May/Jun 1999

Welcome to issue #13 of Tape Op.

 

We're proud to have interviews with some of the engineer/producers who helped define the new sounds of rock over the last 30 years. Ken Hamann cut his teeth on classic 60s bands like The Outsiders before working with Pere Ubu. Spot recorded classic post-punk records for The Minutemen and Hüsker Dü in the 80s. Jack Endino helped define the "Seattle Sound" with his recordings of Mudhoney, Nirvana and more. Other people, like Geoff Turner at WGNS and J. Robbins helped define the vibrant DC scene, the members of Calexico have been recording atmosphere laden "desert rock," and "Roscoe" has been a leading producer in the "alt-country" world. There's room for a lot of creative, fun recording out there and I think this issue's articles illustrate that well.

In other news, it looks like there will be a TAPE OP book at some point in the future. It will contain articles from the first ten issues (some of which will be expanded upon) plus a lot of new pieces. I don't know when it will be out but keep your eyes open! The TAPE OP Magazine Compilation CD should be out at the end of summer. Look for it in your favorite store or check with us to see about mail-order. It's over 60 minutes of fun, including tracks by Elliott Smith, Man or Astro-man, East River Pipe and more.

Enjoy!

— Larry Crane, editor

In This Issue See more →

Jack Endino

by Larry Crane

This man should need no introduction. At the height of "grunge-mania" he had recorded the records for Mudhoney and Nirvana that started it all. And he did tham fast and cheap. On the back of...

Spot

by Steve Silverstein

When I was in high school, I knew a lot less about music than I do now, but even then Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade seemed to jump out of my speakers. It certainly sounded a lot different from...

WGNS

by Brent Burton

WGNS was born out of necessity. Inspired by the total lack of underground radio in the Washington, DC area, Geoff Turner began making punk rock mix tapes for friends from the basement of his...

Affordable Recording on a Mac

by Rob Lodes

In the last issue of Tape Op, Rich Hardesty's article, "A Beginner's Guide to Digital Recording With Your PC," was really inspiring to me for two reasons. First, that you were doing an article, on...

I'm No Expert #3: Resistors

by Geoff Daking

Welcome to a very overdue installment of my geekish banter. Issues of Tape Op have been flying by without me and I thought it was about time I blessed you all with some more electro-quackery on...

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Columns See more →

End Rant

The first time

by Larry Crane

The first time I ever went in to a studio to record was in the summer of 1985. Our band, Vomit Launch, had been around for almost 6 months, and we decided it was time to hit the studio and make a...

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Gear Reviews See more →

FLYING CALF

by FLYING CALF  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

I was in a local audio shop with my pal Craig when he mentioned this inexpensive little analog to digital converter. For under $170 you can get an outboard converter to put in between your mixer and...

SE-30

by SHURE  |  reviewed by Steve Silverstein

Someone once advised me that no cheap microphone is a bad microphone. With the same principle in mind, I bought this device (which, despite its name, serves mostly as a preamp and something of a...

Dan-Echo

by DANELECTRO  |  reviewed by Hilary Johnson

When it comes time to mix, how about recycling those guitar pedals you have lying around - some of them work really well for a specific effect - just stick one on an aux send! Take the Danelectro...

RNC 1773

by FMR Audio  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

It seems like more people are mentioning these cool little compressors lately. They're 1/3 rack space sized jobs that do a better job than a lot of compressors that cost way more. They have the usual...

Music Reviews See more →

Music Reviews

I Want Some CD

by THE MAKEUP | reviewed by Dewey Mahood

This album collects the past four years of Makeup singles, beautifully displaying their progression from raunchy garage revivalists to sophisticated soul-psychedlia tune-smiths. We hear the group...

Music Reviews

Ghosts of Dead Aeroplanes

by PROLAPSE | reviewed by Larry Crane

It has always seemed to me that UK "bands" are a lot less afraid to use effects and such in their recordings compared to their US counterparts. Prolapse are a case in point. These mixes are a study in...

Music Reviews

Ask Them EP

by LEXO AND THE LEAPERS | reviewed by Matt Mair Lowery

Guided By Voices' prolific Robert Pollard recorded this amazing, pseudonymous EP in a day at Cro-Magnon in Dayton, Ohio. Backed by Dayton's Tasties, Pollard tears through these six cuts old-school GBV...

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