Product Description

Mastering Audio explains leading-edge audio concepts in an easy-to-grasp, holistic manner, including an ear-opening investigation of the mysteries of jitter, dither and wordlengths, high sample rates, distortion, headroom, monitor calibration, metering, depth perception, compression and expansion, equipment interconnection and much more. Mastering Audio is for everyone who wants to increase their mastery of digital and analog audio: musicians, producers, A&R, mastering, recording and mixing engineers, and students.

*Outlines the steps taken in producing a compact disc, from creation to final pressing
*Provides insights to equipment, training, and the business of mastering
*Answers questions most frequently asked by audio engineers

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #264221 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 319 pages

Review
In the books 22 chapters and 13 appendices, Katz presents a text that is clear and easy to understand with just enough mathmatics and "technical jargon" to explain the technology behind the theory, philosophy, and methodology of the mastering processes, but without overwhelming the reader." - Ron Streicher, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society

"The definitive work on mastering...an indispensable resource for anyone working with audio... If you only buy one book on audio, this has to be it - it should be required reading for anyone involved with recording, producing or mastering music."
Sound on Sound magazine

"Bob is a master of the technology changeover from analog to digital. His book covers areas that none other have touched." --George Massenburg,
producer/engineer, Nashville, TN

"Mastering Audio is one of those rare books where everything comes together perfectly: great information, beautifully presented, easy to understand, and satisfying to read." --Greg Simmons
Editorial Director, AudioTechnology magazine

"The first piece of equipment [you] should buy is Bob Katz's Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science." --Roger Nichols

"This book is sure to become the 'Industry Bible' on mastering audio. Highly recommended."
Christopher Hambly, www.audiocourses.com

"A terrific book... Bob Katz clearly knows his subject inside out and is a patient, enthusiastic teacher... The things I have learned in this book will immediately affect the way I work with audio right from recording, to editing, mixing and, of course, mastering."
Amazon.co.uk customer review

"...all you wanted to know about mastering in a well-written volume."
Lighting and Sound Magazine

"...what sets this book apart is the liberal inclusion of practical tips, real-world experiences, and knowledge gained from others during the course of a career dedicated pretty much to mastering. It is one of those rare books that manages to be authoritative without being didactic, and clearly indentifies opinions as opposed to verifiable facts...Even if you already do mastering, this book will help you do it better. And if you anticipate getting into mastering - start here."
EQ magazine

"...essential reading for anyone hoping to produce commercial music."
Music Tech magazine

"If you want to know what goes on behind the scenes in creating the music you enjoy, and learn more about digital audio, this comprehensive, insightful, and accessible book is without peer."
Absolute Sound Magazine, Oct. 2006

About the Author
Bob Katz played the B flat clarinet from the age of 10, and his lifelong love of sound and music led him to become a professional recording, mixing and mastering engineer (since 1971). Three of his recordings have garnered the Grammy award and many others have been lauded in publications such as Stereo Review, Audio, and Stereophile. He has written over one hundred articles for audio and computer publications, and is an inventor and manufacturer with processors and support gear in use at mastering studios worldwide. His most recent patent-pending inventions, the K-Stereo and K-Surround Processors, fill a missing link in the mastering and post- production pantheon. He has been a workshops, facilities and section chairman of the AES and has given lectures in several countries. Currently, Bob runs Digital Domain Studios just north of Orlando, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Complex concepts demystified
This is a terrific book for everybody interested in mastering or working with audio at any other stage in the production process. It covers all sorts of concepts, expaining why they are important to understand and how to apply your knowledge. Once I have finished reading it first time, I will find it a great reference source when I need to be reminded about decibells, dithering, frequency ranges and a whole encyclopedia of other topics. I won't even try to list all them all here, but suffice to say that if it is relevant to the quality of recorded audio, it is explained excellently in this book. Bob Katz clearly knows his subject inside out and is a patient, enthusiastic teacher.

The book makes it clear that there are no quick answers to the question 'how do I master?' and there is a lot of densely packed technical information that some may find daunting. However, it is so well written that anybody with a genuine interest will find it enormously rewarding and will certainly learn a lot more than they would from any guide that tried to provide quick answers. Some people talk about mastering as if it is a black art that mere mortals could never fully understand, whereas Bob Katz makes it clear that you can learn to do it well so long as you are prepared to learn a lot of theory and train your own ears.

As much care has gone into the details of presentation as the editorial content. The pages are made of nice, thick paper, there are plenty of illustrations and even a lovely fold-out poster in the front illustrating the note-ranges of all the instruments in the orchestra.

Having almost finished reading the book once, I have been amazed at how much I didn't know I needed to know, but I have also finally got a handle on many concepts I knew I didn't know well enough. The things I have learned in this book will immediately affect the way I work with audio right from recording, to editing, mixing and, of course, mastering.

Detailed Mastering Bible
The degree in which the author masters the audio & digital domains is truly amazing. It goes down to the lowest physical level and lets you understand _why_ things behave as they behave, instead of just giving you a list of what not to do. This, together with invaluable examples from his more than impressive 32 years of experience in the field, makes this book more vital to your work than various pieces of expensive equipment.
So, all in all, 5 out of 5. If you are a sound engineer and you haven't bought this book yet, buy it now (or wait a little - a revision is in the pipeline for 2007!) :-)

One of the few authoritative books about audio
The world of audio is full of stupid explanations for largely misunderstood problems. People seem to suffer paranormal phenomena with audio, and there are people who claim that a green marker can enhance the sound of a CD!

This book is a welcome exception to that. It does a wonderful job describing (as the title states) the art *and* the science of mastering. The explanations of digital audio problems are scientific and rigurous, without a single exception.

And the author knows his job indeed; he isn't the typical person obsessed with gear. He deeply understands how the different processors work, and the different issues with them. Following his recommendations, my editions are now much better.

Moreover, the author is a member of the very small group of talented technical writers. The book is even fun to read, written in a lively style, and very interesting.