Mastering Audio: The art and the science

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Product Details

Author : Bob Katz
Binding : Paperback
EAN : 9780240808376
Edition : 2
Number of Pages : 352
Product Group : Book
Publication Date : 2007-10-03
Publisher : Focal Press

ASIN : 0240808371

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Customer Reviews

Well worth reading (2005-03-08)

I can't add much to what others have said other than this...I have calibrated my volume knob as described in the book and it was one of the BIG steps forward I've taken in recording music. However, I rarely listen at that level - more on that in a moment. The benefits of comparing different recordings adjusted to an equivalent loudness are huge. It really helps you train your ears to hear the differences between the recordings when you are not being fooled by different loudnesses, particularly the frequency response. You can hear better which recordings have too much or too little bass. You can hear which recordings are bright and clear and which ones are merely distorted to produce the illusion of brightness and clarity. When I compare my recordings to commercial CDs, I always bring the level of the CD down to match the loudness of the recording I'm working on and the comparison works so much better. So, one of the most important messages in this book is the intelligent adjustment of loudness.There are two reasons I rarely listen at the calibrated level from the book... Firstly I find it too loud for continuous music listening. It is a movie theatre standard and is better suited to films because they usually have a far wider use of dynamic range so most of the time your ears are not getting bashed. The second reason is that when mixing (and probably when mastering too) you need to listen at different volumes on a range of different speakers to ensure the music sounds good on any system at any volume - not just one system at one loudness.

Stay away from it if you are looking for hard-and-fast rules (2004-07-02)

I bought this book after reading many good reviews. After reading it, I would say that it is indeed a very interesting book, there are a lot of "obscure areas" that the author dares to tackle, with a remarkable "scientific" approach.

BUT, before you buy this book...It's not a "funny" reading, you should get this book if you are already familiar with all the technical subjects covered, the author seems to assume a certain previous knowledge, otherwise you won't go past chapter 1. AND, for all of you cookbook lovers, forget it, you are not bound to find those here.

That being said, I have it, and I like it. I'll probably re read it sometime in the future.

Mastering Audio... (2004-06-30)

If you buy this book and reread it 4 times, you'll come out better of than buying 5 separate books about mastering. Mastering is a true art and if some book tells you exactly how and where to apply your "enhancements" to improve your sound, avoid it. I've been mastering on the cheap with just a "sound forge" mastering software with a 16bit computer. Working off of old tapes from all the bands I've been in, it's been a pretty steep learning curve mastering these tapes to cd. This book is good as a reference, what you're looking for is easy to find. Dither, wordlengh, editing, compression, reverb and all that other stuff is explained well and provides for deeper understanding when reread. I've got my money's worth and am still learning from it.

if you want a deeper understanding of audio (2004-06-25)

and a deeper respect for mastering engineers then READ THIS BOOK. this book walks you through the disecting audio to different types of audio. it takes you from handing over your mix to the mastering engineer to what it's going to sound like once it hits the shelf. it's not really a "how to" book. it's a "why you need a qualified mastering engineer" book. don't think you're going to master like bob by the time you read this book.... honestly to really understand what's going on you're probably going to have to read the book more than once. it's a deep book, giving you deep understanding of "the art and science of mastering audio."

REALLY GOOD!!! (2004-06-14)

This book is really one of the best on the subject. It may be a little complicated if you don't have background in digital music because all the terms involved, but other than that it's a masterpiece. This book for sure will also be a reference manual for me, not because it's formatted like one, but because it has so many valuable pieces of information. The constant references to further chapters kinda drives you crazy and tempts you to jump to those chapters. All the information is so exciting, I read more than 100 pages non stop... If you're into details and want to learn a few well kept secrets this book is what you should have by your side on your next mastering session.

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