H O W A R D ' S D I G I T A L M U S I C |
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Introduction Hello and welcome. My name is Howard Lang, and this is my website on digital recording. Here you will find some information on digital recording, recording techniques in general, and some music examples, and a few tests. .............................................................. Home Recording Home recording has come a long way in the last few years. By definition, "home recording" is making a recording at home, rather than going elsewhere. From the early days, when a tape recorder was all you had, to the present, using a digital audio work station or a home computer, many of the techniques remain the same. The only difference is how the recordings are stored. That said, there is also a world of difference, using digital techniques, in what you can do with the recorded material. .............................................................. Tape Recording In multi-track recording using tape, the home recordist needed to "dub" over the first track to add the second. Once done, it could not be undone, without starting over. In addition, there was a loss in quality. The first track had less fidelity than the second, and so on. Complicated setups using multiple recorders helped, but there was always the problem of synching them so each track was on the same beat. Multi-track recorders, based on cassette tapes, solved the above problems. Tape-based systems allowed up to four tracks to be recorded at the same quality. Two tracks could also be "bounced" to a third, thus mixing them and freeing up another track, but you were always stuck with four tracks. Bouncing means combining two or more tracks and recording them to a single other track or stereo pair. Additional bounces could be done, for as many tracks as you wanted, but the loss in fidelity happened the more times you bounced. back to top .............................................................. Digital Recording With digital recording, there is no loss in quality when bouncing. Overdubbing becomes a thing of the past. As with tape based systems, there is a limit to the number of tracks that can be played or recorded at once. The more sophisticated (and expensive) the recorder, the more tracks it can handle. Using a digital audio work station, even the least expensive, you never have a problem with synch. Each track starts on the same beat. If you use a computer for this, you need a faster processor with lots of ram memory and a fast hard drive to avoid the "latency" lag, which always makes the new track start a fraction after the previously recorded track. The plus side of computer digital audio, is the ease of manipulating the trcks. Visual displays make it more obvious what you are doing. Many use a digital audio workstation for recording, and a computer for mixing. There is a steeper learning curve with digital recording than with tape-based recording. Tape is more obvious: Press play and record together, and you are recording. For multi-track tape units, you first select the track you want to record on. With most digital systems, work station or computer, you will need to first create a project, then assign tracks and inputs, then select the track, then press or click record and play. Editing is where digital outshines tape. You don't need to use scissors on the tape. You don't need to punch in and out during an overdub, with associated clicks and pops. All you need do is cut and paste, like in a word processor. back to top .............................................................. |
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