Book Description

Got a mouse and a keyboard? Then you're ready to start making beautiful music with Apple's Soundtrack music arrangement software and this hands-on guide. With Soundtrack, you don't need to pay a composer or fork out royalty payments to start creating perfectly synched scores in no time. All you need, in fact, is this hands-on, Apple-certified guide, and you can begin taking advantage of Soundtrack's more than 4,000 audio loops and dozens of audio effects in your own video, DVD, and Web projects immediately. In this book/DVD combo, you'll find a complete, self-paced course in all aspects of Soundtrack--from employing its interface to the secrets of creating original music, finding matching parts, mixing tracks, scoring to video, adding effects, and more. Step-by-step exercises, hands-on lessons, review questions at the end of each chapter, and a DVD crammed with lesson files--plus dozens of composing tricks and loads of advanced editing tips--make this the place to master Soundtrack.

Reviews (2)

Already Outdated But Still Useful
Apple's Soundtrack is not so much a music creation program as it is more of an audio clip manager, to be used with other programs. Originally packaged with Final Cut Pro, it has been released as a standalone tool to provide background music and sync sound in tandem with other media applications for video or web. In that sense, it is ideal for the non-musician or media artist looking to enhance projects with audio "clip art".

As is often the case, the in-box guided tour touches on the basics but doesn't cover most of this seemingly basic program's capabilities. Mary Plummer's comprehensive tutorial is a must-have for the user who desires to learn every feature of Soundtrack; it covers the basics of arranging and editing loops and one-shots on the timeline, synching and modifying projects for video, offers insights for adding special touches as well as tips for such mundane matters as managing files and media paths, and pretty much covers everything the program was designed to do ..... which is as much as you can expect from the only teaching aid available for Soundtrack at this time.

Note: Apple has updated their software since this publication, and the book refers to features that no longer exist, ie: no more red duration bar. There are also added features, such as midi synching, that are not covered ...... as a standalone, Soundtrack is obviously a work in progress. If I had already been using an audio production tool such as Logic or Cubase, I probably wouldn't have bothered with it. Fortunately, Ms. Plummer's softcover classroom (which features generous practice files on the enclosed DVDrom) covers enough of this otherwise basic application to make it a genuinely helpful tool, for non-musicians and composer-arrangers alike, who need to bash out and sync up scores on the spot. One of the better written Pro Training titles (no noticeable proofing errors this time!), this book will help the reader make the best use of Soundtrack in nine simple lessons.

All software should be this simple and fun to learn, but since it isn't, learning Soundtrack with the help of Ms. Plummer's guide makes for a nice break from the rest of them.

A must buy
Mary Plummer achieves something that few instruction manuals do. She writes a book that not only gives you great understanding of the application, she teaches you the basics of creating good-sounding music. Oh, and she does all this with a writing style that flows and entertains. Now that's a hat trick! (google hockey if you don't get this.)

Her bio indicates she is a screenwriter, composer, musician...and an Apple Certified Trainer. She brings all of these qualities together to create a great book.

I have read hundreds of training manuals, even wrote one...and this is by far one of the best.

Even if you think you know the application, Mary provides insight and techniques that can notch up your compositions and make this application sing.
By all means, buy this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Morgan Jones' Valve Amplifiers has been widely recognised as the most complete guide to valve amplifier design, modification, analysis, construction and maintenance written for over 30 years. As such it is unique in presenting the essentials of 'hollow-state' electronics and valve amp design for engineers and enthusiasts in the familiar context of current best practice in electronic design, using only currently available components. The author's straightforward approach, using as little maths as possible, and lots of design knowhow, makes this book ideal for those with a limited knowledge of the field as well as being the standard reference text for experts in valve audio and a wider audience of audio engineers facing design challenges involving valves.

Design principles and construction techniques are provided so readers can devise and build from scratch designs that actually work. Morgan Jones takes the reader through each step in the process of design, starting with a brief review of electronic fundamentals relevant to valve amplifiers, simple stages, compound stages, linking stages together, and finally, complete designs. Practical aspects, including safety, are addressed throughout.

The third edition includes a new chapter on distortion and many further new and expanded sections throughout the book, including: comparison of bias methods, constant current sinks, upper valve choice, buffering and distortion, shunt regulated push-pull (SRPP) amplifier, use of oscilloscopes and spectrum analysers, valve cooling and heatsinks, US envelope nomenclature and suffixes, heater voltage versus applied current, moving coil transformer source and load terminations.

* The practical guide to analysis, modification, design, construction and maintenance of valve amplifiers
* The fully up-to-date approach to valve electronics
* Essential reading for audio designers and music and electronics enthusiasts alike ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Awesome book on valve tube amplifiers.
This is an awesome book on Tube or Valve amplifiers. There is an excellent section on the basic fundamentals of electronics in this book. This is very helpful for electronics students or people who have taken electronics in college but have forgotten the fundamentals. There is even some valve tube data in the last chapter of the book. This book covers preamps, power amps, components, distortion, and Power supplies. Basic building blocks like the common cathode triode amplifier, the tetrode, the beam tetrode and the pentode, the cascode are even talked about in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Described as "the most comprehensive book on digital audio to date", it is widely acclaimed as an industry "bible".Covering the very latest developments in digital audio technology, it provides an thorough introduction to the theory as well as acting as an authoritative and comprehensive professional reference source.Everything you need is here from the fundamental principles to the latest applications, written in an award-winning style with clear explanations from first principles.



New material covered includes internet audio, PC audio technology, DVD, MPEG audio compression, digital audio broadcasting and audio networks.

Whether you are in the field of audio engineering, sound recording, music technology, broadcasting and communications media or audio design and installation, this book has it all. Written by a leading international audio specialist, who conducts professional seminars and workshops around the world, the book has been road tested for many years by professional seminar attendees and students to ensure their needs are taken into account, and all the right information is covered.

This new edition now includes:

Internet audio
PC Audio technology
DVD
MPEG Audio compression
Digital Audio Broadcasting
Audio networks

Digital audio professionals will find everything they need here, from the fundamental principles to the latest applications, written in an award-winning style with clear explanations from first principles.

