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Post by bluesholyman on Jan 1, 2024 16:19:45 GMT -6
I have some background in live sound (ran a church sound system for 10 years,) helped an acoustic engineer friend build a recording studio [literally] from floating the floor/walls to the glass angle between control room and booth, to the absorption/reflection boxes on the wall. So I have some knowledge I have gained over the years but I never went to school for audio engineering. I Intend on creating my own mixes for demo purposes and hope to learn some things about mastering, but will most likely farm that out (i.e. don't be your own lawyer.)
I am looking for a book, or books that are concise and will help me understand "how to think about mixing", as well as the nuances to be aware of and apply. I believe I have a good set of ears, a decent set of monitors (Focal Shape Twins) and a good interface (Pro Tools Carbon.) I do not have a good or properly treated room, but there is some treatment - it will have to do.
I have found a few books on Amazon written by seemingly well known (not to me) audio engineers, but I don't know that I trust amazon ratings.
Would appreciate recommendations on well written and respected books on the topics to increase my knowledge and skills set, or at least ones that have helped/enlightened you and you would have no qualms recommending.
Thank you.
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Post by christopher on Jan 2, 2024 11:01:34 GMT -6
I read a couple books from Bobby Owsinski and Bill Gibson. They were a really fun read, don’t take them too seriously though. I don’t know if there could ever be a definitive book on how to mix? It’s like cooking where everyone can learn the tricks. Yet it’s going to be tough to ever compete against a top chef. That’s how I felt in the end. Access to tools is part of it, mostly it’s their sense of what is right or wrong, what bothers them and what they are ok with I really like the archives of REP/ other Magazines. Also a TapeOp subscription gets you all the back issues and interviews. Those are the best resources I’ve found www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Recording_Engineer_Producer.htm |
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Post by geoff738 on Jan 2, 2024 12:25:49 GMT -6
There’s the Katz book on mastering. Might be a bit long in the tooth unless it’s been updated.
I’m kinda interested in Sylvia Massy’s book, as I expect it has a bit of a different take on things. But I haven’t actually read it.
There’s always YouTube. Eric Valentine, for example.
Cheers,
Geoff
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Post by bossanova on Jan 2, 2024 12:43:53 GMT -6
The Bob Katz book is a marvel of philosophy for translating *music* to the recorded medium. The older editions can be out of date with regard to specific tools, but the principles are rock solid, especially given his preference for peak/RMS compression and newer tools like Kotelnikov.
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Post by anders on Jan 2, 2024 12:55:17 GMT -6
Owsinski is useful! You might also appreciate the more philosophical "Mixing with Your Mind: Closely Guarded Secrets of Sound Balance Engineering" by Michael Paul Stavrou. The more-or-less endless 2006 thread "why do your recording sound like ass" is readable; though it covers fundamentals you might already know, and recording as well. But (if I remember correctly) he's also touching stuff like dysfunctional production and arrangement, which are things that are useful to understand, though not strictly mixing. forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=29283 |
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jan 2, 2024 12:59:20 GMT -6
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Post by geoff738 on Jan 2, 2024 14:09:16 GMT -6
The Stavrou book taught me how to set a compressor and actually hear what it’s doing. Before that I was just kinda twisting knobs randomly or using settings I’d read in a recording magazine. For that it was useful to me. I think I may still have it somewhere.
Cheers,
Geoff
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2024 15:47:57 GMT -6
Slipperman's Distorted Guitars From Hell rant
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jan 2, 2024 17:50:14 GMT -6
Owsinski is useful! You might also appreciate the more philosophical "Mixing with Your Mind: Closely Guarded Secrets of Sound Balance Engineering" by Michael Paul Stavrou. The more-or-less endless 2006 thread "why do your recording sound like ass" is readable; though it covers fundamentals you might already know, and recording as well. But (if I remember correctly) he's also touching stuff like dysfunctional production and arrangement, which are things that are useful to understand, though not strictly mixing. forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=29283I'm enjoying this thread. A lot of it is pretty rudimentary but good stuff to remember. I particularly like the concept of "if you can hear what a good sounding record is you're capable of making a good sounding record." I can fall prey to the golden ears nonsense (or lack thereof) but I definitely know what I like and what I don't like, so that's an encouraging way to think. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jan 2, 2024 21:29:30 GMT -6
The Mike Senior book mentioned above is good. So is Mixing With Your Mind.
Zen and the Art of Mixing is ok.
The Sylvia Massey book is really fun, but not all that useful for covering nuts n bolts.
