Customer Reviews

Sound Studio, Seventh Edition: Audio techniques for Radio, Television, Film and Recording

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
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As the satisfied user of an earlier edition, for me the big question was how much new stuff would there be in this update, given that at first glance the layout of the chapters is almost the same and subjects (such as microphones types and their uses, or studio acoustics) don't change very rapidly. But, dipping a bit deeper, that turned out to be deceptive. There really is a lot of new stuff in this one; it's also (even) more clearly written, and to get the extra material into the same space it is sharper, more concise. The content remains as authoritative as ever - the book really does deliver what it says on the cover - and without the irritating mateyness that so many books of this kind now impose on the reader.

Obviously the biggest changes are in chapters which cover processing, mixing and editing, where digital techniques have advanced most rapidly, but these are still made understandable by relating them to the analogue techniques they emulate (some of which are in any case still in use). A new reader is told not only what to do, but also why it's a good way to do it, and how to listen to and think about the result.

`The Sound Studio' has always been particularly strong on microphones and their placement. This incidentally was the subject of Nisbett's `Use of Microphones', which is now out of print but is, I think, better covered in the present work. The Seventh Edition includes much new equipment and lots of new wrinkles even in places where I didn't expect it. Clearly, it's the perfect choice for the newcomer - but is also a really good work of reference for the rest of us. I particularly like the comprehensive glossary, as well as having an index that really works.

So - whether you have and old edition or not - I second the verdict of Music Tech Magazine and really do recommend this new version of `Sound Studio'. Ian Middleton.

Grand personal experience, expressed carefully -- on full range of topics a studio operator, recording engineer could face. Not covered in very depth, but captured the essence. If one is interested in MUSIC production, there is more dedicated books than this.