Mixing Secrets for the small studio: Amazon.co.uk: Mike Senior: Books

Review

"Drawing on the back-room strategies of more than 100 famous names, this entertaining guide leads you step-by-step through the entire mixing process. On the way, you'll unravel the mysteries of every type of mix processing, from simple EQ and compression through to advanced spectral dynamics and 'fairy dust' effects. User-friendly explanations introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis, while chapter summaries and assignments are perfect for school and college use."--Music Connection "The advice and guidance contained are relevant to everyone involved in music engineering and production, at all levels and regardless of the size of the studio or its facilities. Novices and grandmasters alike will find plenty of interest here. The emphasis is very much on mastering the correct approaches and techniques, rather than how to use any specific equipment or software, and everything is described in such as way as to make it easily transferable across any DAW platform or even to a traditional console-based mix environment. The book is structured in a progressive fashion, following a logical mixing workflow, and developing and building on ideas and techniques throughout. The book is very readable, in Mike's familiar, approachable and often humorous style, and with plenty of illustrations, all of which maintain the interest from cover to cover. The text also expands on Mike's own wealth of experience and knowledge with numerous relevant quotes and opinions from over 100 of the world's best-known engineers and producers. Many books have been published about mixing, but in all honesty I'd say Mixing Secrets is easily the most practical, complete and ultimately satisfying that I've read so far. It is eminently readable (even if the spellings have been 'Americanised'!), with the emphasis always on helping the reader to understand when and why to use a particular technique, before explaining how in great practical detail. Although the content is wonderfully disciplined and technically rigorous, the explanations are never intimidating to a beginner, yet remain stimulating to the more experienced reader. The icing on the cake, and liberally covered in cherries, is the dedicated web site, which provides a phenomenal resource of useful material and information. This is a definite must-read for everyone involved in music production at any level - and at a bargain price."--Sound on Sound "The most useful, up-to-date and comprehensive book I've read on the labyrinthine subject of mixing music. Author Mike Senior is well equipped with his experience as engineer, producer and journalist for Sound-on-Sound magazine to guide any reader, with an intermediate to advanced understanding of the studio recording and mixing process, through four main sections. Many good examples of current and popular CDs are given through this book to 'reference' each step in the mixing process. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio is a 'must have' for me that I wil re-read from time to time and I cannot recommend it more."--Music Connection "Mike shares many of his own mixing tips, supplemented by tips and advice from some of the industry's top engineers that range from Chris and Tom Lord Alge to Andy Wallace. At more than 300 pages, it's quite a read, but a highly recommended one. In fact the book is filled with so much great stuff, it's a book that one can read again and again and that can be used as a handy manual during any mixing project. And though there's plenty of information to soak up, Mike has made it very easy to navigate your way through the book and to find the relevant information you need quickly and easily."--GuitarWorld.com "Mixing Secrets by Mike Senior is a great book for studio production, no doubt about it. It's also a great book for extracting concepts that can be used for live audio production. And for the church audio sound tech who might get an email next week saying 'we need you to record and produce our first praise music CD,' well, you aren't going to find a better book on perfecting a mix. It starts as a book but you will use it as a resource. That's a win-win in my book."--BehindTheMixer.com

Product Description

Discover how to achieve release-quality mixes even in the smallest studios by applying power-user techniques from the world's most successful producers. Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio is a down-to-earth primer for small-studio enthusiasts who want chart-ready sonics in a hurry. Drawing on the back-room strategies of more than 100 famous names, this entertaining guide leads you step-by-step through the entire mixing process. On the way, you'll unravel the mysteries of every type of mix processing, from simple EQ and compression through to advanced spectral dynamics and 'fairy dust' effects. User-friendly explanations introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis, while chapter summaries and assignments are perfect for school and college use. * Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. * Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Michael Brauer, Serban Ghenea, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Dave 'Hard Drive' Pensado, Jack Joseph Puig, Mark 'Spike' Stent, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, and many, many more. Mike Senior is a professional engineer who has worked with Wet Wet Wet, The Charlatans, Reef, Therapy, and Nigel Kennedy. He specialises in adapting the techniques of top producers for those working on a budget. Since 2007 he has transformed dozens of amateur productions for Sound On Sound magazine's popular 'Mix Rescue' column, proving time and again that you can achieve commercial-grade results with affordable gear -- once you know how! Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Michael Brauer, Serban Ghenea, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Dave 'Hard Drive' Pensado, Jack Joseph Puig, Mark 'Spike' Stent, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, and many, many more...

