Techtv's Secrets of the Digital Studio: Insider's Guide to Desktop Recording

This book contains an enormous amount of material, clearly explained and well organized. It was published a few years ago, but it's as helpful to me now as it was when I bought it. I'd guess that an advanced desktop-audio engineer already knows most of what's in it. To a novice or intermediate user, though -- I'm somewhere between -- it's an excellent resource.

I have some experience with digital recording but still consider myself a novice. I own and highly recommend the classic 1990 text on recording studios: Sound Advice, the Musician's Guide to the Recording Studio by Wayne Wadhams and have found it incredibly useful (you may have to buy it used). As for Secrets of the Digital Studio: James Maguire has a fun, hip writing style that motivates you to learn more. I have had it checked out from my public library (KCLS) and have found myself totally drawn into it. It is a good compliment to the Wadhams book and moves us toward the latest in digital technology. Maguire is very in-depth at the right times and helps to sort out priorities among the vast options available. I use a Yamaha digital workstation (AW16G) instead of a desktop computer setup. Yet I find that even though this book is geared more toward the desktop computer, there is a still a tremendous amount of info that easily translates to any type of digital recording setup. Plus, the sheer number of useful web resources sprinkled throughout the book is astounding. He is very wise to insist that an internet connection is vital to anyone involved in digital recording. Many of the resources mentioned in the book are free to use. So I am now compelled to actually buy Secrets of the Digital Studio to keep as a reference that I will undoubtedly turn back to many times while recording and mixing, as I do with the Wadhams book. After all, it is due back at the library soon...

I'm the author of this book, so I know it's unusual to write a review, but I have to respond to a review that someone posted. Someone wrote that the book uses "smary hip lingo". What? Like "plug-in" or "data compression" or "omnidirectional"? The terminology I used is the terminology I learned in 15 years as a professional audio engineer. The person also says "about a third of the space is devoted to product placements...there must have been a pay-off". That's totally wrong. I received no payments for the gear I recommended. I put a lot of photos in so people could see the gear while I talked about it, for educational purposes. I also called a lot of audio pros to get their reccomendations, so I included them too. It helps the text quite a bit I think. The book is NOT just for beginners, although I wrote it to be clear and easily understood by everyone. For example, I included two long and very detailed chapters about mixing that goes through the whole subject in the way that enables you to give your music a professional sound. I really poured my years of experience into this book, and I think it's a good purchase for anyone considering a home-based audio studio. Thanks!James Maguire

This book is the first of it's kind in the sense that it's printed in the human language. I'm 22 and relatively smart, but so many books are filled with jargon. Having been involved with music for most of my life and computers for a while, I still find myself lost in many magazines and books. I compliment the authors and editors of this book for going far into detail without going far into the dictionary. The book is filled with references, websites, hints, and humor that keeps you into the subject and not wandering off in thought. It begins with basic explanations and examples that lay a foundation for anyone who might not be already invoved. It leads into a little more complicated issues in production, but it superbly explains these issues in normal words. It covers all aspects, from home to professional recording, of production. No matter what type of work in music you may be interested in, this book covers it. The book remains non-biased to companies and methods, while adequately explaining and suggesting what may be best for your needs as a producer, songwriter, or interested PC/Mac user. I definitley urge you to purchase this book above all others, because no matter what you are looking to do with music and a computer, it will help you immensely. Not to mention that it is very up-to-date with all of todays programs, hardware, etc. and comes with a cd that gives anyone with a computer the ability to experiment with some of what you're learning. No matter whether you're an aspiring producer/ songwriter, a pro studio musician, or a guy with a PC and a curiosity, "TechTV's Secrets of the Digital Studio" is an essential tool of learning and computer production. Thanx to the guys behind all of this.

I've bought a bunch of these book because I make music at home, and this one makes the technical stuff the most clear. The chapter on mixing was really complete, and the stuff about tweaking your sounds was much deeper and heavier than some of the books I've seen. I also like the sound library that comes with it.