Further reading

There is a wide range of printed matter devoted to the topics dealt with in this book. In a few cases, which obviously cannot be named, what is written has to be treated with caution as there are sometimes incorrect or dubious statements. The list below can be recommended, though. We must add that the list is far from complete. The absence of a book from the list may not mean that it is not a good one.

To help the reader, the books are rated as ‘Easy’, ‘Moderate’ or ‘Difficult’:

Easy means that anyone who has coped with the present book should have little or no difficulty in reading the one listed.

Moderate implies that the work is a little more advanced than this book, but should be seen as a possible next step forward for the interested reader.

Hard should be taken as much more advanced. It would be best to look at a copy in a library before deciding whether or not to buy it.

Borwick, John. Microphones, Focal Press, 1990. An up-to-date and authoritative book. Moderate.

Collons, Martin. High Performance Loudspeakers, Pertech Press. First published 1985. Moderate.

Derry, Roger. PC Audio Editing, Focal Press, March 2000. Easy to moderate.

Johnston, Ian. Measured Tones, Adam Hilger/IOP Publishing, 1989. A very interesting and readable account of the science of musical instruments. Easy.

McLeish, Robert. Radio Production, 2nd Edition, Focal Press, 1994. A good outline of the non-technical side of the production of sound-only programmes. Easy.

Moore, Brian C. J. An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing, Academic Press, 1989. Rather advanced but very interesting to those who want to find out more about this intriguing subject. Hard.

Nisbett, Alec. The Use of Microphones, 3rd Edition, Focal Press, 1989. A comprehensive reference book. Easy.

Rumsey, Francis. Digital Audio Operations, Focal Press, 1991. A fairly advanced book but it can be recommended to anyone who really wants to delve into digits. Hard.

Rumsey, Francis. MIDI Systems and Control, Focal Press, 1990. Not so much for the musician who uses MIDI as for the person who wants to understand what is going on. Moderate.

Talbot-Smith, Michael (ed.). Sound Engineer's Pocket Book, Focal Press, 2001. Exactly what it says. A collection of data useful to the professional or serious amateur. Cannot be rated as Hard or Easy!

In addition there are magazines. Most are directed towards promoting the sales of either equipment or recordings and only a few towards techniques. Many, however, are often worth looking at, but the reader should look at sample copies carefully before deciding to take out a subscription!