Also see our Marketing & Advertising and Contests pages.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the podcast, the website, and the hosts

We hope this page answers your questions, but if it doesn’t, try the listener forums, post to the contact page, or email us at comments {at} insidehomerecording {dot} com.

1. Why the funny email addresses?
2. Who are we?
3. What’s a podcast?
4. How do I subscribe?
5. How many subscribers does IHR have?
6. Who is the audience?
7. How often does IHR come out?
8. Can I make a suggestion?
9. Why can’t I comment on old blog posts?
10. Do you have a promo or commercial?
11. What is the Home Recording Network?
12. How do you get the stuff you review?
13. Could you please review my favourite product?
14. How do I submit something for review?
15. Does IHR accept advertising or sponsorship?
16. I like the show. Can I support IHR in a small way?
17. How do I get my music on the show?
18. How do I get my photos on the site?
19. What kind of gear do you guys use?
20. Who wrote your theme music?
21. What do people have to say about IHR?

Why the funny-looking email addresses?

The email addresses on the site (like comments {at} insidehomerecording {dot} com) aren’t clickable, and they look weird because spambots (software looking to harvest email addresses to send spam to) harvest regular email links, and we hate getting spam. Fortunately, as a human you can just read the address out and type it as if the funny squiggly-bracket stuff weren’t there, and you’ll have a regular, normal email address that gets straight to us.It’s a slightly annoying, we know, but it does help prevent automated spambot harvesters. Or use the contact form, or leave a comment on the blog or a post in the forums and don’t worry about it!

Who are we?

Inside Home Recording (IHR) is a podcast that covers the latest in home studio recording and is hosted by composer/home recordist Dave Chick.  Derek K. Miller (web guy–drummer/guitarist–editor) co-hosted the podcast up until May 3, 2011 when he unfortunately passed away after a long battle with cancer. Original co-host James Devon left in mid-2006 before Derek joined. Founder and original co-host Paul Garay still contributes to the show from time to time as well. Dave is a professional musician involved in teaching, producing and recording music. IHR is based in Vancouver, Canada. Read more about the hosts at the IHR Hosts page…

What is a podcast?

Podcasting (derived from Apple’s iPod & broadcasting) is a way of publishing sound files to the Internet, allowing users to receive new audio files automatically by subscription, usually at no cost. Unlike radio or streaming media, podcasts are time-shifted, meaning that listeners have control over when they hear the recording.

How do I subscribe to Inside Home Recording?

IHR is a podcast that you can subscribe to using iTunes or other software, such as Juice, Zune, NetNewsWire, or Doppler, or listen to directly on the web at www.insidehomerecording.com. Find out details at the IHR Subscriptions page…

How many subscribers does IHR currently have?

IHR currently has more than 12,000 downloads (from at least 5000 individual subscribers and website listeners) each month from all over the world, and continues to grow. IHR also receives dozens of encouraging emails every week. See our quotes FAQ to find out what they’ve had to say.

Who is the target audience?

IHR is targeting home recording enthusiasts ranging from beginners to professional musicians looking for the latest news, reviews, examples, and techniques to hone their craft. For more information, see our Marketing & Advertising page.

How often is IHR produced?

IHR’s goal is to produce up to 26 (30 to 45 min.) shows per year, on average every two weeks. Our schedule varies somewhat as our schedules demand, but we continue to try to produce two episodes per month.

Can I make suggestions or comments?

Please! The best place to make suggestions is as a comment on our blog at www.insidehomerecording.com, but you can also use our contact page, or send email to comments {at} insidehomerecording {dot} com.

Why can’t I leave comments on older blog posts?

As with so many other websites, we have had problems with comment spam (comments trying to sell useless stuff, rather than proper discussion) on our blog. We therefore used to deactivate new comments on all but the most recent posts (approximately since the second-last most recent show). But later in 2006 we found some really good anti-spam software, so now we leave comments on for all posts. We reserve the right to shut them off if necessary, though.Once a comment has been posted and approved, it never goes away, but only posts created after we installed the anti-spam software can receive new comments. If you want to say something about an older show or post, please use the listener forums instead.

Do you have a promo?

Podcasters sometimes like to play promos (effectively commercials) for other podcasts. The latest IHR promo is easy to find: go to insidehomerecording.com/promo.

Do you buy the stuff you review, or do you get it for free?

Some hardware and software gets sent to us by manufacturers for review, while we borrow or buy others. In any case, the source of the products does not affect our opinion of them: we strive to maintain integrity and be honest and forthright in our reviews and recommendations. If we do not have to return products after we review them, we usually offer them as giveaways to our listeners, forum participants, commenters, and photo pool members. And sometimes we like stuff so much that we just keep it ourselves. Now you know!

Could you please review my favourite product?

We love your suggestions about the show, including products you’d like us to review. But it’s not always possible for us to obtain the specific ones you’re asking for, since we can’t afford to purchase every possible option ourselves, and manufacturers are not always able to send us samples.More useful is suggesting types of products you’d like to hear reviewed or discussed if we haven’t covered them already, or in the way that would be most helpful to you. Please contact us with your ideas.

How do I submit equipment or software for review?

