Jon Chappell (New York, NY) is a multi-style guitarist, composer, and arranger. He studied guitar under Carlos Barbosa-Lima at Carnegie Mellon University, and then earned his master's degree in music composition from DePaul University. He has served as editor-in-chief of Guitar Magazine, and was the founder and first editor-in-chief for Home Recording magazine. Chappell is the author of several books, including Guitar for Dummies (more than 400,000 copies sold) and Rock Guitar for Dummies, and the forthcoming Jim Marshall: The Father of Loud, the biography of the Marshall amp designer. He has written extensively for Keyboard, EQ, Guitar Player, Electronic Musician, Onstage, Drum!, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times, and has recorded with Pat Benatar, Judy Collins, Graham Nash, and Bruce Springsteen. Chappell composes and produces music in his home studio for film and TV, and has contributed to such shows as National Public Radio's All Things Considered, Walker, Texas Ranger, Northern Exposure, B. Smith with Style, and the feature film Bleeding Hearts, directed by actor/dancer Gregory Hines.

Ch. 1: The Computer as "Command Central"; Ch. 2: The Requirements; Ch. 3: Hardware Peripherals; Ch. 4: Software Essentials; Ch. 5: Audio Recording on a Computer; Ch. 6: MIDI Recording on a Computer; Ch. 7: Audio and Video Production; Ch. 8: Producing Audio for the Internet; Ch. 9: The Leading Edge: High-Res and Surround Sound; Ch. 10: Home Studio Considerations; Ch. 11: Non-Computer Stuff; Ch. 12: Maintaining and Caring For Your Recording PC