How does a newbie learn the secret handshake of the recording community and master the tricks that make the pros sound so professional? Larry Crane's new video courses on lynda.com can help. 

One of the biggest challenges young musicians face when trying to break into the business is this conundrum: You need experience to land the good studio jobs, but experience-well, it comes from those good studio jobs. It's a catch-22 that makes professional recording seem like a black art passed around among insiders. 

But video training has changed all that. Online tutorials allow anyone to learn anything, at any time, anywhere-and at lynda.com, you don't have to sneak into studios or intern on those 2 a.m. sessions to get an insider's view into recording. Two of our new courses, Music Recording Secrets: Larry Crane on Recording and Music Recording Secrets: Larry Crane on Mixing, invite anyone to virtually step inside Jackpot! Recording Studio with owner, founder, and Tape Op magazine editor Larry Crane.  Get an up-close look at the tips, tricks and workflow techniques that have served Larry well in producing artists like She & Him, Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, and many more.

From mic'ing up a snare drum to spicing up cymbal hits to getting a tight, punchy bass tone that pairs seamlessly with your kick drum, Larry's lynda.com courses take you deep inside the recording process from his firsthand perspective, demonstrating how to get the best sounds possible from your recording space and equipment.

In Music Recording Secrets: Larry Crane on Recording, Larry takes you through the recording process: setting levels, placing microphones, and getting a vocal tone and performance that's just right for the track. He looks at creative ways to supplement a sterile DI for recording bass guitar that can help you add a unique twist to your groove, and show you how to remove the hums, clicks, and buzzes that can ruin an otherwise perfect take. 

Next, Music Recording Secrets: Larry Crane on Mixing shows how to add energy and vitality to those raw tracks you've just captured. Larry shows how to set up your space for mixing, remove noise, and add compression and EQ to help your tracks sit neatly together in the mix. Then he offers tips for adding flair to your tracks by re-amping instruments, adding splashes of delay and reverb to shape your soundstage, and using effects like reverse delays. 

That's the kind of advice that comes only from a working professional at the top of his game. Join Larry at lynda.com and learn how to get the most from your tracks.

Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.

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