17 chapters · Newly created diagrams · Subject index
THIRD EDITION · 2026
Live Sound Reinforcement
Third Edition
Over 100,000 copies sold across previous editions.
A practical book for live sound engineers, musicians and educators
Live Sound Reinforcement, Third Edition, is a practical live sound engineering book by Scott Hunter Stark and Mike Lawson, published by artistproMedia. Its 17 chapters connect sound fundamentals with digital consoles, networked audio, in-ear monitoring and troubleshooting.
From the first microphone to the last row of the audience, understand the whole system: how sound behaves, where the signal goes and what to do when something goes wrong.
Available through Ingram distribution. Bookstores, libraries, schools and institutional buyers can order the paperback through Ingram or their preferred supplier using ISBN 978-0-9794214-2-6. Kindle and Apple Books editions are also available.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE THIRD EDITION
What you’ll learn about live sound reinforcement
The foundations that made this book a working reference remain, with expanded coverage of the equipment and practices engineers use today.
Analog and digital consoles
Follow signal flow through preamps, stageboxes, buses, DCAs and scene recall. Understand shared gain and digital metering.
Mixing beyond the console
Tablet and phone control, wireless reliability and what to do when the control connection drops.
In-ear monitoring
Personal mixes, latency, isolation and hearing protection, alongside the fundamentals of stage monitors.
Modern systems and troubleshooting
Networked audio, clocking, loudspeaker processing and alignment, electrical safety and grounding.
SEE THE SIGNAL. UNDERSTAND THE SOUND.
A live sound reference for engineers, students and educators
Newly created diagrams make system connections and engineering concepts easier to follow. A subject index helps you return to the detail you need, whether you’re preparing a show, teaching a class or diagnosing a problem at soundcheck.
For live sound engineers, technicians, musicians, students and educators.
LIVE SOUND BASICS
What is live sound reinforcement?
Live sound reinforcement uses microphones, mixers, amplifiers and loudspeakers to make voices and instruments audible to an audience in real time. Engineers manage signal flow, sound levels, tone, coverage and monitor mixes throughout a performance.
Follow the signal from stage to audience
A typical live sound signal path runs from a microphone or instrument through a mixer, then through system processing and amplification to loudspeakers. Powered loudspeakers include their own amplifiers. Monitor mixes provide separate feeds for performers.
Connect the fundamentals with modern systems
Use the book’s coverage of consoles, networked audio, in-ear monitoring and troubleshooting to connect sound reinforcement principles with the equipment used at shows and soundchecks.
LIVE SOUND BOOK QUESTIONS
About Live Sound Reinforcement, Third Edition
Who is this live sound book for?
Live Sound Reinforcement, Third Edition, is for live sound engineers, technicians, musicians, students and educators who want to understand sound systems, signal flow and troubleshooting.
Does the third edition cover digital consoles and in-ear monitoring?
Yes. The third edition covers analog and digital consoles, stageboxes, buses, DCAs, scene recall, networked audio, and in-ear monitoring, alongside sound reinforcement fundamentals.
Who wrote Live Sound Reinforcement, Third Edition?
Scott Hunter Stark and Mike Lawson are the authors. Bob Bralove wrote the foreword. The third edition is published by artistproMedia.
Which formats are available?
The paperback has 280 full-color pages in an 8.5 × 11-inch format, with ISBN 978-0-9794214-2-6. The eBook is available through Kindle and Apple Books, with ISBN 978-0-9794214-1-9.
Can schools and libraries order the book?
Yes. The paperback is available through Ingram distribution. Bookstores, schools, districts, colleges, libraries, career programs and employers can order through Ingram or their preferred supplier using ISBN 978-0-9794214-2-6.
MEET CO-AUTHOR MIKE LAWSON
Mike Lawson: musician, author and publisher of more than 200 music titles
Mike Lawson is a songwriter, musician, audio engineer, music software developer, author and publisher. He is executive director of Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) and a former national trustee of the Recording Academy, the organization behind the GRAMMY Awards. His career connects the stage, the recording studio, music technology and the books musicians learn from. The co-author of Live Sound Reinforcement, Third Edition is also the author of Alfred’s Teach Yourself GarageBand and the compiler and editor of The Roger Nichols Recording Method.
