David Miles Huber - Modern Recording Techniques, Seventh Edition

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I'd like to thank my partner, Daniel Eric Butler, for putting up with the general rantin', ravin', and all round craziness that goes into writing a never-ending book project. I'd also like to express my thanks to my music collaborators especially those with EMC (www.electronicmusiccolective.comMarcell, Henta, Laz, Diem, Greg, Doc & Tony) for helping me to reach new heights on the performance stage. Same goes for my best buddies: Steve Stevo L. Royea, Phil & Vivian Williams, Rick Mankowski and the folks at Easy Street Records in West Seattle (www.easystreetonline.com). Last but not least lots of love goes to my family in the U.S. and to Thomas and Maria in Austria.

A very special mention goes to my production editor and good buddy, Terri Jadick, for truly being the best editor I've had the pleasure of working with and for being an understanding friend that shows no remorse in supporting a lifelong viceChocoholism!

I'd also like to thank my production editor Catharine Steers and Paul Gottehrer for their amazing patience and understanding in laying out this book.

Thank you all!

David Miles Huber is a producer and musician in the electronic, dance and downtempo genres, whose CDs have sold over the million mark. The chilled foundation of DMH's music is energized and balanced out by lush, downtempo beats and live acoustic instruments that can be performed in stereo or surround sound. His latest music and collaborations can be heard on www.51bpm.com and www.MySpace/51bpm.

DMH received his degree in music technology from Indiana University (I.M.P.) and was the first American to be admitted into the prestigious Tonmeister program at the University of Surrey in Guildford, Surrey, England. As well as being a member of NARAS (www.grammy.com) and the NARAS Producers and Engineers Wing (P&E Wing), he has authored numerous books and contributed to various magazines and websites on the subjects of recording and electronic music.

Robert E. Runstein has been associate with all aspects of the recording industry, working as a performer, sound mixer, electronics technician, A&R specialist, and record producer. He has served as chief engineer and technical director of a recording studio and has taught several courses in modern recording techniques. He is a member of the Audio Engineering Society.

The world of modern music and sound production is multifaceted. It's an exciting world of creative individuals: musicians, engineers, producers, manufacturers and businesspeople who are experts in such fields as music, acoustics, electronics, production, broadcast media, multimedia, marketing, graphics, law and the day-to-day workings of the business of music. The combined efforts of these talented people work together to create a single end product: marketable music. The process of turning a creative spark into a final product takes commitment, talent, a creative production team, a marketing strategy and, often, money. Over the history of recorded sound, the process of capturing music and transforming it into a marketable product has radically changed. In the past, the process of turning one's own music into a final product required the use of a commercial recording studio, which was (and still is) equipped with specialized equipment and professional staff. With the introduction of the large-scale integrated (LSI) circuit, mass production and mass marketingthree of the most powerful forces in the Information Ageanother option has arrived on the scene: the radical idea that musicians, engineers and/or producers can have their own project studio. Along with this concept comes the realization that almost anyone can afford, construct and learn to master a personal audio production facility. In short, we're living in the midst of a techno-artistic revolution that puts more power, artistic control and knowledge directly into the hands of creative individuals from all walks of life.

) might easily be awestruck by the amount and variety of equipment that's involved in the process; however, when we become familiar with the tools, toys and techniques of recording technology, a definite order to the studio's makeup soon begins to appear, with each piece of equipment being designed to play a role in the overall scheme of music and audio production.

(Courtesy of Solid State Logic, www.solid-state-logic.com.)

(Courtesy of Solid State Logic, www.solid-state-logic.com.)

(Courtesy of Russ Berger Design Group, Inc., www.rbdg.com.)

The goal of this book is to serve as a guide and reference tool to help you become familiar with the recording and production process. When used in conjunction with mentors, lots of hands-on experience, further reading, Web searching, soul searching and simple common sense, this book, I hope, will help you understand the equipment and day-to-day practices of sound recording and production.