Books about the technical side of sound/engineering/etc.

[Kyrre Laastad]

Hi all.

I'm starting to get more and more attracted to the idea of having the stuff I need to create and record music in my office/rehearsal space, and for that I need to read and take notes and think. Is there any like standard litterature discussing the physics of sound in relation to engineering, microphone placement, etc, and also like what does the different parts of a studio actually do? What is a compressor, etc.

So yeah, reccomend stuff that has enlightened you about these sorts of things, if you feel like it.

[c_sns]

I recommend "Home Recording Made Easy: professional recordings on a demo budget" (http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Ma ... 1860743501). It's kind of like the recording for dummies but it's rather thorough and I found it useful when I first got into home recording.

There is also the Yamaha "Sound Reinforcement Handbook" which is very dry but covers a lot of ground. You can find this at any Borders/ Barnes and Noble.

[Dohol]

It's not complete, and parts of it are a bit dated...But it's worth a read..

[Robert G]

There's a series of books you can find pretty much everywhere by Paul White that are very cheap, and are all titled "Basic...". Each book focuses on one specific topic: mixers, microphones, studio design, and the like, and are written with the beginner in mind. Pretty much any question, such as what's the difference between an omni-microphone and a Shure SM57, are answered in these books.

Another book that simply explains how things work/are done, is Modern Recording Techniques, which you can see is now in its 7th edition. However, it's very cut n' dry and doesn't talk much about experimenting or DIY methods.

The Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook is a technical handbook that explains much of the electronics and physics that occurs in the hardware used to capture sound. It also covers many aspects of live sound that one would take for granted, such as acoustics and the like. I've been told if one can understand that entire handbook from front to back and front again, you can easily get a $50k/year job in the sound production industry. I wouldn't recommend it though for what it is you're looking for.

[jkudler]

off the top of my head:
i think helmholtz's "on the sensation of tone" is the standard book for musical acoustics, though maybe you can find it summed up in more readable fashion online.

about.com seemed to have a decent section on home recording.

forums:
http://www.tapeop.com/messageboard/
gearslutz

-jesse

[Sugartime]

I recommend "Home Recording Made Easy: professional recordings on a demo budget" (http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Ma ... 1860743501). It's kind of like the recording for dummies but it's rather thorough and I found it useful when I first got into home recording.

There is also the Yamaha "Sound Reinforcement Handbook" which is very dry but covers a lot of ground. You can find this at any Borders/ Barnes and Noble.

I second the recommendation of Yamaha's "Sound Reinforcement Handbook"; it's extremely comprehensive, and in addition to being an excellent reference guide, it's a pretty easily digestible read.

An excellent text on Midi is "Midi for the Professional" by Tim Tully and Paul Lehrman.

[David]

widening the range of the topic:
can you recommend any books on the physical (acoustical) foundations of music (which is the name of the book by John Backus I have from 1969). searching amazon there seems to be a lot of literature on acoustics and psychoacoustics.... for example:

Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds: The Sound of Music (Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing) (Hardcover) - James W. Beauchamp

Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, Third Edition (Music Technology) (Paperback)
by David Howard

Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics (Paperback)
by Perry R. Cook

An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing, Fifth Edition (Paperback)
by Brian C.J. Moore