Required and recommended reading for audio professionals

[imagineaudio]

I know there are lists of books and articles all over the place, but.....

I highly respect a bunch of people here, and it'd be nice to have a "womb" approved reading list.

maybe it could be a sticky?


-Ryan

[otek]

Some required reading (for starters):


The Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook

Bruce Swedien: Making Mine Music

The Daily Adventures Of Mixerman



Required Watching:


This Is Spinal Tap

[dumbass]

There's a couple more that I would suggest... SERIOUSLY!!

The Electric Koolaid Acid Test
When Atlas Shrugged
Zen and the Art of Motorcylce Riding
Portnoy's Complaint







oooooooooooowa!! Almost forgot THE most important reading!!!!


About 20 years worth of MAD magazine!


(what, who me?!?)

[peter]

There's a couple more that I would suggest... SERIOUSLY!!

The Electric Koolaid Acid Test
When Atlas Shrugged
Zen and the Art of Motorcylce Riding
Portnoy's Complaint







oooooooooooowa!! Almost forgot THE most important reading!!!!


About 20 years worth of MAD magazine!


(what, who me?!?)


wasn't it "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

and what also helps a lot is all 5 volumes of the trilogy of "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

[Flipper]

Shouldn't slippy's "Distorted Guitars from hell" be required reading...

Theres smome good shit in there, not to mention it's funny as fuck...:lol:

[Skwaidu]

and what also helps a lot is all 5 volumes of the trilogy of "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Amen!


Behind The Glass is one nice piece... The Mixing Engineer's Handbook was also inspirational at the time I read it. And what Otek said.

[mousdrvr]

I've probably killed half a dozen threads with my various hyperbolic Odes to this thing :lol: So I while I hesitated to bring it up, Please, do as Otek bids you. You won't regret it.

YSRH (http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008)

US $24.12 one click baby!


-mous

[Flipper]

I've probably killed half a dozen threads with my various hyperbolic Ode's to this thing :lol: So I while I hesitated to bring it up, Please, do as Otek bids you. You won't regret it.

YSRH (http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008)

US $24.12 one click baby!


-mous


Best thing i ever did was steal this from our drummer....:icon_eek:

I mean really he wasn't using it....:D

[dumbass]

wasn't it "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

Yes, I stand corrected... I was sitting here remembering the ride through the Wyoming morning...

and what also helps a lot is all 5 volumes of the trilogy of "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Another series of good reads as well!

[con mucho gusto]

The Real Frank Zappa Book...

i got a lot of nerdy mileage outa Mixing w/ Your Mind.

[archtop]

The Recording Studio Handbook

by John Woram

[imagineaudio]

I hesitated on "mixing with your mind."

[Fulcrum]

Has Jack Ortman published Mixing Without Listening yet? That's supposed to be chock full of, er, stuff.

And I will second, or third, the YSRH, a copy of which will hopefully be waiting under my tree this coming Monday, in time for me to take it into work.

[Skwaidu]

I hesitated on "mixing with your mind."

It's kinda ghey, ainnit? :lol:


Cool concept though.

[Psyko/Acoustics]

"It's kinda ghey, ainnit?


Cool concept though."


Have you read it?

There are some useful concepts in there. Don't knock it till you try it.

Slippy's stuff is excellent, and free! Bobby Owsinski's volumes are also invaluable... Bob Katz's "Mastering Audio" is a mind-opener, especially for someone interested in digital audio.

The Yamaha book is still on my to-do list.:Roll eyes:

Oops.

[otek]

"It's kinda ghey, ainnit? Cool concept though."

Have you read it?

You would tend to think so, since he commented on it, no?

There are some useful concepts in there. Don't knock it till you try it.

Does "cool concept" (Skwai's words) mean something else where you live?

[Skwaidu]

It's kinda ghey, ainnit?


Cool concept though.


Have you read it?

There are some useful concepts in there. Don't knock it till you try it.


Like Otek suspected, I *have* read it...

I skimmed through it several years ago, back when I was a student(of the AE craft)...

Even back then I found it kinda redundant and no substitute for actually using one's *own* imagination and picking ideas listening to great records... Just sayin'.

[Starfucker]

I heard of a book for Studio assistants. I think it's called Assistant engineers handbook... by... Tim Crich... or something.
I'd like one of those for the interns here.


Movies:

Metallica: Some kind of monster
Almost Famous (just for inspiration and the art of understanding artists) (I am a golden GOD!)

