The Mastering Engineer's Handbook (Mix Pro Audio Series) (Paperback)

by Bobby Owsinski (Author), Sally Englefried (Author) "First of all, I want to say that I'm not a mastering engineer..." (more)
Key Phrases: great mastering engineer, master lacquer, mastering engineers, Dolby Digital, Sonic Solutions, Doug Sax (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Everything you've always wanted to know about the art of music mastering is now available in one book! Peek into a top-flight mastering house and see the tools of the trade, explore the secrets of making hot masters, and learn rules for frequency balancing and dither. Learn how CDs work and how they're made, and relive mastering history with a separate chapter on mastering for vinyl and how records are pressed. This book extensively covers stereo mastering and also looks into the future with an expansive section on surround mastering and multi-channel delivery. Features interviews with such mastering giants as Bernie Grundman, Bob Ludwig, Glenn Meadows, Doug Sax and others.Also available:00330476 The Mixing Engineer's Handbook $34.95

About the Author
A longtime veteran of the music industry, Bobby Owsinski has produced and composed for records, DVDs, motion pictures, and television shows. One of the first to delve into surround-sound music mixing, Bobby has worked on more than 200 surround projects and DVD productions for such diverse acts as Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, The Ramones, and Chicago, among many, many others. Currently a principal in the music production house Surround Associates and content creator 2B Media, Bobby has also penned several hundred articles for many popular music and audio trade publications and has authored books that are now staples in audio-recording programs in colleges around the world. A frequent moderator, panelist, and program director of a variety of music and professional audio industry conferences, Bobby has served as the longtime producer of the annual Surround Music Awards and is currently an executive producer for the Guitar Universe and Desert Island Music television programs. He is also a partner in the popular Asia Los Feliz restaurant in Los Angeles, and he serves on the board of directors of the Media Entertainment Technology Alliance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Artistpro; 1 edition (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872887413
• ISBN-13: 978-0872887411
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #583,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #78 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Electrical & Electronics > Electronics > Stereo & Audio Equipment
  #78 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Electrical & Electronics > Stereo & Audio Equipment

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read, but out of date and not very helpful, January 17, 2003

By	Steven Bell (Duvall, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book does not outline the steps involved in the mastering process. It is just some interviews with different mastering engineers. Instead of talking about how they go about mastering a project or what they listen for, they brag about their cool customized gear and how little signal processing goes between the source and the final output. Yet at the same time saying how much they are improving the sound.

You get the history of mastering.
You get how they schedule their day.

I was hoping for more of a real "handbook".

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but not great, February 3, 2002

By	Steve Keller "Steve Keller" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the companion volume to "The Mixing Engineer's Handbook" by the same author. The format is the same, solid help for common problems and tasks, with interviews of many of mastering's top guns. However, compared to the mixing book, the advice here is a little less specific, a little more vague. It's helpful, to be sure, but there's more philosophy and less applied science.

Also, I was disappointed that a significant amount of material in this book was literally cut and pasted from the mixing book. I felt like I had bought only half a book, or that I had bought some of the same book twice, or something.

Despite these minor flaws, this IS a good book, and I'm not disappointed at all. And the interviews are wonderful.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth, August 17, 2005

By	Jason L. Gordon "Axis audio" (Sanford, Fl USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The honest truth is that if you want a book telling you how to master and how to apply mastering to your work...THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU. YOU'RE BETTER OFF GETTING THE BOOK BY KATZ!!! For beginners that don't have a clue where to start this book is for you. Throughout the book Bobby O explains the entire mastering from how it's done to the equipment used, how the equipment works and precautionary measures to take before mastering your work. I see why people got pissed off with this book because they wanted to know how to master their project...but instead bobby o. tells you the theory behind mastering for example, how various equipment work, mastering for different media as well as what to buy what the equipment does and the effects they have on the mix. I would recommend this book to anyone that is hesitant about mastering or doesn't have a clue about it. This book will inform you of the process from how it's done to the equipment used and so on...so that in the end you can make your decision on whether or not you want to master your own projects. Awesome book.