Home Studio Essentials

Okay, you're either thinking about, or have decided to set up, a home studio. For many of us who love music, the ultimate form of expression can be writing and recording a song. Being able to accomplish this in your own environment can be a dream come true. Your home studio is literally the vehicle for your sonic visions. You can take an idea, shape it, refine it, and make it real. These days, there are almost no limitations to what you can do-except your own creative ambition.

Home Studio Essentials is designed to help you grasp the essential elements that comprise a home studio and consider the different building blocks required to achieve your goals. A broad view of the available equipment is taken in each category, with specific recommendations according to budget and user. Everything is covered, from all the computer hardware and software, to microphones, monitors, preamps, mixers, processors, and much more. Home Studio Essentials also includes interviews with studio owners from many diverse backgrounds who share how they overcame specific obstacles and challenges. These interviews cover bedroom and garage-based home studios, as well as more generously provisioned setups-such as an exclusive houseboat studio owned by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

Jeff Touzeau is an author, journalist and President of Hummingbird Media, Inc., a public relations and marketing communications firm specializing in the audio and networking industries. In addition to The Green Musician's Guide: Sound Ideas for a Sound Planet, Touzeau is also the author of four other books: Making Tracks: Unique Recording Studio Environments (Schiffer, 2006), Careers in Audio (Cengage Learning, 2008), Artists on Recording Techniques (Cengage Learning, 2008), and Home Studio Essentials (Cengage Learning, 2009). As a journalist, Touzeau has been writing the "Music, Etc." column in Pro Sound News since 2005 and has authored dozens of feature articles over the years for magazines, including EQ, Professional Sound, Performing Songwriter, Tape Op, and many others. Touzeau, who is also a musician, lives in Westchester, New York, and is in the process of designing and building his own green recording studio, Hummingbird Sound.