An interesting book if you're working w/ heavier stuff...

http://www.systematicprod...s.com/mixing-guide.htm

I like page 11:


"The Fine Art of Listening


Any single action taken during a mix should be preceded by active listening. This is after all, what mixing is all about. Everything comes down to how well you hear the source, the judgment calls you make regarding the source, and how you put your tools into effect to mold the source into your vision of the whole...


...learn how to listen. If you can isolate the problem, and construct a solution, then the task of picking an appropriate tool and dialing it to purpose becomes amazingly intuitive."

Yep, that's how I found out about the book. In my endless quest for better guitar tones, I stumbled upon a post from that guy on that forum. I dug what I read and ended up checking the book.

dmbaer


Rain,
 
First of all, what do you mean by "heavier stuff"?
 
Second, I gather that it's a PDF so you don't need an e-book reader, correct?...

 

You don't need an e-book reader to read PDF files but if you DO like reading PDF files on a book reader, the free


Adobe Digital Editions is pretty hard to beat.

I mentioned heavier stuff because the author seems to specialize in metal. That being said, I think there's  stuff for every one in there, as some of the basics remain the same, obviously. 
 
But, unlike some other books dealing w/ somewhat more generic aspects of recording and mixing, a book written by someone who works primarily in a genre where everything is a bit more extreme tends to go into finer details, like eq techniques which may seem abusive in other genres or using a multiband compressor on guitars and such. 

The funny thing is that, while there's tons of tutorials on mixing drums available everywhere on the web, the information on mixing heavy guitars is a lot harder to find (except here when Danny chimes in). And speaking even w/ experienced engineer, I've come to realize that it was often a pretty tough part to deal w/.


I've downloaded all available formats, thinking that at worst I'd put up w/ PDF - which I really don't like - but the first one I clicked opened in my Kindle application on the MacBook. That's as good as it gets for me. :)

I'll check out that review you wrote. I dug that book by Senior.

Will check it out.

I'm halfway through Systematic Mixing and really not disappointed so far. I'd picked it up mainly for bass and guitars, but it gave me a couple of very good pointers for drums as well, as it is a lot more surgical than pretty much everything I had read before.

And for bass, which I've always struggled w/, it definitely opens a whole new world of possibilities and I finally got that bass much closer to where I want it. But once again, it isn't a case of simply throwing an EQ and a compressor - we're dealing w/ very granular automation, stage compression, multi-band compression, limiting, etc... 

Definitely not a case of trying to make it all happen w/ just a channel EQ and compressor.

You guys are making me want this book. I might have to check it out. I have Mike Senior's book and it is very good and I especially like all the links from his book webpage. Will probably have to get this one too!

Yes. But obviously, you could practice for 3 life times and never get anywhere if you don't have some basic knowledge and/or a good mentor.