Recording - December 2012 - 64

Holiday
Zen and the Art of Producing

Reads!

By Mixerman. 300 pages, paperback. Published by Hal Leonard Books, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4584-0288-2. $24.99; www.halleonard.com

Unless you have been living too sheltered a life by half, you must have heard about and probably read the author’s The Daily Adventures of Mixerman and Zen and the Art of Mixing. Here he begins by discussing the various types of producers and other industry personnel as seen through the prism of Mixerman’s by now well-known quirky writer persona. On sticking to one’s guns as the producer when convinced that the artist is wrong: “Even if you whisper your objections, you’re still in the midst of a conflict. The definition of “conflict” does not include yelling. It’s a disagreement that must be negotiated and resolved.” Chapter 2 deals with the mechanics of producing, from taking on an assignment (or not...) to rehearsals, pre-production, contracts, budgeting, to tracking, overdubs, mixing and mastering. On the role of the mastering engineer: “There was a time when the credo of the well-regarded mastering engineer was ”do no harm”. This noble sentiment has been replaced over the years with the “take no prisoners” mantra of a war—more specifically, a loudness war”. A short chapter 3 deals with the politics. “Producing is not a dictatorship. It’s the band’s album. They’re the ones who need to be proud of the finished product.” The book concludes with a brief chapter 4 on “the business”.

The Audio Expert. Everything You Need to Know About Audio.
By Ethan Winer. 667 pages, illustrated B/W, paperback. Published by Focal Press, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business, 2012. ISBN 978-0-240-82100-9. $54.95; www.focalpress.com

This weighty tome from an author whose writing has appeared in these pages carries an ambitious subtitle. The author’s breadth of knowledge is impressive, and he uses a clear and concise style of writing. By his own definition, this book is aimed at “intermediate- to advanced-level recording engineers—both practicing and aspiring—as well as audiophiles, home theater owners, and people who sell and install audio equipment”. So it may not cover in depth what every potential reader might wish for, since the author had to make some judgement calls to fit what he wanted to say into one volume, albeit a hefty one. Is a chapter of 30 pages on mixing enough, considering that the same topic fills another book, reviewed here, that comes in at ten times the wordcount? Winer’s book was completed before the “Mastered for iTunes” program came into being (see review of book by Katz)—we’ll be interested to see what he has to say on that if there is a future revised edition. All in all, though, he offers a lot of information, with good support from illustrations and from material on the author’s website at www.ethanwiner.com.

The Tour Book. How to Get Your Music on the Road.
Second edition, by Andy Reynolds. 335 pages, illustrated B/W, paperback. Published by Course Technology, a part of Cengage Learning, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4354-5954-0. $34.99; www.courseptr.com

The author is a consummate road warrior, with a 20-year history as an international concerttour manager and audio engineer. If you ever take your music out of your studio and on the road, this book should be recommended reading before you even pack up your gear. Reynolds describes the concert industry, one participant at a time, then he covers contracts and riders, show preparation, equipment, tips on how to get the live gigs and how to make sure of getting paid. He dispenses solid advice on marketing, offline and online, and he covers budgets and costs and merchandising among other more advanced topics. His deep experience shows in the fascinating chapter “At The Show” where he takes the reader through a day of a show, from the tour manager/FOH engineer’s point of view, from morning wake-up call to long after the audience has filed out of the venue. He does that for two different scenarios, and those 70 pages alone are worth the price of admission. Hit the Road, Jack (apologies to Percy Mayfield and Ray Charles...).
64
RECORDING December 2012

http://www.halleonard.com http://www.focalpress.com http://www.ethanwiner.com http://www.courseptr.com

Recording - December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2012