May/Jun 2003
Welcome to issue #35 of Tape Op.
I recently had a great visit with a former Tape Op writer and fellow studio owner from another town. When I asked him about possibly writing reviews of some of the cool gear he was using he responded that he didn't feel he had the authority or knowledge to really speak about these things, and that this was the reason he no longer wrote about recording music. I've been thinking about that, and what drove me to found Tape Op and keep doing it all these years (seven now). Many times in our letters section you will find a correction or rebuttal of something we have printed. I look back on what I wrote in older issues and cringe at what I didn't know about gear, producers, and making records. But who cares? Tape Op didn't set out to be THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY on recording music and making records. This magazine is an appreciation of jobs well done and the sharing of knowledge so we can all do our jobs better in the future. Think of it more as a forum if you want. Hopefully we all learn and grow as we do what we want with our lives, and no amount of fear, insecurity, condescension and mistakes will ever stop me from helping others make music and editing Tape Op. Full steam ahead!
Larry Crane
