NewYorkDave
Well-known member
I think he's lived in Pennsylvania for several years.
I saw him at the 2003 AES in New York, so he's definitely still "on the scene."
I saw him at the 2003 AES in New York, so he's definitely still "on the scene."
Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:
Yeah, Steve's here, doing digital signal processing design for a broadcast
supplier.
He's a real sweet guy. I've embarrased him a lot telling him how much his articles in REP meant in my developement.
If you haven't read them, you need to. The
"Encyclopedia" version certainly carries the important stuff.
supplier.
He's a real sweet guy. I've embarrased him a lot telling him how much his articles in REP meant in my developement.
If you haven't read them, you need to. The
"Encyclopedia" version certainly carries the important stuff.
NewYorkDave
Well-known member
I'm fortunate to have read the original magazine series in copies given to me by a friend. There are some interesting bits and anecdotes that didn't make it into the Handbook version; but like Dan says, the important stuff is there.
NewYorkDave
Well-known member
Well, the point I was trying to make earlier (in my usual obtuse way) is that Tremaine's Cyclopedia and the later Handbook are two different books. Get one of each! :green:
I have both editions of both titles. But if I could only have ONE, my choice would be Tremaine, second edition.
I have both editions of both titles. But if I could only have ONE, my choice would be Tremaine, second edition.
FredForssell
Well-known member
Yes... but much of it is, shall we say "dated". It's set-up in a question and answer format so you don't have to wade through too much in the way of long discussions to get to the "good" parts. It is a very good book and like many other titles I consider it a "must have" for any self-respecting DIY'er.
So, I highly recommend getting the second edition of Tremaine's book (if you can find it) AND I also recommend getting the later so-called handbook edited by Glen Ballou as well (it's worth it for Steve Dove's section alone). Just remember, the two books are not related.
hollywood_steve
Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2004
- Messages
- 23
So I'm totally confused now. Which edition should I buy?
_________________
Seth
Well, the point I was trying to make earlier (in my usual obtuse way) is that Tremaine's Cyclopedia and the later Handbook are two different books. Get one of each!
______________________________________
regarding the Tremaine book:
I luckily stumbled across a mint first edition when Ebay was still a small, unknown website. The 1st edition is better if you are a tube nut and heavily into the gear of the 50s. But if you are looking for big console shots and multi-track tape recorders, they're only in the 2nd edition. In the 1st edition, stereo was still a "new fad" and America was still using more RCA ribbons than Neumanns. So there is a pretty clear break between the technologies covered by the late 50's 1st edition and late 60's 2nd edition. Do the later editions still follow the wacky question and answer format of the early version?
_________________
Seth
Well, the point I was trying to make earlier (in my usual obtuse way) is that Tremaine's Cyclopedia and the later Handbook are two different books. Get one of each!
______________________________________
regarding the Tremaine book:
I luckily stumbled across a mint first edition when Ebay was still a small, unknown website. The 1st edition is better if you are a tube nut and heavily into the gear of the 50s. But if you are looking for big console shots and multi-track tape recorders, they're only in the 2nd edition. In the 1st edition, stereo was still a "new fad" and America was still using more RCA ribbons than Neumanns. So there is a pretty clear break between the technologies covered by the late 50's 1st edition and late 60's 2nd edition. Do the later editions still follow the wacky question and answer format of the early version?
They're Socratic Dialogs? Wow. I had a counterpoint textbook like that in college - "Gradus Ad Parnassum" by Johannes Fux. Written in 1567 or something. I think I had the 73rd edition.
:green:
Thanks guys. I'll keep a look out for one.
G
Guest
Guest
Thanks to a very helpfull and sweet guy I now have about 60 pages of hard copy information that I can distribute FOCo you by snailmail to a reasonable number of UK regulars
UK based guys PM me for more info
UK based guys PM me for more info
> They're Socratic Dialogs?
No.
Tremaine kept a scrapbook of odds and ends of technical data.
Sams Publishing inherited Audel's Q&A-style format popular around the turn of the century.
The Q&A was actually handy when you had a subject and author that was full of little scraps of information and not good for structured essays.
But on the whole, it is pretty silly. Many of the "questions" were obviously made up for a specific "answer" (really just a scrap of info) they found in the pile.
And the questions generally don't follow a Socratic Sequence, each question following from the previous answer. Oh, sometimes one big clump of infor is broken into several related Q&A, but on the whole it is just a pile of stuff, and the "Q"s are just decorations.
That's Tremaine's book, 1950s-1970s. There is some shift from older to newer editions: Tremaine was a man of the 1940s-1950s, the later editions are "updated" rather carelessly.
The "new" Ballou book is very different: 99% new material (some of the Tremaine stuff is timeless) and they didn't use the silly Q&A format. Each chapter is an essay or collection of essays. Each one was new in the 1980s, nearly nothing hung over from Tremaine's 1940s scrapbooks. I've examined a 2nd ed of Ballou and it had some new things not in my 1st ed, but overall I'd take either one. I have not seen a 3rd (saving my pennies).
No.
Tremaine kept a scrapbook of odds and ends of technical data.
Sams Publishing inherited Audel's Q&A-style format popular around the turn of the century.
