A beyond-cool look at the world of high-end audio design for passionate collectors, obsessive audiophiles, and design fans

At a time when sales of vinyl records have hit a 25-year high, and analog technologies are providing the kind of extraordinary audio experiences that our increasingly digital world has started to remove, Hi-Fi is essential reading. This unique book explores just how, when, and why the world fell in love with the look, feel, and sound of top-of-the-line audio equipment. Hi-Fi traces this fascinating evolution from the 1950s to today (and tomorrow), taking readers right up to the current renaissance of all things analog and the emergence of cutting-edge designs for die-hard audiophiles.

Major Label Mastering: Professional Mastering Process distills 25 years of mastering experience at Capitol Records into practical understandings and reliable systems. Containing unparalleled insights, this book reveals the mastering tricks and techniques used by Evren Goeknar at one of the world's most notable record labels. Beginning with the requisite competencies every Mastering Engineer must develop, Major Label Mastering delves into the particulars of the mastering studio, as well as fundamental mastering tools. Included among these tools is The Five Step Mastering Process, a rigorously tested system that equips the practitioner to successfully and confidently master a project to exacting standards of audio fidelity. Covering all bases, the book discusses both macro and micro considerations: from mindset approach and connecting with clients down to detailed guidelines for processing audio, advanced methods, and audio restoration. Each chapter ends with exercises intended to deepen understanding and skill, or to supplement course study. Suitable for all levels, this is a unique resource for students, artists, and recording and Mastering Engineers alike. Major Label Mastering is supplemented by digital resources including audio examples and video tutorials.

Good live sound engineering and concert sound engineering requires more than plugging in some amplifiers and turning a few volume knobs. It demands knowledge of acoustics and electronics combined with working with a band or producer to give them the sound they want. Every venue is different -- from the cozy bar to a medium-sized concert hall to an outdoor arena -- and each brings its own challenges to audio engineering. But it's the live sound engineer's job to work with and control the acoustics and make sure the band sounds great. This book is going to be the missing link between the technical side of audio engineering and normal everyday language and understanding. It'll discuss the most important aspect of Mixing a live show, and how to be creative with the tools you are given. The idea is to go and use the book in a practical environment. In depth descriptions of what each knob does, and how they affect the end result. Musicians and aspiring live-sound professionals can lean from an expert who has mixed for acts including La Roux - The Hoosiers I Amy Winehouse I Corinne Bailey Rae- and worked sets from the main stage at Glastonbury to the local cozy bar, gleaning invaluable insight into what the pros do, how they do it, what they do it with. Readers will learn the technical, practical, and political aspects of the job - from customizing mixing approaches and choosing the right equipment to working with artists and other engineers. The book also includes insightful, sometimes bizarre, but entertaining anecdotes about the climb to the big time. Author Dave Swallow combines a lively writing style with essential details, including complete gear lists for featured tours, and informative sidebars that offer specific advice on how to get started and get the gig.

The MIDI Manual: A Practical Guide to MIDI within Modern Music Production, Fourth Edition, is a complete reference on MIDI. Written by David Miles Huber (a 4x Grammy-nominated musician, producer and author), this best-selling guide provides clear explanations of what MIDI 1.0 and 2.0 are, acting as a guide for electronic instruments, the DAW, MIDI sequencing and how to make best use of them. You will learn how to set up an efficient MIDI system and how to get the most out of your production room and ultimately ... your music. Packed full of useful tips and practical examples on sequencing and mixing techniques, The MIDI Manual also covers in-depth information on system interconnections, controllers, groove tools, the DAW, synchronization and more. For the first time, the MIDI 2.0 spec is explained in light of the latest developments and is accompanied with helpful guidelines for the long-established MIDI 1.0 spec and its implementation chart. Illustrated throughout with helpful photos and screenshots, this is the most readable and clearly explained book on MIDI available.