John Watkinson is an international consultant in audio, video and data recording. He is a Fellow of the AES, a member of the British Computer Society and a chartered information systems practitioner. He presents lectures, seminars, conference papers and training courses worldwide. He is the author of many other Focal Press books, including: the Kraszna-Krausz award winning MPEG-2; The Art of Digital Audio; An Introduction to Digital Video; The Art of Sound Reproduction; An Introduction to Digital Audio; TV Fundamentals and Audio for Television. He is also co-author, with Francis Rumsey, of The Digital Interface Handbook, and contributor to the Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook, 3rd edition.

ú The 'Bible' of Digital Audio
ú Get everything you need on digital audio in just one book
ú Gain a thorough understanding of all the latest technology ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Well written technical overview, short of the computer age
The Art of Digital Audio is well written and informative technical overview of digital audio, except that being a mid 1990s book, it almost completely omits detailed coverage of some topics (like MPEG audio compression) that would nowadays have to be considered critical. It is nonetheless an essential component of the well informed digital audio engineer's library. There is a *lot* of stuff in this compendium that you would otherwise have to find scattered over a dozen other books. One hopes a revision for the twenty-first century is in the works.

copyright 1894^H^H^H994.
This book has all the details of doing digital audio, starting with banging two rocks together to start a fire, and quickly progressing to the development of western civilization. ... ok, it's not *quite* that bad. But there is precious little relevant information to any modern project. When your car's mp3 player is running Linux, who cares that Gray codes are the way to go for digital tape positioning? Who needs to be told that you might want to think about doing a calculation in RAM instead of with discrete digital components? There's a good chapter on "advanced digital audio processing". And it explains basic things about dithering, mixing, gain control, etc. But on the whole this book is very geared toward antiquated hardware, rather than presenting theories or algorithms that are relevant to all digital systems. I guess that's why it's the "art" and not the principles of digital audio. In the index you will find "cylinder transducer", but not "pitch" or "tempo".

It might as well be the Bible, cos it's all covered here.
If you're afraid this book may be too much for you, get Ken Pohlman's 'Principles of Digital Audio' first. Then if you didn't learn what you wanted to know there, Watkinson is the next step.

The Bible of Digital Audio
The most comprehensive book to date on Digital Audio. ... Read more

Book Description

The Yamaha Guide to Sound Systems for Worship is written to assist in the design, purchase and operation of a sound system. It provides the basic information on sound systems that is most needed by ministers, members of boards of trustees and worship and music committees, interested members of congregations, and even employees of musical instrument dealers that sell sound systems. To be of greatest value to all, it is written to be both nondenominational and "non-brand-name." ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Add knowledge and confidence to experience
Fantastic. I've been in small-to-medium live sound reinforcement for years picking up small bits of information. This book put me on a level to install and set up systems with confidence that I was providing the best sound that I could. I learned proper audio terms and strategies; and could intelligently communicate with professionals. I like the organization of the chapters. After the first four chapters on audio introduction, you can skip around to other chapters that discuss various components of sound systems (i.e. mics, mixers, processors, amps, speakers). After learning the basics, it becomes a good reference manual.

A definite "must read"
This book isn't just for the church 'soundman'...it's for everyone involved in worship. It covers the basics of "do we need a sound system" and how much to spend to setting up the gain structure of your system. It is written in easy to understand terms and has plenty of diagrams. I have been doing sound for over a year for the college-aged 'praise team' and just recently started mixing the sunday morning services. I had picked up a lot of knowledge during that time. This book affirmed some of my "I think so"s and taught me new things like proper mic placement, monitor mixes, and setting gain structure.

This book also goes into the non-technical side of planning the system from building design to what to look for if your going to be highering a sound engineering consultant to build you a system.

Its a very good book for the non-audio professionals in a church that volunteer their time to do the church sound.

Before you change your sound system read this
This book (Guide to Sound Systems for Worship) is a must read for anyone who is wanting to understand the purpose, use, and possibility of improving their sound system for religious worship. It gives an excellent overview of the electronics of a sound system without getting too "techie." More important than the techincal information this book helps you to explore the purpose and importance of your sound system within your worship service. Anyone who is a sound tech for a church or synagogue or on a committee preparing to buy a new sound system should read this book before they take any other steps. It will help the reader to understand that any money that is invested into a good quality sound system is money that is invested in one's worship service.

Well Pleased
Until I received "Guide to Sound Systems for Worship" all I had were unanswered questions and no where else to go for the answers. I was so excited as I read and found those answers and more. I have read the "Guide" from cover to cover several times and every time I have another question I go back and there's the answer. I feel it is written on a level that would satisfy beginner and intermediate sound personnel. It defines everything from "what is sound, and how does it work" to "how it moves through the system, what the different components do, where to insert them and what it should sound like" including main mix console and monitor systems. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has questions about how to better operate and understand their sound systems. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Achieving robust function with a human spin
Blade Kotelly is the one person in voice design whose attention to the human possibilities of a well-designed voice user interface provides assurance that humanizing our machines will not mechanize humanity. This treatment does not, however, merely try to convince aspiring designers to make their interfaces sound human. It illustrates how a designer can avoid ambiguity, aim for the most graceful styles of retries and error recovery, and how emotive responses can help to implicitly communicate the system's capabilities and limitations without requiring lengthy, explicit descriptions to be read out.

Though they are sometimes subtle, the issues and solutions outlined here are broadly explained, and this fosters an appreciation of each and leaves readers better equipped to anticipate where the next one may lie.

Kotelly is not delivering a text book which seeks to catalog countless dos and don'ts of design. Rather, he takes what I feel is the proper tack of showing by example how problems arise and listing not one, but a variety of choices a designer could make to avoid the problem. The result is not a series of commandments, but a richly illustrated outline of a well-developed philosophy of design and depiction. The work, I feel, helps the reader to appreciate the impulses that shaped Kotelly's leading work in the field, and to promote in him/her a sense of how they can develop their own affinity for designing systems that work efficiently and are received warmly.

