Intro / TOC #157
by Larry Crane
In this issue, we were lucky to speak with friends, family, and bandmates of the late Mark Linkous, aka Sparklehorse, about his recently released posthumous album, Bird Machine. In 1999, we...
Columns
by Larry Crane
The DynoPopper X-10
by Larry Crane
Photo by Roman Sokal, courtesy of Audio Crowbar Dynamics. Having recently spent more time working on the Tape Op Gear Reviews section of this magazine, one thought keeps creeping into my mind and...
Intro / TOC #156
by Larry Crane
As an adjunct to the End Rant this issue, I should explain something about myself and how I work in the studio; something that will likely seem incongruous with my position as Tape Op's founder and...
Not So Oblique Strategies
by Larry Crane, Garrett Haines
In 1975, Brian Eno [Tape Op #85] and multimedia artist Peter Schmidt published their first set of Oblique Strategies: Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas. These cards work as creativity resets,...
Intro / TOC #155
by Larry Crane
While brainstorming the "Not So Oblique Strategies" End Rant for this issue, I was reminded of a very simple, but truthful (and not so oblique), thought I've been trying to convey via Tape Op for...
Intro / TOC #154
by Larry Crane
In 1996, not long before I opened the doors at Jackpot! Recording Studio, I had to decide what format we would track to. I had been using a Tascam 8-track tape deck for the previous couple of years...
What the F#ck is “Industry Standard”?
by Larry Crane, Garrett Haines
After receiving negative feedback regarding her release, a talented artist I’d worked with dropped me a line. Apparently a random critic of her album had declared that “the song was...
Intro / TOC #153
by Larry Crane
This issue’s guest End Rant, “Industry Standard,” by my pal Garrett Haines, led me to recall a session and album from nearly two decades ago. John Vecchiarelli was a busy, gigging...
Intro / TOC #152
by Larry Crane
Over the last 15 years, my studio career has leaned more and more towards the mixing process. I'm still involved in producing many tracking and overdubbing sessions, but even long before the...
The End of the Unknown Craftsman?
by John Baccigaluppi, Larry Crane
The recent sale of Bob Dylan’s one-off recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” for $1.7 million dollars has left me reflecting on a very different way of evaluating art and...
Intro / TOC #151
by Larry Crane
When this magazine began, one aspect of the music creation process I decided not to write about was how the finished recordings actually get to the listener. I’d already seen several iterations...
Intro / TOC #150
by Larry Crane
When we hit milestones (such as 150 issues of this magazine!), I always pause and think about what it all means. This magazine is named Tape Op for a reason. What is a tape op? Well, as we get further...