The recording studio inside the virtual world of the computer is real enough, but sometimes you have to treat it with care to get the best from it. Computers offer us MIDI, audio recording, mixing, virtual effects, virtual synths and CD manufacturing facilities, but it doesn't pay to take them for granted. The following tips will help you get the best out of your system, whether it runs on a Mac or PC, and most assume that you already have a system that's up and running. If you're planning to buy a PC system but aren't sure what to go for, give some serious consideration to buying the system preconfigured from a single vendor rather than assembling it yourself. Don't necessarily buy the fastest system - you pay a premium for the very highest speed processors, but they rarely translate into a comparable performance boost! A system 1 or 2 grades down from the top is usually more than sufficient and the cash you save can be used for other peripherals that will improve the overall performance and/or sound quality.

1. Optimise your input signal level at source rather than relying on normalisation to bring the level up: if your signals peak at only half the maximum level, you're effectively halving the signal-to-noise ratio of your recordings and wasting half of the theoretical resolution of your system. Digital processing such as EQ or reverb may also introduce far more noticeable rounding and quantising errors in low-level recordings. Use the level metering provided in the software and try to keep your peak levels just a few dBs below clipping.

2. Regardless of whether you have 16-, 20- or 24-bit recording, the real quality of your recording will be defined by the source. For vocals, consider buying a voice channel type of device that combines a good mic amp with EQ and compression. This may also be used when miking other instruments, and many feature an instrument DI input suitable for use with bass and clean electric/electro-acoustic guitar.

3. The fact that computers and recording software are such good value for money can lead you into believing you can make do with equally cheap components in the rest of the studio. This simply isn't true. With good capacitor vocal mics now available for under £200, there's no excuse for using your old gigging dynamic microphone. While it still may be useful for a specific effect, a quality microphone will typically capture the performance better and lend itself to a better overall recording. The same goes for other hardware in your system - cheap mixers and other pieces will only degrade the sound. Some older and cheaper gear IS useful - the trick is knowing the gear well enough to be able to get the sound you're looking for.

4. Use quality monitor loudspeakers and set them up so that you're at the apex of a roughly equilateral triangle with the monitors pointing directly at you. You don't need to monitor loudly, but you do need enough volume to overcome the physical noise your computer fans and drives make.

5. Use a separate hard drive for audio if at all possible as this will increase the number of tracks you can play back at the same time. This also allows you to defragment, or even reformat, the drive regularly without disturbing your program files. Most modern drives are suitable for audio use, but if in doubt, get a drive that is badged as being suitable for AV applications. The faster the drive you buy, the more tracks you'll be able to play back, though very fast drives may need a special fast SCSI interface card to make the best of their capabilities. If you really can't afford a separate drive, at the very least create a separate partition on your main drive for audio use.

6. When choosing or upgrading a soundcard, try to get one that can provide at least four outputs - and a digital S/PDIF out if you own a DAT machine or Minidisc recorder. This way you can use one pair of outputs for tracks that use software-based plug-in effects while the other output can carry tracks that you want to effect using external processors.

7. Reverb is the most important effect in the studio, and good reverbs take up a lot of computing capacity. For this reason, it may be worth considering buying an additional 'processor card', such as the T.C. Powercore or Universal Audio UAD-1. They will provide you with the additional processing power needed to pull off a REALLY good sounding reverb (amongst other effects...) while freeing up your computers processor for the more mundane tasks. Check out my reviews of these cards for more detailed information on how they work. You may also want to consider something like Creamware's line of processor cards, though I typically only recommend these to people interested in an 'all-in-one' solution (mixing, fx, routing, etc.).

8. Unless you are using a fairly sophisticated soundcard with onboard DSP processing, you're likely to experience some latency or delay when monitoring the signal you're currently recording through the system (See Martin Walker's article on the subject in SOS April '99). The new ASIO 2.0 drivers will minimise this problem for compatible hardware, but it won't cure the problem in all soundcards. An alternative is to use a small mixer and arrange to monitor the computer's input rather than its output when overdubbing - a separate mixer will usually be needed to combine your audio and external synth/sampler signals anyway. Monitoring the input source will avoid latency problems, but will mean you have to monitor without plug-in software effects. However, a simple hardware reverb unit is generally all that's needed to put you in the mood for a good performance, and you can probably make use of this when mixing if your card has more than two outputs. Some of these issues are being addressed with newer audio software, though I have yet to come across an elegant, reliable solution.

9. Use Antares' Autotune plug-in not only to clean up vocal pitching, but also to tighten up guitar solos (check out a fully working demo here.). As long as you set a slow enough tracking time, regular playing will be unaffected, but whenever you sustain a note, it will automatically settle on exactly the right pitch. This can be particularly useful for slow pieces that use a lot of string bends. You can also emulate that Cher 'Believe' vocal-type sound extremely convincingly by just setting the tracking speed to maximum and dialing in the correct key for the song rather than leaving Autotune on its Chromatic setting (although of course, Cher's producers claim Autotune was not used on that recordeing - see SOS February '99).

10. One problem that most guitarists come up against is that the computer's monitor interferes badly with the guitar pickups, resulting in a nasty buzz on the recording. Some humbucking pickups are reasonably good at rejecting this buzz providing you don't sit too close to the monitor while recording, but single-coil pickups tend to be very badly affected. One way around this problem is to switch off the monitor just before recording and use keyboard commands to start and stop the recording process. If you can't switch the monitor off for some reason, sit as far away from it as possible when recording and rotate your position to find the null point where the buzz is least obtrusive. You might also use a noise gate pedal to keep your guitar quiet between phrases. Flat-screen LCD monitors are becoming cheaper and they both save space and eliminate the electromagnetic interference generated by the scan coils of a typical monitor. If you record a lot of guitar, or are short on space, such a monitor could be a good investment.

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