2nd Edition

How Does It Sound Now? Legendary Engineers and Vintage Gear

By Gary Gottlieb Copyright 2025
386 Pages 179 B/W Illustrations
by Focal Press

386 Pages 179 B/W Illustrations
by Focal Press

386 Pages 179 B/W Illustrations
by Focal Press

How Does It Sound Now? features 32 interviews with top engineers and producers who have contributed to hundreds of millions of albums and CDs throughout their combined careers, including a new interview with Leslie Gaston-Bird for this second edition. Winner of the 2010 Association for Recorded Sound Collections' Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research, the second edition... Read more

1. Alan Parsons  2. Chuck Ainlay  3. Ed Cherney  4. Marc Aubort  5. Bob Ludwig  6. Leanne Ungar  7. Jim Malloy  8. Geoff Emerick  9. Don Puluse  10. Gary Chester  11. Al Schmitt  12. Glen Snoddy  13. Bob Katz  14. Danny Leake  15. Leslie Mona-Mathus  16. Steven Epstein  17. Lou Bradley  18. Jim Reeves  19. Dave Moulton  20. Ben Wisch  21. Paul Stubblebine  22. Cowboy Jack Clement  23. Elliot Scheiner  24. Bill Schulenburg  25. Bob Clearmountain  26. Gene Eichelberger  27. Fred Breitberg  28. Frank Filipetti  29. Jim Anderson  30. Bil VornDick  31. Leslie Gaston-Bird  32. Phil Ramone

Biography

Gary Gottlieb is a long-time engineer, producer, writer, photographer, and music business professional, who refers to himself as a music generalist. As a recording engineer and music producer in New York, Gottlieb's long and distinguished career includes numerous Grammy Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. After earning his Master of Audio Aesthetics & Technology from Marlboro College, Gottlieb accepted a full-time faculty position at Webster University, where he created and chaired their Department of Audio Aesthetics & Technology. During his fifteen years at Webster he published three books. He has remained active in Audio Engineering Society leadership for over 20 years. He is currently the President of AES and resides in Ukiah, California with his daughter, their dog Bean, and their cat Silver, who makes frequent appearances during Zoom calls.

“First published in 2010 and now back for a second round, Gottlieb’s epic book is simultaneously a time capsule, motivating discourse, history lesson and more. Sitting down with a who’s who of recording—including numerous icons who have passed away since the first edition—Gottlieb deftly interviews every top-name pro you can imagine”. - Clive Young, Mix Magazine