A no-holds-barred narrative history of the iconic label that brought the world Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, and more, by the co-author of Do What You Want and My Damage. Greg Ginn started SST Records in the sleepy beach town of Hermosa Beach, CA, to supply ham radio enthusiasts with tuners and transmitters. But when Ginn wanted to launch his band, Black Flag, no one was willing to take them on. Determined to bring his music to the masses, Ginn turned SST into a record label. On the back of Black Flag's relentless touring, guerilla marketing, and refusal to back down, SST became the sound of the underground. In Corporate Rock Sucks, music journalist Jim Ruland relays the unvarnished story of SST Records, from its remarkable rise in notoriety to its infamous downfall. With records by Black Flag, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, and scores of obscure yet influential bands, SST was the most popular indie label by the mid-80s--until a tsunami of legal jeopardy, financial peril, and dysfunctional management brought the empire tumbling down. Throughout this investigative deep-dive, Ruland leads readers through SST's tumultuous history and epic catalog. Featuring never-before-seen interviews with the label's former employees, as well as musicians, managers, producers, photographers, video directors, and label heads, Corporate Rock Sucks presents a definitive narrative history of the '80s punk and alternative rock scenes, and shows how the music industry was changed forever.

From the paperwork to the practical aspects, Access All Areas gives you an excellent insight into the live music and touring industry. Drawing on a vast range of real-world experiences Wilkins provides you with the key technical aspects of gigging and touring in an easily understood manner. Whether you are performing in a church, club or concert hall, Access All Areas has examples and suggestions to make the event run smoothly. Gain understanding of the terms and techniques involved in live music performance. Learn what the industry use as standard equipment as well as what it does and how to use it effectively from an industry expert. If you are backstage, in front of the mic or behind the sound booth this book needs to be in your toolbox for constant reference.
* Gain expert advise on key practical areas of the live music scene and what's involved in putting a show together
* Benefit from Wilkins' extensive industry experience
* Learn how to stage an event in any venue

An updated edition of the most comprehensive account of the Rolling Stones' work yet published, with the full story of every recording session, every album, and every single released during their nearly 60 year career. The Rolling Stones have been recording and touring since 1963, selling more than 200 million records worldwide. While much is known about this iconic group, few books provide a comprehensive history of their time in the studio. In The Rolling Stones All the Songs, authors Margotin and Guesdon describe the origin of every song the band has released, details from the recording studio, what instruments were used, and behind-the-scenes stories of the great artists who contributed to their tracks. Organized chronologically by album, this massive, 760-page hardcover begins with their 1963 eponymous debut album recorded over five days at the Regent Studio in London; through their collaboration with legendary producer Jimmy Miller in the ground-breaking albums from 1968 to 1973; to their later work with Don Was, who has produced every album since Voodoo Lounge. Packed with more than 500 photos, All the Songs is also filled with stories fans treasure, such as how the mobile studio the group pioneered was featured in Deep Purple's classic song "Smoke on the Water" or how Keith Richards used a cassette recording of an acoustic guitar to get the unique riff on "Street Fighting Man."

Major Label Mastering: Professional Mastering Process distills 25 years of mastering experience at Capitol Records into practical understandings and reliable systems. Containing unparalleled insights, this book reveals the mastering tricks and techniques used by Evren Goeknar at one of the world's most notable record labels. Beginning with the requisite competencies every Mastering Engineer must develop, Major Label Mastering delves into the particulars of the mastering studio, as well as fundamental mastering tools. Included among these tools is The Five Step Mastering Process, a rigorously tested system that equips the practitioner to successfully and confidently master a project to exacting standards of audio fidelity. Covering all bases, the book discusses both macro and micro considerations: from mindset approach and connecting with clients down to detailed guidelines for processing audio, advanced methods, and audio restoration. Each chapter ends with exercises intended to deepen understanding and skill, or to supplement course study. Suitable for all levels, this is a unique resource for students, artists, and recording and Mastering Engineers alike. Major Label Mastering is supplemented by digital resources including audio examples and video tutorials.

The revised edition of Understanding Records explains the musical language of recording practice in a way any interested reader and student can easily understand. Drawing on readily available hit records produced since 1945, each section of this book explains a handful of core production and engineering techniques in chronological record-making sequence, elucidates how those techniques work, what they sound like, how they function musically, where listeners can hear them at work in the broader Top 40 soundscape, and where they fit within the broader record-making process at large. As the only book to introduce music production and its practical elements with no assumed prior knowledge, the revised edition includes: * Exclusive print and video interviews with emerging and established recordists, including: Alex Chuck Krotz (Drake, Three Days Grace, Mother Mother); Kevin O' Leary (Shawn Mendes, The Glorious Sons, Monster Truck); Alastair Sims (Rush, The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies); Matt Shelvock (kingmobb, san holo, bitbird, DROLOE); and Russ Hepworth-Sawyer (Billy Ray Cyrus, Steve Earle, Amadou & Miriam) * Numerous "real word" audio examples, organized into easily accessible streaming playlists, culled from Juno-nominated sessions the author himself worked on, and numerous other professional sources. * Easy to understand explanations of each facet of the record production process, which avoid technical jargon and clarify terminology. * Information on new developments in recording practice and updated musical references. Completely reworked and expanded sections on mixing and audio mastering.

