WIZOO

Well-known music-technology author and founding editor of EM Craig Anderton shares years of experience in Sonar 3 Mixing & Mastering, an extensive guide to using Cakewalk's software for Windows. This $50 492-page manual goes far beyond the basics of multitrack digital recording to explain how to improve your arranging, mixing, and mastering skills by taking advantage of Sonar's more advanced capabilities. More than 30 chapters cover subjects that range from computer setup and software instruments to automation, dithering, and outboard gear.

With Sonar 3 as a focal point, Anderton explains concepts essential to understanding professional studio techniques such as effective metering, grouping tracks and buses, modeling acoustic spaces, and using multiband compression. The book includes a mixed-mode CD that contains data files and audio examples to accompany the tutorials in the text. Wizoo/Amsco Publications/Music Sales Corp. (distributor); tel. (800) 431-7187 or (212) 254-2100; email info@musicsales.com; Web www.musicsales.com.

PEACHPIT PRESS

Good instruction is very helpful if you want to master Apple GarageBand. GarageBand: Create and Record Music on a Mac is another in Peachpit's Apple Training Series. Author Mary Plummer's $34.99 self-paced, 426-page course teaches the finer points of using GarageBand through experience with real-world projects. The included CD-ROM contains the tutorial files that you will need to complete all nine lessons. When you have finished, you can become a certified Apple Pro by passing an exam at an Apple Authorized Training Center. Peachpit Press; tel. (800) 283-9444 or (510) 524-2178; Web www.peachpit.com.

ARTISTPRO

Several new titles in the InstantPro series of instructional DVDs provide hands-on tutorials for specific software applications. The Cubase SX 2.0 InstantPro, Beginner Level ($39.99) is a 45-minute quick-start guide to Steinberg's digital audio sequencer. Host Michael Prager begins with the basics of setup and continues with an overview of Cubase SX's user interface and functions. He then guides you through the various steps of creating music, focusing on virtual instruments, MIDI sequencing, audio recording, effects processing, mixdown, and audio export.

The Sonar 3 InstantPro, Beginner Level ($39.99) is a similar introduction to Cakewalk's software for Windows. In the course of 55 minutes, Prager introduces you to different aspects of working with Sonar, beginning with a blank template and finishing with an exported audio file. Along the way, he explains sequencing soft synths, recording audio tracks, using insert and send effects, and mixing strategies.

Another ArtistPro DVD is The Project 5 InstantPro, Beginner Level ($39.99). At 77 minutes, the DVD is the longest in the series so far. Following an overview, Prager explains the Track List, step and pattern sequencing, using DirectX and VST synthesizers and drum machines, working with loops, routing effects, and mixing with automation. ArtistPro/Hal Leonard Corp. (distributor); tel. (707) 554-1935; Web www.artistpro.com.

SOLUTIONS UNLIMITED

Want to become a recording-industry tycoon? First you will have to learn the ropes. The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company ($44.95 spiral-bound, $29.95 PDF) offers 237 pages of solid information on getting your own label off the ground. It is a step-by-step manual for anyone who wants to take the independent route to establishing a small-to-moderate-size company. The author, Keith Holzman, is an industry veteran with nearly 40 years of experience. Holzman has held positions such as senior vice president of Elektra Records and director of Nonesuch Records.

The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company advises you on writing your business plan, retaining lawyers and accountants, constructing budgets, finding and signing artists, and marketing and distributing your product. The book explains staffing, licensing, pressing, printing, packaging, royalties, and promotion. It provides the insight you need to understand the workings of any size record label and includes practical guidance for anyone attempting the D.I.Y. approach to record distribution. Solutions Unlimited; tel. (310) 476-4059; email keith@holzmansolution.com; Web www.recordcompanystartup.com.