Recording Books

[MusicEuphony]

I have been looking around for some sound engineering books lately and thought maybe someone here could have some good suggestions to what books would be useful. I am a runner at a commercial studio and am trying to increase my knowledge of all things that go on in the studio. I have read through "Modern Recording Techniques" and want much more.

So far today I've purchased "Handbook for Sound Engineers (2005)", which seems like a fairly thick, broad book.

I put in a bid for "Principles of Underwater Sound" just for kicks since it is cheap on ebay.

I think specifically I would like to find a book about microphones that goes through the history of companies, components used during certain eras, etc. I was thinking something along the lines of "The Tube Amp Book" ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087930 ... e&n=283155 ).

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I've browsed through www.barryrudolph.com 's book recommendations as well as amazon and ebay thus far.

[montreal]

[quote="MusicEuphony"]

"I think specifically I would like to find a book about microphones that goes through the history of companies, components used during certain eras, etc. ..."



...
There is this generous website that you might find useful...

http://www.coutant.org/contents.html

John

[Jeff White]

_The New Stereo Soundbook_ by Ron Streicher & F. Alton Everest

Found here: http://www.stereosoundbook.com/

Great reference.

Jeff

[Ben Logan]

Somebody on this very board (I forget who) recently recommended Behind the Glass. It's a collection of interviews with various record producers. Lots of engineering / mic placement / gear talk. The interviewer repeats many of the same questions from producer to producer - which is great because you get an idea of different approaches to different recording / mixing challenges. Fun stuff.

[MusicEuphony]

Thanks for the responses. The microphone link is pretty cool. I decided to buy "Handbook for Sound Engineers" 2005 edition so far. I still can't find exactly what I want for microphone information but I guess I'll just piece things together over time.

[montreal]

also, from the Neumann site, you can get 3 resources...the first 2
are free dowload pdfs

http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=comp ... ns_history

http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=comp ... s_mic_book
(a classic book on mic design by Bore).

and the 3rd
is a 300 page book on Neumann history, manufacturing etc.

http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=comp ... tions_book

[MusicEuphony]

Wow...maybe I should have dug further into the Neumann page earlier. I just downloaded all of the .pdf pages they have. There seems to be a good bit of information there. Thanks for the links for sure. Hopefully tomorrow can be my study session.

[earth tones]

The "Audio Dictionary" by Glenn White has been a great go-to resource for quick explanations of terms and concepts.

[trumpetgunk]

For more microphone technique information online; check out:

http://www.dpamicrophones.com/

Click on the "Microphone University" link.

[T.Ray Bullard]

http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookde ... escription

http://www.powells.com/s?author=John.%20Eargle (anthing eargle writes)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/024080 ... e&n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/024080 ... e&n=283155

[b3groover]

From the title of this thread, I thought you wanted to record your library.

[ChrisCo]

Hey Music Euphony, How did you like Modern Recording Techniques?

[Professor]

Here, I just grabbed this off the web page I have set up for my recording class.

Required Texts:
?Off the Record: the technology and culture of sound recording in America?
David Morton, Rutgers University Press ? 2000
?Sound and Recording: an introduction?, 5th edition
Francis Rumsey, Focal Press ? 2005

The first is an interesting historical perspective of the roots of recording and its life away from music recording. Will it give you new insights into how to EQ an electric guitar? No. But it will hopefully remind you that there is recording beyond just music and the rock & roll studio and will fill your head with some historical tidbits that would impress any would-be employers.

The second is about the most comprehensive top-to-bottom look at recording instruction I've ever seen. It's written in British, so expect your units to be "earthed" and not "grounded", but it is fantastically well written and presented. It starts off with the physics of sound, then the physiology of hearing, and then gives an in-depth, from the inside-out explanation of audio gear. It's really great for suring up your fundamentals, and ultimately, I think that is the most important thing for any aspiring engineer to have down cold.

And although it's out of print, there is a book called "Tonmeister Technology" translated to English by Stephen Temmer (originally in German by Michael Dickreiter) that is worth the searching it would take to find a copy. I lucked into my copy about 4 years ago when I bought a 'pot luck' eBay auction of 14 audio books for about $120. This one alone would have been worth the auction price.

Of course, this is assuming that what you want to read about is how sound works, how our recording tools work, and how to be a good engineer when it comes to understanding your environment, tools, and how to capture sound. If what you want is magic formulas on what EQ settings to use for somebody else's "perfect guitar sound" or anecdotes about getting stoned with famous bands, then there are other books for that. And some of those are fun to read too.

-Jeremy

[MusicEuphony]

Ooh. I'm glad I checked this thread now. I didn't expect there would be more replies still coming in. The last two (Off the Record and Sound and Recording) seem like some books I'll probably buy, but I've noted all of the links people have sent in case my wallet fills itself magically and I have more money to fork over for books. Thanks again for all of your input and keep them coming if there's more good resources.