GET SMART

Jul 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Geary Yelton

           
 

BERKLEE PRESS

In the second edition of Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools ($34.95), author David Franz takes you from recording fundamentals to the final mastering session. He explains every step of the recording process, divulging the techniques of successful recording and illustrating how you can use them in your own tracking and mixing sessions. Updated for Pro Tools 6, this practical handbook offers application-specific instruction for using Digidesign software and hardware as well as working with microphones, MIDI instruments, software plug-ins, and external processors. It even discusses studio setup, songwriting, arranging, and rehearsing.

Three full chapters on preproduction examine the roles of the engineer and producer and offer suggestions for maximizing your computer's recording capabilities. Every chapter ends with a hands-on project that explores the techniques it describes. An included CD-ROM contains all the project files mentioned in the book, as well as useful PDF documents, instructional QuickTime movies, session templates, and demo tracks from Naked Drums. Berklee Press; tel. (617) 747-2146; Web www.berkleepress.com.

FOCAL PRESS

Anyone interested in modern recording stands to learn something from Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science ($39.99), by Grammy Award — winning engineer Bob Katz. As one of the most complete books on the final stage in the recording process, Mastering Audio clears up any potential misconceptions for newbies and veterans alike. Katz tackles a range of subjects that includes sampling rates, dithering, metering, jitter, noise reduction, and how to give your CDs depth and dimension.

Mastering Audio begins by providing a solid foundation in theory, with an emphasis on digital audio. The next section concentrates on techniques such as equalization, manipulating dynamic range, and signal processing. Over a third of the book puts theory into practice by offering specific advice on how to produce superior recordings. With more than 30 years of studio experience, the author shares his tricks of the trade in a book that should be on every electronic musician's bookshelf. Focal Press (Butterworth Heinemann); tel. (781) 221-2212; e-mail marketing@focalpress.com; Web www.focalpress.com.

PRO MUSIC PRESS

In what must be the most up-to-date reference book on the subject, Music Copyright for the New Millennium ($39.98) offers a comprehensive look at U.S. copyright law and its implications for the creators, distributors, and consumers of music. Entertainment attorney David J. Moser explains how to register a copyright, the protections that copyright affords, and remedies to copyright infringement. Liberally sprinkled with case histories and practical examples, Music Copyright will tell you almost anything you want to know about intellectual property rights but never thought to ask. For anyone baffled by the intricacies of copyright who wants to understand the big picture, this book is a wealth of practical information. Pro Music Press/Hal Leonard Corp. (distributor); Web www.artistpro.com.

CHRONICLE BOOKS

Jim Cogan and William Clark's Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios ($24.95) reveals the stories behind legendary recording sessions of the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Each of its 15 chapters is devoted to a different studio — including Stax, Sun, Sigma Sound, Motown, and RCA Studio B — and its history as told by the musicians, producers, and engineers who worked there. The authors take you through pop music history and behind the scenes to disclose the people, equipment, and recording techniques that created dozens of enduring hits.

Temples of Sound is packed with rare photographs of famous musicians at work — the Rolling Stones, Cream, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, Willie Dixon, John Coltrane, and Bob Dylan among them. With a foreword by Quincy Jones, this book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in pop music, music technology, and the history of the recording studio. Chronicle Books; tel. (800) 722-6657 or (415) 537-4200; e-mail frontdesk@chroniclebooks.com; Web www.chroniclebooks.com.