The format is very text bookish and is let down by the lack of solid tips, techniques and examples that would have bought this otherwise ordinary book to life.

Unless you have the luxury of already owning all the other recording books advertised on Amazon I would shunt this one further down the list.

51 of 59 found the following review helpful:

A terrible textbook  Dec 19, 2005
By Hans Kuder
This is the worst textbook I have ever read. The editing is terrible (typos, spelling mistakes, extremely unprofessional writing, unexplained jargon), the diagrams are hit-and-miss (some are useful and accurate, others are shoddily crafted, most are downright unnecessary), and the whole book has a vibe of amateur, slapdash work.

I would estimate that roughly 1/4 of the included figures are pictures of recording equipment taken straight from manufacturers' advertising literature. It's as if Huber did a Google Image search for "preamps" and included the first six results. Also, do I really need to see screenshot of Windows Media Player's visualization options?

The book does a good job at covering the basic concepts of recording, but goes too far in trying to encompass every little bit of information about the recording industry ("Tax Tips for Musicians"? A half-page table of Internet connection speeds?). Do yourself a favor and find a better, more professional book.

I've returned to this review months later because I finally figured out what was REALLY bothering me about this book. The Windows Media Player screenshots, the tables of useless information, the gee-wiz references to the "Information Superhighway", the useless, gear-lusty sprinklings of product promotion photos, the dumbed-down writing style, all suggest one thing: an underlying immaturity in dealing with the recording industry. Don't get me wrong - there's lots of helpful information here. But reading between the lines, I can't help but get the feeling that if someone wiser and more experienced had written (or at least edited) this book, all of Huber's ephemera would be boiled away and readers would be able to concentrate on the real meat of the recording profession.

20 of 21 found the following review helpful:

Good for beginners  Nov 18, 2001
By Brad Ediger
This is a good overview if you are new to the industry. Lack of detailed information limits its usability if you already have some experience. I would recommend Yamaha's Sound Reinforcement Handbook and Bobby Owsinski's Mixing and Mastering Engineer's handbooks over this for more specific tips.

13 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Concise presentation, excellent illustrations, up-to-date.  Sep 23, 1998

This is the 4th edition of a book which has been in print for more than 20 years. The 4th edition has been up-dated to include current practices and equipment for sound recording. Although directed to music recording, this book provides an excellent foundation for work in theater, film, television, and multi-media.

I have used this book as the principal text for the first quarter of a three course sequence in Sound Design for Theater, Film and Video at UCLA.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Not perfect, but it's the best option out there  Mar 16, 2009
By R. Beck "kcsound"
So, after reading numerous semi-negative reviews, I had to write to say that when used as intended (as a textbook for an audio recording class) this book stands head and shoulders above the competition. As someone who has worked in pro audio for 17 years and taught it at the University level for about 12 years, I have examined every available textbook out there and keep coming back to this one. Yes, it's too in-depth for someone trying to learn on their own without the benefit of a teacher. Yes, it may be a little too oversimplified for someone who already knows the ins and outs of microphone theory, wave propagation, studio acoustics, etc. And yes, there are a few sections that don't really belong in this book. But for guided study of the science of audio recording, you will not find a more comprehensive text anywhere.

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