Recording Analysis: How the Record Shapes the Song identifies and explains how the sounds imparted by recording processes enhance the artistry and expression of recorded songs. Moylan investigates how the process of recording a song transforms it into a richer experience and articulates how the unique elements of recorded sound provide essential substance and expression to recorded music. This book explores a broad array of records, evaluating the music, lyrics, social context, literary content and meaning, and offers detailed analyses of recording elements as they appear in a wide variety of tracks. Accompanied by a range of online resources, Recording Analysis is an essential read for students and academics, as well as practitioners, in the fields of record production, song-writing and popular music.

This book examines music stores as sites of cultural production in contemporary India. Analyzing social practices of selling music in a variety of retail contexts, it focuses upon the economic and social values that are produced and circulated by music retailers in the marketplace. Based upon research conducted over a volatile ten-year period of the Indian music industry, Beaster-Jones discusses the cultural histories of the recording industry, the social changes that have accompanied India's economic liberalization reforms, and the economic realities of selling music in India as digital circulation of music recordings gradually displaced physical distribution. The volume considers the mobilization of musical, economic, and social values as a component of branding discourses in neoliberal India, as a justification for new regimes of legitimate use and intellectual property, as a scene for the performance of cosmopolitanism by shopping, and as a site of anxiety about transformations in the marketplace. It relies upon ethnographic observation and interviews from a variety of sources within the Indian music industry, including perspectives of executives at music labels, family-run and corporate music stores, and hawkers in street markets selling counterfeit recordings. This ethnography of the practices, spaces, and anxieties of selling music in urban India will be an important resource for scholars in a wide range of fields, including ethnomusicology, anthropology, popular music studies, and South Asian studies.

A Rough Trade Book of the Year After the success of his memoir, Telling Stories, Tim set himself a quest. He got in touch with people he admires, and asked them to suggest an album for him to track down on his travels, giving an insight into what makes them tick, while also giving Tim a chance to see how record shops around the world were faring in the digital age. Sending out texts, phone calls, emails and handwritten notes to the likes of Iggy Pop, Johnny Marr, David Lynch and Cosey Fanni Tutti, here is the tender, funny and surprising story of what came back.

The Digital Songstream is the first practical guide to getting up and running in the new digital world of music. Cutting through myths, it offers a step-by-step introduction to what's possible for performers, composers, and listeners-addressing legal and ethical issues as well as the nuts and bolts of what equipment to buy and what services are available.
Written in a friendly, easy-to-understand way by a master musician and computer expert, The Digital Songstream will be the first-and only-reference needed for anyone wishing to enter the world of computer music.

Master the basics from first principles: the physics of sound, principles of hearing etc, then progress onward to fundamental digital principles, conversion, compression and coding and then onto transmission, digital audio workstations, DAT and optical disks. Get up to speed with how digital audio is used within DVD, Digital Audio Broadcasting, networked audio and MPEG transport streams. All of the key technologies are here: compression, DAT, DAB, DVD, SACD, oversampling, noise shaping and error correction theories are treated in a simple yet accurate form. Thoroughly researched, totally up-to-date and technically accurate this is the only book you need on the subject.
* Expand your knowledge with this thorough treatment of digital audio for a wide range of disciplines* Clearly explainations require a minimum of math to allow for easy understanding* Get up to speed with how digital audio is used within DVD, Digital Audio Broadcasting, networked audio and MPEG transport streams

DVD Authoring and Production is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to publishing content in the DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, and WebDVD formats. Readers learn everything they need to create, produce, and master DVDs - including a firsthand look at professional production techniques employed in the author's StarGaze DVD. Professionals and aspiring DVD artists alike learn the latest tools and techniques as well as how to succeed in the business realm of the DVD world, including optimal methods of marketing, distributing, and selling.

BELIEVE IN MAGIC tells the story of Heavenly Recordings in thirty vignettes, photography and ephemera, all of which relate to landmark records, moments and characters in the label's first three decades.