If you truly think that a book will help you break into this field or expand your mastery within it, this is an excellent choice. It will inform you and prompt you to think well beyond the content it directly offers. It is perfect to get you thinking more passionately and expansively of what is possible in voice user interface design.

Very lucid; don't be scared off by the subject
Speech recognition as a commercial product is still very new. In 1988, when I was first involved with it, the state of the art did not involve real time capability. You had to record the utterance and then analyse it with a computer. Typically, you also had to train the software with the speaker beforehand.

Now, we have commercially available real time, speaker independent products. Some of the largest companies, like United Airlines and ATT, have deployed these, to try and reduce call centre costs, and to improve the user's experience when dialling into such a place. Are you considering installing such software? Of course, you can talk to the vendors. But where can you get objective advice? One possibility is to ask researchers in the field. But they can easily and inadvertantly drown you in jargon, especially if you do not have a technical background. This book attempts to fill that need. You do not need a degree in computer science or maths to understand it.

The book does not explain how speech recognition works. Rather the emphasis is at a higher level: Using it in your workplace. The author gives many lucid examples of this. Basically, he outlines a commonsensical appproach that can be understood by anybody. He explains how not to overburden the user with long utterances full of information, but to take advantage of the context of the conversation to omit unnecessary details. He emphasises thorough testing, with a disciplined scaling up to a real life deployment in a call centre. Something that may well have been omitted in other deployments, leading to users gnashing their teeth in frustration at an obtuse dialog, or at busy phone lines.

He also discusses why companies should regard this as part of their corporate branding, and how to choose an appropriate "noble" voice as part of that branding. I think the "noble" sounds rather pompous, actually. But that's not his fault! It is a standard phrase in this field, and you too might get used to it. ... Read more

Book Description

* 12 proven designs for building inexpensive, yet effective, audio studios
* Covers basic acoustic theory, construction materials, and applied design
* New chapters on blueprint reading and electrical wiring and grounding methods, expanded coverage of materials and construction methods ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not very helpful
This book was a big disappointment. I was hoping for detailed instructions for the construction of a studio, and what I got was a refresher course in Acoustics 101. The book has a lot of theory which could be helpful to someone that doesn't already know about diffusion, absorbtion and reflection of sound waves. What it doesn't have is room dimensions, angles of walls, or decent illustrations. The illustration for a garage multi-track studio was literally a line drawing of a square with a bisecting line across the corner signifying what would be a disfunctional control room. If you're not ready to build a studio and want some good information on room modes and acoustics, this is a good enough book. If you want to apply these principles and actually build a studio, there are better instructions on several free websites.

Thank you for your help
I used this book as a reference to build a private studio where I record the CDs for my label. It sounds great, reverberation is under control and low, over the whole spectrum. And it cost me HALF of what I'd expect. I used two regular doors instead of a professional grade studio door (I got this money saving idea in this book), I designed my air condinioning using his ideas (it is quiet and has no sound leakage), the cables go into the recording booth using ideas that I found here. The studio has been in operation for four years and everybody loves the sound. I can't praise it enough. My label's web site is outrosdiscos.com.br in case you want to know what was recorded here.

Not helpful at all.
For example, the only help this book give you as far as treating the acoustic of a project studio is to tell you to buy a certain particular brand, RPG, and get 4 of their bass traps, 4 of their absorbant panels and 2 diffusors, and where to place them. No different option is discussed, no alternative....

And when you find out that this option amounts to around $3,000.00, and the author concludes: "this option represents the very minimum defense against the effects of early reflections, the minimum of bass absorption and the minimum of rear-wall diffusion. Much potential improvements remains."....you start wondering about the "budget" he's talking about in the title.

I wish he'd mention the fact that a couch or a love seat make for a great bass trap, that pannels of 703 or 705 fiberglass covered in burlap fabric make much greater absorbants than foam for much cheaper, and that a cluttered shelve makes for a great diffusor....

The rest of the book is filled with mathematical equations and tables and graphs that lack some clear explanations. The book is discouraging at best, boring and not reflective of it's title.

New edition, good!
I own a previous edition. I read it very carefully. The book is very useful, if we understand the word. I mean that if you want to build a Recording Studio, fast cheap and easy, read this book. There were serious incongruences in the previous edition I hope to find renewed in this one. For example, the cutoff frequency value, which in the Master Handbook of Acoustics is set to a certain value, in this book has another value! both books have been authored by Mr. Everest. I will try this new edition and more comments will come up. Anyway, buy the book. If you use the recommendations given by Mr. Everest, you will earn money.

the good the bad and the not so clear
please excuse the review i am holding a baby. first the auther is very knowlegable about his subject matter but assumes you are to. The test designs do not cross over as to allow you to hypred his designs with any true concept other then the math and even the math is applied derectly to the specific test design w/ out help on cross over. he gives theroy but leaves out the simple but important questions that would allow one to connect the design elements w/ confendence. it rather ticked me off that he was not able to simply give a step by step summery of the basic elements before or even after the advanced info on modes and at many points left me to wonder if he really knew what to do with the room. he explained and explained, but most was a repeat of what was said in other modes or rooms and never explained why it worked one way for this room or why he did this or that for the other. It left me rereading and rereading for information that was not there. it did however have a wealth of hard to get info on modes and if you happen to be designing a room really close to his examples you are in luck it was just hard to deduce as a novice why he used certain absorbtion elements suc as hanging treatments a certion ways here and it not apply there. example there are many designs of mid band absorbers explained (although do expect to much from the figures/ illustrations which are the entire design) but they dont cross referecce as to why one works better for a certain room and how it relates to the mode and why. this would tell me so much as to the true nature of how to design my room not one of his test designs. sorry i am flying off but i wish this advanced acoustical designer would understand that if its on a budget i dought chips davis is the guy who will be reading it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Updated review of DBPs
Research today does not come cheaply - especially when projects have involved extensive and prolonged data collection and analysis around substances which are difficult to identify, costly to quantify and whose behaviour is poorly understood.This Report on Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) is a good example.Furthermore, it talks about carcinogenicity, it concerns drinking water and it looks at an ever increasing number of familiar and newly identified DBPs.

