Hip-Hop
Hank Shocklee
by Philip Stevenson
Sometimes it's too bad Tape Op doesn't offer an audio version of the magazine. Whatever you might know or not know about Hank Shocklee, it's difficult without hearing him speak, to convey the...
The Drummer's Perspective
Nick Mason: Behind the Scenes with Pink Floyd drummer
by Jeff Touzeau
Nick Mason's recent autobiography, Inside Out, recalls his unique experiences as the drummer for Pink Floyd during for over three decades — he is the only member to have remained with Pink...
Interviews
Ana da Silva: Raincoats not required for home recording
by Pam Nicholas
In the post-punk landscape of the late '70s and early '80s, the Raincoats sounded like no one else. A British, all-female band that employed off-kilter rhythms, childlike melodies and searing...
Interviews
Martin Bisi: Working with Eno, Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop...
by John Dylan Keith
Behind the Gear
Lucas van der Mee: Behind the Gear with Apogee Electronics
by Roy Silverstein
Apogee Electronics recently celebrated 20 years in the business of digital audio. These days, 20 years in business is quite a long time. The following is a conversation with Apogee's lead analog...
More From This Issue See more →
Mike Mogis: Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Faint, more...
by John Baccigaluppi
As I'm talking with Mike Mogis the afternoon before his sold-out gig with Bright Eyes at UC Davis' Freeborn Hall, it strikes me that, for him, balance means more than moving faders. In the past...
Sponsored
Columns See more →
End Rant
Mix and Match!
by Steve Silverstein
While thinking about Trout Mask Replica today, I had this realization — so many people don't know who engineered timeless classics. No respect for fabulous labor, eh? To prove it...
Sponsored
Gear Reviews See more →
Logic CSi Starter interactive CD-ROM, Logic Pro CSi Master interactive CD-ROM
by Thomson Course Technology | reviewed by Jeff Elbel
If people would read the manuals that came with their software, there probably wouldn't be much of a market for Thomson Course Technology. The company's Cool School Interactus (CSi) imprint creates...
MasterComp compressor/ limiter plug-in
by PSP | reviewed by Garrett Haines
In Tape Op #46, I wrote a positive review of PSP's MasterQ, an equalizer plug-in designed for mixing and mastering applications. Recently, PSP introduced a sister application, the MasterComp...
Big Ben master clock, DMS-1 M-Clock, DMS-2 D-Clock
by Apogee Electronics | reviewed by Andy Hong, Mike Jasper
If you've read Bob Katz's informative articles about jitter and his recommendations on clocking (www.digido.com), you'll understand that in certain situations, it's better to sync your A/D converter...
MicroTrack 24/96 mobile recorder
by M-Audio | reviewed by Ramsey Tantawi
Hard drive and Compact Flash-based MP3 players have revolutionized portable music playback. No longer is it necessary to carry around stacks of CD's to enjoy a huge selection of music on-the-go....
Le Synthé V3
by Pierre Couprie | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
Here's a free virtual synthesizer for Mac OS X from France, where all the fine Arturia virtual emulations of classic synths like the Moog Modular, MiniMoog and Arp 2600 come from. Could it be the...
Fulltec EQ plug-in
by URS | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
From the folks at URS comes this cool plug-in that takes all of the Pultec EQ's ever made-EQP-1A, EQH-2, and midrange MEQ-5-and combines them into one plug- in with all of the parameters of all three...
Q-Clone plug-in
by Waves | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
Q-Clone was the single most impressive thing I saw at the 2005 NAMM show last January. There's rarely any truly new technology at the audio trade shows, but mostly refinements of existing technology....
7602 mic preamp & EQ
by Chameleon Labs | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
A few weeks ago Engineer Robert Cheek and I went into the Hangar to do some listening tests on several hardware and software EQs: The URS Fulltec, Waves Q-Clone and the Chameleon Labs 7602. Rather...
Trigger Finger drum control surface
by M-Audio | reviewed by Chachi Jones
Made for people like me who hate playing drum parts or triggering events on a MIDI keyboard, the Trigger Finger gives you sixteen velocity and pressure-sensitive rubber pads with user-selectable...
Mercury Extreme G4 processor upgrade
by Other World Computing | reviewed by Hillary Johnson
"Oh yes, it's very simple!" said the guy on the other end of the phone at OWC. I have a 400 MHz Power Mac G4. I'm running OS X (Panther). I wanted more without having to buy a new computer, so I...
