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Rating: 
Summary: A meaningful title - good book
Review: A real course on recording and mixing techniques. The 2 supplied CDs are full of examples (each one explained in the book) which let you listen to what happens when you do so and so. Of course is better for you to re-apply what you learn on your own gear, but listening to the CD is like attending a course with a teacher explaining.
Be careful that this is the SECOND volume of a serie of three, so it is better to start from the first. In my opinion this is not clearly stated in Amazon site. In any way, I had no great problems starting from volume II.P.S.: I have some experience, but I'm definitely not a professional engineer. The book is clear enough to be understood by anyone who has carefully read the manuals of your mixer, recorder and other gear you currently use.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid stuff
Review: First... take a close look at the cover. This is volume 2 of the series. I didn't notice and was a bit miffed when I opened my box. Still, it stands alone just fine (though I still wonder what I'm missing). It is not quite as advanced as I was hoping for, but is good for the beginner or intermediate studio operator. The sound samples of different effects and settings are really quite helpful -- but listen on good headphones or monitors for the best benefit.
Rating: 
Summary: What A Comprehensive Book Means to You
Review: The Audio Pro Home Recording Course (a comprehensive multimedia audio recording text) excelled in showing basics like mike placement augmented with audio clips that let you hear what the text wrote about. It started off too basic, then built to great interest, then faded fast with too much that was too basic and too little that was important. Like, lots of clips about where to place a mic over a drum set, but little to nothing on how to set various effects and processes. The cover picture shows an engineer at the console looking at artists performing, but not a piece of paper in sight to show who does what, what notes to take, how to keep records, how to create a decision making process and who to include it. This is only Vol. I. It apparently takes all three volumes to be be "comprehensive", so prepare to invest in all to get the gems found in each one. I learned a lot, there were reference gems to treasure, but "comperehensive", well, I'd need to spend another $[money] to know the rest of the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Much too basic for the price.
Review: The best part of this book is the 2-cd set which contains a plethora of samples. The samples all describe various scenarios of compression, limiting, microphone strategy, enhancement, you name it. I was impressed with the authors articulation toward a brand new user. However, I was expecting a "Comprehensive Guide." The book was quite basic and never got past the fundamentals of anything. Common sense topics such as reverb literally go on for pages and pages. For example, it takes 3 pages to explain the punch-in process on a 4-track. Speaking of punch-in, this document is targeted at people using tape. PC users should investigate another document, there are however 12 pages dedicated to 4-track usage. I'll warn you, most of the samples are things you could do with your own effects. "Here's a violin with no reverb. Here's the same violin with hall reverb," etc. What really frustrated us was that there are endless references to sections in Volume I. It interrupts the flow of the book. I feel that the author misled me. I was tricked into buying half a book. I can't return the book because I opened the cd already. This is a great book if you are new to the concept of recording your music and want to be eased into it.
Rating:
Summary: Much too basic for the price.
Review: The best part of this book is the 2-cd set which contains a plethora of samples. The samples all describe various scenarios of compression, limiting, microphone strategy, enhancement, you name it. I was impressed with the authors articulation toward a brand new user. However, I was expecting a "Comprehensive Guide." The book was quite basic and never got past the fundamentals of anything. Common sense topics such as reverb literally go on for pages and pages. For example, it takes 3 pages to explain the punch-in process on a 4-track. Speaking of punch-in, this document is targeted at people using tape. PC users should investigate another document, there are however 12 pages dedicated to 4-track usage. I'll warn you, most of the samples are things you could do with your own effects. "Here's a violin with no reverb. Here's the same violin with hall reverb," etc. What really frustrated us was that there are endless references to sections in Volume I. It interrupts the flow of the book. I feel that the author misled me. I was tricked into buying half a book. I can't return the book because I opened the cd already. This is a great book if you are new to the concept of recording your music and want to be eased into it.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST! for anyone doing home recording.
Review: This is the best written, easy to understand book that I've read on audio recording. Bill Gibson has a tallent for writing and teaching, that few have, namely: what you read is written in such a way that you both understand and remember it. I've tested his equipment settings in my studio and they work. The accompaning CD's let you hear exactly what he is telling you. A great must-have book.
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