Guerrilla Home Recording

by Karl Coryat

(Book). Make your small home studio sound huge! Guerrilla Home Recording is a revolutionary approach to getting great sound in a home or project studio. Author Karl Coryat breaks down the process by showing how to think in terms of three simple "dimensions of sound," and then explains step by step how this can help you achieve amazingly clean recordings with maximum impact. Best of all, you don't need the latest pro gear to do it. You'll learn: how to make even the noisiest gear dead quiet * getting instruments to sound crisp and distinct in a mix * making drum programs and sequences sound like they were played live * getting the most out of a limited number of tracks or mixer channels * blending tracks together into a professional-sounding mix * fun projects and exercises to sharpen your ear for sound * and how to avoid the most common mistakes amateur recordists make.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

1 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

I was raised in Upstate New York and Connecticut. I moved west to study biology at U.C. Berkeley, and while in college, I became seriously interested in playing and recording music. My first (and pretty much last) real job was as an editor at Bass Player magazine, where I interviewed many famous musicians while honing my recording skills. In the 2000s, I wrote two music books that did very well: Guerrilla Home Recording and The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook, the latter with Nicholas Dobson.

Around that same time, I started getting back into science, specifically cosmology and quantum mechanics. After reading several hundred physics papers and a bunch of books, in 2012 I won a prize in a major physics-essay competition. I spent the next four years organizing and writing The Simplest-Case Scenario, a philosophy-of-science book based on that essay.

On the musical side, I have transitioned more into live performance. I currently play bass and sing lead vocals in a popular San Francisco Bay Area band called Joyride. I also have another career as a comedian under a pseudonym, but that’s enough for now.

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense, in the good way - this reference is solid useful information, written at the technical level (I believe) that makes it accessible to non-professionals but still useful for techie types trying to solve specific problems or achieve specific results. If you're putting together a home/other small studio, this is a good investment.

[Gavin Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid advice for the neophyte home recordist.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reminder to pay attention to audio basics instead of the gear. Anyone can get something out of this no matter your skill level or studio configuration.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've written a more detailed review over at http://damacleod.wordpress.com/2011/0... but in summary...

When I first bought the book I had visions of reading through and then passing it on to a couple of friends. Having finished the book, that is not going to happen. This is a book that I’m going to keep by my side for a few years to come. I’m afraid my friends are going to have to get their own copy. There are a couple of sections I’m going to want to have on hand as a reference (particularly the stuff about gain staging, dynamic range, and the mix-down check-list). There are other parts (especially chapters 6 and 7) where the suggestions come so thick and fast, I’m going to be going back for inspiration and help for a long time to come.

If you’ve got some recording gear and are more interested in trying to make the best use of what you’ve got, instead of looking for a new “silver bullet” piece of gear then I can’t recommend this book highly enough. And let me put this in context; the book costs about the same as two guitar mags. It is going to provide me with months (perhaps years) worth of inspiration, and it isn’t stuffed with adverts. Now that’s what I call value for money.

[Matthew Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Read both the first and second version. The first has to do more with older recording techniques (using reel-to-reel, adat, large mixers etc), whereas the 2nd version is updated to address what is most commonly used today, while still including an appendix for older methods in case you're interested.
I like how this book encourages the bare-bone "Guerrilla-style" approach to recording. I see myself as someone who thinks that the better gear you have, the more you'll get out of it, but this is not always true. You also need to know how it works and how to use it for your needs. The author convinced me that this is quite true in some respects, and you can do a lot without much. One of the chapters I probably used the most in real life was the "Recording Drums" chapter, specifically on humanizing drums.
I also really like the way writes...there's something quite honest going on. And he shares a lot of knowledge, which is nice!
It encouraged me to keep recording, and to also read other books on the subject. But I will be coming back to this one for main reference.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a beginner in home recording. I learned a lot about the signal chain and ways to make your recording sound better. For instance, before reading this book, I did not understand what a compressor did or why I would want to use one (although I'd heard that they were important to use!), but now I understand the theory behind it. Putting it all into practice is another story altogether, but that's a matter of practicing and training my ears.

[Stray Taoist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful indeed

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you need a book telling you how to set up a home recording studio, this is the book to get.

[Ojo Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for recording on the cheap.

[Marv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep this information very close. Secret even. Or else there may be no more crappy recordings to make yours EXPLODE!

[Keith Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a great book for those doing music recording. As I am podcasting it did not apply to me as much, but still had some good tips.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coryat explains how to get good sound from gear that isn't.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned nothing new but I didn't feel like a minority of one anymore

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for ways to get nice sound using the hodge podge of equipment found in a home studio