Interviews
Elliot Mazer: Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Janis Joplin
by Bren Davies
Like Leonardo da Vinci, a person whom he has spent years researching as a personal passion, Elliot Mazer himself is also truly a Renaissance Man. With a career in music production and audio...
Interviews
Tony Doogan: Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub
by John Baccigaluppi, Larry Crane
I first became aware of producer/engineer Tony Doogan by reading the credits on albums. I soon realized the same guy had worked with Teenage Fanclub, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, The Delgados,...
Interviews
Paul Savage: The Delgados, Franz Ferdinand and Chem 19
by Larry Crane
Glasgow was once home to a wonderful, but sadly now defunct, band known as The Delgados. They started up a record label, Chemikal Underground, to release their records and others, and also became...
Behind the Gear
Tim Spencer: Behind The Gear with TRUE Systems
by Garrett Haines
Tim Spencer's TRUE Systems, based in Tucson, Arizona, has been quietly building a reputation as a manufacturer of quality mic preamps for the last 12 years. Tim's electrical engineering degree, and...
Columns See more →
End Rant
Jay Bennett
by Jason T. Lewis
I feel like I have to say a little about Jay's passing. He was one of those rare people that came into my life at a time when I was ready to learn and he taught me more than I can say about recording,...
Gear Geeking
Gear Geeking #72
by Andy Hong
No doubt many of you sit on a Herman Miller Aeron (www.hermanmiller.com). In the fifteen years that it's been available, it's become an icon for high-end task- chairs in both the dot-com and...
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SM27 & SM137 condenser mics
by Shure | reviewed by Mike Jasper
Shure's new SM27 replaces the KSM27 (the "Dixie Chicks mic"), but it isn't just a clone with a new color and new name. Nope, this charcoal grey microphone has a much better self-noise figure than the...
SPL Meter
by Studio Six Digital | reviewed by Allen Farmelo
The number of applications for the iPhone that could be useful for people doing recording is growing faster than any one of us can keep up with, but a recent find for me is the 99-cent SPL Meter from...
GT 050Q external hard drive
by Glyph | reviewed by Steve Silverstein
I trusted Tekserve in New York when they recommended the Glyph GT 050Q. It definitely ranks among the best recommendations I've ever received (not just because I like the convenience of it taking an...
SC-1 mk500 mic preamp kit
by FiveFish Studios | reviewed by Garrett Haines
FiveFish Studios is a Tennessee-based company that offers pre-packaged DIY audio kits. For this review, I'm covering the SC-1 mk500, a preamp designed to fit in 500-series racks and lunchboxes. The...
SONAR V-Studio 700
by Cakewalk | reviewed by Alan Tubbs
V-Studio 700 is a complete and integrated digital recording system-just add computer-that's designed around SONAR 8 (Tape Op #69), Cakewalk's flagship DAW, which is included with the complete V-Studio...
Live 8
by Ableton | reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Less than twelve months from the last major upgrade to their sequencing, composition, and performance DAW (Tape Op #67), the folks at Ableton are at it again with Live 8. This latest version has a...
P12 multi-pattern tube mic
by Peluso Microphones | reviewed by Henry Robinett
Over the past several months, I've been using a pair of Peluso P12 microphones. I can't say enough good things about them. They sound great no matter what the instrument. I love them as drum...
G5790 modified SM57 mic
by Granelli Audio Labs | reviewed by Allen Farmelo
Here's a simple yet brilliant product-a Shure SM57 that's been modified with a right-angle bend between its head and body. The bend allows for far easier positioning, especially on drums. When you...
e 609 dynamic mic
by Sennheiser | reviewed by Steve Silverstein
Mic'ing a snare drum is always a challenge, because it's hard to avoid bleed from the hi-hat. I've developed a preference for not very sensitive, super or hypercardioid dynamics, because they seem to...
VTP-100 tube preamp
by Edax Audio Labs | reviewed by Kirt Shearer
From an equipment point of view, we live in a wonderful time to make music. Although there is an ongoing "vintage gear" craze, we now also have an amazing array of choices in new equipment-really...
