The Sound Reinforcement Handbook - Sound System Engineering Book

I purchased my first copy of “Sound Reinforcement” in the 80s. I learned a lot from it and it’s fair to say that doing so helped me obtain gainful employment as a musician and A/V Support guy when I was getting started. It’s been 40+ years since then, so “Sound Reinforcement” has stood the test of time (only one revision since then too) without a doubt.The reading gets technical because of the depth of various subjects, but there’s plenty of down to earth/practical information too. Case in point: Section 15 — Cabling. Not only did this information help me obtain work, it has served me well over the 40+ years since I first read it. “Sound Reinforcement” is a “must have” for people who set/strike for a living, and a great way for everyone else involved with music in some way to expand their skill set/knowledge to the next level.One caution: Check all the pages first thing if you do purchase it. I received a copy where 4 of the pages are “creased” (I don’t know what the defect is called), making it hard to read. I don’t know how many copies made it past QA like that and I always check pages on new book purchases. Still, I thought worth mentioning so they don’t “slip a Micky” past the unsuspecting souls out there.

I am a musician and songwriter who needs to address performing and recording issues. So I became an amateur sound engineer. I am writing this review in 2013, almost 25 years after this book was published. The reason I got an interest in this book was a reference in the Yamaha mixer manual.That got my attention and I decided to give it a try. This book was written by Gary Davis and others, Mr. Davis was an adviser and manual writer for Yamaha USA. I have a deep respect to Yamaha instruments and music products and I thought it cannot be a bad choice as I was looking for audio engineering primer. It came true and that was the best bet I ever made for purchasing books online. What hit me that right off the bat is an excellent introduction and explanation of the headroom, the concept that was struggling for sometime and even after discussion the subject with professionals and reading multiple articles and manuals. What digital clipping is. Very practical, methodical, not too simple - a lot of technical lingo or physics concepts, but answered pretty much almost all my questions. So just to give an example, this book provided a criteria for specification for golden plated vs nickel plated connectors. I just got a call back from one of major US supplier salesperson regarding specifications of 1/4" connectors and - surprise - they don't know it. Or for instance why you don't want to use mic cable for unbalanced signal. Books has many practical advises, explains conceptual schematics, provide an advise on the cable construction, to level of details to how to build cable from balanced output to unbalanced input; or why do not use stereo cables on mono signal. Lots, tons of useful information. MIDI explanation leaves nothing behind. Clear, precise language. Some items are dated, no doubt, no new OFC cables for instance. No modern digital processing obviously. But it is astonishing the level of industry 25 years ago. Folks, pretty much all gadgets we have today were invented long, long time ago!!! Again, information provided covered all my needs for live performances and studio building; this book is a keeper for an amateur and no doubt for many professionals too. Excellent, timeless, with a lot of depth reference. Thanks and the best regards to the authors for their excellent work!

I'll admit, I'm only 2 chapters in -- I'll update this review if I see fit.But I found this book to be very well written - better than any technical book I've ever read. Many authors can become confusing during complex topics by being excessively verbose, or not verbose enough. With few exceptions, he walks the line perfectly (at least for my needs as a reader).Thus far for the first two chapters, a basic understanding of Trigonometry would be very useful. I'd also recommend checking out the appendix that explains logarithms if you are not familiar.While it is true that this book is dated (1989), the difference between the average sound system today and is 1989 is much smaller than the difference in say the average computer. Many of the concepts are equally applicable to today. Besides how else are you going to get such a great book for fifteen bucks?Update: This book is good all the way throughout. I kinda wish it had more example specifications, but those can be found via manufacturers. I haven't looked, but I'm sure they are easy to find on the internet.Update 2: Basically done with the book. In hindsight there are certainly some rough spots that could have been better written, but not enough to justify a 4 star ranking. The rough edges are few and far in between and the rest of the book's greatness overwhelms them.If you want to do anything with live sound, read this book.

Great book, some misprints in the section numbers.

This book is a must have reference, especially if you are a "part-timer" or volunteer, involved in church work or theatre work, or anywhere that is involved with sound reinforcement. Trying to connect dissimilar plugs and cords? Need to understand the gobbledy-gook in the owner's manual for a new piece of equipment? Can you really tie a phone line successfully into that church sound system so the pastor can talk live with that missionary overseas? It is in here. That a whole lot more. Maybe the guy that does this stuff all day every day already knows all these details. But then again, maybe not. This book is not new. It has stood the test of time. I have worked with several churches, and it seems every time I leave a church they ask "If you have to go we understand, but can you leave The Book?" Okay, maybe a slight exageration, but you get my point! I just bought it again, and it really is the 3rd or 4th time because I have left them as a resource for others. Get it!