Strange "book" on eBay - "Pro Techniques for

[sthslvrcnfsn]

I found this while searching for something else on eBay. The auction has a bunch of different titles, such as "So you bought a Neumann U87...", "So you bought an AKG 451...", etc. It's a sort of self-help book for home recording, I guess you could say.

What you are buying is a bunch of PDF files with "tips of the pros" or some such thing. The guy claims to have sat in with great engineers and producers for years, taking mental notes all the while. And now he wrote this book. And he wants you to buy it, so you can get better at recording.

What's absolutely hilarious to me is how the title assumes you foolishly spent a couple grand on equipment without the foggiest idea of how to use any of it.

The guy's name is at the very bottom in small print: Joe Dochtermann. I dunno, maybe this "book" is actually pretty good. But shady references to "sitting in" with unnamed hot-shots doesn't really do it for me.

And remember, "For the price of a commercial CD, start making YOUR recordings sound like pro CD's now!"

[rhythm ranch]

What's absolutely hilarious to me is how the title assumes you foolishly spent a couple grand on equipment without the foggiest idea of how to use any of it.

I've seen examples of that right hear on TOMB. I think it probably happens fairly often. Some newbie walks into Banjo Mart, tells the salesperson they want to start recording, and ends up with a selection of gear that has more to do with the salesperson's commission structure than the amateur recordist's needs.

The guy's name is at the very bottom in small print: Joe Dochtermann. I dunno, maybe this "book" is actually pretty good. But shady references to "sitting in" with unnamed hot-shots doesn't really do it for me.

I don't know anything about this guy and have no stake in whether he succeeds or not, but while he's clearly not Bruce Swedien, a Google search does turn up quite a bit of info. I agree that he could be more forthcoming about what his actual experience was; it sounds a little like a "fluffy" resume.

And remember, "For the price of a commercial CD, start making YOUR recordings sound like pro CD's now!"

We get lots of great info here for free, but if he had even one thing in the book could actually make your recordings better, wouldn't that be worth $14.00?

It's cheaper than $35.

[@?,*???&?]

I found this while searching for something else on eBay. The auction has a bunch of different titles, such as "So you bought a Neumann U87...", "So you bought an AKG 451...", etc. It's a sort of self-help book for home recording, I guess you could say.

What you are buying is a bunch of PDF files with "tips of the pros" or some such thing. The guy claims to have sat in with great engineers and producers for years, taking mental notes all the while. And now he wrote this book. And he wants you to buy it, so you can get better at recording.

What's absolutely hilarious to me is how the title assumes you foolishly spent a couple grand on equipment without the foggiest idea of how to use any of it.

The guy's name is at the very bottom in small print: Joe Dochtermann. I dunno, maybe this "book" is actually pretty good. But shady references to "sitting in" with unnamed hot-shots doesn't really do it for me.

And remember, "For the price of a commercial CD, start making YOUR recordings sound like pro CD's now!"

I just did search for him on www.allmusic.com and nothing comes up. This guy does not seem to have a single credit to his name. Sort of reminds me of another book writer named Moses Avalon. This guy wrote a book called 'Confessions of a record producer" and has never produced a record in his life!! When in doubt, use Allmusic as a reference.

[cgarges]

I just did search for him on www.allmusic.com and nothing comes up. This guy does not seem to have a single credit to his name. Sort of reminds me of another book writer named Moses Avalon. This guy wrote a book called 'Confessions of a record producer" and has never produced a record in his life!! When in doubt, use Allmusic as a reference.

Well, I've gotta say in his defense, allmusic is a pretty out-of-whack reference that's FAR from accurate and not at all comprehensive.

Moses Avalon was also an alter-ego. A "pen name" as it were.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[8th_note]

This guy does not seem to have a single credit to his name. Sort of reminds me of another book writer named Moses Avalon.

You won't find any credits for Mixerman in AMG either.

[sthslvrcnfsn]

Allmusic tends to get a little bit like Wikipedia around the fringes. I mean, when it comes to "rare" or "small-time" bands, it's kind of hit or miss as far as being objective goes.

I did find some stuff about Joe Dochtermann's band when I Googled him. So I guess his credentials are that he co-wrote a poor-selling album.

Over the last 5 years, Tape Op and the TOMB have been absolutely priceless fountains of knowledge for me. I think about what I was doing in my recording life 5 years ago, and it kind of scares me. Now I'm in the middle of building a real control room in my house and soldering together compressors. It's gotten to the point where I really trust most opinions I hear on this board. I'm still smart enough to separate wheat from chaff, though, don't worry. And I have my own brain. ...You know what I mean.