IHR’s growing audience is always interested in new or useful recording equipment or software, and as genuine music gear-heads we genuinely appreciate being able to obtain equipment and software to review, of course. If you are a manufacturer or distributor and would like to submit your products for us to consider for review, please email reviews {at} insidehomerecording {dot} com for our mailing address. While we strive to cover as much as we can, we cannot guarantee reviews for products we receive.

Does IHR accept advertising or sponsorship?

Inside Home Recording is currently largely independently self-financed, with some sponsorship in equipment, software, and occasional advertising. We will consider further appropriate sponsors or advertisers in the future. If you or your company is interested in sponsoring or advertising on the show or website, please email sales {at} insidehomerecording {dot} com. Advertising or sponsorhip will not affect how we evaluate the products we review. For more information, see our Marketing & Advertising page.

I like the show. Can I support IHR in a small way?

Okay, maybe you don’t ask us this very frequently, but we’d like it if you did. To support IHR directly, you can either donate or subscribe using our PayPal tip jar.Otherwise, we also have affiliate relationships with zZounds (musical gear) and Amazon (gear and everything else). Buying something from our links to them will get us a small commission, which helps pay for hosting and bandwidth for the podcast and website. If you’re outside the U.S.A., we’re working on a musical affiliate, but right now haven’t had much luck. Since we’re in Canada, we can’t even use our own affiliate links for zZounds at the moment!

How do I get my music on the show?

Other than our regular contests and giveaways, the way to get something on IHR is to have a useful example of a technique that others might like to apply. We’re not really a show that’s about featuring listener compositions directly—obviously, everyone listening has some interest in recording music, so we could easily fill several shows a week with that material alone, without being able to fit in the stuff that Inside Home Recording is really about: advice, tips, and reviews to help each listener get better sound from his or her own work.Now, if you have a particularly interesting recording technique or tip you’d like to share with us, our forums are a great way to talk about it, and so would be an emailed audio comment of some sort, perhaps with a sample of the technique you’re talking about as you’ve applied it to your music. Since you’re working in a heavier, more industrial vein than we’ve usually covered, there’s likely to be some techniques you use that we either don’t know about or haven’t tried extensively.And I would recommend you check out the Home Made Hit Show, which is a forum for listener contributions. You could also try putting stuff on the Podsafe Music Network for podcasters and others to play.

How do I get my photos on your site?

At the top of our home page and in the forums, you’ll see a random selection of photos from Dave, Derek, Paul, and some of our listeners. Those are coming from the IHR group photo pool at the free photo sharing site Flickr.If you’d like to add your own recording rig photos so that they show up here at the IHR site, head on over to Flickr and sign up if you’re not already a member, then go to the IHR group and join the pool. Once you’ve joined, you can click Send to Group on the individual page for any photo you upload to include it in the pool. We’d ask you to use the tags ihrigs and maybe ihr and insidehomerecording too to help keep them organized. We’ll periodically have giveaways for photo pool members, so it’s worth joining.

What kind of gear do you guys use?

Paul and Derek discussed our gear setups briefly at the beginning of IHR #16, when Derek first joined the show. Things have changed a bit since then, but we do provide updates on the show from time to time.

Who wrote your theme music?

Steven Dennis is a fine guitarist and composer from the New Orleans area, and won a copy of Cubase for his cool theme tune, “Acidic Bond,” in early 2006.

What do people have to say about IHR?

Comments, quotes, and testimonials we’ve received via email, in our forums, and at the iTunes Music Store include:

“These fellows know what they are talking about and produce an intelligent, balanced, and tasteful podcast.”"These guys are great! This is like having your own personal consultant on home recording.”"They move at just the right pace… Amazing production, great show!”"I look forward to each episode. This is the only podcast I have heard that is so rich in good content.”"I enjoyed the recent segment on ear training.”"I started working on home recording two years ago and I wish I had something like this back then.”"Thanks for such a great and needed resource.”"The information that they give you really helps you out when you go to the music store.”"Contains great info about recording and good reviews that are non-biased.”"The hosts are great, the pacing is excellent, and the topics are fantastic! This is what I imagined podcasts could be like.”"You really feel like you are in the room learning from the masters.”"This is a very well professionally constructed show that is sure to please home recording enthusiasts.”"They never leave me asking, ‘What?’ They’ve always got the who, what, when, where, and how covered.”"What I like most is that they have formatted their podcast in such a way that anyone can understand what they are trying to get across.”"Nice to see the show improving and growing over time.”"You guys are as square as they come, and hey…that’s OK, just leave the comedy to the professionals!”"Anyone interested in recording music, podcasts, or other audio should subscribe, even if you’re an expert already. I just wish they’d release episodes more often!”"A ‘must hear show’ for those of us interested in utilizing our home music audio technology!”"You’ve got a great thing going.”"Thanks for putting together such a nice podcast on home recording. There’s a lot of stuff out there but none that I’ve heard so far of such great quality.”"Your podcast has renewed my interest and desire in home recording and songwriting.”"I recently saw your podcast featured in the tech podcast section of iTunes and have been catching up on the episodes ever since. Great stuff and very well done.”"Your show is a great resource: very informative.”"I like the fact that you’re reviewing equipment that is within a hobbyist’s budget.”"Your show is definitely top notch. I hope it’s around for awhile.”"They not only review new gear but also provide useful tips and techniques vital to us home recording and project studio nuts.”

For more information, see our Marketing & Advertising page.