I get so many questions from all kinds of people involved in recording... some hobbyists, others are amateurs making a part-time living doing small projects for themselves and others, and still more are budding professionals just starting to get their feet wet.

I thought this would be a good time to provide links to some excellent resources on audio and audio production.

FIRST - if you really need a good guide to help put it all together for your - it's long but extremely well-written and easy-to-understand:

A colleague of mine has a huge and comprehensive compendium of knowledge known as The Guide: http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm It contains segments of particular interest to VO artists --

There's a section on setup options for putting a rig together: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also sections on microphones and mic preamps: http://www.tweakheadz.com/microphones_for_the_home_studio.htm http://www.tweakheadz.com/microphone_preamps.htm

And a section on monitors (speakers): http://www.tweakheadz.com/studio_monitors.htm

SECOND - another colleague of mine has created an immense grouping of links called the Project Studio Handbook. The main categories are here: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm, but there are many excellent subsections....

For the basics of digital recording: http://arts.ucsc.edu/ems/music/tech_background/TE-16/teces_16.html

For the basics of setting up a desktop studio (parts 1, 2 & 3): http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/aug00/articles/desktop.htm http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/sep00/articles/desktop.htm http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/oct00/articles/desktop.htm

Excellent audio glossaries: http://www.audioed.com.au/glossary_free1.html http://www.micsupply.com/glossary.htm http://www.modernrecording.com/resources/glossary.shtml

For the basics of audio recording: http://www.pcmus.com/AudioTips.htm

Choosing a channel strip (a mic preamp for voice): http://soundwave.com/2001/08_aug/features/ch_strip/ch_strip.htm

Dispelling audio myths: http://www.ethanwiner.com/myths.html

AND FINALLY - yours truly has also written some articles. While predominantly geared towards music production, they are also useful for basic concepts used in any type of production.

Notably, an article on the use of headphones: http://www.bluebearsound.com/articles/headphones.htm
And also a section on signal level/gain structures and EQ: http://www.bluebearsound.com/articles/levels.htm http://www.bluebearsound.com/articles/eqnotes.htm

That should give you quite a bit to read until next month!

Cheers,
Bruce