Home Studio Recording Course
An online course with practical projects to help you become a better producer in your own home recording studio
Can you produce like a pro in your home recording studio?
Do you have a microphone, audio interface, digital audio workstation software, and loudspeaker or headphone monitoring?
Congratulations! You're ready to make recordings that are truly professional in quality.
But what's holding you back?
- "I don't have a pro microphone" - Yes you do, if you have a mic that is as good as the Shure SM57 or better then you have a microphone that is capable of fully professional results.
- "I don't have a preamp" - Yes you do - there's a preamp built into your audio interface that is fully capable of pro results.
- "I don't have thousands of dollars worth of studio equipment, software and plug-ins" - You don't need it. You need digital audio workstation software, and the plug-ins that came free with it.
The truth - There's nothing about your equipment or software that is holding you back from making professional recordings.
And by the way, we've been helping people just like you learn pro recording techniques online since 2001 and we have heard the evidence many, many times over. Your equipment and software is good enough already.
So why don't your recordings sound professional yet?
Congratulations again! If you realize that your work isn't yet up to the standard you want, then you're in the right place to start.
You want to get the best from your music and make your songs or compositions sound exactly as good as the music you hear in commercial releases and on TV.
So what's missing...?
Three things...
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Experience
There's an awful lot to learn about audio. Not just which buttons to press on your equipment or what to click in your software.
Things like microphone selection and positioning, preamplifier operation, equalization, compression and dynamics, mixing, mastering - and these are just the headlines. Each individual topic contains hundreds of details that audio professionals need to know and understand.
And armed with the proper knowledge, audio professionals develop skills in apply the techniques to recording speech, singing, instruments, software instruments, and then to blending them and shaping them in the mixing process. And then onto the final polish of mastering.
Knowledge is the starting point, skills can then develop, and over time you can gain the experience you need to challenge the pros and get the best from your music.
But how can you learn all of this?
Quick answer - YouTube. There's almost everything you need to learn right there on YouTube, and it's free.
YouTube can be great, and there are some great instructors on there. But it is also scattered - you learn a bit here, a bit there, not being sure whether you've connected everything together.
And some of the information on YouTube is - sad to say - downright misleading. It's shocking how often we see people who ought to know better concentrate on minor things like which preamp you use, and forget about the major things that make FAR more difference, such as microphone positioning.
Getting a better preamp will make a small improvement that most of your listeners won't be able to hear. Moving a microphone an inch or two can make an AMAZING improvement, and all you have to do is try different positions and see which sounds best. (This works better if you understand microphones of course, and know how professionals set about positioning their microphones.)
So what you need therefore is a fast way to learn all of the essentials of recording techniques, suitable for the home recording studio.
And that's why we have been running courses online since 2001 - to help people who want to learn quickly, learn efficiently, and learn proper professional techniques, without distraction.
And so we are proud to present our Home Studio Recording Course, which we have refined over many years to cover all of the essential knowledge and skills you need to make professional recordings in your own home recording studio.
The Audio Masterclass Home Studio Recording Course
The course covers everything you NEED to know, and points you in the direction of further useful knowledge.
And it doesn't just tell you what you need to know, it SHOWS you with audio demonstrations at every point along the way. You can listen on your computer, or download the audio to load into your digital audio workstation software for precise listening.
And more than that, the course encourages you to improve your skills with PRACTICAL PROJECTS - twelve over the entire course.
And we don't leave you to work on your own - Each practical project comes with detailed notes on what to do, how to do it, audio demonstrations of what you should expect to achieve, and examples of work done by Audio Masterclass students with commentary on what went right, what went wrong, and what could be done to improve.
So take a listen to some of your recent recordings. Are they as good as you want them to be? Do they get the best out of your music? Did you feel that you were making decisions and setting controls without really understanding what you were doing?
With our Home Studio Recording Course, you can take away all the doubt. You can know exactly what to do with each instrument and vocal. You'll know exactly WHY you're making each creative decision and you'll get closer and closer towards the finished mix and master that you want.
And with the experience you will gain from the course, and through your own work, you'll get to the point where your music sounds great, and really can challenge the chart-topping professionals.
Just to recap, you can learn a lot from YouTube and various audio blogs. But it isn't the fastest way to make progress. And you'll never know what has been missed out, or what has been over- or under-emphasised in importance.
With your Home Studio Recording Course enrollment, you'll make fast progress towards your goals, and you will develop the knowledge, skills and experience you need to make great recordings.
You don't need another microphone or another plug-in, you need the knowledge, skills and experience to succeed.
And you can enroll today. Why wait? You can get started on your path to success right now.
Click the enroll button and make things happen...
Get started now!
Get started now!
