You're a musician. Like most musicians these days, you write songs. And when you write a song that you're all excited about, you record it, probably mostly at home, perhaps in some local studios too. You may even invite some friends to participate. Then you probably put your new record on streaming sites, band sites, and social media sites, perhaps all of those, because you feel you absolutely killed it, and the whole world needs to hear this record right now. Some months later, you listen to your record again, only to realize you still adore the song, but the record itself? It fell short, somehow. Just like the last one did. Which brings up a very important question:Are you 100% satisfied with your records?I ask, because I already know that most of you are going to answer no to that. Some of you might even believe it's not even possible to be 100% satisfied with your records.I'm here to tell you that it is. Who am I? I'm Mixerman aka Eric Sarafin. I have multiple gold and platinum sales awards as a mixer, producer, and recordist, and I’ve written several popular books on recording, mixing, and producing. I was in precisely your position at the early stages of my career. I was a musician, frustrated that I could write a great song, only to feel the record itself fell short of it's potential. I can help you reduce that learning curve significantly. Think musically.The stated goal of this book is to convert recording decisions into musical ones, and technical decisions into practical ones. Not only do I explain the musical strategies for making a Killer Record, I also break the technical information down to its core so that you can get it out of your way. The best part? So long as you have what you need to make a record, I can help you make it a Killer Record, and you don’t have to purchase anything beyond this book. You have what you have and what you have is going to change.It doesn't matter whether you make hip-hop or country, electronica or metal, indie rock or power pop, there are certain truths that are universal to all music. You are operating within a set of limitations both musically and technically and that's where your creativity will shine. Great Art is made with the resources available to you.This field manual is chock full of recording strategies designed to keep recording a fun and focused process. You will return to this manual time and time again to help you overcome any impediment–technical or musical–that might prevent you from achieving the results you seek, regardless of your recording environment, regardless of what equipment you're using, and regardless of your current skillset.You can make a Killer Record under nearly any circumstance. It just requires the right mindset.

Musician's Survival Guide to a Killer Record

Arts & Photography

Mixerman

Music

Mixerman Publishes

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman: What Spinal Tap did to heavy metal, Mixerman does to the recording process

Mixerman is a recording engineer working with a famous producer on the debut album of an unknown band with a giant recording budget. Mixerman is supposed to be writing about recording techniques, but somehow, through that prism, he has hit upon a gripping story. Like all great narratives, Mixerman's diary has many anti-heroes for whom we, the readers, can have nothing but contempt. The band consists of the four most dislikable human beings you can imagine. The singer is vain and pretentious. The guitarist is a serious depressive. The drummer is as "dumb as cotton," and the bassist is merely mean and petty, making him the only one that Mixerman can stand. All four of them hate each other's guts, and they haven't even been on tour yet. Mixerman takes you through the recording process of a bidding war band in over their heads with a famous record producer (also in over his head). Many find Mixerman's diary entries side-splittingly funny. Some find them maddening. And a select few feel they are the most despicable accountings of record-making ever documented.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

In his first book, The Daily Adventures of Mixerman, the author detailed the frustrating and often hilarious goings-on during the process of recording a major-label band. Musicians, engineers, and producers laughed and cried at the crazy goings-on they'd never imagined - or recognized all too well. Now in his REV 2, fully updated edition of Zen and the Art of Mixing, Mixerman turns his razor-sharp gaze to the art of mixing and gives followers and the uninitiated reason to hope - if not for logic and civility in the recording studio then at least for a good sounding record. With a firm commitment to art over technology and to maintaining a grasp of each, Mixerman outlines his own approach to recording success, based on his years mixing records in all genres of music for all kinds of artists, often under trying circumstances. As he states in his introduction to the new volume, "Even if you're not a professional mixer, even if you're a musician trying to mix your own work or a studio owner in a smaller market, you have your own set of pressures to deal with while you're mixing. Regardless of what those pressures are, it's important to identify and recognize them, if for no other reason than so you can learn to completely ignore them." But how?That's where the Zen comes in.

Zen and the Art of MIXING

Mixerman is a recording engineer working with a famous producer on the debut album of an unknown band with a giant recording budget. Mixerman is supposed to be writing about recording techniques, but somehow, through that prism, he has hit upon a gripping story. Many find Mixerman's diary entries side-splittingly funny. Some find them maddening. And a select few feel they are the most despicable accountings of record-making ever documented. They may all be right.

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

Mixerman is a Los Angeles recording engineer who in the summer of 2002, on nothing more than a hunch, began to chronicle the daily events of his Major Label recording session with a bidding-war band, an infamous producer, and a limitless budget. And he did it in real-time-each night posting his entries on the Internet, withholding only the true identities of those he writes about. As Gina Arnold from Metro Newspapers reported at the time: "Mixerman is supposed to be writing about recording techniques, but somehow, through that prism, he has hit upon a gripping story.

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman: The explosively hilarious, unauthorized studio diary that rocked the music world.

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

MIXERMAN's Ultimate GUIDE to PRODUCING Records, Music & Songs: Everything You Need to Know About Producing, Recording, Mixing & Mastering Music at Home or in the Studio

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Mixerman Publishes publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mixerman Publishes

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Mixerman Publishes publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Musician's Survival Guide to a Killer Record

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman: What Spinal Tap did to heavy metal, Mixerman does to the recording process

Zen and the Art of MIXING

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman: What Spinal Tap did to heavy metal, Mixerman does to the recording process

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman: The explosively hilarious, unauthorized studio diary that rocked the music world.

MIXERMAN's Ultimate GUIDE to PRODUCING Records, Music & Songs: Everything You Need to Know About Producing, Recording, Mixing & Mastering Music at Home or in the Studio