Reddit reviews Audio Engineering 101: A Beginner's Guide to Music Production

omg it's fate! hello fellow duck <33

1. there are some awesome books if you want to start learning about mixing and mastering:
   
   Audio Engineering 101
   
   Mastering Audio, The Art and the Science
   
   Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio
   
   ​
   
   those are a great place to start! the weird thing about mixing and mastering is that it's simultaneously complicated and very, very simple - in my experience the strongest engineers often use the most basic tools, they just have a very in-depth understanding of how they work and how to wield them effectively. don't get frustrated if it's not easy right away - i have been producing and engineering for a really really freaking long time and i am JUST starting to feel super confident with mixing and mastering. it takes dedication and patience but it is soooooo rewarding! you should totally do it!
   
   
2. i got to go to australia on my first international headline tour last year and it was SO COOL
   
   
3. well my favorite kind of dog is all dogs, but also my dogs because theyre my babies. i have a 100 lb staffy/great dane mix who lives with me in LA, and a 13 lb chihuahua/terrier/potato mix who lives with my dad in san francisco

Please note that this is a comprehensive guide that could get you through the industry as a professional.

This is the list of audio resources I keep on hand for this very type of thing:

Engineering 101 (Perfect for beginners)

TweakHeadz Guide (free info overload)

The Audio Bible


Mixing Theory


EQ Frequency Chart

Compression Explained (Sound On Sound is great in general)

Compression TL;DR (WARNING: profanity, but great for visual people)


Reddit's /r/audioengineering Wiki (From my personal favorite community to ask questions and discuss audio):
Reddit's Getting Started Guide

Pensado's Place

GearSlutz

If any of these things don't make sense right away (you open a link and have no idea what anything you're looking at means) please feel free to ask me (or the sub) some questions.

1. Ableton for midi / sampling, logic for recording audio (in my opinion. They both have lovely interfaces)
   
2. Closed back headphones, and turn down the click. (change the click it to a hi-hat or something less harsh if its picking through the mic)
   
3. Get an audio interface. Plug headphones into headphone output and monitors through main output. You can turn down monitors and keep the headphone signal for recording.
   
4. Timothy Dittmar wrote this easy reading book which explains everything in great detail. Definitely worth a read for beginners in my opinion.
   
   ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Engineering-101-Beginners-Production/dp/0240819152 )