We should all pool 50 cents each and buy this book. Or not.

Thanks to everybody here!
-jim!

[trask]

I don't know anything about this guy and have no stake in whether he succeeds or not, but while he's clearly not Bruce Swedien, a Google search does turn up quite a bit of info. I agree that he could be more forthcoming about what his actual experience was; it sounds a little like a "fluffy" resume.

speaking of books and such, I DID just buy a book called "The Mixing Engineer's Handbook 2nd Ed." as it sounded interesting, and I'll read pretty much anything I can get my hands on. Also, Recording the Beatles was a bit too big to fit in the bag and drag to work every day, and there's no WAY I'm ruining that sweet tapebox it comes in...

So anyway, the guy that wrote it: Bobby Owsinski (which you can look up, and see that he actually HAS recorded shit) actually DID sit down with a bunch of engineers I was interested in, including Mr. Swedien, Andy Johns, Ed Seay, George Massenburg, etc.

Suprisingly, it's not bad. A lot of the stuff basically feels like an overview of things I already know, but I heavily enjoy interviews with engineers/producers/mixers, so I snagged it up for a read. Some good notes on freq. ranges, etc that I wanted to clear up anyway, and just a lot of "tips and tricks" and such, much like you find here on the TOMB and in the mag.

So yeah, another resource that's out there, and not a blatant ripoff. just thought I'd share my little review.

[sthslvrcnfsn]

Thanks trask-

I'll pick that one up next time I go to the library. I think I've seen it there. Now, about that $30 fine I have to pay.

Here's one I've picked up that was pretty good:
"Recording Studio Technology, Maintenance, and Repairs" by Tim McCartney

The title says it all - it's very focused on upkeep and repairs, etc. It was very thorough, and very easy to read, unlike a lot of other books on the subject.

[Rigsby]

I found this while searching for something else on eBay. The auction has a bunch of different titles, such as "So you bought a Neumann U87...", "So you bought an AKG 451...", etc. It's a sort of self-help book for home recording, I guess you could say.

What you are buying is a bunch of PDF files with "tips of the pros" or some such thing. The guy claims to have sat in with great engineers and producers for years, taking mental notes all the while. And now he wrote this book. And he wants you to buy it, so you can get better at recording.

What's absolutely hilarious to me is how the title assumes you foolishly spent a couple grand on equipment without the foggiest idea of how to use any of it.

The guy's name is at the very bottom in small print: Joe Dochtermann. I dunno, maybe this "book" is actually pretty good. But shady references to "sitting in" with unnamed hot-shots doesn't really do it for me.

And remember, "For the price of a commercial CD, start making YOUR recordings sound like pro CD's now!"

I just did search for him on www.allmusic.com and nothing comes up. This guy does not seem to have a single credit to his name. Sort of reminds me of another book writer named Moses Avalon. This guy wrote a book called 'Confessions of a record producer" and has never produced a record in his life!! When in doubt, use Allmusic as a reference.

I couldn't find anything about you either Jeff.

[purple pie pete]

What's absolutely hilarious to me is how the title assumes you foolishly spent a couple grand on equipment without the foggiest idea of how to use any of it.

It is hilarious, isn't it? Very common, though, in my experience. I've received a lot of recordings to mix that are completely distorted and over compressed, and when I ask how they were recorded or what equipment was used, it's usually things like U87's, C12's, Blue Bottles, and almost always Avalon. This book might just be perfect for these people.

[inverseroom]

I found this while searching for something else on eBay. The auction has a bunch of different titles, such as "So you bought a Neumann U87...", "So you bought an AKG 451...", etc. It's a sort of self-help book for home recording, I guess you could say.

What you are buying is a bunch of PDF files with "tips of the pros" or some such thing. The guy claims to have sat in with great engineers and producers for years, taking mental notes all the while. And now he wrote this book. And he wants you to buy it, so you can get better at recording.

What's absolutely hilarious to me is how the title assumes you foolishly spent a couple grand on equipment without the foggiest idea of how to use any of it.

The guy's name is at the very bottom in small print: Joe Dochtermann. I dunno, maybe this "book" is actually pretty good. But shady references to "sitting in" with unnamed hot-shots doesn't really do it for me.

And remember, "For the price of a commercial CD, start making YOUR recordings sound like pro CD's now!"

