Renegade Review: "Big Studio Secrets for Home Recording and Production" by Joe Dochtermann

Big Studio Secrets for Home Recording and Production sets out to help you get the best potential out of your gear and get the best possible recording, so it's all about improving your sound. You'll receive 251 pages of information and also a CD-ROM which contains visuals and audio you can follow along with as you go through the book.

This isn't a very academic book. You won't find thick academic language, which is a good thing in my opinion.  The book also doesn't focus on the latest plugs or the latest versions of software, which is great because it makes it an evergreen title.

It deals with fundamentals, basics, the things you really need to know to get great recordings. It covers all aspects, so it's a comprehensive book as well.

You'll find discussed within Big Studio Secrets: EQ, compression, reverb, delay, arrangement, mixing, and mastering. You'll also find great sections on microphones and also microphone techniques.

You'll also find a great history section, which deals with recorded music history, basically by going through the main contributors or some of the main contributors at least. People like Sam Philips, before multi-track was even invented, then Les Paul, the coming of multi-track, Phil Spector, Motown, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Frank Zappa and Brian Eno - all discussed inside the book.

What's great is that the author takes lessons from, or techniques and tips from these people and gives it to you in a way that you can actually take it and apply it to your music straight away.

Overall Big Studio Secrets is written in practical language and stays focused on the practical aspects. It has a bit of theory but doesn't get too theoretical or too thick. So, it's really easy to read and also very well written.

This book, I would say, is great for beginners, definitely, if you want to get an overall view of the recorded music process - how to record and how to get a good sound, how to get a great sound.

This is definitely a book for beginners - musicians who want to record, or beginning with production if you are a producer.  Engineers will definitely benefit from reading this book.

If you've been in the game a little bit longer and you've done some recordings, or you are a more advanced producer, you'll definitely still learn something from this. It has good chunky sections on all the different aspects of music production, so it's a good refresher course.

It will also give you some insights you may not have thought of before. So, definitely for beginners or more advanced producers and musicians who want to record - it's a great book!

A little bit about the author, Joe Dochtermann. He's a guitarist, an engineer and a producer and has written several books for guitarists and also for other engineers and producers.

He's worked with companies such as MCA Records, V2 Records, and also with artists such as Alexander Markov and Slo Leak, and also plays in his own band, Troutband. So, he definitely has the experience and you can tell that by reading the book - it's some solid advice.

I suggest you check Big Studio Secrets out! Highly recommended. That's it for this review! I would like to thank Cengage Learning PTR for sponsoring the review copy of this book so I can review it for you. If you're interested in the book do check out their shop. You can check them out on Twitter as well.

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