Instant Sound Forge (V.a.S.S.T. Series)

Rating:
Summary: Instant Sound Forge makes you productive Instantly!
Review: I've used Sony Sound Forge for minor fixing up of audio (EQ, normalize, compress) but I felt that I never really learned the application that well. (I just didn't have the time) I don't like to read so I'm really turned off by those "bible" books that go into tons of background detail. I looked forward to the Instant Sound Forge book because the VASST Instant Series is very concise and task oriented and I wasn't let down. Granted there was a lot of information I already knew in this book, but there were also a couple of gems that made it worth the money for me.

The book has already paid for itself in just the Restoration chapter alone. Jeffrey explains how to reduce excessive room ambience with specific settings that are easy to follow. I had a video that was recorded in a church that had way too much room ambience. Using Jeffrey's technique I was able to lessen the severity of the reverberant room and clean up the audio significantly.

I also liked Jeffrey's suggestions on how to process files that are going to be compressed as MP3's to get the most quality out of the MP3 encoder. It's little details like this, and how to process spoken word, and other finishing secrets that you only figure out after years of using a program that Jeffrey shares with you in this book. Even beginner tips like making sure you edit at zero crossings are helpful in not getting clicks when you loop audio.

This is a great book for someone who needs to get up to speed quickly with Sound Forge. It's very easy reading and I was able to apply the techniques I'd learned quickly. If you are looking for a book that is "Everything you wanted to know about Sound Forge", then this isn't the book for you. But that's not the purpose of the Instant Series. If you just want to get productive quickly with Sony Sound Forge I feel this book will get you there.

Rating:
Summary: An idex would have helped...
Review: This is a horrible reference book! There is no index and the table of contents is not at all detailed so it is really difficult to find the section you need. Even when I have found the section I needed, it hasn't been as detailed as I would have liked. In addition, there are a number of pages that are in the wrong order in the front part of the book (around the second chapter). This book could have used some more work before going to press.

Rating:
Summary: Instant nothing
Review: While the Sonic Foundry manuals have usually been sparse in details, this "instant" book comes with even less info.

If you need a book to hold your hand and explain things like:
Custom Workspace... You can choose the toolbars you want to see. Choose View.Toolbars (that's it), then this may be the book for you. But then the manual will tell you more than that.

For the Spectrum Analysis Tools there are just barely 100 words
to cover the entire subject.

My copy is on the way back. No more CMP Books for me.