PRO AUDIO SITES

by Bruce Bartlett

Welcome to Pro Audio Sites, a new feature of The Cassette House Web Page. Every so often, we'll look at some useful sites on the Internet for those with an interest in pro audio and recording.

HERE AT HOME
Tape.com has its own links to many cool sites. Check out The DAT Web and The DAT Ring on the home page.

One such group of interest to Tape.com customers is the DAT-heads mailing list. It offers all sorts of information on DAT recording, miking, and so on. For information, point your browser to http://www.eklektix.com/dat-heads/. You can subscribe to the group by sending an email to:
dat-heads-request@fedney.near.net. Just say "subscribe" in the body of your letter.

Some DAT-Heads members have compiled a FAQ on microphones, which can be found at http://www.harmony-central.com/Other/mic-faq.txt.

The DAT Ring is a group of linked Web pages about DAT technology, and you can find it at http://home.earthlink.net/~axs666. A DAT-FAQ is available at ftp://ftp.atd.ucar.edu/pub/dat-heads/FAQ.

Another link is the Tape Trader Network, where you can trade recordings of live performances. It's at http://tapetracker.com/tradrindex.

GENERAL AUDIO
The AudioWeb at http://www.audioweb.com is a general hi-fi audio related site with online chat, classified ads, addresses to audio companies and clubs, articles from many hi-fi magazines and more.

Norris-Whitney Communications runs The Music and Audio Connection. It includes discussion groups, associations, classified ads, company info, musical education, files to download, and career information. Visit the site at http://maac.com/music.

Want to get on some audio bulletin boards? There's a list of them compiled by Steve Ekblad at http://www.wssh.net/~wattsup/page2.html. You'll find names, addresses, and subjects covered.

Geoff Martin hosts a wonderful Web page on all aspects of audio: computers, electroacoustic music, digital audio formats, stereo mic techniques, and much more. Look into it at http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~gmartin/index.html.

DIGITAL AUDIO
In the World Wide Pro Audio Directory is a section on digital audio. Its URL is http://home.wxs.nl/~jacobse/audiointro.html.

Bob Katz runs a fine Web site on digital audio and mastering. It's full of useful, well-written articles on such topics as CD mastering, compression in mastering, and level practices in digital audio. Find the site at http://www.digido.com.

Philips has a clear explanation of compact disc technology at http://www.km.philips.com/laseroptics/techo/cd/index_en.htm. Some topics covered are laser optics, CD-recordable, and DVD.

RECORDING
If you use a cassette ministudio, you might want to join the newsgroup alt.music.4-track. There's a FAQ on cassette 4-trackers at http://www.winternet.com/~dfrankow/4trakfaq.txt.

Some of us prefer to record on computers. Locate the PC-based multitrack recording FAQ at http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~mccreary/tbeach/archive/hdrec/faq.html

Another great DAW site is the Random Access digital audio workstation forum at http://www.pixelite.com/windaw.

MISCELLANEOUS
Want to jam with other musicians over the Internet? A company called Res Rocket Surfer (based in San Francisco and London) makes it possible. Go to http://www.resrocket.com.

Visit SPARS (The Society of Professional Audio Recording Services) website at http://www.spars.com/spars. There you'll find membership info, news, and links to other Industry resources.

The Ambisonic Surround Sound FAQ is highly educational. It's at http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-journals/ Computer-Music-Journal/Documents/Ambisonics.

MANUFACTURERS
AudioWeb has a manufacturer index at http://www.audioweb.com/directory/company/index.html. You can enter the name of an audio manufacturer and get its address.

Interested in binaural recording? Find information on binaural mics at http://www.panix.com-moskowit. Site founder Len Moskowitz is head of Core Sound, makers of affordable binaural mics. Another binaural mic company is The Sound Professionals at http://onramp.uscom.com/~soundpro/sprecinx.htm. John Sunier runs the Binaural Source which features binaural recordings. Binaural demos may be downloaded at http://www.binaural.com.

Innovative Quality Software offers wonderful support for its digital editing products such as SAW Plus and SAW32 Plus. Here you'll also find stimulating articles on digital audio by company founder and programmer Bob Lentini. The site is at http://www.iqsoft.com.

Need a gooseneck light to put over your mixer? Look for the Littlelite/CAE site at http://www.caeinc.com. Here are but a few other manufacturers' sites on the Web:
*Biamp Systems' (mixers, etc.) at http://www.biamp.com.
*Crown International (power amps and microphones) at http://www.crownintl.com.
*DSP.FX (software effects) at http://www.dspfx.com.
*Genelec (monitors) at http://www.genelec.com.
*Lexicon (effects) at http://www.musicpro.com.
*Mackie (mixers, power amps, speakers) at http://www.mackie.com.
*Neumann/USA (mics) at http://www.neumannusa.com.
*Otari (tape recorders) at http://www.otari.com.
*Rane (audio electronics) at http://www.rane.com.
*Renkus Heinz (speakers) at http://www.renkus-heinz.com.
*Sennheiser Electronic Corp. (mics, headphones) at www.sennheiserusa.com.
*Shure Brothers (mics and audio electronics) at http://www.shure.com.
*Sonic Solutions (digital editing) at http://www.sonic.com.
*Spirit (mixers) at http://www.spiritbysoundcraft.com.
*Tannoy (monitors) at http://www.tannoy.com.
*TASCAM (recorders, mixers, etc.) at http://www.tascam.com.
*Whirlwind (snakes and cables) at http://www.whirlwindusa.com.
*Yamaha (mixers, monitors, amps, etc.) at http:///www.yamaha.com
*Yorkville (monitors) at http://www.yorkville.com.

DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH
The Internet is a great place to ask questions. One of the best Usenet newsgroups for this purpose is rec.audio.pro. You can ask questions and get answers from pro engineers. You may get conflicting answers, because often there are many ways to do the same thing. Also, some who reply are more expert than others. But you'll often find stimulating debates. You can also buy or sell used recording equipment in this newsgroup. In your subject line, just type "WTB" (wanted to buy) or "FS" (for sale) followed by the name of the item(s).

Using an Internet search engine such as Infoseek, Lycos or AltaVista, search for the keywords audio, recording, DAT, digital audio, and so on. You'll discover hundreds of audio-related Web sites and links.

Also search for the manufacturer and model number of equipment you have, or are interested in. Hundreds of companies have information on their products, company news, tech support, and application guides.

To find newsgroups about audio, go to the Liszt of Newsgroups at http://www.liszt.com/news/. There you can search for newsgroups by keyword. If you click on one of the groups that turns up, your browser will download that group (if your provider carries that group). When looking for newsgroups of interest, try keywords such as multimedia, MIDI, electronics, sound, and so on.

Steve Ekblad has compiled a list of audio-related Internet sites at http://www.audiogrid.com.

Several pro-audio magazines and books are accessible online. For example, Norris-Whitney Communications offers these literature sources:
*Canadian Musician at http://nor.com/cm
*Professional Sound at http:/nor.com/ps
* Music Books Plus at http://musicbooksplus.com.
This last site offers many audio-related books, videos, and CD-ROMs, plus a free electronic newsletter.

Amazon.com is the world's biggest bookstore. They have a terrific search engine, so that you can search for audio books by author, title, or subject.

Finally, one of the best sites is the World Wide Pro Audio Directory. It's a great place to research audio topics. A few of the many subjects are digital audio, duplication, audio education, mics, consoles, manufacturers, rentals, audio articles, mailing lists, maintenance, and much more. The Directory's URL is http://home.wxs.nl/~jacobse/audiointro.html.

That is but a sampling of the world of pro audio online. Happy browsing!