Columns

Sporadic and regular articles from our contributors.

Nov/Dec 2024

Gear Geeking  |  No. 164

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,...

Sep/Oct 2024

End Rant  |  No. 163

Ignore These Rules

by Larry Crane

After the internet came along and made sharing of information easier, I noticed an interesting trend. Maybe it's because of that misguided impulse of "doing it the right way" that beginners attempt to...

Jul/Aug 2024

End Rant  |  No. 162

First Impressions

by Larry Crane

For 25 years, I have owned and run a commercial business, Jackpot! Recording Studio, in Portland, Oregon. During this time, I have developed a set of particular ideas of how to present my studio...

Jul/Aug 2024

Gear Geeking  |  No. 162

Gear Geeking w/ Andy...

by Andy Hong

I've suffered through half a dozen home and studio moves over the past eight years. The moves have been challenging, to say the least, and two sources of frustration have been ISPs and wireless LANs....

May/Jun 2024

End Rant  |  No. 161

One Size Doesn't Fit All

by Larry Crane

I do a fair amount of one-on-one remote "teaching," many times working with folks running small studios, as well as a wide range of home setups. It's always fun to face this educational challenge, as...

May/Jun 2024

Gear Geeking  |  No. 161

Gear Geeking w/ Andy...

by Andy Hong

As we all know, aging ears and sustained exposure to high SPL (sound pressure level) can lead to permanent hearing loss, chronic tinnitus, or both. I’m at the point in my music-making endeavors...

Mar/Apr 2024

Gear Geeking  |  No. 160

Gear Geeking w/ Andy...

by Andy Hong

In 2023, I sold my Boston studio to Brian Charles, whose Zippah Recording facility was destroyed in a 2021 fire. Brian shared Zippah for many years with longtime Tape Op contributor Pete Weiss [Tape...

Mar/Apr 2024

End Rant  |  No. 160

One Degree

by John Baccigaluppi

I’ve been fairly obsessed with Promises, an album by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra that came out in 2021. Maybe "obsessed" is a strong word, but I put it on...

Jan/Feb 2024

Gear Geeking  |  No. 159

Gear Geeking w/ Andy...

by Andy Hong

I've written here before that I own dozens of cordless power tools from Bosch, Milwaukee, and Ryobi for the never-ending list of projects around the house, inside the garage, out on the dock, and of...

Nov/Dec 2023

Gear Geeking  |  No. 158

Gear Geeking w/ Andy...

by Andy Hong

I bet most Tape Op readers who own a soldering iron also have a digital multimeter (DMM), and they've learned at least the basics of diagnosing misbehaving instruments, amps, pedals, preamps,...

Nov/Dec 2023

End Rant  |  No. 158

When is a Mix Done?

by Larry Crane

I sat down to try and write an End Rant describing how to know when a mix is done, and then I became stuck. Everyone’s experience with this can be different, so I dropped a line to some...

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