To quote directly from the Report: Risks projected from epidemiological studies of chlorinated drinking water and risks projected from toxicological studies in animals are quite different, both qualitatively and quantitatively.Results of epidemiological studies identify a high level of risk from bladder cancer and to a lesser extent, colon cancer in humans consuming chlorinated drinking water (as many as 10,000 cases per year).In contrast, among the DBPs that have been selected for toxicological studies, risk has been identified for liver, kidney and colon cancer, but collectively at much lower levels of estimated risk than for epidemiological studies.

The difficulty arises because the epidemiological studies available cannot establish causality, in part because no bladder carcinogen has been found in toxicological studies of chlorination by-products.On the other hand, only a handful of the by-products produced in chlorination have been studied toxicologically.Thus, the basis of this difference is the critical question related to whether or not chlorination of drinking water needs to be substantially modified or discontinued as a method of disinfecting drinking water.

Included in this Report is a new updated review of DBPs, a synopsis of occurrence and available toxicological data with a notable increase in the sophistication of the available data over material previously published.To assist readers, a chapter is provided to facilitate a better understanding of how the decision-making process for establishing safe levels for chemicals has changed in recent years, especially with regard to carcinogens and of the use of epidemiological data.Also included are chapters devoted to both practical considerations for water treatment plant operators and ways to communicate effectively with the water consuming public about drinking water issues. - Reviewer - Australian Water Association ... Read more

Book Description

This book gives a comprehensive treatment of the technologies underlying all forms of state-of-the-art data storage, video, and audio magnetic recording. The topics covered include the basic principles of nonlinear and linear recording, longitudinal and perpendicular recording modes, particulate and film tape and disk media, the design and materials for bulk and film heads, the limits and expectations of areal densities, the measurement techniques used in modern research and development laboratories, and the critical mechanical aspects of the head-medium interface. ... Read more

Book Description

Use Audition 1.5 for:
· Multitrack Recording
· Editing and Looping
· Mixing & Effects
· Mastering

Finish your video and multimedia projects with compelling audio tracks. From the first recording to the final mix or encode, this guide to Audition 1.5 delivers the working knowledge you need to master the aural aspects of your project. Beginning with an accessible review of the essentials of audio production you get practical examples and tutorials that demonstrate all the techniques you need-whether you are adding narration, getting out the hum, fitting the music key to your singer's range or using loops to create custom, royalty-free, music tracks.

Create tracks with the confidence that you have practical training. Author Ron Dabbs is a seasoned pro with 30 years of diverse experience. You get step-by-step instruction on how to record sound, edit, use loops, mix and everything in between including how to:

· Install Audition and optimize the system for peak performance
· Navigate and customize the interface
· Apply basic recording and miking techniques
· Edit, add effects, and assemble tracks
· Use multitrack recording, MIDI files, and ReWire, to enhance tracks
· Analyze audio content to identify and resolve problems
· Mix and master for Compact Disc and Surround Sound

Optimize your tools. Audition offers unparalleled integration with other Adobe applications. Speed your production with the use of application options, scripting, shortcuts, workflow-integration techniques, and SMPTE synchronization. The companion CD includes demos of music loop libraries, third-party DirectX and VST plug-ins, filters, encoding software, utilities, and other resources that will help you crank up the volume. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A hands on, go-to learning experience
Written by the founder of the Musicians' Technical Workshop, Using Audition is a solid, user-friendly how-to guide to using Audition version 1.5 to edit digital video and audio multimedia. Screenshots and explicit instructions cover basic installation, recording and microphone techniques, editing tracks and adding effects, using multitrack recording, MIDI files, and ReWire to enhance tracks, mixing and mastering for Compact Disc and Surround Sound, analyzing audio content to resolve problems, and much more. A hands on, go-to learning experience, self-teaching instructional and useful reference intended for users ranging from beginner to advanced, Using Audition also comes with a CD-ROM filled with files for use in the text's step-by-step tutorials.

Breaking it down IN Plain English
It's amazing how importan Sound is. Most people just take it for granted.
As an editor I know that a glitch in the sound is going to be felt way before they see me drop a frame. Well, ok depending on the glitch.
I've done a fair amount of mixing on the timeline, going by what sounded good, and sometimes futzing around for hours trying to make it right.

But NOW! WOW, this book takes the time to explain in Plain English how to do it. I LOVED Chapter 9 on Analysis. Right away it made sense out of hours of trial and error. This book is going to save me hours
and boost my skill levels immensely....AND not just with Audition!
But with Sound edititng and sweetening in general.
Thanks Ron! ... Read more

Book Description

"Cakewalk Power!" is the complete resource for musicians who create, record, and produce using Cakewalk software. This book is the first to deal exclusively with the Cakewalk Pro Audio software series, a product aimed at professional and home-hobbyist musicians in the digital age. "Cakewalk Power!" is written for the beginning and intermediate user with some advanced topics also discussed.It teaches users about the software's major features and delves into lesser-known aspects of the product. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Power Up With Calkwalk!
This may be the only book you need for home recording in the digital age. I have been a Calkwalk user for over a year and after looking at Calkwalk Power I realized that I have only used a fraction of its potential. Calkwalk Power is an excellent reference source for not only using the software but for general midi and digital audio performance as well.

The Calkwalk user's group has helped me tremendously during this past year but Scott has comprehensively answered all of my questions regarding recording, mixing and using plug-ins.

The beginning and intermediate Calkwalk user will find answers to most all of the questions they have from; getting started with recording to advanced production techniques. The book is concise, easy to understand and a lot of fun to read.

Don't call support - buy this book!
Well, after less than 1 week with this book I have solved nearly all the problems I was having with Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 (and there were a bunch). This book covers everything BETTER than the manual that comes with the software and it covers things that, for some reason, aren't in the regular manual - like how to use session drummer, how to really tweak CW to record multiple audio tracks while playing midi tracks, how to sync, how to set things up right the first time. No more trial and error - this book will tell you how. It has a good index and lots of step by step instructions. If you own CW - you need this book.

