Digital Audio Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide to Creating, Recording, Editing, and Sharing Music and Other Audio

By Bruce Fries and Marty Fries

Join the digital audio revolution Tens of millions of users are embracing digital music, and with Digital Audio Essentials, you can, too. Nearly every personal computer built in the last few years contains a CD-burning drive; MP3 and other portable player sales dominate the consumer electronics industry; and new networkable stereo equipment lets you use your digital music collection to power your home entertainment system. Whether it's downloading music, ripping CDs, organizing, finding, and creating higher quality music files, buying music players and accessories, or constructing a home stereo system, Digital Audio Essentials helps you do get it done. An indispensable reference for music enthusiasts, digital archivists, amateur musicians, and anyone who likes a good groove, Digital Audio Essentials helps you avoid time-consuming, costly trial and error in downloading audio files, burning CDs, converting analog music to digital form, publishing music to and streaming from the Web, setting up home stereo configurations, and creating your own MP3 and other audio files. The book--for both Mac and PC users--includes reliable hardware and software recommendations, tutorials, resources, and file sharing, and it even explains the basics of the DMCA and intellectual property law. You may (or may not) already know the basics of ripping CDs or downloading music, but Fries will show you so much more--including advice on the multitude of MP3 players on the market, stereo options, file formats, quality determinations, and the legalities of it all. Both a timely, entertaining guide and an enduring reference, this is the digital audio handbook you need to make the most of your expanding digital music collection.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0596008562
• ISBN13: 9780596008567
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Well written! Well worth reading!!!

I've made a spot on my bookshelf for Digital Audio Essentials from O'Reilly Publishing. Bruce and Marty Fries are authors par excellance. Rarely will you encounter the fine points of audio so eloquently expressed. I've read several books about digital audio. Typically, as the author attempts an failed explanation I find myself thinking, "Boy, if I didn't already fully understand that concept, I'd be totally stumped!" Although I have several years of experience with analog and digital audio, I gained many insights from this book. It provided countless clarifications, a host of resources, and it resolved many of my "never fully answered" questions! O'Reilly's Digital Audio Essentials should prove helpful for beginners too; however it's a probably a better fit for those already at an intermediate level with audio. At times the authors use lots of music/audio vocabulary, so Digital Audio Essentials might be a bit of a stretch for complete beginners. Otherwise I found it perfectly paced: it presents topics in an orderly and logical manner, it expertly escorts you to considerable depths, and most terms are clearly defined as they're introduced. The book reveals facts oft' overlooked ... and I especially like its knack for clairvoyantly addressing questions that arise in the back of your mind. For instance, when it says, `Never attempt to remove dust from a vinyl LP with a dry brush,' it explains that rubbing a dry brush on your LP charges the vinyl with enough static electricity to suck the dust right back to its surface-with a grip tighter than before! (And to make matters worse, previously disinterested airborne dust now finds your LP distinctly attractive!) Digital Audio Essentials is 340 pages in all. I've read several chapters fully and browsed most of the others. Music digitization is a topic of continuing interest for many DVMUG members. To help convey the quality and depth of Digital Audio Essentials, I'll provide summary of chapter 14, which is all about digitizing. Digitizing Your Records and Tapes contains 23 pages of articulate and up-to-date audio wisdom. It's packed with information vital for anyone new to digitizing music; this information is equally valuable to those interested in improving their workflow and the quality of their audio projects. It begins with an interesting, detailed, historical account of the evolution of analog recording: i.e. Edison's cylinders, the Gramophone turntable, shellac and vinyl records, and tape. It discusses the original analog audio format wars (yes, those began long before VHS vs. BetaMax) and it chronicles the eventual rise of the 33 RPM LP ... and the once ubiquitous cassette. The remaining 20 pages cover various digitizing topics. There's lots of thoughtful, sage advice and a list of things to know. Tips on preparing for analog recording: cleaning vinyl, choosing of turntable and stylus, demagnetizing tape playback heads. There also a discussion of noise reduction (when to apply) and a s

Virtually every facet of the latest technology being used to capture and edit music

Bruce and Marty Fries' Digital Audio Essentials shows how to legally download and share music, how to hook a PC or Mac to a home stereo, how to record music to hard drive: virtually every facet of the latest technology being used to capture and edit music. Newcomers in particular will appreciate clear explanations of digital audio features, tutorials which are easy to follow, and both hardware and software recommendations.

Excellent book in terms of coverage and depth

Every now and then you find a reference text that just seems to get it right. This is one of them. The authors cover the subject broadly, and at a reasonable and consistent level of depth. Unlike other books that simply cover the obvious, this book anticipates and answers the questions that one needs to get started and become self-sufficient with digital audio. It covers some of the more esoteric elements as well. Musicians and engineers should look elsewhere or expect to supplement this book with specialized material. However, the average PC user who understands Windows and MS Office well enough, but wants to get going with PC-based music and the like will be really happy with this book. You don't need another one. In addition, it is very well written - clear and succinct. A favorite of mine and a benchmark for "help book" writers.

Most Excellent

Here is a book that covers virtually everything you want and/or need to know about audio on your computers. Whether it's saving songs from your own records, tapes, and/or CD's, to editing songs, creating brand new digital files, sharing audio files, or even the risks of downloading mp3 from the net, this book covers it. Bruce and Marty Fries who wrote the MP3 and Internet Audio Handbook back in 2001 have written another excellent book about the digital music revolution. The book starts off with general information about digital audio, what type of computer hardware you should have to record audio, and how to hook up your stereo to your computer. It then discusses how to organize and play music, what kinds of music you can find on the web, Internet radio and "portable ways" to listen to digital audio. There are also chapters on "capturing" and editing audio, sharing and distributing music, as well as a chapter on copyright laws. Both authors were very thorough in the topics they covered. There were some sections I skimmed over, that I plan to refer to again in the near future when I start saving some of my own records and CD's to digital audio. This is an excellent guide to the "digital audio world."

Excellent walkthrough of the basics

This is a fine walkthrough of the basics of audio playback and production. It covers the different audio formats, the mechanics of audio playback and recording and does it with effective use of graphics and some fine writing. Unfortunately it stops just short of podcasting, which is where I think a number of readers will be looking for. There is some fine coverage of the legal issues involved on both the production and the consumption side of the fence. I'm pleased with this book. It's an easy and informative read.