Honestly, though, the best learning aids I've come across other than sitting with someone better than you while they mix is, well, kinda the next best thing: a subscription to Puremix or Mix With The Masters or Nail the Mix. I've gotten various access to all of these at one time or another and found them to be enormously helpful, even if you don't love the person's work or the genre they typically do. It's just like an internship or assistant gig at a busy studio: you spend time with different people and learn what you like and don't like from each of them.
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Post by bluesholyman on Jan 3, 2024 7:51:37 GMT -6
Thank you for all of the suggestions. Last night I shagged a kindle copy of Owsinski's book and I'm already shifting how I plan to learn. Before I finished his intro, I realized I'd need to sit and watch pro's mix as part of the learning process. When others above had suggested some youtube videos, I didn't quite get it, but a few pages in, I understood (more at least.) His anecdotes on the fading of apprenticeship as the primary means of training as large studios "disappear" and the rise of the "home studio" were enlightening on some level. His 5th edition focuses a lot more on mixing entirely in the box.
I've put about $10K into my signal path thus far and while that is just short of nothing compared to a commercial studio, I think of it as a proper start for what I am trying to accomplish, from home for now.
After I finish Owsinski's book, I'll probably read the Mike Senior book, and then Katz. All the wile watching youtube mixers at large.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2024 10:14:05 GMT -6
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Post by christopher on Jan 3, 2024 11:33:44 GMT -6
Owsinski is useful! You might also appreciate the more philosophical "Mixing with Your Mind: Closely Guarded Secrets of Sound Balance Engineering" by Michael Paul Stavrou. The more-or-less endless 2006 thread "why do your recording sound like ass" is readable; though it covers fundamentals you might already know, and recording as well. But (if I remember correctly) he's also touching stuff like dysfunctional production and arrangement, which are things that are useful to understand, though not strictly mixing. forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=29283I'm enjoying this thread. A lot of it is pretty rudimentary but good stuff to remember. I particularly like the concept of "if you can hear what a good sounding record is you're capable of making a good sounding record." I can fall prey to the golden ears nonsense (or lack thereof) but I definitely know what I like and what I don't like, so that's an encouraging way to think. You’ve shared stuff with us before iirc.. I was impressed! You sounded great. You know, even after watching videos and reading, and sitting behind engineers, shadowing, years of trial and error, I doubted myself a lot. Until I saw a video by Bruce Swedien in the final years, he had a teaching program. He’d do one on one, like an internship, and they showed this 1 minute clip where Bruce is letting the guy work the faders. And he tells the guy “there it is, that is “your” mix, it’s unique to you!” and I thought to myself, but the guy is just working the faders to where he thinks it should be? How is that helpful? For some reason it stuck with me, and I kept thinking about that scene, and he was right. These great producers all have a sound unique to them, they aren’t really able to copy each other. So it has helped me to stop chasing anyone or anything, just be true to my own sense of what’s right. |
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Post by doubledog on Jan 3, 2024 13:04:29 GMT -6
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Post by bossanova on Jan 3, 2024 14:20:59 GMT -6
I'm enjoying this thread. A lot of it is pretty rudimentary but good stuff to remember. I particularly like the concept of "if you can hear what a good sounding record is you're capable of making a good sounding record." I can fall prey to the golden ears nonsense (or lack thereof) but I definitely know what I like and what I don't like, so that's an encouraging way to think. You’ve shared stuff with us before iirc.. I was impressed! You sounded great. You know, even after watching videos and reading, and sitting behind engineers, shadowing, years of trial and error, I doubted myself a lot. Until I saw a video by Bruce Swedien in the final years, he had a teaching program. He’d do one on one, like an internship, and they showed this 1 minute clip where Bruce is letting the guy work the faders. And he tells the guy “there it is, that is “your” mix, it’s unique to you!” and I thought to myself, but the guy is just working the faders to where he thinks it should be? How is that helpful? For some reason it stuck with me, and I kept thinking about that scene, and he was right. These great producers all have a sound unique to them, they aren’t really able to copy each other. So it has helped me to stop chasing anyone or anything, just be true to my own sense of what’s right. Before it turned into one long commercial, there was a wonderful episode of Pensado’s Place where Dave was being interviewed by JJP. Dave said that he gives his technical methods and “tricks” away so freely because his output really comes down to the way he hears things, and no one else can replicate that. Likewise, there’s that old video where George Martin is casually playing back and remixing “God Only Knows” with Brian Wilson in the studio, and once George has the faders pushed up with a basic balance, Brian exclaims, “Wow George! Your mix sounds better than mine from 1966!” |
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