Sonar 2 Power! is a better book for Home Studio 2004 owners
I haven't read this book, but I did skim through it and noticed it looked thinner on the shelves than Sonar 2 Power!, and chose to buy Sonar 2 Power! because I thought it was more comprehensive. I've been very happy about that purchase and what I've learned about Cakewalk Home Studio.

Sonar 2 Power! is a good book for Cakewalk Home Studio 2004 (and XL) users, because Home Studio 2004 is basically the same as Sonar 2 with a few missing features that Home Studio 2004.

I did a comparison of it to my recently acquired 2004 XL upgrade and other than the synchronization function, a couple of UI changes (Snap to Grid button changed locations), and a few effects that Home Studio XL doesn't give you, everything works identical to the Sonar 2 version in the book.

I'd recommend everyone look at Sonar 2 Power! instead of this book first... At least more advanced users. Maybe this is a good book for novices though.

Disappointed
What spurred me to buy this book was the lack of guidance in Cakewalk Home Studio regarding the use of the Pitch Wheel. Being a newcomer to Sequencers, I needed this basic information.
I was quite disappointed to find that Cakewalk Power didn't have much to offer in its one paragraph relating to the Pitch Wheel except to say that it was there.
I just hope that the next item I'll need some assistance with from the book will be covered at least a little better.

Great Source
Scott does and excellent job of explaining Cakewalk products. He truly understands thier applications and computers. Now I just have to put all that knowledge to use, what fun. If you have Guitar Studio, ect get this or one of his other books. Thanks Scott.

Dennis ... Read more

Book Description

ACID Pro 5 continues to break new ground in loop-based music composition. Novices can use it for basic loop-based composition drawing on the enormous talent of the loop-based creators to assemble a song by painting loops on the timeline. Musicians can augment existing loops by recoding their own loops, or by using it to create entire tracks that don't loop.
This Instant series guide uses carefully detailed screenshots and step-by-step directions to detail how you can use ACID in a concise, time-efficient way. Beginning with a review of the fundamental concepts, you get a complete guide to loop-based music including advanced looping techniques, methods to create your own loops, as well as a grab bag full of valuable tips and tricks. Beyond looping, you learn how to:
•·Customize the interface to your preferences
• Work with a video tracks
• Beatmap to remix, fix tempo drift, or create new tracks
• Use Groove Quantization to improve rhythmic timing
• Achieve an efficient workflow with the Media Manager
• Record digital audio and MIDI
• Sync ACID with other software programs
• Apply effects plug-ins
• Mix for optimal effect
•Master and burn the final project ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Something For Everyone
Now almost eight years old, ACID was a run away hit when it first appeared bringing a whole new concept in music composition to the computer based composer. The looping concept of creating a small loop that can then be repeated a number of times reflected the way that much popular music is really written. That was just the beginning. ACID has now been through five major revisions, getting more powerful with each revision but retaining the basic simplicity that made the software such a hit in the first place.

In this book, two consumate masters of the software have combined to produce an excellent book. This is one of those books that literally have something for everyone. On the one hand it gives tips to the newbie on things he might want to consider during installation. On the other hand, there are enough points brought out that the expert will find things that make him wonder why he didn't already know that.

This book is part of the CMP Instant Series that combines screen shots with text to instantly convey the points of importance. A quick way to get started, or to learn about the latest version.

Its titlesaid it all INSTANT!!
Just get it!! I instantly started putting out some great stuff. I don't like books for software apps but this one is easssy!! After spending that much for the app, the seventeen bucks to get you instantly going seems trival.

A real winner for ACID users!:)
Not being an RTFOM (Read The Fing Online Manual) kinda guy, I've been digging up a ton of gold information nuggets throughout the book...from simple "I should've already known that but didn't RTFOM" keyboard shortcuts to more advanced and "hey, I never thought of that -- great idea!" creative topics.

The subject matter is explained quite well, accompanied by solid examples. Also, there are a lot of screenshots to substantiate the text, which flows very nicely.The book is fun and easy-reading, as well as informative...my only reason for putting the book down was to free my hands to try the examples.:)

Kudos to JohnnyRoy & Iacobus! I like the book; it's definitely a must-read. ... Read more

Book Description

Ultrasonics. A subject with applications across all the basic sciences, engineering, medicine, and oceanography, yet even the broader topic of acoustics is now rarely offered at undergraduate levels. Ultrasonics is addressed primarily at the doctoral level, and texts appropriate for beginning graduate students or newcomers to the field are virtually nonexistent.Fundamentals and Applications of Ultrasonic Waves fills that void. Designed specifically for senior undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and those just entering the field, it begins with the fundamentals, but goes well beyond the simple, general concepts of waves to a detailed treatment of ultrasonic waves in isotropic media. Addressing a wide range of topics, the author focuses on the physics of acoustic waves, their propagation, and the different modes that can be excited in various geometries.Strong emphasis on applications in the later chapters provides a concrete setting for the more formal and theoretical earlier discussions.Your search for the right introduction to ultrasonics is over. The clear, engaging prose, careful balance of theory and applications, and rigorous but accessible mathematical treatments in this book combine to build a solid foundation either for practical work in the field or moving on to higher-level studies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Only buy it as a last resort!
Fundamentals and Applications of Ultrasonic Waves, one of the most current books on this subject matter to be widely available within the past few years, attempts to go from the basics of acoustics and ultrasonics through acoustic devices and applications to a few specialty topics towards its conclusion. While it does contain plenty of information and elucidates some topics that may be difficult to find in similar works it has unfortunately missed the mark with respect to a most important consideration--the reader.

The fact that this is a first edition is more than obvious not only in that the presentation is questionable but that the writing style ranges from sub-standard to okay--attributes which make for an odd juxtaposition when compared with the author's credentials and experience. The writing does not deliver on the promise of clear, engaging prose as stated on the back cover. So much so that one must pause to wonder whether or not this book had been proof-read before going to final print. Nonetheless, the topical information is indeed given. The caveat is that the reader will have to practice patience and decipher the, at times, convoluted writing so as to get to central ideas.

