How to use the category, level and importance info in each article

How to use these articles:


Category: Reference, Studio, Recording, Mixing, Mastering, Distribution, News & Reviews
These categories are meant to let you know what the article is focused on or written for, but also serve as "tags" that you can search for on the blog to find articles that fit into any one of these categories.

• Reference: Terms, explanations of how to use HSR (like this article) & quizzes
• Studio: Articles dealing with the physical location you produce in
• Recording: Articles dealing with tracking, editing audio or MIDI
• Mixing: Articles dealing with compiling multiple tracks of audio into fewer
• Mastering: Articles dealing with stereo or mono tracks that have been mixed down
• Distribution: Articles dealign with sharing your finished projects
• News & Reviews (web/blog only): Articles that feature product info, interviews or stories or just important info for the times! (Due to their periodical nature, these articles will always be a feature of just the site or blog, and will not be in a published resource)

Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Pro
Simply put, if the level is only "Pro", then until you are familiar enough with what is written in beginner or intermediate articles, you might want to wait a bit longer to "try this at home". 


Importance: (Who will know?) Everyone, The Trained Ear, The Seasoned Pro
This reveals the importance of paying attention to what is discussed in the article. For example, only a seasoned pro will notice the high hat is a bit resonant at 8k than it should be, and a trained ear will notice it's a bit loud, but almost anyone will know if it's totally out of tempo with everything else. 
(beware: many seasoned pros will claim anyone can hear some things because it is so obvious to them, but it's simply not usually the case)


Pro tips:
These are little tidbits of info that experienced producers & engineers know and use that will help you save your brain or your wallet in the middle of certain tasks or projects. Knowing and practicing these things will also make you very popular at social gatherings. 


Warnings!
Stuff to watch out for that could be disastrous if overlooked. Need I explain more? Really?

Welcome to the HSR!

Author's note: Written fast; will edit more later. :)

Welcome everyone to the launching pad & springboard of the Home Studio Resource. Here, until I have enough to compile a huge actual resource for something like an interactive app or textbook, I will simply write articles of things I know will help the aspiring home producer (that's you!), save time, money and... dignity! Yes, you read it correctly... I am here to help you save some FACE! Being that I have fallen on mine enough times in the Pro Audio world, why not pass on the knowledge for posterity, right?

Thanks for not arguing.

Mainly, after more than 20 years in the music profession in one way or another, I have started this for two reasons. The first is that while searching and searching, most web info on home producing (not all of it, just most of it) is way over the top, way too wrong or just terribly presented. Period. And it's just too much to sift through for the average guy in the hope of a nugget you need to finish that demo in your basement before the show next week, you know? Information is so spread out, you may get one good article here and one good video there, yet in between is a bunch of nonsense that ruins them both! Not to mention that next to bad or hard to find info, our great, free enterprise world has another down side: amateurism! This means that good info is lost in terrible presentation (won't get into it now, but I know we've seen it).

And this ignorance always costs people money. Much needed money that is too often, for example, spent on a mic that is only half as good as a mic that cost less than half the price! Yes... it happens every day because of hype and ignorance. The infamous duo of good production. But how could one know? Well, that's what I am trying to help us all out with here.

Second, I am doing this for myself. I love music and love production. Hands down, it's what I want to do with my life. But I still have so much to learn. And as I teach what I have know so far, share and get feedback about  all this stuff from others who know it and who have been learning and practicing it, I grow in my field, just like you! And my resources are great, too. Not only can I get great the latest software and even some hardware to review and learn from, I also get to rub elbows with some seasoned pros as well as people who come up with the latest, most resourceful ideas that can help others save time and money!

So please feel free to write back and comment, critique (even on my writing, please) so we can refine this whole thing to the best it can be so all of our music sounds pro and so we don't go broke producing it! (hear, hear!) We can debate and argue all we want, as long as in the end, we stay to the cardinal vurtues of HSRL: Sound pro & save money!

And now, to start this thing going...

Sincerely,

Alvin Zamudio
Founder, musician, composer, producer & head writer guy.