Twenty-seven engineers appear here, talking about mixing, mastering, tracking and more-though a large portion of the book focuses on their mixing techniques and philosophies. My initial impression was, "Look at all these guys who mix big pop stuff that I never listen to." But then I kept flipping through the book, reading bits and pieces of various interviews-and I started really enjoying it. Sure, Dave Pensado operates in a completely different world than I do and works on a lot of music I don't listen to, but his story of how his career has progressed and his attitude about it is really cool and interesting to read. A few people who I really admire do show up, like a rare interview with Alan Moulder, and bits on Bill Botrell, Geoff Emerick, Al Schmitt, and others. Mix Masters is a good book in that people who work on a variety of music talk about their different approaches and how they got into the recording bag, and Maureen's interviews are conversational and knowledgeable, as she's an accomplished engineer herself.
Official site: www.berkleemusic.com