A drummer can make or break a session, and I have always loved getting their perspectives on the recording process as well as the variety of roles they play in the studio. After several solo records...
Linda Perry had her first hit with “What’s Up?” in 1993, as lead singer and songwriter for 4 Non Blondes. Since then, she’s worked as a producer and songwriter for numerous...
Well-known as a pianist, vocalist, and songwriter, Harry Connick Jr. found himself with a cancelled tour, left at home seeking “comfort, peace, and truth throughout the process of making...
Tom Wilson at Mayfair Recording Studios Times Square, New York City. Charlie Steiner © 1967
Was this record really recorded in a garage? Yes, it was. I now dub it the Mirage Garage. It’s my back house here in Pasadena [California]; a little shack out back where I have all of my...
When we first interviewed Steven Wilson in 2009 for issue #73, he had just released his first solo album, Insurgentes. Since then, his prog rock group Porcupine Tree has been on hold/hiatus, and his...
Engineer and mixer Geoff Swan has gone from university student, to studio owner, to producer Mike “Spike” Stent’s assistant, back to studio owner, and is now a go-to engineer and...
One of electronic music’s prevailing visionaries; Amon Tobin began producing in the south coastal town of Brighton, England, debuting with the album Bricolage in 1997 – a seamless union...
In 2010 on St. Patrick’s day, my friend, Patrick Sansone (of Wilco), took me to watch Liam Hayes perform at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. We were introduced after the show. I had no idea at the...
I bought the first edition of this book when it was initially published, over 25 years ago. That edition was 12.7 cm by 16.51 cm and weighed 397 grams. This newly released edition is 15.24 cm by...
During the pandemic, I upgraded my home office, as I’m sure many of you did. To improve the audio quality of my videoconferences, I chose an Audio-Technica AT2020USB+V mic...
Low end management is the bane of every mixer’s existence. Too much low end can eat up all the space in your mix, and too little makes a mix sound thin and amateur. Depending on your mixing...
Once there was an audio software company – now also making studio furniture – that decided to develop a coaxial monitor with a Barefoot wizard named Thomas. If you’re going to make...
The opportunity to play with this one-of-a-kind microphone from Scope Labs has been an absolute pleasure. Their introductory product, the Periscope, stands in a category of its own because of its...
Yes, the Electron Fuzz Custom Studio will melt your face off. No, it is not just an average fuzz box. Yes, it is badass. No, I don’t want to give this one back. I was introduced to Retro...
When I purchased an unloaded API 1608 [Tape Op #81] console last year, I immediately began searching for a 500 Series EQ that was versatile and affordable, with exceptional sonics. Enter Trident Audio...
When I find a microphone I enjoy, I tend to stick with it for a long time – especially in a specific application. So something I have not done in a few years is audition a new close source,...
With the era of analog tape slipping ever further into the past, growing numbers of newer-generation music recordists have had precious little experience with actual tape. Analog tape, though still...
I bought my first large-diaphragm condenser mic in 2004 for about $100: an Apex 420 that (along with many inexpensive mics of that era) was built on the same circuit as the MXL 2001. These accessible...
My recording world began via the cassette tape format. I had saved money to buy a cheap home stereo cassette tape recorder, and I’d borrow my dad’s deck for recording my sound-on-sound...
Reverb can be a divisive and personal issue among engineers and musicians. Everyone has a favorite, and people are absurdly particular and become oddly attached to what works for them, myself...
As a longtime electric guitarist, studio operator, and fan of well-done coffee table books, I must admit to having a somewhat embarrassingly sprawling collection of the latter. There’s no...
Competition has skyrocketed in desktop interfacing, with multiple manufacturers developing proprietary DSP-powered plug-in technology while simultaneously pushing better quality into smaller,...
In case you’ve missed it, Redco is making two inexpensive tools that will turn some blank space in your DB-25 patchbay into something you can actually use. First: a 4x2 mult in a DB-25 backshell...
Headphones, headphones, headphones – I’ve got ‘em hanging from the walls, equipment racks, and underneath desks. I’ve tried in-ears, planars, open-backs, and...
KRK’s 10S powered subwoofer is the company’s latest innovation aimed at enhancing their ROKIT G4 [Tape Op #137] and V-Series [#118] monitoring systems. Built on KRK’s legacy for...
This is such an interesting time to be making records. Not only has the business changed entirely under our feet, but the broader iterations in technology we’ve witnessed in the last 20 years...
Engineers use large-diaphragm condenser mics to make their records sound alive. There are all sorts of high-end and vintage models that are known for producing a certain vibrance, silkiness, or edge....
Thomas Kristiansson has been producing audio gear in Sweden for the past 20 years under the Vintagedesign and TK Audio brands. In recent years, the TK Audio line has defined itself with builds that...
Inspired Acoustics might not be a household name in the music industry, but they have been producing minutely detailed, pipe organ sample libraries since 2005 (used by top tier composers), and are...
Ah, vintage recording equipment. Where did this world come from? In the late-‘60s and into the ‘70s, cheaper electronics and manufacturing filled the market of pro audio. As the ‘70s...
Nothing captures the boom of a kick drum’s resonant head or the growl of a bass cab quite like a Neumann U 47fet [Tape Op #108]. A well-placed dynamic mic will capture the attack and the mids,...
Live 11 is here, with an abundance of new features and enhancements that distinguish Ableton’s DAW and production environment as indispensably unique, even as it deploys elements such as take...
Focusrite has expanded their Pro series of audio interfaces with the new Red 8Line; because of its name, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Red 8Line was a simple 8-channel line level interface....
Apogee Digital has released a simple, stellar-sounding channel strip plug-in. I’m guessing that ECS stands for Equalizer, Compressor, and Saturator, as those are the tools equipped in this...
Pocket-sized synthesizers and drum machines have become popular in recent years. Mixing several of these portable instruments together is fun and can spark creativity. If you are looking for a...
Acon Digital's Acoustica (not to be confused with the company Acustica Audio) is a powerful audio editing, podcast creation, mastering, and audio restoration editor. The company also offers excellent...
These days it’s hard to put in perspective how revolutionary the Fairlight CMI (Computer Music Instrument) was as a musical instrument when it was introduced in the early 1980s. A brief history...
I’ve written about vocoders in previous issues of Tape Op, so I won’t go into a lot of theory here, but check this review for more of the basic operational theory of vocoding. Arturia...