In terms of its presentation, there is no clear indication as to the division between fundamentals and applications in the text. Accessibility for the reader could have been increased by a more sectioned approach to the chapters and their subsections that delineated such divisions. Another problem is that a significant number of the chapters seem to err on the short side in terms of length. That may not seem like a significant problem, but when you take into consideration the many cross-references given in the text to other works on points that are only briefly introduced within the discourse it is easy to see where comprehensiveness can be lost.

For the student there are some chapter summaries and questions. These are only given for chapters 2 through 10. The reader is not given any indication as to why the rest of the chapters do not deserve the same treatment. As given, the summaries represent more of a glossary to be placed in an appendix rather than clear summarizations for their respective chapters--they have no apparent order either. Answers for the chapter questions are not available. There is no information in the text pertaining to the availability of question answers for course instructors or students alike. By such unavailability the text does not lend itself well to adoption as a course text by educational institutions.

As stated in the book, university courses in ultrasonics are usually only available to upper level graduate students. Currently there are few university physics departments that give these courses. One of the author's purposes in writing this book is to fill this void and make available a book for beginning graduate students or newcomer's to this field. Though while covering many topics this book does little to improve the accessibility of the subject. Most of the basic chapters near the beginning of the text can be found in any text on acoustics, vibrations, or waves. Nothing special about them. Whereas, some of the more particular later chapters on the subject at hand appear to be more of a compilation of research results than of thoughtful discourse. This may partially explain the lack of chapter questions for the later chapters. The overall sense is that this is more of a patch work
than a smoothly connected edition. Hopefully this work will go through a thorough revision before it ever makes it into a second edition. It is not enough to just fill a volume with details. Those details must be thoughtfully drawn together to conveying rhythm and flow to the subject. In the end, this text serves better as a reference than as a course text. ... Read more

Book Description

The cochlear implant is a device that bypasses a nonfunctional inner ear and stimulates the auditory nerve directly with patterns of electrical currents derived from incoming sounds. The culmination of investigations in many disciplines, it is the first major advance in helping profoundly deaf children communicate since the Sign Language for the Deaf was developed at the Institution des Jeunes Sourds in Paris some 200 years ago.Written by the "father" of the multi-electrode implant, this comprehensive text and reference gives an account of the fundamental principles underlying cochlear implants and their clinical application. It thus discusses research in all relevant disciplines, including: - Surgical anatomy, concentrating on essentials relevant to engineering - Pathology, focusing on the inner ear's response to the implant and to electrical stimulation - Biophysics and electrochemistry, addressing the interface between electrode and tissue - Neurobiology, with particular emphasis on the issue of safety- Physiology, summarizing current theories of frequency and amplitude coding- Psychophysics, focusing on pitch and loudness perception - Speech science, including phonetics, perception, and language - Electronic principles of signal processing needed for speech perception - Clinical factors of importance to the engineering - Surgical procedures to help scientists and engineers understand the realities for implant development - Communication skills achieved for different speech processing strategies - Socioeconomic and ethical issues For the clinician, the book will provide guidance in the treatment of patients; for the engineer and researcher it will provide the background for further research; and for the student, it will provide a thorough understanding of the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

Schafer contends that we suffer from an overabundance of acoustic information, and explores ways to restore our ability to hear the nuances of sounds around us. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Classic book on environmental sound
Top-notch writing about our sonic environment by an eminent Canadian composer. Reprint (with no changes) of a 1970s hardcover with a different title. ... Read more

Book Description

This powerful text continues with the same fundamental aim as the previous two editions to not present, but to teach the fundamental concepts of acoustics to students in the speech-language and hearing science. In addition to relocating revised practice problems and answers to a newly created Course Notes and Workbook for Introduction to Sound, the third edition also introduces new features. ALSO AVAILABLE COURSE NOTES AND WORKSHOP FOR INTRODUCTION TO SOUND ISBN 1-56593-980-8TEXTBOOK ... Read more

Reviews (1)

good reference text
A bit of a challenge to read at times, but great for use as a reference.Covers more than the basics of sound transmission and all the associated physical science.Concepts are clearly and thoroughly explained. If you like the hard facts all the math you could ever hope to have is here - and if you don't like the math it's easy to ignore without losing the message.I'm glad to have the book and equally glad it wasn't my required text for Hearing Science. ... Read more

Amazon.com

That subtitle may inspire in some readers waves of ethnic pride, and in others waves of ethnic revulsion, but the point of this book is that its claim of origin is quite literally true. And what makes it an interesting read for political types is the way it demonstrates that no matter how much the founding Hollywood moguls and their successors tried to peddle an idealized, escapist form of entertainment, bubbling up under and around their every project was ideology, racism, ethnic prejudice, class friction, domestic and international politics and all the other raw, seething stuff that distinguishes this country from all others. In Gabler's hands, the Industry draws a picture of American political history in spite of itself. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Not necessarily so, but an interesting treatise
Here's an absorbing history of the movie industry. Neal Gabler claims that Adolph Zukor (Paramount), the Warner brothers, Harry Cohn (Columbia Pictures) and the moguls of Fox Studios, MGM and Universal had a dream of what America was which they incorporated into movies and sold to the American public and the world.

Gabler claims that what these movies showed was not the real country at all. "Only this way," he writes, "could these immigrants satidsfy their hunger of assimilation into a country that had rejected them." In the end, he says, the fictive America created by these businessmen portrays an artificial "reality" that later generations of moviegoers took as truth.

I have two problems with the premise of this book: First, I know for a fact that the America portrayed in the movies of the '40s and '50s did exist and second, those moguls created their own social world, partly out of geographic necessity and partly because the work of filmmaking isolated them from the everyday work world.

