depth and Sampling Rates: Common Myths
Real vs. Software Instruments
Pressing the Record Button
- Monitoring: Listening to What You’re Recording
- More Nerdy Engineerspeak: Latency
- Overdubbing
- Multiple Takes: Why Punching-in Is So 1995
Storing Your Files… And Keeping Them Organized!
The Psychology of Recording: The Difference Between a Real and a Perfect Recording
Real Life Recording Project Examples

PART 3—Mixing: How to Make Good Recordings Sound Even Better

Where to Start
- Learning to Listen
- Figuring Out What’s Important in Your Music
More Room Acoustics: When What You Don’t Know About Your Room Can Come Back and Bite You In The Rear
Basic Processing: Gates, Compressors, Reverb, EQ, and Other Effects
Panning and Phase: When Your Killer Mix Disappears, And Other Unexpected Surprises
The Fun Part: Testing Your Mix
Real Life Recording Project Examples

PART 4—Mastering and Finishing Your Recording

What’s Mastering, and Why Do I Need To Do It?
Should I Master My Own Project?
Michael’s Three Secrets To Mastering Indie Recordings
Creating a Good Quality mp3 to Upload to Your Website
Real Life Recording Project Examples

DVD TWO: Extra Features

Real Life Musician Home Recording Studio Setups
DIY Drum Tuning Step-by-Step Tutorial
DIY Guitar Set-up Step-by-Step Tutorial
Advanced Guitar Set-up: When to Go to the Pros
Room Acoustics: Setting Up Your Room for Mixing and Mastering
Troubleshooting: When Things Go Wrong (And They Will…)
Deleting Your Files and Other Massive Disasters: Interviews With Other Musicians Who’ve Been There, And Lived To Tell
When the Recording Bug Bites: Furthering Your Audio Education

Continue to read the frequently asked questions…