A label responsible for creating satellite communities of fans around the world and at all the major festivals, Heavenly was set up by Jeff Barrett in 1990 after several years working for Factory and Creation as the acid house revolution was in full swing; early releases set the tone and tempo for the mood of the decade to come - their first single was produced by perhaps the most revered acid house DJ of them all, Andrew Weatherall; and this was quickly followed by era-defining singles from Saint Etienne, Flowered Up and Manic Street Preachers, music which perhaps captures the flavour of the early '90s better than any other.

Heavenly was always tuned to an aesthetic that was sensitive to the anarchic spirt of the times; defiantly eclectic with a radar set to taste and a never-ending commitment to discovering new talent. In 1994 they set up The Heavenly Sunday Social, which became one of the most influential and mythologised clubs in recent British history, where the Chemical Brothers - then the Dust Brothers - made their name. For thirteen weeks, it was the hottest nightclub on the planet. For 180 demented acolytes in a basement room below the Albany pub.

Over nearly 200 releases in thirty years Heavenly have consistently produced some of the most exciting music across all genres, and this book collects rare artwork and wild anecdotal evidence into a celebration of a label that is one of the most beloved institutions on the independent landscape.

BELIEVE IN MAGIC includes contributions from Manic Street Preachers, Beth Orton, Doves, Don Letts, Edwyn Collins, Confidence Man, Mark Lanegan, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard.

The Directory provides an indepth examination of the growth of the American disc record industry from the introduction of Berliner's disc Gramophone through the Petrillo recording ban. It examines the histories of more than 330 labels and their manufacturers, chronicalling the growth of the disc record from a crude toy in the 1890s to a multi-million dollar industry in the early 1940s. In this process, the Directory shows how power eventually came to rest in the hands of several major manufacturers. Taken largely from original source material, The Directory reveals master sources, master leasing policies, as well as examples of outright piracy. By tracing technological developments, corporate relationships, and the effects of changing musical tastes on the early record industry, Sutton provides an invaluable reference tool for all libraries and researchers concerned with recordings and the record industry.

We're all able to record music; a smartphone will get you quick results. But for a good sound, a lot more is involved. Acoustics, microphone placement, and effects have a huge influence on the resulting sound. Music Production: Learn How to Record, Mix, and Master Music will teach you how to record, mix, and master music. With accessible language for both beginner and advanced readers, the book contains countless illustrations, includes tips and tricks for all the popular digital audio workstations and provides coverage of common plugins and processors. Also included is a section dedicated to mastering in a home studio. With hundreds of tips and techniques for both the starting and advanced music producer, this is your must-have guide.

This book is the first real inside look at the business of professional audio recording, which fuels a multibillion dollar global music industry. Industry pioneer Chris Stone, founder of the legendary Record Plant, provides hard-earned business strategies, guidelines, and advice on every aspect of launching and managing a professional audio recording business. This book is for every audio profit center - from the project studio in the garage to the multi-room diversified recording facility. With 30 years of practical business experience, Mr. Stone reveals the secrets of profitable survival in the pro audio world of today and tomorrow. Why be a player in the professional audio recording industry? What is the attraction and potential payoff? How big an operation are you contemplating? To succeed, one must categorize the various types and sizes of pro audio facilities and their customer bases. It is also essential to understand creative management, marketing, promotion, and the modern economics of pro audio. The professional of tomorrow anticipates recording for new media and is prepared for diversification. All of these issues and more are addressed in this book.

Sound Assistance offers a highly readable and easy-to-understand account of sound operations in radio and television studios. By knowing the characteristics of the equipment, such as threshold and compression ratios, it is much easier to achieve professional effects quickly, saving hours of trial and error.

The book will suit anyone wishing to work as a sound assistant but who does not have a thorough grounding in the maths and physics. Written in an informal style with practical 'do's' and 'don'ts', the fundamental principles are explained. Where knowledge of a higher level of maths is helpful, this information is given in handy 'fact files'.
Particularly appropriate for students, training officers and supervisors who have the task of passing on this information in a simple, easy-to-digest format, Sound Assistance is written in easy-to read language with a minimum of maths.
This second edition now has more on:
* Microphone sensitivities
* Loudspeaker listening tests
* Domestic colour code for stereo
* Stereo transmission in radio
* Stereo PPM interpretations
* MiniDisk
* Digital radio
* Recordable CDs.
Michael Talbot-Smith is a freelance audio consultant and author of Audio Explained, and coauthor of The Video Studio. He is editor of The Audio Engineer's Reference Book (now in its second edition) and The Sound Engineer's Pocketbook. He is a former trainer of audio engineers at BBC Wood Norton.
Explains the fundamental principles of sound operations.
Written in easy-to-read language with a minimum of maths
Updated to include the latest technology

