The Alternative Workbook

This workbook is a ‘plug and play’ quick guide for all of you who want to make the most out of your current practice space: playing music, having fun and capturing the magic.
Writing, arranging, performing and recording flow together into one highly rewarding process as everything we have learned about what is truly essential for recording in small spaces (with low or no budget) is clearly explained here!
 
We describe every step of the way, from instrument set-up, positioning microphones (from vintage record industry standards to revolutionary new methods), to preamps directly into converter (without compressors or equalizers, and finally to your computer. You can absolutely transform your own rehearsal place into a private, intimate refuge- available 24 hours day and night for whenever musical inspiration hits you, and there will be no studio manager to present you with a huge bill at the end! How many times have you heard musicians say, or experienced for yourself “Well, it actually sounded much better in our practice space!”
 
The normal, tiresome production approach is the ‘sandwich’ method with a click track and headphones, recording one player after another in order achieve the best possible isolation (and thus editing and sound control). Instead, we prefer live recordings where the overall sound quality, interaction, communal grooving and sweating come to the fore. Here, the much-feared microphone leakage and it‘s supposed ‘loss of control’ becomes instead a vital part of the power, excitement and pulse of the song itself. Headphones and clicks are actually not necessary ingredients in this type of recording!
 
We hope to inspire you to find the courage to grab the wheel and to have fun producing music on your own.

I am very proud to announce, that a good old friend of mine, Gordon Raphael, wrote the foreword of this workbook, plus one completely new chapter about voice-recording. Gordon is most famous for his big success in producing the debut album of the band THE STROKES (“Is this it”) in 2001, as well as many other records around the globe.