Customer Reviews

Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I just took an online Pro Tools class at berkeleymusic.com, and Dave Franz (the author of this book), is the most knowledgable person on Pro Tools around. We used his text to supplement the online course. But I bought his book months before the course began.

Immediately, I was learning about sound fields and phantom images so I could get my monitoring and recording environment set up correctly (which I had set up VERY incorrectly to begin with).

Next, he goes step by step into simple recording, and helps you out with input signals and example setups for all of DigiDesign's hardware (Digi001, Digi002, MBox, even PT Free) so you get good signal flow in through you whole system. From there, he progresses to more advanced recording techniques like punching and auto-punching and the different record modes.

Also included in this book are system settings that will let you get the most out of Pro Tools from your current machine and chapters on mixing and basic plugin usage. The best are the example sessions included on the CD that allow you to see what he does in real time as compared to what's beign taught in the book. There are also trials of popular third-party plugins on the CD so you can sample some really powerful RTAS plugins while working in Pro Tools.

Make sure if you buy this book, you are running Pro Tools 6.x. He has an earlier version of this book for users still running PT 5.x.x.

All in all, if you are a beginner, this is the place to start, hands down, and more advanced users will find juicy tidbits here and there as well.

I bought this Pro Tools book because it's been on Digidesign's home page for the past few months. It goes past what the manual talks about, and has a bunch of examples in text, pdf, and also on the CD rom. Another nice plus is that ProTools Free comes with it. Beats waiting for my modem to download it. It shows a lot of the more technical side of producing on ProTools, but also It basically teaches the reader how to be a successful producer and engineer. There's chapters on preproduction, miking, running a recording session, and a bunch of other topics.

I got the most out of the chapters on Improving
System Performance and Efficiency, which explains ways to maximize your computer's processing power while using Pro Tools. My computer is kind of slow, so this made things quite a bit faster. Also, the chapter on mixing techniques explained things much more clearly than I've seen before. All in all, a good read. I highly recommend it for Pro Tools users of any level.

...The reason I bought the book was because the manual provided with Pro Tools is a reference manual and I was in search of a "how to" guide with useful examples and real-world applications. And I'm still looking! This book simply mimicks much of what is convered in Digidesign's supplied reference manual and adds little additional content except for an odd emphasis on the producer and engineer's role in the preproduction and production process. And frankly I bought the book as a Pro Tools primer, not as a generalization of the production and engineering process---there are books far better than this which are dedicated to those topics. Additionally, the "bonus CD" included with the book is the equivalent of a "bonus" copy of AOL --- nothing more than a copy of Digidesign's "Pro Tools FREE", available as you would expect FOR FREE from their web site. As in music, books are subjective so you may glean far more than I from this book. Just buy at your own risk (or buy mine used...).

I am a musician, and I've wanted to produce and record my own music at home for a long time. I'm not very technically savvy, so I really needed something in addition to a manual to help me. This is the perfect book for me! It showed me how to set up my studio, gave me advice on microphone set up, sound in the room, and Pro Tools session work from start to finish. I don't know of a more perfect book for someone out there who is just getting into home recording. EXCELLENT!!!!

If you want an in-depth, "how-to-use ProTools" manual, this book doesn't cut it. There is very little in-depth examination of any one topic, and more emphasis on providing a little bit about a lot of stuff. Also, there's waaay too much content about "the audio business," case in point is Chapter 10, The Producer's Role in Production. Personally, I don't think it's time well spent to be looking in a book for tips on creating your own mixing/production style...

If you're new to ProTools (and recording in general) and in need of an overview of the program and its capabilities, buy this book. If you're looking for a technical reference handbook, read the ProTools manual.

First, let me say that I TOTALLY disagree with other reviewers who have said that this is nothing more than a re-hashing of the ProTools manual. In fact, it is absolutely nothing like the manual. The downside to that fact is that this book is not at all a detailed course or how-to guide on how to use the finer features of ProTools. What it is, however, is a very good manual on how to integrate ProTools into your home recording studio. The book provides an excellent overview of the home studio and tells you how to use ProTools within that environment. As such, it explains how to set-up your studio, run a recording session, act as the producer and/or engineer, and, of course, how to integrate ProTools into all of these functions. In this regard, the book is a very unique guide which I believe most home and project studio owners will find very useful.

So, why the 2-star rating? Well, as good as the book is, it is nearly an EXACT copy of David Franz's other book "Recording And Producing In The Home Studio" - a book, by the way, which I already own!!! Chapters are lifted from that book, word for word, and placed into this one - only this time with specific references to ProTools. So, now, I have two copies of virtually the same book. For shame Berklee!!! For shame David Franz!!! This type of re-packaging should be illegal. So, as a warning to any other unsuspecting buyer, if you own Franz's other book, DO NOT BUY THIS ONE. If you do not, then buy only this one. If I saved even one person from making the same mistake that I did, then it was worth it. By the way, anyone wanna buy a book?

Overall- a great introduction to Pro Tools and the world of producing. I am just getting started, but I bet it would be helpful to more advanced users too.

Helps you from all angles, like how to use the actual software (like a 'how-to guide'), how to be a great producer, and more.

I like the variety of information here in this book. It's not JUST another manual. This is an informational, sometimes even funny, book that will be of great interest to home-studio producers.

I would definitley recommend this book to anyone interested in (like the title says) producing in their home studio with Pro Tools!

I agree with other reviews. Too much info. on production, types of mics to use, where to place instruments, etc. All I wanted to know was how to use Pro Tools. This book didn't do it. It gives some pretty basic info. on ProTools. I was looking more for a "How To" book that would explain how to do a session from start to finish. If it walked you through doing a track, how to patch sub-tracks, more in-depth of editing tracks, "bouncing" to CD, what to do, what not to do... it just was not what I expected. Maybe I'll write my own book on this since I've run into other user's who are just as frustrated with trying to learn this software.

This book is exactly what I needed! It's the perfect companion to the software because 1) it spells out the entire production process in logical and easy-to-read English (no software manual speak here) and 2) it opened my eyes to many aspects of production and engineering, both within and outside of the Pro Tools environment, that I will apply to every project I work on in the future. The miking and mixing ideas, the production values, and the section about making realistic-sounding MIDI parts were the most important topics for me. This book has definitely helped me improve my productions already. And, by the way, I got the book within four days of my order, despite the "usually ships within 1-3 months" availability.

This book is easy to read and has alot of good general recording info. If you want to learn about mic placement, how to plan a session, set up a home studio, and some basic recording theory as well as an overview of Pro Tools, this book is for you. I just wish the book would have focused more on Pro Tools. I am a professional engineer so I was looking for a advanced in depth look at how to get the most from Pro Tools. I did benifit from the book, but wanted more. I must say it's a good read for the beginer to intermedeate home studio buff that wants to learn more about recording and get some basics on Pro Tools. Advanced users look elsewhere!