Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio

MIXING SECRETS FOR THE SMALL STUDIO

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If you're receiving this via email, it is because we thought this would be a good fit for you and encourage you to read on! If not, welcome and we still encourage you to read on.

Keeping in the spirit of great music engineering books, if you aren't familiar with "Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio", we highly recommend it.

The first edition of this book started as part of a series of 5 books originally produced by SOUND ON SOUND circa 2011 and still stands the test of time.

The other books will be listed below this article if you'd like to check them out.

This book definitely belongs in any big name studio library, but is especially perfect for the smaller home studio mixing enthusiast.

Like many, if you struggle with the mixing aspect of recording music, or if you want to improve your mixes, and achieve pro quality releases, Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio is perhaps one of the most insightful books on the mixing process.

Aside from improving your mixes, you will pick up many other great tips, on composing and production fundamentals that will greatly improve your music.

Book Summary:

It is broken up in 4 main sections.

Part 1- Hearing and Listening
Part 2- Mix Preparation
Part 3- Balance
Part 4- Sweeting to Taste

Part 1 "Hearing And Listening" chapter, where the author discusses Using Nearfield Monitors ported versus non-ported monitoring, and he provides detailed examples of frequency response for each type. He also discusses the difference between ported, non ported designs, and how they will affect your mix.

Ever wonder what the benefits of having a dedicated speaker stand for your monitors is? Learn about phase and cone filtering, Should you use acoustic foam? Why or why not? How to tackle room resonances and so much more.

Part 2 "Mix Preparation" discusses some of the essentials to consider before even beginning a mix. The author then goes on to discuss Timing and Tuning adjustments and even Comping and Arranging techniques.

Part 3 "Balance" discusses everything from Building the raw balance, compression, to fluent balancing.

Part 4 "Sweetening to Taste" discusses everything from Mixing with Reverb, Mixing with Delays, Stereo Enhancements, Master-Buss Processing , Automation and more.

All of these chapters are detailed with graphics, to help you understand and walk you through some of the concepts being discussed. They are also lined with cross references from so many different sources.

IN CONCLUSION:

One thing to note (as you may be able to tell from above) it is extremely helpful to have some basic prior knowledge of mixing before diving into this book. We can't stress this enough (read what the author has to say about this below). In other words this may not be the book to start with if you're brand new to mixing.

It is extremely detailed, thorough and while it does cover some of the basic building blocks, it also covers many advanced concepts.

The beautiful thing is, the author, Mike Senior delivers these concepts in a very clear direct way that anyone with some knowledge of mixing can understand.

Another thing you might note with this book, is, the hardcopy is a bit expensive (do people actually still buy hardcopies?). See below for our TIPS for purchasing.

As you will see, as you read it, and from the many reviews from professional engineers in the music business your time, effort it is well worth it.

We feel that any negative reviews were somewhat unjust either because the reader didn't have enough mixing knowledge going into it, or the reader had entirely different expectations.

In conclusion, the concepts you will take from this book will find their way into your work for a lifetime.

We also greatly appreciate that the author sets up this criteria prior to your time investment.

**Read our tips for buying this book

BUYING TIPS FOR "MIXING SECRETS FOR THE SMALL STUDIO"

We know that nothing is worse than spending money on a book that you aren't going to appreciate or might not be ready for. So, given that this book is in a high price tier (Hardcover $150), below are some economical ways to get it.

RENT IT:

RENT AS AN EBOOK HERE before buying.

PURCHASE A DIGITAL COPY:

PURCHASE A DIGITAL COPY HERE for $39.99. USD

PURCHASE PAPERBACK EDITION:

GET THE PAPERBACK EDITION HERE for $40.00 USD

USED COPIES- We have seen very few, if any used copies of this book. Some of the used copies that exist for sale, are actually more expensive than the original price! If you do happen to find a good deal on a used copy then consider yourself lucky and snatch it up.

CHECK OUT THE OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES TOO!

THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES OF 5

As we mentioned, this book was part of a series of 5 produced by Sound On Sound Magazine.

Each book is well worth the read, and we will be doing a future review on them. The cost on the hardcover versions is beyond CRAZY, so we are only listing the Kindle Series, which is the most economical, (ranging from approximately $26-$52 USD) at the time of this review.

**If you don't have a kindle device, simply click on one of the GET IT HERE LINKS and follow the link to get the kindle app. This will enable you to read on any device.

Here are the other 4 books in the series, all worth the read. You'll be using these as references for years to come. We'll save the reviews for another post, but the titles speak for themselves.