[LAU] Q: educational websites/books on comp. audio/recording in general

[Alan Russell]

Hi,

This is my first post to this list, and I'm trying to help rather than
asking questions. This must be a first!

By far the best book - the bible if you want - on working with digital
audio is Mastering Audio by Bob Katz (1). It's written for mastering
engineers, but the concepts it covers (and there's a lot of them!) are
equally valid for mix engineers. It could do with a new edition, however,
and the equipment it discusses is mostly way out of the budget of most home
studio engineers.

It also doesn't cover recording. To be honest, home studios setups are each
so unique it would be pointless to write a general book on the subject. The
manual for your interface and your DAW's documentation are your friends
here.

For general recording techniques, like how to point microphones at things,
it's more just a matter of practise, listening, and experimenting. Don't
blow money on a book for this, because it's all subjective. Eg, one book
will tell you to record an acoustic guitar by pointing a Fig-8 mic at the
12th fret, another one will tell you to point a cardioid behind the bridge
and a dynamic at the fretboard, etc, etc... Having said that, I would
recommend Joe Gilder's Home Studio Corner blog (2) and its archives, where
he covers a lot of this stuff.

If you don't understand what "Fig-8" and "cardioid" means (I'm assuming
nothing here), they're mic polar patterns. I learned that kind of stuff
from the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook (3) but I wouldn't recommend
it. It's for live engineers, and it's very dry. More of a manual, not fun
to read. That kind of technical stuff I'm sure would be covered on Google,
probably even on mic manufacturers' websites.

The Master Handbook of Acoustics recommended previously is very dry as
well. I'm the kind of audio nerd who enjoys that sort of thing, and every
time I dip into it I find something new and fascinating, but it is very,
very technical, even math-heavy in places. You have been warned.

(1) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Audio-Science-Bob-Katz/dp/0240808371/
(2) http://www.homestudiocorner.com/
(3)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008/

Alan Russell
ajrussellaudio at gmail.com


On 11 January 2012 17:49, Moshe Werner <moshwe at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Chris,
>
> I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but let me say that I got
> a lot of useful information in the field of recording acoustics (and
> acoustics at all) from the "Master Handbook of Acoustics" by Elton Everest.
> It's not exactly a guide to starters but it's extremely valuable when you
> want to get deeper knowledge of what you're doing.
> Hope this helps.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Moshe
>
> On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 4:37 PM, Chris Metzler <cmetzler at speakeasy.net>wrote:
>
>>
>> Hi.  The thread from my previous questions, which arose from
>> researching what audio interface to get, evolved into a
>> possibly-off-topic Q&A on more general (that is, non-linux-related)
>> audio and recording stuff.  To avoid posting more off-topic stuff into
>> the mailing list, I'm wondering if folks could offer their
>> personal recommendations on educational sources (books, websites, etc.)
>> about (home) recording, pro audio for relative neophytes, etc.  I am
>> familiar with the "PC Home Recording for Dummies" book and very little
>> else.  I've found other stuff by googling; but I'm curious as to what
>> people here particularly recommend.
>>
>> Thanks much,
>>
>> -c
>>
>> --
>> Chris Metzler                   cmetzler at speakeasy.snip-me.net
>>                (remove "snip-me." to email)
>>
>> "As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since
>> I have become civilized." - Chief Luther Standing Bear
>>
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>>
>
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