Mastering Audio, Second Edition: The Art and the Science [Paperback]

Bob Katz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0240808371 | ISBN-13: 978-0240808376 | Edition: 2

Written by an award-winning, highly respected professional, Mastering Audio gives you a thorough introduction to the unique procedures and technical issues involved in mastering. Suitable for all levels of students and professionals, it is ideal for anyone who wants to increase their mastery of digital and analog audio: musicians, producers, A&R, mastering, recording, and mixing engineers. Fully updated to cover the latest technologies, Mastering Audio discusses audio philosophy and art: sequencing, levelling, processing; how to make a record album radio-ready; and mixing as it relates to mastering. Divided into five parts, the book begins with the basics--monitoring, mastering techniques, useful tutorials, and the fundamentals of dithering and decibels--then moves on to more advanced concepts, such as jitter and clocking, monitor calibration, and multi channel audio, miking, and acoustics. Leading-edge audio concepts are explained in an easy-to-grasp style. Including practical tips and real-world experiences, Bob Katz explains the technical detail of the subject in his informative and humorous style.

* Written by a well respected engineer who has engineered albums which have won the Grammy
* Provides you with information on the latest techniques and processes used in mastering
* Covers equipment, training and the business of mastering and answers all the frequently asked questions

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you record, you need this book. Arguably the most clearly written single source of essential audio information available, Katz populates its 335 very readable pages with fascinating insights, expert testimony, myth-debunking facts, practical techniques, and strong opinions. Ostensibly about mastering, this book goes way beyond its primary subject and covers so much critical information that it should be required reading for anyone who presses 'Record.'"--GuitarPlayer.com

Book Description

Finalist in the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Awards competition! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 2 edition (October 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240808371
• ISBN-13: 978-0240808376
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Acoustics & Sound
  • #11 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Recording & Sound

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This has it all, June 28, 2003

By 

"measuringman" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science (Paperback)

Finally a book that answers all those weird little technical questions about digital audio that you've always wondered about. Obstensibly it is a book about the art of mastering audio. Bob shows you what tools the pros use and how they use them. It also doubles as a guide to mix enginners on how to prepare a mix for mastering. It does a superb job in that regard as well. What I find most impressive is his knowledge of the technical aspects of digital audio and his ability to explain them, and debunk any myths, in plain english. The only fault I can find in it is that the second half looses focus and is more a collection of articles, previously available on the web, than any coherent instruction. Otherwise this book has valuable information for anyone working with digital audio. I highly recommend it.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterful Book on Mastering from The Master, July 25, 2003

By 

Den Hollinden (Rosslyn, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science (Paperback)

Up until now, I've read books by authors who fall into one of the following categories: 1) musicians 2) traditional, primarily analog audio engineers 3) acoustic scientists or 4) audio computer applications specialists. Getting meaningful information from one of these authors requires my own extrapolation into the remaining areas--or at least taking the authors comments in those areas with a grain of salt. FINALLY I have in my hands a book written by someone who can put it all together into a meaningful whole. The book is a wonderful blend of descriptions of how things work that will take you to the next level along with some very valuable common sense advice-like how to effectively sequence songs into an album. I'll keep this book in my studio and refer back to it again and again. Probably the best (but also the most honest) thing I can say about the book is that I know I will sound better because of having read it.

53 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stay away from it if you are looking for hard-and-fast rules, July 1, 2004

By 

Nicolas Raddatz "Media Artist" (Montevideo, Uruguay) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science (Paperback)

I bought this book after reading many good reviews. After reading it, I would say that it is indeed a very interesting book, there are a lot of "obscure areas" that the author dares to tackle, with a remarkable "scientific" approach.

BUT, before you buy this book...It's not a "funny" reading, you should get this book if you are already familiar with all the technical subjects covered, the author seems to assume a certain previous knowledge, otherwise you won't go past chapter 1. AND, for all of you cookbook lovers, forget it, you are not bound to find those here.

That being said, I have it, and I like it. I'll probably re read it sometime in the future.