Customer Reviews
Good but some problems - By: N. D. Southwell, 07 Aug 2007 
I bought this book a few weeks ago expecting that it would have been substantially updated since the previous edition that I also own. This was not the case though. In particular, as I have now got to the stage when I have a few tracks finished, I was interestedin the recommended websites for MP3 hosting & Cd distribution, but none of the links seem to work & several of the recommended sites (Ampcast.com, iuma.com, vitaminic.com)seem to have closed down a long time ago. One even has a closure notice dated 2005! This was a big disapointment to me as I only bought the new editionin the hope of getting more up-to-date information.
Other than this annoyance, the book is just as good as the older edition, & I have found it very informative, & helpful. I particularly like the fact that although much of the focus is on DAW computer software recording, Studio In A Box (SIAB) based studios are praised & explained well (though once again the list & descriptions of popular models seems very out-of-date). I use a Boss BR600 (see my review elsewhere on Amazon) & find that although it is not specifically mentionedin this book, most of the recording, mixing & mastering principles explained are very relevant.
Descriptions & explanations about microphones, mixers, effects, eq, etc. are excellent. Oddly, studio monitor speakers are only superficially explained, & I could have done with some more information & advice about monitors when I was trying to decide which ones to buy. In the end I chose largely by guess work, but seem to have done alright on my very low budget as I bought Behringer MS20 monitors through Amazon (see my review elsewhere on Amazon).
If you are new to home recording, or are muddling along using only the instructions/help that came with your recording software/equipment/SIAB, & some magazine articles, or like me you are struggling with the transition from analogue to digital, I am sure that this book, will be very useful to you.
In fairness, this edition was publishedin 2005, but the speed with which products, software & internet information changes these days requires a faster response from publishers who should keep a record of described products & services to be regularly checked & updated. Smaller but more frequent print runs, or on demand printing are the answers to this problem, & some publishers are embracing such an approach. I really hope that when/if there is a 3rd edition, the product & web information is substantially updated. Overall it is still a good book, but it has temporal problems.
Highly recommended - By: Mulberry, 03 Jan 2007 
A wonderfully clear & practical guide to making the most of your home recording & getting the best possible result. It is suitable for complete novices, like myself (I didn't have a clue about different sorts of mics, nor know what EQ or compression was, I just wanted to know why my recording of my violin sounded like a particularly nasty saw grating). On the other hand, I wouldn't call it superficial either. I particularly like the way the book starts with an overview of all the steps to go through until the finished product is achieved, & only then goes through each of the stepsin detail. This is great for the beginner, but you can always skip it if that is known to you. For me it helped both keepin mind the process as whole & its ultimate aim, as well as clarify why I was being asked to learn something hideously technical I didn't really want to bother with. In short, I didn't lose sight of the wood for the trees. (Oh, & the violin actually sounds like a violin now, although I have still to get to grips with adjusting the EQ for it to improve it still more. I am currently studying that chapter).
