Interviews
Alan Parsons
by Larry Crane
I first met Alan Parsons in 2004, when I interviewed him for Tape Op issue #42. We’ve been lucky enough to work together on Recording Academy presentations and meet up socially a few times...
Interviews
Clay Blair: Boulevard Recording Survives
by Larry Crane
I first met engineer/producer/studio owner Clay Blair some ten years ago, and we did a short interview that ended up running later as a bonus feature with Tape Op #111. His Hollywood-based studio,...
Interviews
Alvvays: Molly Rankin and Alec O'Hanley, with Shawn Everett
by Geoff Stanfield
We interviewed Molly Rankin and Alec O'Hanley from the Toronto-based Alvvays, and producer/mixer Shawn Everett [Tape Op #115] for the Tape Op Podcast in May of 2023 to chat about crafting their...
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David Baron: Folk Rock’s Producing Powerhouse
by Jon Regen
With a diverse discography that includes everyone from The Lumineers to Lenny Kravitz, David Baron has carved out a career as a keyboardist, producer, and arranger who can do it all. While he...
Jordan Brooke Hamlin: Recording Anthropologically
by Lisa Machac
Jordan Brooke Hamlin is multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and owner of MOXE Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Jordan's portfolio boasts collaborations with Grammy-winning legends such as the...
Johnny Sangster: Producing Studio Magic
by Larry Crane
Nestled in a commercial building in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, you can find Crackle & Pop! Recording. Open since 2006, Johnny Sangster, with his business partner Andy...
Ivan Julian: Let’s Try It
by Larry Crane
I’ve long been a fan of the seminal punk records that Richard Hell & The Voidoids made in the late ‘70s. Ivan Julian was a founding member, and he’s done quite a bit since,...
Amen Dunes
by Ryan Sommer
In an industry where evolution is key to an artist's longevity, Damon McMahon, known as Amen Dunes, is redefining his musical journey by coming home. The self-described “luddite” –...
Alfio Annibalini: On & In Demand
by Roman Sokal
With roots in Toronto, the most populated and diverse city in Canada, Alfio Annibalini has been working steadily in recording, mixing, teaching audio, producing albums, and playing as a musician...
The Making of Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere
by Sam Retzer
The inscrutably monikered Blood Incantation burst out of Denver in 2015 with their Interdimensional Extinction EP. Expanding their sound over two breakthrough full lengths and the...
Redundancy!
by Larry Crane
I was entering the third day of mixing an album at Jackpot! Recording Studio for a client who I really enjoy working with. We were doing remote mixing sessions using my console and a lot of outboard...
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End Rant
Do Recording Studios Make Money?
by Larry Crane
I’ve come to the conclusion that recording studios don’t really make money. I’m not about to discuss the actual numbers of what my place, Jackpot! Recording Studio, brings in and...
Gear Geeking
Gear Geeking w/ Andy...
by Andy Hong
The buildout of my commercial studio building is still in progress (ugh), but over the next couple months I’m looking forward to completing my Nashville home studio (also ugh). Long story short,...
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Gear Reviews See more →
UAD Lion ‘68, Ruby ‘63, & Dream ‘65 Guitar Amp Plug-Ins
by Universal Audio | reviewed by Corey Reidy
In an effort to cover all of the bases, Universal Audio has taken some of their ever growing and uber useful line of UAFX pedals [Tape Op #159] and turned them into plug-ins. When I heard that they...
ProChannel III
by ART | reviewed by Rich Hardesty
I’m a songwriter and musician who composes and records at home. Once in a while, I may bring in another musician buddy with a special skill on a particular instrument, but when it comes to...
Cakewalk Sonar DAW
by BandLab Technologies | reviewed by Alan Tubbs
The latest release of Cakewalk’s PC-only DAW is out, and what a long, strange road it’s been. Is it called Cakewalk now? Or SONAR? Before the 20th century ended, Cakewalk began the new...
Lensys Professional Headphones
by Focal | reviewed by Scott McChane (Reviews)
Just as one must “settle in” to a new set of monitors, getting accustomed to new headphones can also be challenging. However, if you’ve ever sat down in an unfamiliar control room,...
