During the discussion in the main Sonar forum on "Recording Levels" db's, dbfs's, and RMS's were flying, which sent me scurrying for my handy copy of Scott Wilkinson's "Anatomy of a Home Studio" to help clear the haze.  It's a really good book that explains a lot of the technical aspects of recording, but as I was flipping through the table of contents I was noticing that some of the topics were starting to look a little long in the tooth (Chapter 11: SCSI  comes to mind).  It was published in 1997.  A quick google revealed that there has been no updated version.  So I was wondering if anyone knew of a similar book, that is a little more up to date?  Again, I would love something that is fairly technical, but makes it easy to digest the way Scott did.

Thanks.

Have you read Bob Katz's "Mastering audio" and Roey Izhakis "Mixing audio"?

They're both really good.

Thanks for the recommendation. The Roey Izhaki book looks very good, and I like that it's very recent (2011). I think I'll try to get better at mixing before I try mastering, but Bob Katz would be the person to turn to for sure. Cheers

Big +1 for both of those titles. I'd add Digital Audio Explained for the Audio Engineer by Nika Aldrich to that list, since you said you wanted something "fairly technical". Also the Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest. If you're really serious about this stuff your path will almost certainly take you into the world of acoustics eventually. All 4 of these titles are good, meaty intermediate-level texts with lots of practical information that isn't so technical as to make your head hurt.

Thanks Bit!  Maybe I'll run down to the Main SF Library later today and see how many of these titles are available there.  These all seem like good suggestions, but I don't think I want to shell out for all of them if I can borrow them.

Cheers!

My long (and I'm not whistlin dixie) list follows, but for a short list, get everything you can find from the following authors and editors:

Barry Blesser, Bob Katz, Bruce and Jenny Bartlett, Don & Carolyn Davis, Douglas Self, F. Alton  Everest, Francis Rumsey, Glen M.  Ballou, Harry F Olson, Henry Ott, Herman Helmoholtz, Jeff Cooper, Jim Williams, John Linsley Hood, John M. Eargle, John Prohs, John Watkinson, Ken C. Pohlmann, Leo L. Beranek, Lou Burroughs, Martin Colloms, Michael Rettinger, Paul Horowitz & Winfield Hill, Philip Giddings, Philip Newell, Ralph Morrison, Robert Runstein, Walter G. Jung, William M. Moylan

OK, start with Giddings, Newell, Cooper, Ott, and Davis...

------------------ long list starts here -----------------------------------------------------------------