The Q&A was actually handy when you had a subject and author that was full of little scraps of information and not good for structured essays.
But on the whole, it is pretty silly. Many of the "questions" were obviously made up for a specific "answer" (really just a scrap of info) they found in the pile.
And the questions generally don't follow a Socratic Sequence, each question following from the previous answer. Oh, sometimes one big clump of infor is broken into several related Q&A, but on the whole it is just a pile of stuff, and the "Q"s are just decorations.
That's Tremaine's book, 1950s-1970s. There is some shift from older to newer editions: Tremaine was a man of the 1940s-1950s, the later editions are "updated" rather carelessly.
The "new" Ballou book is very different: 99% new material (some of the Tremaine stuff is timeless) and they didn't use the silly Q&A format. Each chapter is an essay or collection of essays. Each one was new in the 1980s, nearly nothing hung over from Tremaine's 1940s scrapbooks. I've examined a 2nd ed of Ballou and it had some new things not in my 1st ed, but overall I'd take either one. I have not seen a 3rd (saving my pennies).
NewYorkDave
Well-known member
I grant you, the Q&A format of the original Cyclopedia is silly and the subjects don't often follow a logical sequence, but overall I still think it's an important book. I own a number of books from the "classic" era of audio and Tremaine is by far the most wide-ranging. You can find more rigorous treatments of circuit theory elsewhere, but nobody gave a broader survey of the state of the audio art at the time.
As for the 3rd edition of the Ballou book... Yes, I own it. It was a very expensive impulse purchase. I wouldn't buy it again at the same price.
It does contain some superb material (my personal favorites are Steve Dove's chapter on console design, now updated, Bill Whitlock's chapters on audio transformers and preamps, Dale Manquen's opus on magnetic recording), but it also has a few things that piss me off. The book has several silly typos that I consider unacceptable in an expensive professional text. Also, fairly large sections (e.g., much of the chapter on equalizers) are lifted nearly verbatim from Tremaine without credit given. Matter of fact, Tremaine is only mentioned in passing in the preface, and they spell his name wrong!
The book is worth having for the "good" chapters, but my advice is to wait a while until used copies become available... or buy it out of your employer's budget, not your own. :wink:
As for the 3rd edition of the Ballou book... Yes, I own it. It was a very expensive impulse purchase. I wouldn't buy it again at the same price.
It does contain some superb material (my personal favorites are Steve Dove's chapter on console design, now updated, Bill Whitlock's chapters on audio transformers and preamps, Dale Manquen's opus on magnetic recording), but it also has a few things that piss me off. The book has several silly typos that I consider unacceptable in an expensive professional text. Also, fairly large sections (e.g., much of the chapter on equalizers) are lifted nearly verbatim from Tremaine without credit given. Matter of fact, Tremaine is only mentioned in passing in the preface, and they spell his name wrong!
The book is worth having for the "good" chapters, but my advice is to wait a while until used copies become available... or buy it out of your employer's budget, not your own. :wink:
> the Q&A format of the original Cyclopedia is silly ...overall I still think it's an important book.
Absolutely. A must-have for anybody with a more-than-casual interest in audio.
The Ballou is also a must-have, and not at all "the same" as Tremaine. Used copies of the 1st/2nd editions are hardly over-priced, great value for money. Quibbles aside, the 3rd is also worth the cover price, but if your wallet chokes, a 1st/2nd is a better buy.
Absolutely. A must-have for anybody with a more-than-casual interest in audio.
The Ballou is also a must-have, and not at all "the same" as Tremaine. Used copies of the 1st/2nd editions are hardly over-priced, great value for money. Quibbles aside, the 3rd is also worth the cover price, but if your wallet chokes, a 1st/2nd is a better buy.
Bo Hansen
Well-known member
Under the 1950, 60 and 70`s there was a lot of good books about recording studio, broadcast, sound system and acoustics mostly written by American author`s and also some from UK.
I will do modest boast that I have a running metre of this old nice books, (see the shelf from the left and third from the top)
and even after 30 years I still find new interesting thing in this books every time I reading them.
--Bo
I will do modest boast that I have a running metre of this old nice books, (see the shelf from the left and third from the top)
and even after 30 years I still find new interesting thing in this books every time I reading them.
--Bo
Bo-
That really looks like a treasured library. It's very nice to see.
The little time I've spent with the 2nd edition that just arrived has been wonderful. I can open it anywhere and find lots I didn't know, but I think I'm going to hang out in the power supply section for a while.
That really looks like a treasured library. It's very nice to see.
The little time I've spent with the 2nd edition that just arrived has been wonderful. I can open it anywhere and find lots I didn't know, but I think I'm going to hang out in the power supply section for a while.
NewYorkDave
Well-known member
You can never have too many books!
Here are the tech books in my living room bookcase:
108kB JPEG
The rest are in my spare bedroom, my office, or in storage.
Here are the tech books in my living room bookcase:
108kB JPEG
The rest are in my spare bedroom, my office, or in storage.
G
Guest
Guest
I nearly got a copy on ebay but some user called "Prodigy Professional" outbid me in the last few hours...
mmmmhhh!!
mmmmhhh!!
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