NYC-area courses in production, engineering, etc. that are actually worth taking (MOD: Now off-topic discussion of random mixing opinions)

Once you've done all that with a certain amount of proviciency, you're ready to learn how effects work, then to use them.

I can't recommend books because
A. I learned what I need to know through a mentor, mainly. He'd read the books.
B. You've never find A SPECIFIC book on tube theory et al.

Also, the reason I recommend reading about tube theory, even though you're getting into production, is that tubes have no magic. They're just less efficient than a well-designed SS circuit.

It's easy to get caught up in the BS surrounding tubes these days.

wtf

The gear the guitarist you're reacording has nothing to do with engineering or even production, really.

If you want to make a shitty sounding record, by all means, spend 12 hours tweaking your comp settings in a computer after running it through a needless amount of overpriced kit.

if you want to amek a good sounding record, learn how your good gear works, and use it to record.

My answers would differ, depending on which you are thinking about. (and also not be NYC specific, per se)

using gates to change snare sounds, comps to make kicks sound like a TR-808...

Albums sound like shit nowadays.

this is why I listen to folk-inspired and more industrial type things where instruments never sounded like instruments to begin with...

I'm more interested in recording than live sound, whoever asked. I'm not necessarily looking to jump into a full-time career so much as be able to record my own various projects well for less money (and maybe later record other people)

If you get subscriptions to both of these and read them cover-to-cover for a year or two, you stand to learn quite a bit.

what do you NOT know how to do?

What instrument do you play?

what do you NOT know how to do?

I don't really know how to do much of anything, recording-wise - I've used my cassette four-track a few times for some simple stuff but that's about it.

If just buying gear and learning as I go is the best way to start, what's the best thing to invest in first? Isn't a decent computer/software setup going to set me back a couple thousand bucks alone? Should I just spring for that or start simpler, like with a digital 8-track or something?

Best damned recordings I've ever heard.
Live albums that sound better than most studio recordings.

All in the micing and the mix...

THen just start doing it, leave the EQ flat initially and try to reproduce the sound of the drum as accurately as possible by moving the mics around until it sounds right. If you can do that, you're better off than most people out there.

DON'T get Live or Logic or Pro Tools full versions to start, whatever you do, because the learning curve for the suite will disrupt what you're trying to learn about the basics of audio.

That's a ridiculous generalization. EQ, compression, etc. are just tools. They can be used in infinitely many ways to make infinitely many different types of recordings. Some recordings could not be made without them and other recordings don't need them.

I don't see how reading books about tube theory or solid state theory will be all that directly helpful in learning about recording.

I also don't think Pro Tools has a very steep learning curve at all. I'd recommend setting yourself up a studio, buying some books on your hardware/software, and going from there. I have this book called the S.M.A.R.T. Guide to Mixing and Mastering which gives a decent overview.

understanding how your gear works will prevent you from doing weird things and getting bad sounds.
It saves time on setup if you understand what clipping actually is and how different things clip.
If you know WHY your trim needs to be set before you set the fader(and yes, that's the ideal way of doing it. it doesn't make the fader setup a bisual representation of the levels, but levels change with dynamics anyhow, and you get a better S/N ratio.

"Tubes=good warm sound" is a common misconception. understanding WHY that's true helps in the long run.
If you know what phantom power is, it'll help prevent you from melting the innards of that ribbon mic you rented/just bought.

knowing how different mics work is also useful.

Now, I present you with the owned certificate of ownage.

ta-daa.

Recording conditions cannot always be ideal, and even if they are, there are times when not using tools like those will make for a crappy recording. A good mixer knows how and when to use all of the tools at his disposal.

Eq, well, yeah. There are times you need that. you may, after you're done recording that you were wrong in miking X in Y manner and you need more/less of Z frequency band.

Do I think things generally sound better dry? hell yeah.

But if you know how to walk without crutches, you can then use the crutches to do fancy tricks if you have them.