MC416 multi-pattern condenser mic
by Nevaton | reviewed by Allen Farmelo
Nevaton is a Russian microphone manufacturer that formed in 1947 when an acoustic laboratory established itself at the Leningrad Optical and Mechanical Association (LOMO). In 1954, the laboratory...
Redcloud 8810U8ERS Balanced Attenuator Pack
by Little Labs | reviewed by Eli Crews
We recently added a Pro Tools HD rig to our studio, and an unexpected hitch was that the pre-"VT" Lynx Aurora 16 interfaces we bought don't have trimming capabilities. Since we often track to tape and...
PDI 500 passive direct box
by Mooktronics | reviewed by Joel Hamilton
Sometimes a simple piece of gear can make your life so much easier. Think about a TT to TRS adapter-handy for patching in something that you will use once on a project or maybe once this whole year....
Meter plug-in
by Sonoris Audio | reviewed by Garrett Haines
If you take away one engineering concept from this issue, I hope it's the following: serious recording engineers calibrate their monitor paths. Readers with tape machines paired with analog boards...
Plan E mastering console w/ LCD arm
by Sterling Modular Systems | reviewed by Garrett Haines
Sterling Modular founder Jim Maher believes that acoustics matter when choosing furniture for an audio working environment. Having used products from his competitors as well as from general office and...
n12 digital mixer
by Yamaha | reviewed by J. Robert Lennon
For the past two years, I've been looking for the perfect home-studio mixer. I've been through three or four of them, each inadequate for various reasons, and sold them all. The mixer of my dreams has...
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Music Reviews
Les Retrouvailles
by Yann Tiersen | reviewed by Larry Crane
My favorite contemporary French composer and lover of toy pianos, Yann is probably best known for his charming score to the film Amélie. Les Retrouvailles is his most recent studio album, from...
Music Reviews
Pink Mountain
by Pink Mountain | reviewed by Larry Crane
Kyle Bruckmann, Sam Coomes (Quasi), Gino Robair (Electronic Musician's former editor [their loss] and great drummer), Scott Rosenberg and John Shiurba (Eskimo) comprise an odd man out collection of...
Music Reviews
Rose City
by Viva Voce | reviewed by Larry Crane
I love this band. Not only are Kevin and Anita Robinson great people (and they just added two more great folks to their lineup), but they write amazing songs and play them right. Their fifth album,...
Music Reviews
Yours Truly, The Commuter
by Jason Lytle | reviewed by Larry Crane
Grandaddy frontman debuts his first album since that band's demise - and guess what? It sounds like Grandaddy. Duh. That means it's absolutely worth listening to and buying a copy. Jason is one of the...
Music Reviews
The Hazards Of Love
by The Decemberists | reviewed by Larry Crane
This is proof that signing to a major label doesn't mean your band starts making bad pop music. This sprawling, folk-prog story about fantastical love gone bad (or good? I lose track) seems like a bad...
Music Reviews
Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey
by Cracker | reviewed by Larry Crane
Cracker's ninth studio album. Damn. I'd always made life tough for Cracker in my little world, as I'd been friends with and a fan of David Lowery's previous (but now back) group, Camper Van Beethoven....
Music Reviews
Romanian Names
by John Vanderslice | reviewed by Larry Crane
For this, his seventh proper album, John set up a home basement studio to work on basic demos and ideas before venturing back into his Tiny Telephone studio (issue #10) in San Francisco with...
Music Reviews
Horehound
by Dead Weather | reviewed by Larry Crane
Sometimes White Stripes and Raconteurs member Jack White stays busy (on drums and co-vox) with a new group with his pals Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs) and Dean Fertita...
Music Reviews
Middle Cyclone
by Neko Case | reviewed by Larry Crane
She can sing a mountain down and write circles around most songwriters - it's always a pleasure to hear a new Neko album. Basic tracks were started where many of her albums have begun - Tucson's...
Music Reviews
Sleepwalking Through the Mekong
by Dengue Fever and others | reviewed by Larry Crane
This is a stellar DVD and CD pairing. Dengue Fever, an L.A.-based group playing music inspired by and covers of Cambodian pop music from the sixties (with wonderful Cambodian ex-pat vocalist Chhom...