Rockin' Your Stage Sound: A Musician's Guide to Professional Live Audio (Music Pro Guides) Paperback – Illustrated, 1 Dec. 2010

I'VE GOT TO BE A LITTLE BIASED HERE BECAUSE I KNEW THE AUTHOR WHEN I JUST STARTED PLAYING THE ELECTRIC GUITAR(1978) AND AS YOU MIGHT CAN IMAGINE, I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE BEEN BUYING HIS CD, AS OPPOSED TO HIS BOOK. THIS FRIEND OF MINE, ROB GAINEY HAS AN EXCELLENT EAR FOR MUSIC, EVEN WHEN HE WAS YOUNG, HE WAS A TRULY FANTASTIC GUITAR PLAYER THAT DROVE ME TO PLAY FAST LIKE HIM. ROB WAS A FAIRLY SMALL GUY AT THE TIME WE FIRST MET, BUT HE PLAYED THIS GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD AROUND 1978, AND THIS GUITAR WAS ALMOST AS BIG AS HE WAS! HOWEVER, THIS GUY WAS REALLY TEARING IT UP BACK THEN AND HE MADE A HUGE IMPRESSION ON ME FROM THE DAY I MET HIM. WE STILL TALK ALTHOUGH HE IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNITED STATES COMPARED TO ME WHRE I LIVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. ROB HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB WITHOUT USING BIG FANCY WORDS SO THE BEGINEER CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE BOOK WITHOUT HAVING TO HAVE SOMEONE TEACH HIM SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES THAT ARE WELL EXPLAINED IN THE BOOK. I'M VERY PROUD OF MY FRIEND, MAKING A BOOK THAT HAS SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE, BASED ON HIS MANY YEARS WORKING IN THE STUDIO AND ALSO BEING A FRONT OF HOUSE SOUND MAN, AND BEING A GUITARIST IN A "BAD COMPANY COVER BAND" AT ONE TIME. HE ALSO FOUND THE "RIGHT PRO MUSICIANS" TO HELP HIM WITH INTERVIEWS AND ADVISE THAT IS SO IMPORTANT, IN BEING A MUSICIAN, ON ANY SKILL LEVEL. PREMIER GUITAR MAGAZINE, MY FAVORITE GUITAR MAG, GAVE ROB'S BOOK 5 STARS AND IT'S QUITE UNUSUAL FOR THEM TO HAND OUT 5 STAR RATINGS ON ANYTHING! AND YET ROB DID IT ON HIS FIRST TRY AS AN AUTHOR! SO HERE'S A LITTLE SECRET: THIS GUY IS SUCH A PERFECTIONIST THAT THERE WILL BE A SECOND BOOK THAT'S BEING WORKED ON AND BELIEVE ME, IT WILL SMASH THIS BOOK! THAT'S HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE I HAVE IN ROB GAINEY, SO BE ON THE LOOK OUT NEXT YEAR OR SO FOR PART TWO! THIS IS A FANTASTIC BOOK FOR A NEW AUTHOR. NOW HE WILL MAKE THIS BOOK LOOK ORDINARY COMPARED TO THE NEXT ONE, SO BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR IT! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, AND BUY THIS ONE NOW!

A unique and valuable book. Some of the most technical aspects are not explained very well however

I found this book after exhaustively searching the internet for something that dealt with things that all musicians struggle with, like how to hear themselves in the mix without sacrificing their tone or having to deal with the dreaded "volume wars" with others onstage! This book is geared towards musicians to help them better understand how everything onstage has to fit together like a puzzle,soundwise, without overwhelming the reader with too much of the technical aspects of how sound works. "For all the countless hours I've spent rehearsing and fine-tuning my guitar rig, and the thousands of dollars in equipment I've gone through, I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to have it all wasted because of bad stage sound management." As a guitarist myself, I totally relate to that statement! The book also teaches you how to deal with the awkward stage setups that anyone who's played in a bar band has had to deal with. You won't find this much useful information anywhere else! A definite must have for anyone who plays music!Thanks Rob for this excellent book!!!

I was looking for more of a guide to actually running sound and using the equipment, where this was more geared to the actual stage setup and band organization. I have played semi-pro for years and while there is some good info on setup and pitfalls to watch out for, there little in the actual usage of live sound gear. He (and a great cast of pros chime in as well) explains things more from a musicians standpoint of making requests FROM the soundman instead of a musician BEING a soundman. In the local club scene, most of us are the roadie, light guy, sound guy and musician. I was hoping that was what this book was geared to. It wasn't. Still, there is some good info here for a touring musician or hired gun that works different venues all the time and wants to sound good when the sound and PA are not your own.

I purchased this book because I was going broke using the VERY EXPENSIVE trial-and-error method of improving our stage sound. The book was recommended to me by a trusted friend and long time professional touring musician.For all the countless hours I've spent rehearsing and fine-tuning my guitar rig, and the thousands of dollars in equipment I've gone through, I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to have it all wasted because of bad stage sound management.Implementing the techniques in Rob's book improved our stage sound on the very first gig! Long-time fans told us it was the best we'd ever sounded (God bless their little damaged ears). And best of all, the changes didn't cost us a penny!