ABCs of Audio Recording (book)
by Jon Bellona | reviewed by Larry Crane
A 9-inch square, 32-page hardcover book, ABCs of Audio Recording is a delightful children’s read featuring a page-by-page alphabet of audio terms, with short descriptions and simple...
Beer & Soda Can Microphones
by Darwin Audio | reviewed by Larry Crane
Kendra Lynn, our former long-term studio manager and now staff engineer at Jackpot! Recording Studio, recently gifted me with a very unique-looking (and sounding) microphone. Housed in a vintage steel...
PSP Datamix A567 EQ Plug-In
by PSP Audioware | reviewed by Stefan Konstantopoulos
In over 20 years of talking shop with notable engineers and producers, I’d never heard one mention of Datamix consoles. But then I had a very informative conversation with a good friend who is a...
Lumina Delay Plug-In
by Mountainroad DSP | reviewed by Adam Kagan
A new delay plug-in, you say? I already have dozens of delays and have been pretty happy with my options – but sure, I’ll check it out. Mountainroad DSP may not be a familiar name, but...
Move
by Ableton | reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Like a lot of Tape Op-ers, I started my recording expedition with a cassette 4-track. For a young songwriter, the 4-track was nothing less than a joy engine – a new way to capture ideas and...
Lakeside Mic Preamp
by Soyuz Microphones | reviewed by Larry Crane, Chris Koltay
In a climate where it sometimes seems like a race to the bottom, with companies trying to build the cheapest audio outboard equipment they can, it’s refreshing to come across gear like...
Historic Recording Studios (book)
by Randy McNutt | reviewed by Larry Crane
This 399-page, large format book, Historic Recording Studios: America’s Sound Factories and the People Who Made Them, is actually Volume One (A to M) of “A Scrapbook and...
Rim Mount Mic Clip
by Lauten Audio | reviewed by Mike Kosacek
I had ruled out mic mounts that attach to a drum’s rim after trying some in my studio years ago, only to find that they transmitted way too many bad sounds directly through the mount. I’ve...
80B-EQ 500 Series EQ
by Trident Audio Developments | reviewed by Brian Tarquin
I’m a faithful Trident user and have had several Trident recording consoles over the years. Trident Studios was formed by two brothers, Norman and Barry Sheffield, in 1968, with artists such as...
XL-305R Spring Reverb
by AudioScape Engineering Co. | reviewed by Brian Tarquin
I have always loved a good sounding reverb unit, one that is authentic and usable in real life mixes. I used to own the magnificent AKG BX20E spring reverb, housed in a beautiful 3.5 foot tall wooden...
UA LA-6176 Plug-In
by Universal Audio | reviewed by Cochrane McMillan
If you asked me whether you should try this UA LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip plug-in – or any of the company's plug-ins, Apollo hardware units, or their near zero latency console-like digital...
X-Raying Sound with iZotope RX (book)
by Simone Corelli | reviewed by Larry Crane
In this large format, 90-page full-color book, Simone Corelli takes on a tutorial ride through iZotope’s RX audio restoration app and plug-in suite, and is updated for the current RX 11 [see...
RX 11 Advanced App & Plug-In
by iZotope | reviewed by Larry Crane
I’ve been using iZotope RX [Tape Op #123] for over a decade, starting with RX 3 [#100], and this "audio repair toolkit" has become an integrated part of my workflow on every music project I do....
JC37 Tube Microphone
by Tonelux | reviewed by Dan Knobler
The Sony C37A may be the last classic tube mic without ubiquitous modern clones. There are a million variations of the Neumann and AKG classics at all sorts of price points, which is wonderful...
Quantum HD8 Interface
by PreSonus | reviewed by Liam Nelson
I was mixing the record that would never die – or at least would never go to mastering. You may have been there yourself; you start mixing, and then the artist goes to another studio and adds a...
X-Raying Sound with iZotope RX (book)
by Simone Corelli | reviewed by Larry Crane
In this large format, 90-page full-color book, Simone Corelli takes on a tutorial ride through iZotope’s RX audio restoration app and plug-in suite, and is updated for the current RX 11 [see...