Interviews

Pea Hicks: Optigan Life

by Larry Crane

For years Pea Hicks has carried a torch for the Optigan, a unique optical disc-powered keyboard from the '70s. His band with Rob Crow, Optiganally Yours, has released three albums. He's produced and...

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End Rant

Future Collaboration

by Larry Crane

The history of humankind shows that only in recent centuries have we have become less social creatures. I've long advocated in the pages of Tape Op that we all need to find time to get together...

Gear Geeking

Gear Geeking w/ Andy

by Andy Hong

A few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, JB sent an email to the Tape Op staff: "As studios are hopefully able to re-open in a few months, what will the cleaning protocols be? The SARS-CoV-2 virus...

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Gear Reviews See more →

T8V Powered Monitor

by ADAM Audio  |  reviewed by Scott McChane

Let’s use some simple steps for choosing monitors, based on how one might select a bottle of wine. Set your monitor price point (much like wine, with monitors you’ll likely need to buy at...

5020 Stereo FET Limiter

by M House Studios  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

I've always wished there was a recreation of the Urei 1178, the stereo version of the Urie/Universal Audio 1176. With its FET-based compression and simple stereo link controls, the fresh-faced lads at...

Mezcla en el Audio Professional (Book)

by Author, Julián Zafra  |  reviewed by Maria Elisa Ayerbe

Audio engineering was almost a non-existent academic career when I was growing up in Colombia during the nineties. Few universities in Latin America offered an audio engineering program, and the...

Spring Reverb Plug-In

by Eventide  |  reviewed by Don Gunn

These days, we have more reverbs than ever before in our various DAWs, all available under our fingertips (trackball tips? mouse tips?!?) whenever we want them. More rooms, halls, plates, and...

Stellar X2 & X2 Vintage

by TZ Audio Products  |  reviewed by Jason Ribadeneyra

Two large-diaphragm FET microphones have been released from TechZone Audio recently; the Stellar X2 and X2 Vintage. I received a single X2, and a matched stereo pair of the X2 Vintage mics mere days...

Cubase Pro 10.5

by Steinberg  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

Michael Romanowski, Alan Tubbs, and I reviewed the December 2018 release of Cubase 10 [Tape Op #131] last year. On time with its annual half-point release schedule, Cubase 10.5 was published at the...

HypeMiC USB Powered Mic

by Apogee Digital  |  reviewed by Ben Bernstein

The Apogee HypeMiC is a compact, premium quality, USB-powered cardioid condenser mic designed for use with iOS, Mac, and PC. It records up to 24-bit/96 kHz, plus it is 100% plug and play. The design...

4B3 Pro Dual Mono Amplifier

by Bryston  |  reviewed by Tom Fine

Bryston, based in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has been around since 1961. The company straddles the border between pro audio and the part of the audiophile/home theater world that gravitates to...

Daking MKII Console

by Daking Audio  |  reviewed by Erika Earl

The Daking MKII is a full-featured, large-format mixing console engineered for modern recording with the artist in mind – which makes sense as it was designed by producer, engineer, and...

Spiff Plug-In

by oeksound  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

Oeksound (pronounced "oh-ek") created the exceptional soothe2, which Larry covers in our next issue. I made the mistake of dismissing the soothe [Tape Op #127] concept as merely a dynamic EQ with...

Bucketverb Reverb Plug-In

by reFuse Software  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

Around 40 years ago I went to Radio Shack and purchased an integrated circuit (IC) chip that was packaged with a technical data sheet explaining how to wire it up as a delay unit. This was the Reticon...

Mini K87 Microphone

by Roswell Pro Audio  |  reviewed by Eli Crews

In a recent review of a $7000 tube condenser microphone, I alluded to the fact that there are excellent condenser microphones being made for $400 and that it is no longer necessary to spend oodles of...

Core 59 Powered Monitor

by Dynaudio  |  reviewed by Jeremy Wurst

The Core 59 is the latest high end, professional reference monitor unveiled by Dynaudio, and the flagship of their new Core series. These monitors are handmade in Denmark, with distinct features,...

AML-16-040 EZ1081 Preamp/EQ

by Audio Maintenance Ltd  |  reviewed by Daniel Schlett

I was excited to receive an email from Colin Adshead at AML (Audio Maintenance Limited) about a new product in the works; their take on the Neve 1081 microphone preamp and equalizer – a personal...

Buss Compressor

by AudioScape  |  reviewed by Tony Vincent

Let's come clean right from the beginning: I'm a gear snob. I like gear that feels robust and solid. I like gear that sounds beautiful and inspiring. I like it when the gear I use gives me the...

LS-208 Microphone

by Lauten Audio  |  reviewed by Ben Bernstein, Matt Boudreau

The Lauten Audio LS-208 is a companion microphone to the LS-308. Both are part of their Synergy Series, designed to reduce bleed in lively environments. The LS-208 is a front address, large diaphragm...

LS-308 Microphone

by Lauten Audio  |  reviewed by Ben Bernstein

I don't want to call these mics "specialty," but they are truly special. The Lauten Audio LS-308 is described by the manufacturer as "a noise rejecting, high-dynamic range microphone to be used as a...

Wow Control Plug-In

by Goodhertz  |  reviewed by Gus Berry

Many of us have gone down the rabbit hole while mixing, looking for that unique and musical effect to put on a track to keep it from sounding stale. Lately, I've been relying on Wow Control by...

EQs

TG12345 MKIV 500 Series EQ

by Chandler Limited  |  reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

Sweet, smooth sounding and easy to use – this is my one sentence review of the Chandler Limited 500 Series TG12345 MKIV EQ. It's nice sometimes to have all the options for surgical precision...

ROKIT 7 G4 Powered Monitor

by KRK Systems  |  reviewed by Ben Bernstein

The new KRK ROKIT G4 series is the fourth generation of this popular family of studio monitors. G4 monitors incorporate many of the advanced features of KRK's professional grade V Series [Tape Op...

500C FET Compressor

by BAE  |  reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

There is nothing like a good, solid FET compressor. The Universal Audio 1176 has been on countless records – for good reason. It's very fast and it has its own sound, but it also has an enormous...

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