Basic Mixing Techniques (Basic Series)

This is a real good starting point to learn the basic concepts to mixing your music, it's a small pocket guide easy to carry around and the table of contents is laid out efficiently for you to jump to that particular chapter if need be. You can read the entire book in one sit down or you can use as a basic reference to refresh your understanding in certain areas of Mixing. I have other resources on this topic, but in this field you can't underestimate a book like this, because I've been involved in projects with so called "Mixing Experts" whose mixes sounded poorly, because they couldn't grasp the basic concepts, therefore, rendering a poor acoustical project. Also found the Glossary Valuable as well, get this book and stick with the basics, as more advance books will be more understandable to you in the future. I Hope This Review Helps You. Good Luck.

With all the vaious mixes out there this book is a good ready reference for the pro and an excellent teaching tool for the novice sound person. It is well organized and very easy to read. Its small size makes it an easy tool to have right in your pocket when ever it is needed.The price makes it a must for any one running a soundboard big or small.

Basic Mixing Techniques is about the basics of audio mixing for recording. It is one of thirteen books in a series designed to teach the basics of audio recording and the equipment used. The book was purchase during research to develop an audio class for church ministry volunteers. The goal was to communicate basic techniques and information that could be grasped and put to use quickly. This text provides that ability. In his introduction, Mr. White points out, "There's no substitute for experience" (White, 2009). Based on my 35 years experience I would have to agree. He goes on to say "there are usually a few simple guidelines you can follow to obtain good results quickly" (White, 2009) and this is the strength the book brings to anyone wishing to either learn new skills or brush up on old ones. The "plot" of the book is centered on five key areas; planning, mixing tools, recording vocals, balancing, and mix automation. The order suggests the building of one area on the previous so the reader can be productive right away. As the reader progresses through the pages the new information is easily digested and integrated into the previous information to form a body of knowledge to reference during a recording session. In the planning section, Mr. White makes careful observations about the recording process and the need to start off on the right foot. In general, his point is that recording is a collaborative process. All participants in the process will be best served spending time on the frontend of a project building relationships and establishing expectations. Doing so will pay off in smoother sessions and a better product in the end. From planning the sequence of recording the material, to the necessity of running a virus checker on any digital material brought into the studio, the devil is in the details and communications the key. (White, 2009) This part should be required reading for anyone anticipating being part of a recording project. The planning chapter covers the basics of miking each type of instrument and vocals along with a part on arranging. In the first paragraph, Mr. White sums up the chapter by pointing out that bands tend to think they can simply do what they do live and record it and the project is done. (White, 2009) As those of us in this field know, that is not the case for 99.99% of the acts out there. In fact, the only time this works is if it is a live album, and even the live mix will most likely have some studio time to "fix" some of the mix problems. The chapter on tools is detailed enough to be relevant without being too detailed. Mr. White clearly understands that information overload is easy to achieve. He also uses this understanding to his advantage by directing the reader to his other books that provide the necessary detail where appropriate. He even uses this technique within the book by providing the detailed chapter on vocal recording. "Vocals, it can be argued, are the most important part of any mix". (White, 2009) Mr. White is clear and to the point in his explanation about devoting a complete chapter to the topic of vocals. An added benefit of this chapter and the one that follows, balancing, is that these techniques are also relevant to live mixing as well and a read will also benefit practitioners of that art. In the final chapter, mix automation, Mr. White covers the very basics of this extensive area of the recording art. Although it is an important topic in today's recording industry, the audience to which this book is addressed makes this topic more of a teaser than a real information chapter. Most readers will not have access to the tools that are needed for the automation of the mix process. In fact, the use of such tools initially will be a detriment to the long term development of the reader's skills as a recording engineer. I enjoyed reading Basic Mixing Techniques and feel it is a good book for the beginning recording enthusiast as well as a useful refresher for a more experienced engineer. Mr. White has done a very good job of providing relevant information in a manner that can easily be understood by those with little knowledge of the subject.

This book makes a whole lotta sense. Once I first saw the premise, I had to read it, if reincarnation is true, then it must show up in the Bible and other Christian scripture. Mr. Dewey shows step by step many Bible verses that make no sense until you ASSUME reincarnation as the original authors did. Well written. Well documented. Well researched. This quality book neatly catapults Christians into the Age of Aquarius.

this is a decent starter guide for someone who wants to get into recording but its really just a basic summary of what you need to do. but then again it does say basic in the title and i cant really argue with that. it is what it says it is. plus it was free so you cant really knock that lol

I bought this book based on a recommendation from a highly respected person in the recording industry. It is everything he said, a must have for learning those little things that make a big difference in the quality of a song.

Before reading any other book about computers producing I highly recommend this book . Get all that little stuff out the way. Amazing yet simple

Great book for price

Fantastic book as are the rest in the series! Paul White is ex BBC and is now Editor-in -Chief at Sound on Sound Magazine so he knows his onions! I'll be honest and say that I originally bought a couple of his books as a way of getting my order over the minimum level for free delivery, but these books are well-worth the money as reference material. I like the clear explanations Paul gives and the fact that they're almost pocket-sized! I got the physical books not the digital editions and carry them in my bag for reference! At the mine t a friend has borrowed my entire collection of Paul's books and has "read them all from cover to cover". Audio theory doesn't change all that much so even although they were written a while ago they are still current enough to be worth reading!

If this book is basic then flip, it’s a sure great place to start and I have a lot to learn I’m starting to realise the 10000 hours rule

I have brought a number of these "basic" books and all of them are very well written and clearly outlined It is a basic guide and does not claim to be advanced but for anyone who wants to learn about Audio Engineering or just wants to be more involved in their music either as a mucician or as a sound engineer its a great place to start.

Paul's books and articles are always worth a read, and this is no exception. Starts with the very basics, but not really for the experienced sound engineer. Home studio hobbyists should consider any of Paul's books.

A much smaller format than I was expecting. More of a pocket book. But interesting to read nonetheless. For a beginner in using sound desks, it explains many of the terms that you may come across. But it does not go into great depth.