I know the kind of family, community and lifestyle often portrayed in those "romantic" and "sentimental" movies (i.e. where family members and members of the community worked and lived together in mutual respect and affection) existed because I experienced it. The movies I saw as a child and as a young adult in the 1940s and 1950s mirrored the life I knew.

I understand that contemporary life is so different from life in those days that young people view what they call "sentimental romanticism" with disbelief. I pity them. The lives they seem to be living look shabby and disgusting to me!

It's an interesting premise but it's built on a false presumption!

The book will charm the moviephile. It's entertaining and well written and it gives a fascinating look at backstage Hollywood in a time when Hollywood enjoyed a great deal more respect than it does today.

Movie Jews Starring in Their Own Life Movie
Neal Gabler explores the lives of the founding movie moguls of Hollywood in this work which is at turns funny and sad. Most of the moguls never had a very good family life either growing up or growing old, but the stories of the business and oddities of Hollywood are amusing.

One of the most interesting of Gabler's points is that each head of the studio made a certain style of movie that reflected his personality--whether that would be Mayer's idealized America or the Warners' stories of tough outsiders, for instance.

Gabler gives interesting insights into the struggle between Edison and the Jewish independents over who would monopolize the distribution and equipment for the business. It is suggested that this was fight between protestants on one side, and Jews and Catholics on the other, given the ethnic make-up of the two camps. Edison eventually lost out over an anti-trust suit and the movie moguls went on to pretty much monopolize the business until they lost an anti-trust suit in 1948.

The reason why Jews have predominated in the movie business from the beginning was that in the early days of film, it was considered a slightly disreputable business to be in and white gentiles had no great desire to enter into a venture considered to be a novelty to make some fast cash. The Jewish businessmen saw the movies as something more than a novelty and sought to make them more high-brow by filming critically acclaimed plays and literary works. This was done also to bring in the middle class into their already working class customer base.

Gabler shows how many of the movie moguls wished to present themselves as totally assimilated Americans who made themselves over to look like the high class gentiles of the Eastern Establishment. But at the same time they saw themselves as Jews and their enemies saw them as Jews too. The years of blacklisting communists is covered in which some gentiles complained about the moguls employing communist Jewish writers for their films. (The moguls themselves were Republican and many of their writers we're Jewish communists.)

Hollywood is shown to be place where there is no real friendship and materialism reigns. In their cutthroat business, those on top are celebrated as long as they stay successful and those who have fallen are forgotten. This rule even applies somewhat to the movie moguls of this era. Anyway, one gets the impression it's more fun to watch the movies than to be in the business of making them.

Foundational Study of Motion Picture History
.
These stories of Hollywood's original film moguls are as personal and insightful as they are legendary.

While today's movie executives seem to be both disposable and interchangable, these industry giants created a mammoth enterprise that will last for the ages. Hollywood's early movie magic endures because these entrepreneurs were driven with a passion to shape their own legacy and to obtain the recognition they craved.

This reader would have been interested in understanding how these moguls related to the independent studios, including the Walt Disney Studio. Some critics have accused Walt Disney of having anti-semitic attitudes, while none have sufficientely documented such an extreme conclusion. Based upon the cooperative working relationships with the other major studio heads (including those at MGM, Columbia, RKO, and others), there seems to be evidence supporting a profitable exchange of ideas and creative talent between the studios that would undermine those proposing such anti-semitic rhetoric. Within this exchange, clearly Walt Disney benefitted from these relationships, and his early successes certainly had the attention and admiration of his competition. Sufficient documentation exists in support of these complimentary relationships that capable researchers should be able to bring a more substantial review to contemporary readers.

Of particular interest would be the seemingly competitive struggle between Jack Warner and Walt Disney during the 1964 Oscar race (My Fair Lady vs. Mary Poppins). Additional analysis of this aspect of Hollywood history would be beneficial.

Gabler's work is a triumph in documenting the essential backstory of Harry Cohn, William Fox, Carl Laemmle, Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, Harry Warner, and Adolph Zucker. Brilliant!

Dave Mason is Southern California author and Disneyland historian. He is owner of the internet's premier vintage Disneyana auction site,... His next book, "The Merchants of Main Street" is scheduled for release in early 2004.

plays like a hollywood script
I had to see the movie for some odd reason. I agree with the last review on many points. The film makes it sound like the Jewish people were the sole inventors of film. It is horribly cliched, and makes etremely odd, partial points, like that "My Fair Lady" is an example of the jews trying to fit in. It plays out like a script written by the moguls themselves. Waste of time.

Fascinating but sometimes frustrating
This is, to the extent of my explorations, the only book on what would seem to be a pair of significant questions about American mass culture: why did the Jews take control of the motion picture industry in its earliest days; and how did that fact shape their creations and the culture they influenced? For its uniqueness, its thoroughness in investigating the relationships of the early film moguls to their religious heritage, and its wealth of detail regarding their lives, I applaud it. I find myself, however, yearning for a second book, or a revised edition, for this first exploration leaves much untouched.

Neal Gabler states early on that the moguls' vision of "America" shaped not only the fictional realities of their films but the reality of America itself, in that it was through Hollywood that we developed much of our self-image. Apart from passing mentions, however, such as noting that our later vision of a lost, small-town America was largely shaped by memories of the Andy Hardy series beloved by Louis B. Mayer, he does not develop that important thread.

There are also a few frustrating narrative lapses that set me to reviewing the index to see if I'd missed something (which I hadn't). The author leads us through the story of Paramount's Adolph Zukor, whom he presents as perhaps the most important and emblematic of the moguls, to a point at which Zukor is poised to seize a commanding role in the national distribution of films. Gabler then cuts away, and when we return to Zukor we find that his expansionist efforts have failed and his position at the studio is now in jeopardy, though we are not shown how.

I recommend this as a fascinating beginning to an exploration. I hope there will be more books like it to develop the story further. Perhaps, in time, we will even see books that will treat the same questions with regard to popular music, comedy, and other fields so shaped by the Jewish people. ... Read more

Book Description

Essential reading for experts in the field of RF circuit design and engineers needing a good reference. This book provides complete design procedures for multiple-pole Butterworth, Chebyshev, and Bessel filters. It also covers capacitors, inductors, and other components with their behavior at RF frequencies discussed in detail.

