Master the art of audio production fast
About The Audio Apprentice
The Audio Apprentice is your go-to and how-to resource to learning audio production skills. Whether you're a home recorder, musician, song writer, producer, or just starting out, The Audio Apprentice will take you from rookie to Pro. It’s packed with real-world tips from setting up your space to recording, mixing and mastering for streaming. We’re here to help you get the best sound possible.
Featured CHAPTERS
Chapter 1:
Introduction
The Audio Apprentice resource is not specific to any Digital Work Station, plugins or genre of music. The methods used are independent of whether you are using analogue or digital recording and mixing methods. The Audio Apprentice resource takes you through every aspect of audio production. It starts with setting up your room and ends with mastering. It’s all in here, live recording, recording and mixing drums, bass, guitars, vocals, keyboards, strings, brass and there’s also a section on recording with analogue tape. If you are new to audio production, you can obtain a broad overview by reading the resource from start to finish rather that skipping chapters because, in someway, all the chapters are interlinked. There are over 80 audio samples and over 100 diagrams and charts so you can hear and see what’s being described. The audio samples are in their raw form and are not samples. It’s not about how good they sound; it’s about your understanding of the techniques. All the chapters and techniques interlinked in some way.
Chapter 2:
Setting Up Your Room
Most of us will not have a purpose built room for mixing. It could be a bedroom, study, garage, basement or any other spare space. The construction and the materials used will determine how accurate your mixes are when you hear them outside your mixing environment. Your mixes may sound perfect in your studio but when you hear them in a different environment they may lack bottom end or be very bright. The snare may suddenly sound louder. The guitars may appear louder than you thought they sounded. The Audio Apprentice will show you how to compensate for these and other issues, how to tune your room to make your mixes sound even, no matter the listening environment, and will give you tips on your monitoring and referencing setup.
Chapter 3:
Prep For Recording
As with any job, how you prepare for your recording will determine how professional your mixes will be. Space, equipment and time are at the forefront when starting a recording. The Audio Apprentice will give you different options that will suit your budget and time availability. Whether it’s a demo or release quality, totally live, a multi-tracked performance or a mix of the two, The Audio Apprentice addresses; the influence of spill in a recording, your approach to session and artist, the scheduling and setup of the musicians on the day of recording and setting up your sessions for recording. As always, the cost involved is a factor in recording. The Audio Apprentice will show you how to get the best production for less.
Chapter 4: Technical Pre-Production
Any great audio production relies on the nuances of the processing used from the very start of recording. Instruments that aren’t in tune, set up or treated correctly, can make an otherwise great song sound less than ordinary. The Audio Apprentice delves into how to get the right drum sound for the song. Drum kits that aren’t tuned correctly, have large amounts of overtones or guitars with intonation problems, can waste a lot of time trying to get them right. One of the main problems in setting up is the headphone mix. The Audio Apprentice lays out how to achieve the best headphone mix on that day.
Chapter 5: Recording
This resource is the most important and encompasses all aspects of the recording process. If you don’t get the recording right then the mix will suffer. It starts at Recording Chain Basics then moves onto Microphone Types, Polar Patterns and onto microphone placements. In the Audio Apprentice resource you will discover how to set up microphones for each instrument type – drums, guitars, bass, keyboards, strings, vocals and brass. In here you will find five ways to mike up an acoustic guitar, over ten ways to mike up drums and much more. You will be able to hear how these different setups sound. You will not only learn what a Compressor/Limiter, Reverb, Delay, Flanging, Chorus and Phasing are but how to use them in conjunction with Side Chaining. You can see and hear how different microphone positions affect the sound of a speaker bin. When it comes to recording vocals, The Audio Apprentice outlines what to look for - not only in sound but in performance as well. There’s even a section on using analogue tape.
Chapter 6: Mix Preparation
As with Chapter 3: Preparation For Recording, this chapter encompasses planning your mix, preparing tracks for mixing and what to look for when editing drums, creating samples, bass, guitar, and vocals.
Chapter 7: Mixing
This is an extensive resource. From understanding how sounds interact with each other to getting your final product, The Audio Apprentice will provide all the knowledge you need to achieve great mixes. It includes how and where to use various Eq’s and processors to create depth and width in your stereo mixes. The Audio Apprentice shows you how to apply them to all the instruments so they also fit into the audio spectrum. There are charts that you can easily see what Eq’s you need to shape the sound. This chapter also includes how to use compression and parallel compression, gating and expanders. There are also techniques that some producers use in their mixes.
Chapter 8: Mastering
With the advent of easily accessible digital recording and distribution, engineers, producers and artists no longer have to rely on expensive mastering suites for their final product. The Audio Apprentice will explain what mastering is and show you how to achieve a release quality master at home. It will explain how to split your stereo track into Left, Right and Centre channels without fancy plugins and give you the best result for your song. The Audio Apprentice also has a section on how to master your track for digital streaming. Here you can download audio to make your own comparison.
Customer Reviews
Comprehensive guide to audio engineering
Perfect for everyone, from beginners to professionals. It is easy to understand and uses accessible language which anyone can understand.
The explanations are clear and concise, teaching the basics before delving into more complex ideas.
As a producer for 10+ years this textbook has helped me refine my knowledge of concepts that were previously self-taught and has taught me some new techniques and concepts which I now use all the time.
I recommend this resource for anyone interested in audio engineering, from students to teachers to professionals.
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