I've spent hundreds of dollars on books about recording at home and hundreds more on recording magazines. Without a doubt, the best bang for my buck has been the The Expert Encyclopedia of Recording by Rick Clark.

Not Your Usual Recording Book

The usual recordings books start out with “this is a microphone” section. Not only am I usually bored out of my mind reading these types of text books, but I don't ever learn anything. The books seam to be devoid of the whole point of recording (MUSIC!) and remind of the chapter on weather in my junior high science classes.

A Focus On Music

My draw to the Encyclopedia of Recording seams to stem from the intense focus on music. Rick Clark took a totally different approach to the Encyclopedia of Recording. He just didn't write that much. This could be a good thing because I don't know who Rick Clark is. I'm not sure if I would care about his approach to guitar micing or whatever. Well, Rick Clark did something better. He got the best producers and engineers in the world together to write most of the book for him.

Recording Tips and Tricks From Pro Engineers and Producers

For example, I'll just flip to Chapter 7, which is entitled “Drums”. Our good pal Rick Clark gives an few introductory paragraphs....bla bla bla. Whatever. But then you see in bold “Dave Bianco”. So what! Then you see his credits (AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Tom Petty). Ohhhh, THAT Dave Bianco. I was thinking of somebody else. So then you read on. Mr. Dave Bianco goes on to say “When I worked on Mick Jagger's solo record.......”. You get the idea.

Good ole Dave Bianco gets about a full page, give or take and then we are off to Skidd Mills. Again, I don't know who the hell this guy is until I read his credits which include ZZ Top, Spin Doctors, BB King, etc. Ohhhh! THAT Skidd Mills. I was thinking of someone else, again.

All Aspects Of Music and Recording Covered

What makes this book great is how they hit each angle differently. If I asked superproducer #1 about drum recording on Monday, he'd tell me about his focus on tuning. On Tuesday, he'd tell me about what rooms he likes. On Wednesday, he may explain compression or how he matches the kick drum with the bass guitar or how he likes the drummer to play in the pocket. Basically, there are so many elements involved in the recording that no one person is going to comment on any one certain aspect at any certain time. This book has a different engineer / producer explain this or that. Sometimes they talk about EQ settings. Sometimes they talk about pissing the musician off on purpose. You get the idea.

Combining Musical and Engineering Concepts Together

Rick Clark has done a tremendous job of including musical and engineering concepts together. One guy will focus more on how he likes an LA-2A compressor but can sometimes settle for a Behringer Composer on vocals. Another person might talk about how to keep a singer from thinking too much while singing.

Possible Downsides

I say possible downsides to The Expert Encyclopedia of Recording because not everyone will consider these to be drawbacks. I don't.

The book skips around. I mean that this book is not a step by step guide to recording at all. In fact, it's just a bunch of random one page interviews (that could have been long emails or something) that have been compiled together. This book does not start with a singer and a mic and explain the difference between cardioid and omni mics. Gay sites like this one should have that crap already covered. This book gets fun.

Another downside is there is no chapter on recording electric guitars. This is a bummer because I primarily record guitar music in the rock genre. There are chapters on things that I would have never thought about including in a recording book such as “Evolution” (no we are not talking about primitive monkeys mating here) or Production Sickness (which I've already forgotten what this even covered).

Having said all that, I can't really complain. Rick Clark has included a ton of info from tons of monstrously talented engineers and producers.

The Chapters Include

1 - Acoustic Ensemble Recordings

2 – Analog vs Digital

3 – Bass

4 – Compression

5 – Cue Mixes

6 – Drum Teching

7 – Drums

8 – Dynamic Signal Processing (which is somehow different than “Compression”)

9 – Evolution

10 – Field Recording and Film Sound

11 – Film Music

12 – Horns

13 – Keyboards

14 – Mastering

15 – Mixing

16 – Percussion

17 – Piano

18 – Production Philosophy

19 – Production Sickness

20 – Radio and TV Mixes (I'm ALWAYS worried about how my mixes will sound on TV!!!! NOT!)

21 – Radio Processing

22 – Room Tuning

23 – Strings

24 – Surround Sound Recording and Mixing

25 – Vocals

Discography In The End

I'm not sure if it was just to fill up space or what, but Rick Clark included a mega discography of all the producers who wrote in this book. While it's not really going to improve your recordings, it is cool to know that Bob Ludwig mastered the Foo Fighters – The Colour and The Shape, for example.

Perfect For Bathroom Reading

The “bounce around” nature of this book makes it perfect for bathroom breaks. You can usually read a producer / engineer's comments in just a few minutes. This may seam like it's not that big of deal, but you'd be amazed how many tips you pick up in a couple of weeks just by reading these during your “down” time.

Conclusion

I give The Expert Encyclopedia of Recording a 10. An extremely informative book that has a great balance between music and engineering that is easy to read (nothing like a text book). Many tips mentioned in this book will have an amazing effect on your recordings on your very next session.