*Provides complete design procedures for multiple-pole Butterworth, Chebyshev, and Bessel filters
*Covers capacitors, inductors, and other components with their behavior at RF frequencies discussed in detail ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The one to buy if you're only buying one
I am amazed at the amount of information packed in these (relatively few) pages. Oscillators and signal generation are not covered, but just about every other aspect of solid-state RF circuit design is here: small- and large-signal amplifiers, impedance matching networks, filters, Smith charts, "nonideal" characteristics of components at radiofrequencies and so on. The presentation is lucid and the information eminently useful. If your job or hobby involves working with RF circuits, don't even THINK about not having this book in your collection.

If you're looking to buy TWO books about RF circuit design, I also recommend Irving Gottlieb's excellent book, which also covers vacuum tube circuits.

Rf Circuit Design by Christopher Bowick
This is an excellent practical design guide for RF engineers. It treats the components as lumped elements and covers most of the important issues like impedance transformation, matching networks, and practical amplifier design. You can approach RF either thru the wave or circuit analysis. If you dont have either the patience and curiosity to dwelve into the whys, then this book is for you. A solid understanding of RF requires an in depth knowledge of Maxwell equations and their application to the boundary conditions. For the mathematically inclined I would recommend the Microwave Engineering by David Pozar.
Missing in the book RF circuit Design are topics dealing with distributed elements, microstrip and slot line designs which become very important in the Ghz range where even IC pad's reactance is large, and wavelength can approach 1mm.

What the hell? The first formula is wrong!
This is the first formula in the book (page 2) for skin depth area calculation of a conductor: A1=pi*r1*r1, A2=pi*r2*r2, Skin Depth Area=A2-A1=pi*(r2-r1)*(r2-r1).

What the hell, did you go to high-school, Mr Bowick?

The book is printed nicely with good looking charts though.

Severely outdated
This book is good at covering old style (i.e. wire lead) discrete components and Smith charts. But it is so out of date though that I do not recommend it for anyone but a ham doing their own circuits by hand. No referenced book was written later than 1980. No computers existed when this was written so there is no software design approaches mentioned. No surface mount technology is covered. FETs are only covered on one page. Transistor references are obsolete. This is a small book with lots of big Smith charts taking up many pages.

A "must have book".
If you're keen to learn RF engineering and you've a limited budget to spend on books then this should definitely be the one you buy first.

This book is written in an easily readable form with just enough math to make the discussion of each subject thorough without getting too daunting.

Once you've got a good grasp of this book you should also consider the RF DEsign guide by Peter Vizmuller and two books by Randy Rhea; Oscillator design and simulation and HF filter design.

With these books on your desk you should have a solid knowledge of RF Engineering at your fingertips. ... Read more

Book Description

"There are two kinds of hearing. One kind is the hearing we are born with. . . . The other kind of hearing is learned, and develops as an elaborate form of pattern recognition in which the ear and brain cooperate. . . . The richness of this auditory space, much of it based on cues at or below the edge of conscious awareness, is explored in great detail by a distinguished expert in spatial hearing. It is a technically thorough, clearly presented review of almost everything known about that subject." -- Audio "A comprehensive, thorough, and easily readable survey of all the important work that has been done on the theories of hearing." -- R. J. Orlowski, Applied Acoustics

The field of spatial hearing has exploded in the decade or so since Jens Blauert's classic work on acoustics was first published in English. This revised edition adds a new chapter that describes developments in such areas as auditory virtual reality (an important field of application that is based mainly on the physics of spatial hearing), binaural technology (modeling speech enhancement by binaural hearing), and spatial sound-field mapping. The chapter also includes recent research on the precedence effect that provides clear experimental evidence that cognition plays a significant role in spatial hearing. The remaining four chapters in this comprehensive reference cover auditory research procedures and psychometric methods, spatial hearing with one sound source, spatial hearing with multiple sound sources and in enclosed spaces, and progress and trends from 1972 (the first German edition) to 1983 (the first English edition) -- work that includes research on the physics of the external ear, and the application of signal processing theory to modeling the spatial hearing process. There is an extensive bibliography of more than 900 items. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"tres curieux"
"Though Mr. Newton is no physicist, his book is very interesting." -- Father Nicolas Malebranche (1707)

Difficult to read, but interesting from a historical p.o.v.
Having done a Ph.D. in optics, I have read quite some books on optics and out of curiocity I bought this book, but I am not very pleased with it. First, it is difficult to read because of the old English language and structure. For native English speakers this carries perhaps not so much weight, but for me it did. Second, because it is a collection of Newton's works, it contains of course also many not-so-interesting discussions which you have to 'consume' before realising it was not so interesting.

What is nice though, is that the book contains many so-called queries, which are possible explanations of various optical phenomena, explanations/assumptions Newton could not prove/disprove at the time. This is fascinating reading, because many of these turned out to be true (or false, but even then: still interesting to know what he thought).

Overall impression: if you are interested in the history of optics/Newton then it is a nice book. But just for browsing in the evening: no. ... Read more

Book Description

* Speech coding is a highly mature branch of signal processing deployed in products such as cellular phones, communication devices, and more recently, voice over internet protocol
* This book collects many of the techniques used in speech coding and presents them in an accessible fashion
* Emphasizes the foundation and evolution of standardized speech coders, covering standards from 1984 to the present
* The theory behind the applications is thoroughly analyzed and proved ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great attention to details
I appreciate very much the amount of figures and simulation results presented in this book; also, the pseudocodes throughout the book helps in the understanding and implementation. In addition, the exercises complement very well with the text. I highly recommend this book to those interested in speech coding.

This is a comprehensive book on speech coding
This is a very good book on speech coding, especially focus on CELP coders. Many kinds of CELP coders are introduced in detail. If you are beginner on speech coding, this book is for you. But other coders, such as MBE and WI, are not presented. So I don't think it is a comprehensive book. I give it 4 stars. ... Read more