One of the coolest, and least promoted (and previously difficult to find) books I've come across is Too Hot to Handle: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Recording Studios of the 20th Century. Author Randy McNutt is a huge fan of classic American music and the regional studios that used to record the hits (and misses) of yesteryear. I recently stumbled across his Home of the Hits blog, and wanted to let others know that it's well worth visiting. Randy is dedicated to preserving the memories and history of the music biz, and importantly understands that it was the people and their vision that makes all of this so fascinating.
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Access Some Other Guy's Outboard Gear Online?
by Larry Crane
What? Huh? That's right, now you can "use classic studio gear online." This guy Fredrik created some way to remotely set compressors and equalizers and then pass your audio through them. Pretty genius and probably the wave of the future for certain...