TonePort UX2 audio interface
by Line 6 | reviewed by Jason Reed
For a while now, I have been searching for a simple, USB-powered interface that I could use with my laptop to capture ideas while on the road. There are plenty of options available from a myriad of...
VoicePro voice processor
by TC-Helicon | reviewed by Andy Hong, Neil Mclellan
It was at last year's NAMM show that I saw the VoicePro for the first time. One of the engineers from TC walked me through some of the features and gave me a demo on a beta unit. The box was designed...
Strange Sounds: Offbeat Instruments and Sonic Experiments in Pop
by Mark Brend | reviewed by Larry Crane
An excellent book covering some of the wackier instruments to make it into pop recordings, like the theremin, clavioline, sitar, melodica, ocarina, stylophone, and more. What's great here is getting...
Mbox 2
by Digidesign | reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Digidesign's original Mbox was alternately praised for its portability, affordability, and sound quality and dismissed by some as an overpriced USB dongle. The Mbox 2 is an updated, 24-bit, 48 kHz...
Sound Forge 8, CD Architect 5.2, ACID Pro 5
by Sony | reviewed by Cnote Cnote
Sony purchased Sonic Foundry's desktop audio and music production family in 2003-a deal that included Sound Forge, CD Architect, and ACID. Sound Forge is a powerful audio editing program for PC that...
Obsessive Compulsive Drive pedal
by Fulltone | reviewed by Mike Caffrey
In the quest for building the best signal paths to capture the sounds we want in our recordings, it's easy to become myopic and overlook the source. There used to be a saying, "we'll fix it in the...
Tube Tape Echo
by Fulltone | reviewed by Larry Crane
I remember borrowing a friend's Echoplex in 1983 in order to add echo sounds to the electronic recordings I was creating at home. I was in heaven to be able to create real tape regeneration and nice...
Reference Amplifier A500
by Behringer | reviewed by Kyle Bittinger, Bryan Cord, Nick McCarthy, Ramsey Tantawi
The A500 is one of Behringer's newer products, and it's their only standalone amplifier aimed at the recording and post-production market. Sporting 2 x 230 Watts of power into 4 Ohms and a fanless,...
P38 stereo compressor/limiter
by TFPRO | reviewed by Eric Broyhill
The TFPRO P38 is an analog, optical, stereo compressor that features four very different sounding dynamics models between which you can switch on the fly. Auditioning each compression "family" to hear...
Spectral Shapers
by SoundHack | reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
I absolutely love the original SoundHack sound design software, so I was excited to hear that Tom Erbe, designer of SoundHack, had released a new suite of plug- ins advancing some of the more esoteric...
M-Tron virtual instrument
by GForce / M-Audio | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
I love real instruments, and I have pianos, organs, vibes, marimbas, Moog & Arp synths, and lots of other real instruments in my studio. I find that virtual instruments just don't get used as much...
Germanium mic preamp
by Chandler Limited | reviewed by Mike Caffrey
Have you noticed how some manufacturers consistently hit home runs with their gear designs? I think there are lots of things that manufacturers with this success rate have in common: high standards,...
The S.M.A.R.T. Guide to Digital Recording, Software, and Plug-Ins
by Bill Gibson | reviewed by Bruce Bolin
This 279-page book is filled with some of the most useful information about modern recording that I have seen. The author Bill Gibson is well informed. He has an easy to understand writing style and...
Portico 5042 ?True Tape? Emulation & Line Driver
by Rupert Neve Designs | reviewed by Garrett Haines
The Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5042 is a two- channel tape emulator and line-driver. Like other units in the Portico line, the 5042 is a half-rack design. It is equally at home as a desktop unit or...
OctoPre LE 8-ch mic preamp & converter
by Focusrite | reviewed by Joel Patterson
I keep trying to think of a catchphrase that Focusrite might seize on and use to promote this dandy little unit. Something clever and funny and unexpected. Given that it streets for only $600, I had...
C617SET omni mic
by Josephson | reviewed by Eddie Ciletti
Matching microphones with sound sources is kinda like transposing on a non-tempered keyboard; there are magical combinations and disastrous ones. I jumped at the chance to check out the new Josephson...
Inspire 1394 audio interface
by PreSonus | reviewed by Chachi Jones
Here is the box that makes good on the promise Digidesign's Mbox never did. The Inspire 1394 is a truly affordable, great sounding, easy to use, entry- level recording interface bundled with a suite...