This section can help you in the studio or home to become a better recording musician. Of course, trial and error is still our best educator in this field, but having some beginning knowledge/preparation can help the process of capturing just the right tension and tone of your vision.

Try not to be discouraged with your first attempts at a song or passage. Often times, the first "take" is far from perfect and can be used to work out the jitters or be a springboard for other musical options or techniques.

When recording an acoustic instrument, it is best to set up two mics (one right in front of the sound hole, the other at a 30-45 degree angle aimed at the sound hole OR an overhead mic) and mix the two channels to your liking. This captures a more full-bodied, "real room" sound that may have otherwise sounded a bit thin.

"How to maximize your sound" by Dave at FATnSASSY Mastering - When working in a mastering 2 track editor, always maintain your levels L/R somewhere around -3.0dB. As you add compression, reverbs, EQ's and whatever else, you'll need to always reduce your volume to stay at -3.0dB as these and other "adds" will ultimately bring +dB's with each edit.

When you're finished and satisfied with all you've done, increase the volume until the "tips" just kiss the borders then using volume again, reduce the volume by (usually) -0.17dB. The end result will be your audio L/R with peaks standing at -0.2dB which is the ultimate .wav file master levels. This gives you 8/10ths of a dB for radio broadcast/MP3 file converting compression algorythms NOT to exceed the 0.0dB barrier!