Link here for a free pass to the 127th AES Convention in New York City, Oct. 9-12, for “Exhibits Only” registration. Come on down and visit the Tape Op booth and harass us about missing issues or why we don't review your CDs or write...
Hipper music bloggers than you're likely to ever find here have been freaking out over surrealist hip hop duo Das Racist for a while now, ever since the Pineapple Express rap tune "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" came out earlier this year. Even...
Fire Extinguishers in the Studio - [Note to our EU readers. I don't know if the U.S. letter conventions apply in your locale, but the fundamental suggestions in this post are universal.] It’s a really smart idea to have a couple of fire...
A lot of you have probably heard the term “microphonic tubes.” But have you ever heard one in action? They actually turn into little microphones. (Hence the name). So, this week I decided to replace the input tubes on my Manley...
Here's a tip that costs nothing for materials, might be good for the environment, and can save some headaches down the road. I don't know about you, but our Postal Delivery Person insists on bundling our mail in rubber bands (gum bands for our...
Simultaneously making apparent the depths of both my dorkiness and my loyalty, I steadfastly stood by Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" all through its various tribulations over the last couple years -- first with its questionable placement on the OC,...
Tape Op contributor and studio owner/engineer/producer Mike Caffrey recently sent me some thoughts he had about visitors to the studio during sessions. See issue 73’s upcoming end rant for the origins of this piece. -LC I always tell...
I recently mixed my first album entirely on my laptop. Yeah, maybe I'm a decade behind the curve but I also own a studio and have done a majority of my work there. On this job we were attempting to cut and mix a record in three days and we didn't...
I pulled short straw and had to go pick up the take out tonight (take away for our UK readers). The radio was set to NPR, so I let it alone. The announcer introduced a new segment called “Listen to This,” that features famous musicians...
Why did I think I could set up my home studio in a couple of hours when it took four months to move Jackpot! to a new building? Tomorrow's shopping list: Solder, S/PDIF cables, etc... I'm amazed at how tangled and messy this quickly got. All I...
OK, fine, I admit it -- I secretly envy hip hop's most ostentatious bling nuggets (T-Pain's new joint makes me particularly weak-kneed), but let's face it, none of that stuff has any place adorning a guy like me, even if the recession means I now...
So here it is. The fateful letter that relentless talent scout and A&R honcho John Baccigaluppi sent to my band Vomit Launch back in 1988. Little did we know that soon we'd be holed up in his studio making records, and less than a decade later...