Course Curriculum
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StartINTRODUCTION: Analog and digital audio - What you need to know
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Sources of sound
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What is frequency?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: How decibels work
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: The inverse square law
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Introduction to acoustics
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: How standing waves affect studio acoustics
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Sound insulation basics
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Sound insulation in more depth
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Acoustic treatment basics
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Acoustic treatment in more depth
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StartFURTHER KNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Introduction to audio electronics
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StartFURTHER KNOWLEDGE TOPIC: All about digital audio that you need to know
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StartQuiz questions
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StartModel answers to the quiz questions
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StartTUTORIAL: Demonstrations of audio signals and waveforms
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PreviewTUTORIAL: Demonstration of sine waves - Test your hearing
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StartTUTORIAL: Demonstration of square waves
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StartTUTORIAL: What you need to know about noise in audio
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PreviewTUTORIAL: All about phase, phase inversion and out-of-phase
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StartTUTORIAL: Clipping
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StartTUTORIAL: Understanding frequency response
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StartTUTORIAL: Understanding digital audio bit depth
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PreviewTUTORIAL: Demonstration of the vintage analog tape recorder sound
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StartTUTORIAL SUMMARY
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT: Recording speech for dialog, commercials or audio books
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Potential problems in recording speech
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Level
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: How to top and tail your recording to a professional standard
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: What is the proximity effect? How you can correct it, or use it to your advantage.
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PreviewPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: The importance of avoiding popping
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: The importance of avoiding breath blasting
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: What is sibilance? How much is too much?
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: What is an appropriate background noise level for a professional recording?
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES; The importance of being able to achieve low levels of ambience and reverberation
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Further comments on other important aspects of sound quality
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Summary of the practical project and notes
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StartIntroduction
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone technology - How microphones work
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What is the piezoelectric microphone? How does it work?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What is the dynamic microphone? How does it work?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What is the ribbon microphone? How does it work?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What is the capacitor microphone? How does it work?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What is the electret microphone? How does it work?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: The importance of understanding the directional characteristics of microphones
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: All about the omnidirectional polar pattern
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: All about the figure-of-eight polar pattern
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: All about the cardioid and hypercardioid polar patterns
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Multipattern microphones - Microphones that can work with any polar pattern.
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Special microphone types for professional applications
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Stereo microphones - How to record in stereo with a single microphone.
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Interference tube microphones - Sometimes called shotgun or rifle mics. (0:08)
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Boundary effect microphone - A microphone that doesn't need a stand.
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Miniature microphone - For when microphones shouldn't be obtrusive.
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone types for recording vocals
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for speech
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone accessories
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for news reporting
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for sports commentary
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques fo film and television drama
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for theater
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for conferences
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphones techniques for music
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Stereo microphone techniques
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Instrument microphone techniques
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for saxophone
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for piano
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone techniques for drums
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StartQuiz questions
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StartTUTORIAL; Microphone comparison speech tests
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StartTUTORIAL: Audio analysis of our speech tests
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StartTUTORIAL: Microphones tested on speech
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StartTUTORIAL: Microphone comparison singing tests
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StartTUTORIAL: Further comparisons of microphones for vocals
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StartTUTORIAL: Microphone modeling tests
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT: Microphone comparison test
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT: Microphone comparison test assessment criteria
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PreviewPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Microphone comparison test with audio demonstrations
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Further microphone comparison tests with audio demonstrations
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StartIntroduction
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Introduction to microphone preamplifiers
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: 'A piece of wire with gain' - What does this mean?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Are expensive preamplifiers worth the money?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: What active components do microphone preamplifiers use? What difference do they make?
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: The importance of input and output impedance
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Some preamplifiers use transformers, others do not. What is the difference?
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StartSummary of microphone preamplifiers so far
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone preamplifier controls
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Phantom power
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Gain
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Pad
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Filter
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Phase invert
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: More about gain
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Other preamplifier features
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone preamplifier operation
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StartKNOWLEDGE TOPIC: Microphone preamplfier output stages
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StartQuiz questions
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StartModel answers to quiz questions
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StartTUTORIAL: Microphone preamplifier demonstrations
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PreviewTUTORIAL: Setting preamplifier gain (7:37)
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StartTUTORIAL: Preamplifier test 1
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StartTUTORIAL: Preamplifier test 2
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StartTUTORIAL: Preamplifier test summary
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT: Stereo microphone techniques
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT: Stereo microphone techniques considerations
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT: Assessment criteria
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StartPRACTICAL PROJECT NOTES: Stereo microphone techniques demonstrations
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StartSummary of the practical project notes
Get started now!
Your Instructor
About Audio Masterclass's Course Director, David Mellor
David Mellor is the founder and Course Director Audio Masterclass, currently residing in the beautiful countryside of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has worked in audio education since 1986 in hands-on training, lectures and online. David Mellor holds the degree of B.Mus (Tonmeister) from the University of Surrey where he studied music, piano performance, acoustics, electronics, electro-acoustics and recording.
Live Sound and recording engineer
David Mellor worked as theatre sound engineer at London's Royal Opera House, with activities including sound design, front-of-house operation, stage monitoring and electronic design satisfying the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Karlheinz Stockhausen. David Mellor toured with the Royal Opera Company to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, USA; the Odeon of Herod Atticus, Athens, Greece; the Sejong Center, Seoul, South Korea; the Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan.
Musician and composer
Since 1985 David Mellor has had more than 1000 works published in the field of production music, including the Chappell and Carlin music libraries (now combined into Universal Publishing Production Music) and his own music library for which he has produced seventeen compact discs. Notable uses of his music include the BBC's Horizon, Fahrenheit 911, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Writer and educator
David Mellor has been actively involved in Audio Education since 1986, teaching students of City of Westminster College and Westminster University, and also returning to lecture at Surrey University. He has also written for magazines including Sound on Sound, Audio Media, Studio Sound, Sound & Video Contractor. He has also written four books on audio and video technology. David Mellor now specializes in online audio education and has been Course Director of Audio Masterclass since 2001.