Any recommendations on books about "mixing"?

[Kevin Nolan]

Wondering if there are any recommendations on excellent books on "mixing"? I'm looking for one book - a bit like Bob Katz book on Mastering - that covers the subject comprehensively and that is widely respected.

Thank!
Kevin.

[RichardT]

Try Mike Senior's book Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio. I learned a huge amount from it.

[Hugh Robjohns]

That was going to be my suggestion too.

[Dr Huge Longjohns]

I'd highlly recommend Zen and the Art of Mixing by Mixerman. I have read a gazillion books on mixing and, for me, the problem is that most of them tell you how to work the equipment (how to set up a compressor, how to eq a kick drum etc etc) but don't tell you how to actually make a mix that makes you tap your toe or sing along ie the real musical/performance aspects of the process which, imho, are far more important than whether you use and LA2A or 1176 on the third acoustic guitar overdub.

Bob Katz's mastering book is actually a great book on mixing too because he too talks about musicality eg using a compressor to enhance the rhythmic groove.

[muzines]

Here's another left-field one - "Mixing With Your Mind"

The SOS Review (and website links etc):-
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/st ... tials-0804

[Kwackman]

Not a book, but worth taking a look at Eddie's tutorials (he's from this parish), he's also available for one-on-one teaching.
https://samplecraze.com/tutorials/

[Drew Stephenson]

Just another +1 for Mike Senior's book - and the companion 'Recording' volume.
He's also produced a set of videos that go with it and take you through the steps discussed in each chapter.

[Trent in WA]

Another vote for the Senior book here. It is remarkably good. One thing I like about it, comparatively speaking, is that a lot of mixing books encourage you to take a kitchen-sink approach to mixing, whereas Senior's approach has you asking, at each step, "Is this processing necessary?" That's only after you've set the basic balance for your tracks. I wish I'd read it and his companion book on recording before launching into the pandemic album project I've been working on – it would've saved me a lot of time.

[CS70]

+1 for Mike’s book, with the caveat that I haven’t read any other! But that is a brilliant book.

[Kevin Nolan]

Thank you for the fabulous recommendations - I'll follow them all

Mike Senior's book is clearly the winner here - thanks for pointing this out !!

Cheers!

[worshiptuned]

Thank you for the fabulous recommendations - I'll follow them all

Mike Senior's book is clearly the winner here - thanks for pointing this out !!

Cheers!

I do agree on Mike Senior's, it's the best of all!!!.

Links to illegal download site deleted - these are unauthorised copies of current copyright books and are therefore illegal. It is against the forum rules to provide links to illegal and copyrighted material.

[Eddy Deegan]

Thank you for the fabulous recommendations - I'll follow them all

Mike Senior's book is clearly the winner here - thanks for pointing this out !!

Cheers!

I do agree on Mike Senior's, it's the best of all!!!.

Links to illegal download site deleted - these are unauthorised copies of current copyright books and are therefore illegal. It is against the forum rules to provide links to illegal and copyrighted material.

Worshiptuned,

In addition to the edit made above, a discussion has been held by the moderation team.

After making some enquiries it has been determined that at least one author associated with the content on the site you posted is unhappy about it and will be taking the matter further with their publishing company.

This is a warning that posting links to such illegal download sites is in violation of the forum rules, one of which clearly states:

Copyright material must not be posted unless it is owned either by you or by this web site.

Accessing material through many links on the site you posted consitutes theft, which is a moral question you may want to ponder, especially as you say you've already downloaded a range of materials from it.

There will be no further warnings. If you post links in future to sites which violate copyright then you will be banned.

[worshiptuned]

In addition to the edit made above, a discussion has been held by the moderation team.

Moderators of SOS forum,

I thank you for your clarifications and I sincerely apologize. I posted the links in good faith and I had not read entirely the rules of your forum. I had no intention of committing theft or helping others to do so. I was assuming (wrongly) that the authors and the publishers were aware of these material being released and I had not idea the site linked was an illegal one.
In my moral conscience, it is clear that copying and sharing copyrighted material is normally illegal, although there are obviously exceptions and circumstances to consider. For example, there are websites where downloading is perfectly legal because the books are freely granted to the public by the legitimate authors. There are different national laws and cultures that influence our moral judgment. Sometimes, for personal or educational use, it is allowed to download or copy or use copyrighted material, like in public libraries for example (in Italy it is allowed to photocopy for personal use up to 15% of copyrighted books legally, without any permission from the author or publisher). There are publishers who make willingly available for free at least a few books (especially the outdated versions) of their catalogue, in order to promote their brand, as typically plugin manufacturers have something free to attract customers. You have yourself a great amount of free resources on your website and with great generosity you are offering your beautiful magazine to read for free in this period. I am really thankful of this, this is not something to be taken for granted but an authentic sign of generosity on your part, which will certainly produce a greater attachment of all your customers and an increase in the esteem towards you.

I end my reply by renewing my sincerest apologies to you, to the authors-publishers I may have unintentionally harmed and to the forum members. I renew my feelings of gratitude and appreciation to you for your work. I hope to continue to be a part of your community and I will be extremely careful about the contents I post. I thank all the moderators and members of the forum, reading your contributions has already been something very fruitful.

[Rich Hanson]

Kudos for accepting your mistake and apologising, so well done for that

Given the number of times I see people doubling down in that type of situation rather than accepting they made a mistake, it's refreshing to see the correct response.

[worshiptuned]

Kudos for accepting your mistake and apologising

I certainly made a mistake and I am ready to apologise again if the above apology is not enough

[Rich Hanson]

No need for that, we're a pretty forgiving bunch

[Hugh Robjohns]

I certainly made a mistake and I am ready to apologise again if the above apology is not enough

I think the one is quite enough...

To be fair, sites like the one you linked to do appear to be perfectly legitimate to the casual viewer, and that one even has information about their claimed respect of copyright on the site. So it's perhaps not that surprising you got caught out...

But when something seems too good to be true it usually is, and a site offering free PDFs of current books from respected publishers really should ring alarm bells.

I'm also told that such sites often embed malware within the downloads too....so not only does downloading 'free' books rip-off the legitimate publishers and authors, they potentially also open the end user to all manner of unwanted nasties...

Anyway... links removed. Matter resolved... moving on...

[worshiptuned]

Anyway... links removed. Matter resolved... moving on...

I appreciate very much your empathic message and your further useful clarifications. Thank you so much and have a good day!!!

[mountain lion]

Hi

I was was wondering about the difference between mr seniors book and the products on audio issues. Do they teach the same thing? Which is best to start with?

Thank you

[Kevin Nolan]

Ok this is embarrassing. I'm officially getting old!

I looked (carefully) at my bookshelf - and - sitting there was: a copy of Mike Senior's "Mixing Secrets". Sittin' there - likely for 3-4 years - unread, unopened - and I'm only now remembering buying it!

It's like I just found a fresh £30 note