Across MixBooks, artistpro, Thomson Learning/Cengage, Thomas Nelson, Hal Leonard and Alfred Music, Lawson has published more than 200 book and video titles on music and audio production. His acquisitions include works by Quincy Jones, Ken Scott, Bobby Owsinski and Roger Nichols. As the owner of artistpro, LLC, he also owns Musical Merchandise Review (MMR) Magazine and School Band and Orchestra Plus (SBO+) Magazine, connecting music industry publishing with music education. His industry service also includes the Recording Academy’s San Francisco chapter board of governors and the TEC Foundation board. Through TI:ME, he connects music educators with technology training and practical tools for teaching.
Selected books and publishing history
CO-AUTHOR · 2026
Live Sound Reinforcement, Third Edition
With Scott Hunter Stark, continuing the live sound education series first published in 1996.
Paperback ISBN: 9780979421426
Explore the editions and earlier ISBNs ↓AUTHOR
Alfred’s Teach Yourself GarageBand
Lawson’s practical introduction to recording, editing and mixing with Apple’s GarageBand. Published by Alfred Music; the enhanced eBook edition was released in 2013.
View Mike Lawson’s book on Apple Books ↗COMPILER & EDITOR · 2013
The Roger Nichols Recording Method
Lawson compiled and edited Roger Nichols’ audio engineering teachings for Alfred Music. Nichols remains the credited author.
Book & DVD-ROM ISBN: 9780739095058
Read the Roger Nichols legacy and Lawson credit ↗Songwriting, recording and Mike Lawson & Friends
Lawson is the musician behind Mike Lawson & Friends and Ever Trust a Prankster? (2023). His recording history reaches back to Ticket to Fly, documented in Mix in 1999 with collaborators including Merl Saunders, Bob Welch and Jorma Kaukonen.
Listen to Ever Trust a Prankster? ↗ · Mike Lawson & Friends on Apple Music ↗
Credit sources: Mike Lawson’s professional publishing history, Roger Nichols’ official legacy, Alfred Music catalog and Mix, February 1999.
1996–2026 · THIRTY YEARS OF THE MIXBOOKS LEGACY
The live sound book you know, updated for today
If you know Live Sound Reinforcement by Scott Hunter Stark from the Mix Pro Audio Series, this is its third edition. Scott Hunter Stark and Mike Lawson are the authors of the 2026 edition, with a foreword by Bob Bralove. Earlier editions and ISBNs remain in bookstore, library and classroom records.
1996 · Mix Pro Audio Series
By Scott Hunter Stark. Live Sound Reinforcement: A Comprehensive Guide to P.A. and Music Reinforcement Systems and Technology.
ISBN-10: 0-918371-07-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-918371-07-2
2002 · Second edition
By Scott Hunter Stark. The revised second edition is cataloged under Artistpro.com.
ISBN-10: 1-931140-15-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-931140-15-7
2005 · Book and DVD release
By Scott Hunter Stark. The Thomson Course Technology release includes a companion DVD.
ISBN-10: 1-59200-691-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59200-691-5
2026 · Third edition
By Scott Hunter Stark and Mike Lawson. Published by artistproMedia, with coverage of digital consoles, networked audio and in-ear monitoring.
Paperback: 978-0-9794214-2-6
eBook: 978-0-9794214-1-9
The 30-year milestone marks the 1996 MixBooks publication through the 2026 third edition. Each ISBN identifies a specific earlier release or current format.
READER REVIEWS & INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
What readers and educators said about earlier editions
These selected excerpts describe earlier editions. They document the book’s history and are not reviews of the 2026 third edition. Each excerpt links to its source; reader reviews reflect individual experiences.
“This is the Bible of live sound reinforcement.”
· Earlier edition
Read the review ↗
“required reading for every trainee”
· Earlier edition
Read the review ↗
“not only how things work”
· Earlier edition
Read the review ↗
“Very good reference guide”
· Earlier edition
Read the review ↗
“the best organized and most thorough book I had found that really covered the basics thoroughly”
· Earlier editions
Read the discussion ↗
Discussing its use at City Tech, Huntington also noted that the text was aging and that his bookstore reported it out of print at the time.
“A comprehensive guide to everything related to live sound.”
Earlier-edition ISBN 0-918371-07-4
Read Shure’s recommendation ↗
Manufacturer recommendation; the bibliography does not provide a publication date.
Still assigned in 2024
Musicians Institute’s Fall 2024 Certificate in Live Music Event Production textbook list assigns the earlier edition, ISBN 9780918371072, to Monitor Engineering and Live Mixing, Recording & Playback 1.
View the school’s textbook list ↗Documented curriculum use of the earlier edition.
Amazon’s earlier-edition listing displayed 4.6 out of 5 from 131 global ratings when checked October 11, 2026. View the listing ↗ Ratings can change and are not transferred to the third edition.