Essential Reading in your Control Room

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aurelialuz
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Post by aurelialuz » Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:53 pm

complete beatles recording book is a classic. i can't keep it in the control room or *i* get stuck reading it.

when i was borrowing Lords of Chaos it got a ton of interest. not very well written, but great if you're bored.
"While every effort has been made to ensure optimum sound quality, priority has been given to historic content and importance."

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timcoalman
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Post by timcoalman » Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:04 pm

All have worked well with the limited number of people I have recorded -

Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa and Peter Occhiogrosso (Paperback - May 15, 1990)

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Paperback - May 2004)

Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios by William Clark, Jim Cogan, and Quincy Jones (Paperback - Mar 2003)

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts (Paperback - Aug 28, 1989)

or even better -
The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan W. Watts (Paperback - Sep 12, 1968)

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris (Paperback - Oct 10, 2005)

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Waltz Mastering
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Post by Waltz Mastering » Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:36 pm

Gary Larson's Far side and SI swimsuit edition are always classics for the studio library...

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Post by cgarges » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:22 pm

Yeah, The Beatles Gear book is another that gets a lot of attention. I have Temples Of Sound there and I don't think I've ever seen anyone checking it out. Not like Would You Rather...?, The Bunny Suicides, or Would You Rather Two, Electric Boogaloo. Actually, one that does get read a lot is Max Weinberg's The Big Beat, which is an excellent collection of interviews he did with famous drummers in the 80s. (Charlie Watts, Ringo, Russ Kunkel, Jim Keltner, Roger Hawkins, Bernard Purdie, etc.) Not just drummers check that book out.

Oh, I've also got two really excellent books on classic recordings. I think one is just called Classic Rock Stories and the other might be called Classic Rock Recordings. They're both smaller books. One is like a little analysis of each of hundreds of songs from the past 50 years-- composition, arrangement, and recording, with occasional comments from people involved. The other is similar, but it's just stories from people involved about writing the songs, playing them, or recording them. Interesting stuff. Who would have known that Tom Sholz was such a big Focus fan.

And people have been reading Very Bad Poetry a good bit, too.

Chris Garges
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Brett Siler
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Re: Essential Reading in your Control Room

Post by Brett Siler » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:51 pm

losthighway wrote: it seems nothing beats "Get in the Van" the tour journal of Henry Rollins during the Black Flag years.
That is essential reading for anyone that is or wants to be in a band. This book is what made me really persue music, as crazy as that sounds.

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Waltz Mastering
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Post by Waltz Mastering » Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:31 pm

"Mixing With Your Mind" by Mike Stavrou's - not a recording techniques book...

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T-rex
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Post by T-rex » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:29 pm

I always wanted to read Get in the Van, but I have never picked it up. I will have to get that soon.
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Post by kayagum » Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:05 pm

What? Nobody (besides the vol.2 owner) has TapeOp?

Maybe it's so good, we don't want the clients to know our secret how-to library!

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ElMosca
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Post by ElMosca » Mon May 11, 2009 6:59 pm

I have the TapeOp book on-site, but I keep it out of my customers' reach for a simple reason: After a break, they will invariably want to try some new "guerrilla recording" technique they just read about.

I have had success with:
  • The Greatest Album Covers of All Time by Barry Miles, Grant Scott and Johnny Morgan.
    Annie Liebowitz: A Photographer's Life
    The Guitar and Rock Equipment by Nick Freeth
    A nice collection of old Tintin comic books (I got these for the young music students, but I find people of all ages drawn to them)
That's about it. Maybe I'll pick something else up, based on what I've seen on this thread.

Cheers,
++aldo

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Mr PC
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Post by Mr PC » Mon May 11, 2009 7:37 pm

I think "Our Dumb Century" from the Onion would be great for a control room. Lot's of funny bits in short form.

PC
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Post by sad iron » Tue May 12, 2009 9:08 am

Sadly, Temples of Sound is out of print. I really wanted that book for a class I was teaching.

I get nervous about putting out books that I really like for grubby musician fingers to touch, but I am a lifelong comic collector and therefore a little type A when it comes to that stuff. If I had Recording the Beatles, there's no way I'd let anyone touch it.
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audiogeek1
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Post by audiogeek1 » Sun May 17, 2009 8:33 pm

I guess I work in the wrong studios. You guys have a little more class. Most of the time the studios I work at have a few guitar, drum and recording mags etc... But behind the couch is the porn. This was in AZ, CA, OR, and UT. Not just one place. So I must be working in the wrong places.

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Post by Circuit Scream » Wed May 20, 2009 12:48 pm

Chris, somewhere I have one called "Rock Dreams" - I'll find it and send it your way. It's a collection of rock 'n' roll paintings of the classic rock acts. Stones, Bo Diddley, Donovan, Sam Cooke, etc. Even one of Keith Richards and Ron Wood in pirate attire (and this was waaaay before Pirates of the Caribbean...)

A pretty cool visual trip, I think this was published back in the late 70's or early 80's.
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Post by lyman » Thu May 21, 2009 5:22 am

I'd like to recommend "The Dirt" - the motley crue biography.

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Post by DJ_LBP » Thu May 28, 2009 1:01 pm

I was in a studio once that had the Dr. Dre biography, and I liked reading that while the singer was doing his tracks.

I keep the Nick Mason book around, the Real Frank Zappa Book, Miles: The Autobiography, a few Chuck Klosterman books, and some other music-related books and mags. All my TapeOp back issues are hidden from band members or visitor's views, for the reason outlined above re: guerilla techniques. Nothing worse than a band member who doesn't even know what a ribbon mic is telling you you should get one before you work anymore on this song. "Dude, I read a review. This thing is SICK!"
Why not?

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