Desert Island Mixing/Recording/PT9 reference books 2011

[jaguarundi]

Did some searching around and found some older threads from years back, but didn't see any relatively recent ones. I was looking to buy a desk reference book or two on mixing for my little home studio and was just wondering what some favorites are for people here.

Just saw the review for Mixerman's The Zen and Art of Mixing.

Heard Keane's The Musician's Guide to Pro Tools is good (specific question: is this book from a few years ago still useful/applicable for PT9?). Have a copy of Katz's Mastering Audio the Art and Science.

saw these two mentioned in older threads:

The Mixing Engineer's Handbook by Bobby Owsinski

The Musicians Guide to Home Recording by Peter McClan

Love to know what your standbys are.

[vvv]

Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio by Mike Senior

[jaguarundi]

Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio by Mike Senior

oh cool, yeah I checked out the link and the Amazon page, that looks like a great one, thanks!

[roygbiv]

it is, great book, very easy to read.

[jaguarundi]

Also, mentioned it above but I want to get, for starters, one Pro Tools guide, kinda felt my away around PT in the dark for the last few years, would love to have a book that I can turn to for almost any PT related thing, from what basic controls/icons do to more advanced mixing in the box techniques. I have PT9 now. I see there's a few PT9 specific books out now, heard Keane's The Musician's Guide to Pro Tools is good, but don't know if it's a bit out of date, any recommendations?

[-3db]

There is a Pro Tools reference guide that came with PT 9. Its on your computer right now. Also avid has tons of documentation and videos on their site for free.

Also, check out DUC, the digi User Conference forum. Lots of great info there

[jaguarundi]

The is a Pro Tools reference guide that came with PT 9. Its on your computer right now. Also avid has tons of documentation and videos on their site for free.

Also, check out DUC the digi User Conference forum. Lots of great info there

yeah. . . personally though I just like having a physical book that I can read away from the computer sometimes, and hopefully one that's a bit more friendly and engaging then the avid guides.

[fossiltooth]

Maureen Droney's Mix Masters is a really stellar, well-organized collection of interviews with more than a dozen excellent producers. Highly recommended.

I have a whole shelf full of this stuff. Also good:

Building a recording studio (Jeff Cooper - concise, fantastic, out of print)
Behind the Glass (Howard Massey - good interviews, similar to Mix Masters)
Mastering Audio (Bob Katz - dry and pedantic, but useful)

Honorable mentions:
Home Recording Studio Build it Like The Pros (Gervais- a good alternative to Jeff Cooper's boook),
Mixing with your Mind (Stravrou- worth it for a few inspiring and insightful moments),
Temples of Sound (Cogan and Clark- very pretty pictures that are fun to look at)
Piano Tuning, Servicing and Rebuilding (Reblitz- because pianos are fascinating.)

Also: For complete beginners, The Audio Pro Home Recording Course Part I is the best I've read, and much more useful than anything else Bill Gibson has written. It's a great foundational book that explains how audio and routing work in friendly, easy-to-understand language. I lend it to friends who are confused about how an aux send is different than a bus, and they return it happy. It's now out-of-print because it doesn't get into software and key commands. But, it's cheap used and it teaches beginners the stuff you actually need to know.

And, in conclusion: Yes. I am a giant nerd.

[sessionsatstudiom]

Maureen Droney's Mix Masters is a really stellar, well-organized collection of interviews with more than a dozen excellent producers. Highly recommended.

I have a whole shelf full of this stuff. Also good:

Building a recording studio (Jeff Cooper - concise, fantastic, out of print)
Behind the Glass (Howard Massey - good interviews, similar to Mix Masters)
Mastering Audio (Bob Katz - dry and pedantic, but useful)

Honorable mentions:
Home Recording Studio Build it Like The Pros (Gervais- a good alternative to Jeff Cooper's boook),
Mixing with your Mind (Stravrou- worth it for a few inspiring and insightful moments),
Temples of Sound (Cogan and Clark- very pretty pictures that are fun to look at)
Piano Tuning, Servicing and Rebuilding (Reblitz- because pianos are fascinating.)

Also: For complete beginners, The Audio Pro Home Recording Course Part I is the best I've read, and much more useful than anything else Bill Gibson has written. It's a great foundational book that explains how audio and routing work in friendly, easy-to-understand language. I lend it to friends who are confused about how an aux send is different than a bus, and they return it happy. It's now out-of-print because it doesn't get into software and key commands. But, it's cheap used and it teaches beginners the stuff you actually need to know.

And, in conclusion: Yes. I am a giant nerd.

I would agree with these books. All are on my shelves besides the piano book. Also modern recording techniques is a good book to have.