I just did search for him on www.allmusic.com and nothing comes up. This guy does not seem to have a single credit to his name. Sort of reminds me of another book writer named Moses Avalon. This guy wrote a book called 'Confessions of a record producer" and has never produced a record in his life!! When in doubt, use Allmusic as a reference.

I couldn't find anything about you either Jeff.

[Z MINOR SOUND]

While in search of mic deals on ebay I too ran into Joe Doc's book on a multiple daily basis. After seeing it 50 plus times I decided to float him 15 bucks for his book, as I'm always down for a good read on the subject of recording. Subjective opinions are always nice to have.

It covers a lot of ground, and offers audio/.wav samples to download, which support most of his approaches and sonic comparisons. It's basically another textbook approach to recording. He also gives you some good one shot drum samples to download to aid his section covering sample replacement. The downfall is it's a pdf document. So you end up spending 15 bucks in toner and paper to print it.

"I'll sell you mine used for $4.99 "

ps
Apparently someone took me seriously and contacted Mr. Joe Doc. They thought I'd actually resell the book for $4.99. I appreciate their concern, but I wasn't serious. I'm actually selling it for $10.99. I'm kidding. Mr. Joe Doc contacted me and asked that I remove the post and insisted I was infringing upon his copyrighted material. I made it clear to him that it was a joke. Regardless of that I am not so sure that I would be infringing upon his rights. Are used books not sold everyday all day? Are free copies of old tapeops not being sold everyday?

According to the US Copyright Office:
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wwp

What Is Not Protected by Copyright?

Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration.

[joe doc]

Hi Andrew and everyone ,

No worries about that Andrew, I took a look at all the posts and see what the discussion is about now. I apologize for any misunderstanding - I've just had a couple of bad bites lately in that department with my music tutorials.

It's one of the hot questions of the day really- I guess what it comes down to is the way in which a digital work can be copied and redistributed many times. If I sell you my copy of "The Davinci Code" as a paperback, it's out of my hands, and there's only in my possesion. If however, I were to say that I'll sell you my "used" MP3's of the latest Chili Peppers album, that's different. I can sell a whole lotta those!

Anyway, I'm open to questions about the digital 'book' I put together.

To be more precise about the 'fluff', I've done many independent productions which I may add have sold - Ahem - DOZENS of copies

The 'Pro Studio Experience' "Get it OXY CLEAN" bit is largely based on working with Danny Korthchmar on a load of projects a few years back (Dada, Evan and Jaron Band, Spin Doctors) when he lived in the CT area where I was. No big hits there either, but some great studio experiences. Korthchmar is a tough nut, and you can learn a lot from him when you manage to see through the cigar smoke. Anyway, from him, Harvey Brooks, Peter Denneberg and Rory Young, I managed to glean quite a lot of studio know-how.

They demystified a lot of studio B.S. I had been fed by all the local yokels where I grew up. 'Gotta have this, gotta have that'. I liked their vibe a lot at Acme Recording, and tried to bring that across in writing in a way that I could publish as an independent writer.

The ebook was an interesting project to write and record (and assemble from outtakes I had). I've gotten a lot of good response from exactly those people who were overproccessing in search of that 'magic' big studio sound. Show 'em what to do with a '57 first!

[Z MINOR SOUND]

No worries!

[drumsound]

This thread just came to my attention. Though it has been established that Andrew was joking about selling a hard copy or a paid digital transmission, it's still a serious subject. Somebody has taken the time to write a hopefully informative book and should be paid for their work by all who want to garner it's knowledge over the long term (i.e. not from the Library for a temporary period of time).

If you sell a download that you still have your first digital copy of it's not the same as selling a used book. If I take my pile of old books to the used book and vacuum cleaner shop downtown (I swear this place exists here in Bloomington IL), I no longer have that book to reference and/or re-read. There is still the same number of copies of said book in existence and thus the writer and publisher have made their money off my purchase. But if I allow digital copies to go out, even if I paid for ONE copy, the author isn't seeing a dime even though there are now more copies out in the world.

And, you cynical bastards, who's to say this eBook isn't a great resource? Just because you didn't find the author's name next to million selling records doesn't mean he doesn't have good information. Every other month in Tape Op Magazine, every year at TapeOpCon and every day here on the TOMB great information is shared by any number of levels of experience, talent, and sales figures. Give the guy a break! Read the book or ask for some excerpts and see if maybe, just maybe, he has something interesting and helpful to say!