Hal Leonard Recording Method - Book One: Microphones & Mixers: Music Pro Guides [With DVD]

I just started a class for sound recording and this is our textbook. It's a first edition so it has spelling and grammar errors a plenty and the answer key in the back is not 100% accurate. If you really read the chapters then you will know the answers. If you're just dependent on the answer key then why did you buy this anyway? Other than that, I'm already learning a ton from this book and am excited to continue the rest of series!

This book, part 1 of 6 is definitely a great launchpad for those interested in audio recording. It's full of audio and video examples as well as end-of-chapter tests to check for your understanding. The book is divided into different categories to help the reader thoroughly understand every aspect of what is to come in the following books. As a music recordist - this book tells me everything I wish I learned in recording school!

I've always enjoyed audio and recording; like a lot of people, I played in bands in high school and college, mixed live music for friends, and so on. When I started hosting and producing a corporate podcast, listeners wrote back and said they liked the show, but the audio was quieter than anything else they listened to. I couldn't figure out why. Desperate for answers, I bought this book pretty much at random. It was exactly what I needed to fill the gaps in my knowledge. Gibson's writing is very clear and superbly paced -- you get your most vital questions answered, and learn the "whys," without dwelling on any one topic until you're sick of it. Once in awhile where the jargon starts to go over my head, the generous amount of illustrations, charts, and figures saves the day. Since we're talking about audio, the CD is an essential part of the learning process. You can gain a mental understanding of what compression does, why a cheap microphone doesn't sound as good as an expensive microphone, or why a high-quality, high-priced cable might make a difference. But the lights really come on when you hear the examples. There are even a few video examples, and all of it played fine on my Mac. I find Gibson to be a highly knowledgeable, very credible authority, and his writing reveals a wide range of experience recording all sorts of musical generes. His systematic approach to teaching audio concepts has made this world so accessible to me that I am now building a project studio in my home. I intend to buy every book in this series. Oh, and now i get emails about my podcast praising the audio quality. (Shameless plug: if you're curious, Google on "Radio Free Security.") Please don't tell them that I'm just a beginner -- but a beginner armed with this book.