Understanding Audio: Getting the Most Out of Your Project or Professional Recording Studio

Years ago, while completing my undergrad at Berklee, I took a couple of classes with the author of this book. I ordered it based on that fact.I teach a college course on ProTools and chose this title for my textbook. It has fostered some thoughtful discussions in my classroom.It's well-written, presents information in a real-world scenario, and focuses on theories and facts the MP&E student will need to know throughout their career.It's much better than a misinformed internet forum. A great read!

This was the required text book for a course I took at Berklee and is probably the single best book I have read on this topic. If you are new to audio theory/practice or have been messing with it for a while but want to improve your fundamental understanding, this is definitely the book you want.Topics include a brief history of audio reproduction, the fundamental physics of sound, the mechanics of capturing and reprocing sound, digital audio theory, and psychoacoustics (how your ears and brain process sound). Also, many practical topics such as how to evaluate and acoustically treat rooms are covered. All of these topics are covered in sufficient detail, but presented in a very clear and understandable way.

Very comprehensive book that has served me well - this is perfect for a beginner to get an idea of what they’re looking at if they want to get into audio engineering.

This book is a great introduction to audio overall. At times, the text itself was a little dry, and perhaps more images or diagrams could have helped for visual references. All things considered, Thompson does an excellent job explaining multiple concepts.

drbob says:I perceive Sakkas' review as pretty harsh. While it may be true this is not a book for experienced, accomplished recording engineers, it's the best introductory work I've encountered. I liked the book's organization and the author's writing style. For those of us who are non-experts, this book is well worth the price, imho.

Please disregard my star rating--I was trying to be neutral. I missed the return window and I am stuck with this book, but that's on me.It was the sub-title that fooled me: "Getting the Most Out of Your Project or Professional Recording Studio." As an amateur musician who just wants to make a few recordings as a hobby or to support the occasional gig, and NOT as a sound engineer nor an engineer wannabe, I regret the purchase of what I can now see is more of a textbook aimed at audio engineering students. I had the same issue with the David Franz book, but I returned that one. (Seriously, do people wire their own cables any more? I mean, I have a soldering iron, but that's not how I want to spend my time. :-) )I was wondering if anyone would kindly suggest a book more appropriate for me, that is, one that focuses on helping a consumer pick components that work together, how to connect things safely, how to avoid common pitfalls, best practices, how to arrange the studio (or the gig) to be effective without over-doing it. I will confess that the whole balancing-gain-against-volume thing is eluding me. Thanks!

This book is great! I recommend this book to anyone. No higher education is necessary, but a basic understanding of chemistry and physics would be extremely helpful. I found it easier to start in the middle of the book rather than the beginning as intended. With that said, this is an excellent reference book! Enjoy

Very easy to understand and has most of the information you are probably going to need without getting too "techy". It's one of my top ten Audio books.

Nice book. Much simpler than I expected. Will pass it along to someone who needs a more basic understanding. Should be very good for brushing up the basics and clarifying finer points.

Es un libro muy gráfico, fácil de entender, pues no utiliza demasiados tecnicismos además es breve y conciso para explicar temas más complejos

Speedy service and a quality product.

Music producers need a basic understanding of acoustics and especially of acoustics related to musical instruments and recording studios. This book explains all the topics that are talked about a lot however that are often not really understood by the people talking about this. A good understanding of room acoustics, sound generation and propagation, behaviour of instruments and materials, and especially music related definitions will help you to get the max out of your (home) studio, recording equipment and your productions. Must have for anyone seriously planning to learn music production.

Great Product