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The Online Guitar Store - Sound FX
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List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $39.15
Your Save: $ 0.80 ( 2% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Focal Press
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.490285
EAN: 9780240520322
ISBN: 0240520327
Label: Focal Press
Manufacturer: Focal Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: 2007-07-06
Publisher: Focal Press
Studio: Focal Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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Every session, every gig, every day, recording engineers strive to make the most of their audio signal processing devices. EQ, Compression, Delay, Distortion, Reverb and all those other FX are the well-worn tools of the audio trade. Recording and mixing, live and in the studio, engineers must thoroughly master these devices to stay competitive sonically. Its not enough to just know what each effect is supposed to do. Sound FX explains the basic and advanced signal processing techniques used in professional music production, describing real world techniques used by experienced engineers, and referencing popular music examples released internationally. The reader learns not just how to, but also what if, so they can better achieve what they already hear in the productions they admire and chase what they only hear in their imaginative minds ear. Sound FX will immediately help you make more thorough, more musical use of your sound FX.
The accompanying website www.soundfx-companion.com includes audio exaples of FX featured in the book.
Features:
A chapter dedicated to each key effect:
Distortion
Compression & Limiting
Expansion & Gating
Reverb
Equalization
Delay
Pitch Shift
Volume
More than 100 line drawings and illustrations.
Accompanying website featuring examples of all FX covered in the book.
Discography of FX at the end of each relevant chapter.
From the Sound FX Intro:
The most important music of our time is recorded music. The recording studio is its principle musical instrument. The recording engineers and music producers who create the music we love know how to use signal processing equipment to capture the work of artists, preserving realism or altering things wildly, as appropriate. While the talented, persistent, self-taught engineer can create sound recordings of artistic merit, more productive use of the studio is achieved through study, experience and collaboration. This book defines the technical basis of the most important signal processing effects used in the modern recording studio, highlights the key drivers of sound quality associated with each, shares common production techniques used by recording engineers with significant experience in the field, references many of the touchstone recordings of our time, and equips the reader with the knowledge needed to comfortably use effects devices correctly, and, more importantly, to apply these tools creatively.
* Mixing and Recording, studio and live -- for everyone who uses signal processing in audio.
* Defines the technical basis of the most important signal processing effects used in the modern recording studio
* Highlights the key drivers of sound quality associated with each
* Equips the reader with the knowledge needed to comfortably use effects devices correctly, and, more importantly, to apply these tools creatively
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Unlocking the Creative Potential of Recording Studio Effects
Comment: Of the many audio engineering books I have encountered, Sound FX stands out in several distinct ways.
The Book is incredibly thorough and detailed. After covering the basic function of each studio effect, Sound FX goes on to describe many different uses that each effect can serve. For example at the end of the chapter on compression (page 163), nine different goals that compression can accomplish are listed. Over the course of the chapter, compression has been analyzed so thoroughly that you will understand how and to achieve each one of these nine desired effects and why and when you would want to.
Why would an engineer pick one compressor over another? There are several paragraphs outlining characteristics that change from model to model. Knowing what to listen for helped cue me on to some subtle differences that I had previously not heard. Sound FX is filled with details like this about every effect that mixing engineers use. Other studio effects are described just as carefully. (EQ, expansion, gating, reverb delay, pitch shifting, distortion, and so on)
Have you ever listened to a compressed track, and cranked the compressor's release time from as low as possible to as high as possible and not hear the difference? Sound FX explains what you need to listen for. Have you tried adjusting the "room size" on a reverb unit and not heard the difference? Again Sound FX explains what this means and what the sonic results are.
While engineers working on material that is not musical may find valuable information here, the book is primarily about working with music. A fair amount of technical information is presented, but the material always circles back to how the technology can be used to accomplish musical tasks.
It's taken me time to learn what effects are needed to to find the sound I want to hear. Understanding the complexity of what each effect has to offer and knowing what to listen for when I adjust parameters has drastically improved my mixes. The authors experience and meticulous attention to detail comes through here and analyzes the material more effectively than any other source I have encountered. After reading, I'm always left with a powerful urge to rush to the studio and put the material to use.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A MUST have for anyone recording music!
Comment: Sound FX by Alex Case is a MUST have for anyone recording music. It's a clear, concise read with a delicate balance of the technical and creative aesthetics of any outboard gear (or plug-in). Five stars!
Customer Rating:
Summary: this book is about more than just fx
Comment: I think this is a terrific book that fills a need for engineers and musicians looking to develop a serious understanding of audio technology and studio production and composition. The emphasis on acoustics and psycho-acoustics while still providing practical advice on using processing is unique. It is very much the approach I've been trying to design into my classes and Alex Case does it with great accuracy and style. He makes the science understandable (and includes plenty of it), he cautions against the hype in our industry, always emphasizes the musical result, and his sense of humor makes it fun reading. Alex Case teaches much more than effects with this book. I am planning to use it for a text in a summer course I'm teaching and will probably use it next spring in my undergraduate class.
Jim Moses, Brown University MEME (multimedia and electronic music experiments) program.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Reference for Home Recording Addicts
Comment: I have been a home recording enthusiast for ten years now. I feel that I have picked up many skills over those years, albeit from scattered sources. I was finally ready to dive in and get my head around all of these things that I had available to me, and along came Sound FX. This book is an indespensible reference for aspiring engineeers who have already cut their teeth in some way, and understand a few things about electronic music and general sound properties. That being said, the book stays grounded at a level that is not tailored for acoustic engineering pros. There is a technical aspect to the flow of the info, but as soon as that's covered, you're right back to getting into practical applications. It truly is a perfect balance. And, Alex Case keeps an amazing sense of humor throughout his writing. This book reads like a breeze. This is not an easy topic to cover this way. Additionally, this book gives hope to the budget-minded recording enthusiast, and tends to play down the idea that you need to buy lots of expensive gear to get the job done. Too many references and 'how to' books are pushing gear, big gear. Not this one. Alex Case only teaches you to push your creativity to brink. Keep this book next to your mixer at all times!
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Well Tempered Engineer
Comment: Sound FX is a comprehensive, beautifully laid out resource for all levels of recording engineers. Professor Case has found a way of re-examining the tried and true building blocks of music production that imparts new perspectives while covering fundamental topics. The book aims to empower engineers to understand the science behind the tools of the control room in order to inspire greater creativity within their recordings. Many of the described effects utilize tools found in most studios, but in a way that will be new to many of the readers, even those working in major recording studios. Musical references have been included so that the reader seek out discussed effects first hand.
Perhaps the greatest asset of Sound FX is the manner by which the material is presented; Alex Case has included a light hearted, witty narrative that makes the reading experience a breeze regardless of the material.
As is probably true of many audio people, I own several books covering various topics in recording but none that are as insightful and as inpiring as this one; highly recommended!
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