Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools

This book is amazing to say the least, I couldn`t and still can`t put it down. Anyone who wants to up their knowledge of mixing (the process, what it inquires, the lingo, the equipment, the software, plus some how to tips, and more) has to own this book. I've been recording music for going on 10 years now, and though I've had my successes, I've had much more failures, and A LOT of it is due to mixing and/or editing (i.e. the songs are good, and the recordings are good, but the songs failed when finished). I've got a library full of books that just breeze by most topics that are important, and after reading this book (also while taking an audio production class- in which this book, though not, should be part of the curricular reading), with Izhaki's straight forward, for the layman, style writing, I found that there is so much more ground that I should have been covering with my music that I simply was not attuned to. With simple understanding, and great diagrams, pictures, and charts, along with a DVD of samples, the only thing missing with this book is the hands on experience (though to assume you're reading this book, you have a means and a way of accomplishing that).Are there typos, grammar errors, and some bad punctuation, yes. Is this a English book, no. So some bits and pieces here and there are not going to hurt anything. (Though yes they still shouldn't be there, but for the information presented in this book, them are some small potatoes.) Overall, these small things are insignificant and do not take away from any of the knowledge or teachings this book provides. For a book, and from what I've seen, the only book, of this caliber on the subject, I'll take a thousand typos and still be grateful. Besides, if you can't read through some errors, then good luck trying to mix some bad recordings.

Ok. I feel obligated to give a review for this fine piece of text because it has opened my mind to a whole concept of mixing that I had no idea existed. Let me say that I thought I knew a thing or two about mixing prior to opening this book. I mean how hard can treble and bass knobs be? Simply I thought mixing was a fairly simple concept to grasp and execute. A few weeks ago I began to come to terms that perhaps there can be a lot done to my music beyond the composing. So i did my research on this site and others and I found this book to be the best solution, and at this moment I am 100pgs through it (and skipped around some) I am thoroughly satisfied.Now don't think that this book is insanely complicated or will put you to sleep, because it offers not only advice for putting a good mix together (tools, strategies, etc), but it offers a point of view from an industry professional. Frequently in the text the author will simply give a few lines to conclude and advise what is incorporated into mixing. In my opinion it seems like he can explain a lot about mixing(which he does), but the author pretty much says, "Hey, i know i mentioned all this stuff, but focus on this point and this is how you want to apply this portion of the text into your mixing. OR For future reference, keep such and such ideas into mind. This will better allow you to evaluate your mix and your skill as a mixer in the long run." I completely appreciate how his writing takes into account the fact that mixing is so much more than altering and combining sounds, but it is an art and a learned skill I can not vouch for other books, but for those of you looking to get a deep incite and grasp of doing more with music other than playing it, this book can (and most likely will) expose you to ideas to make you the better mixer, listener, and composer. Enjoy.

I think this book is great and an essential read for anyone interested in doing more than amateur recordings. If you want to create recordings that sound professional at all, you should get and read this book. Even if you don't put every concept into practice, or even if you don't understand everything in the book at first, you will have a great, professional level background to build on and as you gain more experience you'll probably return to this book again and again to figure out how to do something.I've been reading and studying about, and actually doing recording since about 1988. I've owned and operated a small commercial project recording studio. I have a BS in Science. I thought I knew something about compressors, etc., but this book took my knowledge to a higher plane (or at least my awareness - I can't say I've mastered the information or concepts). I thought I knew what the attack and release controls on a compressor were for, but again, this book added another dimension.I wish I'd had this book 20 years ago. I want even more info like this now, and fortunately the companion website offers some including a forum where the author is active and responsive.I read the other reviews before buying this book and was expecting some grammatical errors. There are some, but I attribute them more to the author being (or at least working) in Britain and having a different way of expressing himself. Regardless, like someone else said, any strangeness in grammar usually seems minor and more quirky than wrong, and at the same time insignificant compared to the insight and information provided. I hate to even mention this "issue".