I also think dynamics are extremely important to a performance.

Compression for anything but effect (as in, momentary and noticable) or on synths/drum machines is a waste of a good recording.

A musician performing 'too dynamically' is the the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.

just hearing that makes me want to listen to classical music.

And you should know that that hasn't been the only aesthetic philosophy in music recording for a long time. But I suspect you do and are being willfully obtuse.

A musician performing 'too dynamically' is the the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.

It's not ludicrous at all.

I hate to drag us all kicking and screaming back to the topic at hand, but we are talking about how to learn to mix. If you want to discuss the merits/anti-merits of compression, START A NEW THREAD ABOUT IT.

Thx, kisses and huggles, yer mod pal that just resisted the urge to lock this thread.

So, cral back into whatever fuckhole you came from, or stop insulting me for no goddamned reason.

A mixer needs to know how to place mics, set trims, use faders, use EQ, use compression, use automation, and more. It doesn't matter if you learn compression before you learn EQ. You need to know all of it. There are mixes that *will not* sound good without using one of the above tools, so if you don't learn them, you're at a big disadvantage. You're just being obnoxious and narrow-minded, which isn't helping to clarify things for the guy asking the question.

Anyway, I'm done talking to you about this.

http://www.kevinkemp.com/homerecordingtutorial/

I have some different opinions on a few of the micing techniques he uses (not crazy about his ideas on acoustic guitar, and really opposed to his kick drum choice) but from a cursory look-through, it seems really straight-forward.

xpost: not to get involved in the aforementioned frenzy, but saying that you shouldn't learn how to EQ a channel prior to learning how to operate a compressor is just plain stupid.

Was that directed to me? I never said that. I said that it's not a big deal which order you learn things in, and arguing about it is stupid. You have to learn all this stuff; they're all related, but they aren't so dependent that you need to learn about them in a prescribed order.

Anyway A-ron, while someone (I think it may have been The GZeus) bitched the last time I linked someone to this, tweak's guide to home recording is a decent beginner's resource.

Me: "not to get involved in the aforementioned frenzy, but saying that you shouldn't learn how to EQ a channel prior to learning how to operate a compressor is just plain stupid."

You: "Was that directed to me? I never said that. I said that it's not a big deal which order you learn things in, and arguing about it is stupid. You have to learn all this stuff; they're all related, but they aren't so dependent that you need to learn about them in a prescribed order."

The point I'm trying to make is that you DO need to learn these things in a specific order. You can't just sit down and start twiddling compressor knobs without a working idea of how to mix and EQ.

You don't need to learn these things in a specific order. You're not ready to make a good mix until you know how to use compression AND EQ, and more significantly, these aren't things you learn instantaneously. They're simple to operate, but take a long time to master. You learn them by experimenting and listening over long periods of time. So what does "learn to EQ" mean? Learn how to twiddle the knobs of an equalizer plugin? Learn how to remove problem frequencies from an instrument track? Learn how to EQ in the mastering stage?

And if you use a multiband compressor you can accomplish both things at once.

Like I said, this is a stupid argument.

The fact that the article you linked starts with how to connect a midi keyboard implies that you are looking at this question from a very narrow perspective.

This isn't a stupid argument, it's just turned stupid in the process.

But again, these things are not learned at once. Someone who's just starting is going to spend a long time learning how to do all of this stuff correctly. These are tools, not facts to be memorized. You don't just sit down one day and "learn how to EQ." It's all going to be learned gradually as part of an ongoing process.

So for the last time:

It's reasonable to introduce concepts in the order you've laid out. But I disagree that it's totally necessary to do so; I could (and have) made people understand compression who don't know anything about (for example) mic placement. Doing so hasn't affected their ability to learn about mic placement, or EQ, or anything else, and not knowing those other things doesn't affect their ability to understand how a compressor works.

I dig most of what this guy says:http://members.tripod.com/~Pullpud/microphones.html