[Psyko/Acoustics]

I honestly thought that passing this book off as merely a "cool concept" meant that it was looked over superficially; there is more than one concept ("mixing with your mind") contained within it's pages. Calling it "kinda ghey" was a real surprise.

Oh well. I really liked the book because it had some approaches that I had not found elsewhere.

Your Mileage May Vary.


Question: Do y'all feel it's more useful to include mounds of technical info (e.g.Yamaha) or to attempt to give insight into the craft of a seasoned professional (e.g.Owsinski)?


BTW, "Modern Recording Techniques" also appears to be a popular one.

[otek]

Question: Do y'all feel it's more useful to include mounds of technical info (e.g.Yamaha) or to attempt to give insight into the craft of a seasoned professional (e.g.Owsinski)?


Yes. I mean, both. Er, I mean it depends.


If I want to read about damping factor, I'm naturally not going to want to leaf through 350 pages of "when I was recording with Mick Taylor...."

Mostly I find myself reading the "life experience" type books from more of an entertainment standpoint, and use the Yammie style books for factual reference.

[Mixerpuppet]

Ya alls have missed the obvious...

Read the manuals.....

Typically by the time your a "professional" most of the atypical publications have been read or your probably not really a professional. More like Novice...

Recommended reading for budding Audio Enthusiasts.... or Tertiary Transduction Artisit....

Manuals should be read before operating gear...


Yeah it supposedly and un-manly thing but this stuff is expensive...


I also recommend a class on soldering...

[Psyko/Acoustics]

The Manley Manuals are very enjoyable reading!

I think the above is kinda true; most books on sound are aimed at the beginner... Unless of course it's an uber-fact heavy reference book.

However, there is always more to be learned from somewhere, right?

Bruce Swedien wrote a few paragraphs on another forum last summer about "finding your sonic personality" (or something) that I thought was cool.

[Fulcrum]

Question: Do y'all feel it's more useful to include mounds of technical info (e.g.Yamaha) or to attempt to give insight into the craft of a seasoned professional (e.g.Owsinski)?

I have seen plenty of people raked over the coals for not knowing enough-- but seldom have I seen anyone excoriated for knowing too much. Having both in your head, or knowing how to find the answers, will only help, since both have their place in any given situation.

The mounds of technical info, as you put it, are helpful to have in that they give you a certain grounding in your activity and to give you a framework for understanding what is and isn't possible in general, or possible with your specific kit. You probably don't need to (and some would say you probably shouldn't) quote it chapter and verse to your clients but it's nice to know where to find that information for your own head.

Unless you're fortunate enough to stumble across a resource like, say, Slipperman, or for that matter Otek, the so-called insight into the craft tends by and large to be airy-fairy language wrapped around vagaries and enigmas by people who are usually so busy doing that they may not quite have a handle on teaching.

It's like anything else-- you learn what you can about the technique only to sublimate it when it's your turn in the big chair. All these things will inform whatever decisions you as an engineer make, and the more information you have to draw on, the better your decision is bound to be.

[Psyko/Acoustics]

Very true.

I often think I've done too much reading and not enough practice.

I think the last book I'll buy for the next year or so on the subject will be the Yamaha "bible". Till then I gotta hit the trenches and keep figuring it out.

There really is no substitute for a good mentor, is there?


BTW this forum has a great spirit to it. I'm really grateful to those who share.

[James Murphy]

i'm currently digging The Master Handbook Of Acoustics by the late F. Alton Everest. Surprisingly easy read as well.

[dwoz]

this ain't something to be ignored:

http://www.rane.com/digi-dic.html


lots of diamonds in all that manure.


dwoz

[e-cue]

Hitmen (http://www.amazon.com/Hit-Men-Brokers-Inside-Business/dp/0679730613/sr=1-1/qid=1168140814/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6543174-8156600?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[malice]

Hitmen (http://www.amazon.com/Hit-Men-Brokers-Inside-Business/dp/0679730613/sr=1-1/qid=1168140814/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6543174-8156600?ie=UTF8&s=books)

Hey E-cue, never heard of this one, looks like great, tell us more

malice

[e-cue]

It mainly tackles payola, the american audio industry's historic ties to the mob, and the birth of Rico laws. The thing I found interesting was the way they referenced projects everyone is familar with and you'd end up thinking, "Oh, NOWwww that makes sense...".

It's behind the suit desk, not the neve desk.

[Old Man]

Any interviews with Alan Parsons or Bones Howe.