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

Brilliant 1 May 2011

By David Green

Format:Paperback

This book is a fantastic resource that I expect will dramatically improve my mixing abilities. What more could you ask for than that?

I've now read the book from cover to cover. I plan to read it a second time, working through each chapter's lessons, and then I'm sure it will become a fairly constant reference in my studio after that.

I don't think the book is necessarily for everyone, which works out great for people like me. I think a complete novice would probably struggle with this dense book, while a pro can write their own (though I suspect that they would still learn from this book, just as the author - and his readers - profit by his many interviews with top mixing engineers). But if you're situated somewhere in-between rookie and pro, this book is pitched perfectly for your needs. That's me, and I've read a lot of books on the subject, but none this good.

What I most appreciate about the book is that it is strategic, methodical, rigorous, and straightforward.

By strategic, I mean that the author has a vision to which all the advice of the book is oriented: producing commercial grade audio mixes. Yes, there are lots of tactical tips sprinkled throughout the text, and they're quite helpful, but these are always in service to the greater goal. This is not a 'mixing tips' book, per se - it's something much better than that, a mixing strategy book.

The book is also very methodical in its approach. The author walks you through the process from beginning to end, explaining what is important and what is less so, showing how each step needs to build on prior work, and helping readers understand why his procedural order makes more sense than whatever method (or none at all) people might be employing on their own.

The author's approach is rigorous as well. Mike Senior clearly takes the art and science of mixing seriously, and he encourages his readers to do the same. He doesn't pull punches in telling us the scale of effort required to mix at the level to which he's trying to get his readers. I appreciated those benchmarks. They help give me a sense of what is required, and inspire me to go the extra distance in order to get there.

Finally, the book is straightforward in the sense that Mr. Senior seems to be free of faddish biases or particular hardware/software fetishes. He's not selling anything other than better mixes. He is simply devoted to telling his readers what works.

And, as an extra added bonus, he does so with humor. And some days, when it's just you and that recalcitrant song mix punching each other silly in the arena, you need that!

But here's the most amazing thing of all. Mike includes his email address in the book. So I thought, what the heck, and I emailed him some questions. He responded promptly and thoroughly. That's really amazing. It's like having a company provide great customer support for their complicated product - only it's not hardware or software, it's a book! His willingness to support those of us in the field (see his website, Cambridge Music Technology) demonstrates a real love for the art itself combined with a rare generosity of spirit. Massive kudos for that!

In short, here's the bottom line: If much improved mixing is your aspiration, and if you're serious about it, buy this book pronto.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Amazing practical book, worth every penny! 23 May 2011

By Nicolas

I'm not even halfway through the book yet and I can already hear improvements to the sound quality of my studio and mixes. I believe the strongest points of this book are:

1. It explains all important issues that small studios (and even larger ones) users face and how to address them.
2. It contains a lot of practical exercises to really hear and understand the concepts described.

At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of the concepts described and a list of practical exercises. In addition, throughout his book, Mike Senior gives a lot of ideas to experiment with, songs to listen to as well as useful tips. This is complemented by audio files and additional information on his website.

Reading this book is therefore like sitting in a private course / workshop with Mike Senior! I therefore highly recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Read this book! 5 Nov 2011

By Silversoul

My only regret about purchasing this book is that I didn't do it sooner. It is full of useful information that is derived from Mike's own experience and that of the many top name producer's and engineers he and Sound and Sound have interviewed over the years. It is written in an easy going way that isn't heavy going, and it's quite humorous at times. This is as valuable an investment as any piece of studio kit, and reading this has certainly improved my mixes no end. There are so many aspects to production and mixing that it's often hard to find answers to specific questions, but this book covers pretty much everything and many myths are dispelled. Highly recommended!