From initial demos to mixing and mastering, seasoned authors Mark Cousins and Russ Hepworth-Sawyer show you how to get the most from Logic Pro X. By exploring the essential workflow and the creative possibilities offered by Logic's virtual instruments and effects, Logic Pro X: Audio and Music Production leads you through the music creation and production process, giving you all the tips and tricks used by the pros to create release-quality recordings. Using full color screenshots throughout, alongside related boxouts that expand on the key concepts, Logic Pro X: Audio and Music Production is an informative and easy-to-read guide to using Logic Pro X. Key features include: Production FAQs - Instructional Walkthroughs and Knowledgebases present information clearly and answer common production-specific problems. Methods - Professional techniques for recording and editing in Logic Pro X - whether you're dealing with real musicians or cutting-edge virtual instruments. Workflow - Use Logic Pro X's tools and functions in an optimal way. Website - Access audio examples, samples (Apple Loops), Logic projects, sampler instruments, and instrument patches at www.focalpress.com/cw/cousins Logic Pro X: Audio and Music Production covers more than just the software; it will help you make the most out of every recording session and will illuminate and inspire your creative and sonic endeavors!

The electronic medium allows any audible sound to be contextualized as music. This creates unique structural possibilities as spectrum, dynamics, space, and time become continuous dimensions of musical articulation. What we hear in electronic music ventures beyond what we traditionally characterize as musical sound and challenges our auditory perception, on the one hand, and our imagination, on the other. Based on an extensive listening study conducted over four years, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the cognitive processes involved in the experience of electronic music. It pairs artistic practice with theories from a range of disciplines to communicate how this music operates on perceptual, conceptual, and affective levels. Looking at the common and divergent ways in which our minds respond to electronic sound, it investigates how we build narratives from our experience of electronic music and situate ourselves in them.

Provides an introduction to the nature, synthesis and transformation of sound which forms the basis of digital sound processing for music and multimedia. Background information in computer techniques is included so that you can write computer algorithms to realise new processes central to your own musical and sound processing ideas. Finally, material is inlcuded to explain the way in which people contribute to the development of new kinds of performance and composition systems.
Key features of the book include:
- Contents structured into free-standing parts for easy navigation
- Flow lines' to suggest alternative paths through the book, depending on the primary interest of the reader.
- Practical examples are contained on a supporting website.
Digital Sound Processing can be used by anyone, whether from an audio engineering, musical or music technology perspective.
Digital sound processing in its various spheres - music technology, studio systems and multimedia - are witnessing the dawning of a new age. The opportunities for involvement in the expansion and development of sound transformation, musical performance and composition are unprecedented.
The supporting website (www.york.ac.uk/inst/mustech/dspmm.htm) contains working examples of computer techniques, music synthesis and sound processing.
Written in easy to understand manner, with a minimum of maths
Suit readers from a number of disciplines: audio engineering, music technology or computing
Supporting website contains practical examples in computer techniques, music synthesis and sound processing

This one-stop source for Logic Pro insight helps you spend more time creating music.

Every minute you spend trying to figure out how to set up a new track or build a drum loop is a minute you don’t spend creating and recording your music. This guide to the recording software favored by Mac users helps you bypass the time needed to search for tech answers and spend more time capturing sounds. Discover the full recording power of Logic Pro, starting with launching a project and recording your audio. Explore the built-in digital instruments and beat makers, augment your recording power with plug-ins, and finalize your song by editing, adding effects, mixing, mastering, and sharing. The final step is music stardom!

• Learn your way around the Logic Pro interface and understand the workflow
• Set up your project and add tracks and regions
• Record acoustic audio or conduct your orchestra of MIDI instruments
• Edit, mix, automate, export, and feel proud of your audio files

For beginning music creators and producers, this Dummies guide makes it simple to get started with Logic Pro.

Designed to make life a little easier by providing all the theoretical background necessary to understand sound reproduction, backed up with practical examples. Specialist terms - both musical and physical - are defined as they occur and plain English is used throughout. Analog and digital audio are considered as alternatives, and the advantages of both are stressed.
Audio is only as good as the transducers employed, and consequently microphone and loudspeaker technology also feature heavily - making this the most comprehensive, up-to-date text currently available on all aspects of sound reproduction.
Features the latest technology in loudspeaker design
Written in easy-to-understand language
Compares analog and digital techniques