• Ray  Alden Advanced Speaker Designs for the Hobbyist & Technician
• Robert E. Apfel Deaf Architects and Blind Acousticians? A Guide to the Principles of Sound Design
• John Backus Acoustical Foundations of Music, The
• Glen M.  Ballou Handbook for Sound Engineers 
• Bruce and Jenny Bartlett Practical Recording Techniques, Third Edition
• J. E.   Benson Theory & Design of Loudspeaker Enclosures
• Leo L. Beranek Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture
• Leo L. Beranek Music, acoustics & architecture
• Jens Blauert, John S. Allen Spatial Hearing: The Psychophysics of Human Sound Localization
• Barry Blesser Spaces Speak, Are You Listening
• John   Borwick Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook
• Lou   Burroughs Microphones: Design and Application
• W. Cavanaugh, J. Wilkes Architectural Acoustics : Principles and Practice
• Martin   Colloms High Performance Loudspeakers
• Jeff Cooper Building A Recording Studio
• James P. Cowan (editor) Architectural Acoustics Design Guide
• Trevor J. Cox & Peter D'Antonio Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers: Theory, Design, and Application
• Don & Carolyn Davis How to Design and Build Loudspeaker and Listening Enclosures
• Gary Davis, Ralph Jones Sound Reinforcement Handbook
• Don & Carolyn Davis Sound System Engineering, 1st & 2nd Editions
• Don Davis, Eugene Patronis Sound System Engineering, Third Edition
• Vance   Dickason Loudspeaker Design Cookbook
• A. James  Diefenderfer Principles of Electronic Instrumentation, Third Edition 
• John M.  Eargle Loudspeaker Handbook 
• John M.  Eargle The Microphone Book
• M. David Egan Architectural Acoustics
• F. Alton Everest How to Build A Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch : With 12 Tested Designs 
• F. Alton Everest Master Handbook of Acoustics 4th Edition, The
• F. Alton  Everest Sound Studio Construction on a Budget 
• Jeffrey A.   Forsburg Building Pro Audio Loudspeaker Enclosures
• Rod Gervais Home Recording Studio: Build it Like The Pros
• Philip Giddings Audio Systems Design and Installation
• Herman   Helmoholtz On the Sensations of Tone
• John Linsley  Hood Audio Electronics
• John Linsley  Hood Valve & Transistor Audio Amplifiers
• Paul Horowitz, Winfield Hill The Art of Electronics
• Walter G.  Jung Audio Op-Amp Cookbook 
• Bob   Katz Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science
• Heinrich Kuttruff Room Acoustics
• Don   Lancaster Active Filter Cookbook 
• Christopher Morfey Dictionary of Acoustics
• Ralph   Morrison Grounding and Shielding Techniques 
• William M.  Moylan The Art of Recording: The Creative Resources of Music Production and Audio
• William M.  Moylan The Art of Recording: Understanding and Crafting the Mix
• John L.   Murphy Introduction to Loudspeaker Design
• Philip  Newell Loudspeakers: For music recording and reproduction
• Philip Newell Project Studios: A more professional approach
• Philip Newell Recording Spaces
• Philip Newell Recording Studio Design, Second Edition
• Philip  Newell Studio Monitoring Design: A Personal View
• Harry Ferdinand  Olson Music, Physics and Engineering
• Alan V. Oppenheim, Willsky, Alan S. Signals and Systems
• Henry   Ott Noise Reduction Techniques in Electronic Systems
• Robert A.  Pease Troubleshooting Analog Circuits
• Ken C.  Pohlmann Principles of Digital Audio
• John Prohs Time Delay Spectrometry
• Michael Rettinger Applied Architectural Acoustics
• Michael Rettinger Studio Acoustics
• Francis Rumsey Spatial Audio (Music Technology)
• Robert Runstein Modern Recording Techniques
• Douglas Self Audio Power Amplifier Handbook 
• Douglas Self Self on Audio 
• John Watkinson An Introduction to Digital Audio
• John Watkinson Art of Digital Audio, Third Edition
• David B. Weems Designing, Building, and Testing Your Own Speaker System With Projects
• Jim Williams Analog Circuit Design: Art, Science and Personalities 
• Jim Williams The Art and Science of Analog Circuit Design 

Wow!  Thanks for putting all that together.  The other 2 books I have are by Bobby Owsinski.  I see he didn't make the cut...
Just after a quick read down your list of titles, the one that looks the most appropriate for my immediate need is William M. Moylan The Art of Recording: The Creative Resources of Music Production and Audio
I definitely appreciate your short list of preferred authors, as well.  Very helpful.  I'm bookmarking this thread for sure.
Thanks

One book not mentioned here and it probably is more relevant than most is 'Behind the Glass' by Howard Massey Vols I and II

It is much more about mixing techniques but these books are almost equivalent to a sound engineering course in themselves.

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Glass-Record-Producers-Softcover/dp/0879306149

Jeff Evans


One book not mentioned here and it probably is more relevant than most is 'Behind the Glass' by Howard Massey Vols I and II

It is much more about mixing techniques but these books are almost equivalent to a sound engineering course in themselves.

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Glass-Record-Producers-Softcover/dp/0879306149

Thanks Jeff, I'll check those out too.  I love 2 of the producers/engineers they interview in Vol 2: Daniel Lanois and Hugh Padgham.  Now if Vol 3 has Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck), Brian Eno and Eddie Offord, I'd be very happy indeed!  

Thanks for the heads up!
Cheers