If you want to learn the sometimes mysterious art of mastering recordings, you're going to need some guidance. A good place to start is Mastering Music at Home ($34.99), a new book written by former EQ editor Mitch Gallagher and published by Thomson Course Technology PTR (www.courseptr.com). Written specifically for personal- and project-studio owners, the 309-page book explores how to get professional results while doing it yourself, in your own studio. After defining the function of mastering in the music-production process, Gallagher goes on to detail how commercial mastering engineers work. He describes tasks and concepts such as controlling level and frequency balance, trimming heads and tails, editing fades, applying compression, eliminating noise, and preparing files for different formats. He clarifies the complexities of acoustics, EQ, and dynamics, and discusses the software and hardware every mastering studio needs. Interviews with audio professionals are interspersed throughout the book, and an included CD provides real-world examples.

The second edition of The Musician's Guide to Pro Tools ($39.99) is now available from McGraw-Hill's Osborne imprint (www.osborne.com). Written by producer John Keane (B-52s, Widespread Panic, Indigo Girls), with a foreword by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, the 383-page book is an update to the edition first published in 2002 and updated in 2004. Keane takes you step-by-step through various aspects of producing music using the latest versions of Pro Tools LE and HD. You'll learn to record basic tracks; overdub instruments and vocals; set up multiple headphone mixes; punch in, trim, slide, and crossfade tracks; correct and align out-of-sync drum parts and other tracks; and use plug-ins to enhance your recordings. He also explains how to use Grid mode to simplify editing, prevent downtime with good maintenance practices, and apply advanced mixing techniques. A CD-ROM containing session files, plug-in demos, and other materials is included.