Lori Spencer is a Contributing Editor at Yahoo! News and This Can't Be Happening! Her work can also be seen regularly on Counterpunch, Truth Out, and OpEdNews, among others.
By Lori Spencer
If your treasured vinyl records are skipping, there could be several reasons why. Dirt, dust or other debris in the grooves of the record are the most common cause of record skips. Your turntable’s arm may need balancing, or the stylus could be worn out. The good news is that all of these problems can be fixed with a minimum of cost and effort. The bad news is, if the skipping is being caused by…
Continued at: http://www.ehow.com/how_8209913_fix-record-skips.html
By Lori Spencer
The landmark 1984 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sony Corporation v. Universal City Studios (more widely known as the Betamax case) established the legality of home video recording. The court ruled that home VCR use did not infringe the rights of copyright holders, and that the plaintiffs would not suffer a substantial loss in profits because of home video recording. In this case, it was decided that recording a TV program for later home viewing met the “fair use” standard.
The ever-changing landscape of digital technology presents new legal questions for copyright holders and consumers alike. We’ll tackle a few of the most frequently asked ones.
By Lori Spencer
Magnetic audio cassette tapes deteriorate over time to due age, wear, dust and temperature/humidity fluctuations. If you have some cherished recordings on cassette tape that you don’t want to lose, back them up to a digital format quickly and preserve them forever.
This is a simple process using basic sound recording software. Some popular free software choices are Audacity and WavePad (both are Mac compatible), or you can just use the Sound Recorder program that came pre-installed with Windows. In this tutorial we will be using Audacity, although the…
Continues at: http://www.ehow.com/how_7346684_record-audio-cassette-computer.html
By Lori Spencer
We’ve all seen them: self-taken photographs showing an arm holding the camera, or snapped in front of a mirror with a blinding flash glare. Naturally, you want your photos to look better than that, but the physical limitations of snapping your own picture make it nearly impossible to get a good shot of yourself (unless you’re a contortionist, that is).
If you need photos of yourself and don’t have someone around to take them, there are ways to avoid the common pitfalls of do-it-yourself photography…
By Lori Spencer
Whether you’re a professional voice-over artist, a video gamer, or just want to spoof your friends with a prank call over VoIP, voice-changing software gets the job done. You can easily change your voice from young to old, male to female, high to low, and create your own game character voices using special effects — the possibilities are endless.
Many voice-changing (or voice-cloaking) software programs are available. Free programs tend to deliver poor sound quality and don’t offer many features. Pro versions $10 to a little more than $100, as of May 2011…
Continued at http://www.ehow.com/how_8406270_change-voice-record-yourself.html
By Lori Spencer
Audio engineering careers require versatility and the ability to adapt to working in a variety of sound formats and applications. One day, an engineer might be making an album for a major rock artist; the next day, he or she might be editing a film soundtrack or mixing a classical 120-piece orchestra‘s recording of Beethoven‘s Ninth Symphony. Jobs in sound engineering range include things such as running live sound at concerts, producing radio and television shows, creating sound for video games, performing audio post production or even designing entire public address (PA) systems and recording studios.
Continued at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-jobs-in-sound-engineering.htm
By Lori Spencer
If you love music, are fascinated by technology and are lucky enough to have very precise hearing, you may have what it takes to become an audio engineer. Producing or engineering an album for one of the world’s top artists is certainly a desirable goal for many, but competition for jobs in the recording industry is fierce. If you want to rise to the top of the heap, you’ll need more than just training or technical expertise. Being a successful audio engineer also requires determination, persistence, patience, industry connections, people skills, and of course, talent.
Continued at http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-become-an-audio-engineer.htm
See also related story “How Do I Become a Broadcast Engineer” by Lori Spencer for radio, tv and film career-specific advice:
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-become-a-broadcast-engineer.htm
By Lori Spencer
The crystal and ceramic pickups of yesteryear’s record players have been replaced by the magnetic cartridge — now the standard for modern turntables. Although they lack the amplification of the old crystal or ceramic pickups, magnetic turntable cartridges track much lighter across the record, thus causing less wear in the groove. There are two basic types of magnetic turntable cartridges: moving magnet (also known as MM) and moving coil (MC).
Continued at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-turntable-cartridges.htm
