In 1981 Calvin Johnson began putting out cassettes on his label K and started a revolution and an empire... Shawn Parke gets the story while John Baccigaluppi shoots the film... ...Since that...
Phil Elvrum is the man behind The Microphones, one of the coolest- sounding bands/recording projects out there. He records at Dub Narcotic all the time.
I was driving along a sunny strip of highway in the middle of nowhere, fighting off road trip hypnosis and the potential disaster that goes with it, when the mix tape supplied by a friend suddenly...
The common: A guy enjoys fiddling with electronics and recording stuff, plays in some high- school bands and beyond, eventually ends up recording his stuff, then other people's music. The uncommon:...
Singer Susana Baca first came into listeners' consciousness in 1995, when she appeared on the album The Sound of Black Peru. This Afro-Peruvian anthology had come about after Luaka Bop Records...
Ray Benson is a big guy. He's tall, which he augments with cowboy hat and boots, his voice is resonates in the sub- octaves, and when we shook hands mine was engulfed and nearly disappeared. His...
Most Tape Op articles feature the people behind the making of a record. But what about the people who make the gear that we make records on? "Behind the Gear" is a new column featuring interviews...
One part of running a recording studio is dealing with the booking of studio time, fielding the phone calls and talking with "potential clients". Most of this is fine, chatting with folks about...
Every once in a while, a signal processor comes along that does so many things so well that you feel like it's the last 19" wide box you'll ever have to buy. In the '80s, it was the Yamaha SPX-90. In...
These self-powered monitors are meant for use with a computer workstation, edit suite, or small control room. It took me a little while to appreciate what that meant - but once I did, I found the...
Studio Projects has outdone itself with the B line of mics. These are very, very nice sounding mics - for dirt cheap. The B1 and B3 incorporate 1'', 3-micron diaphragms and are transformerless, with a...
It's common knowledge to computer-based digital audio geeks (like myself) that USB is the latest, greatest thing since sliced humble pie. For those who are new to the scene, the Universal Serial Bus...
Authoring a DVD-A has never been more accessible than with Minnetonka's DiscWelder STEEL ($495 MSRP, reviewed here) or CHROME ($2495 MSRP). Both are as easy to use as your favorite CD burning...
Every town of any size has at least one guitar tech guy slaving away in a garage and making cool stuff. Amps or pedals - creating, tweaking, figuring out how things work. I saw one guy build stomp...
From more attractive buttons, to selectable POWr dithering algorithms (the main competitor to Apogee's UV-22 dithering algorithm-See interview with John LaGrou in this issue. -Ed), to the optional...
When I was just learning my way around a recording studio almost 20 years ago, the idea of using a computer for music was pretty much unheard of. The idea of every control room having a computer in it...
As a home Pro Tools Digi 001 user I've gotten heavy into software synths and all of the benefits they bring. Reason is one of my favorites. I love the interface, and you can load it with as many...
Julian Standen did a short review of the Oxford Eqs for Pro Tools TDM in Tape Op 26 and mentioned how great they sounded. I firmly agree with Julian and have to pretty much say that this plug-in(s)...
I am a compression junkie. I admit this freely and without shame, because I've found that certain boxes give me a character that I can't create any other way. This is the reason 1176, LA-2A, BA-6A and...
As a mastering engineer, a good analog EQ is not only one of many very important tools, but the one I am most critical of. Having had the opportunity to use almost every EQ made, up to this point the...
The Alesis ADAT HD24 is a 24-track hard disk recorder that operates almost exactly like a tape-based analog recorder. Media for this recorder (IDE hard drives) is the least expensive per track minute...
So my pal Craig Smith stops by one day and says, "Hey, they have these little RCA speakers down at Radio Shack that are just like Auratones." So I laugh (not at Craig, but at Radio Shack, the butt of...
This device is a mic/DI preamp, three-band EQ, compressor, and de-esser. It is all pure tube, class A with both transformerless and transformer-balanced outputs. The pre, EQ and compressor/de-esser...
The Soundcraft M12 is one of many compact, budget "utility" mixers on the market. The biggest differences from the other mixers are the digital output, the 100 mm "big console" faders, and - my...
I am a man of few microphones, I somehow get by on the kindness of friends who seem to not mind leaving their mics in my possession for months at a time. So I was certainly pleased to have a pair of...
The 220 is my first choice for anything I want or need to sound transparent. It has that ultra clean character that sounds great on acoustic guitars, shakers, hi-fi vocals etc. Functionally, this unit...
The D6 is the newest member of Audix's D series of microphones, which are intended mainly for use on drums and percussion. A large-format dynamic with a cardioid polar pattern, the D6 is designed for...
This is a great mic preamp. It's very quiet, has plenty of gain and does a great job of accurately reproducing what you feed it. It's a Class A, discrete, solid-state pre, and all the internal audio...
Unless you've been recording only straight bluegrass, someone has probably brought in a big, green Line 6 Delay Modeler stompbox to use on a session. The thing sounds great, and frees up musicians...
The DM-24 is Tascam's latest offering in the world of affordable digital consoles. The DM-24 features 32 channels and 8 busses, 24-bit resolution, 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz sample rates, EQ/compression/...
On their newest record, Jim O'Rourke recorded and mixed at their Echo Canyon studio, with Aaron Mullan assisting. Sonic Youth produced. John Golden mastered, once again. It has kind of a subdued...
Are you curious about what Mitchell Froom's been up to since he split with Suzanne Vega, and Tchad Blake moved to England? (Ms. Vega's last disc sure was great, reeking of heartbreak and betrayal.)...
This is one of those albums that took years to make, but in the end was worth all the trouble involved. In the ensuing time the band (the sister/brother band to !!!) mostly moved from Sacramento, CA...
I get handed a lot of CDs at trade shows from 'industry' types and I wish I could say good things about them, but it's usually pretty hard. I was pleasantly surprised by this disc of surprisingly good...
I've been seeing occasional Tape Op contributor Geoff Sanoff's name pop up on quite a few cool CDs lately (Boys Vs. Girls, etc) and this is the latest to grab my attention. Sparse, lonely and lovely,...
Despite all my warnings in the end of this issue about recording crazy people, I'm really glad someone made these recordings. Irwin Chusid is the author of a book of the same name, and he compiled...
In issue #27 we interviewed J about his home studio, Bob's Place, named after his dog. Here's his second album from there, and it sounds great. Big guitar solos and different sounds for each song help...
In issue #27 we interviewed these guys in Jim's "home studio", The Garage. The difference between their home studio and most others is that there's some quality gear inside and that they hire an...
One of my favorite bands ever was (is?) Mission of Burma. Clint Conley was their bassist, and until now hadn't really done much since they stopped playing in the early '80s. He leads this band,...
Nope, not recorded on a 4-track. John owns Tiny Telephone Studio in San Francisco, is one hell of a songwriter and an articulate singer. Scott Solter, John Croslin and JV engineered. Paul Stubbelbine...
How is it that a band could not exist for 22 years and then get together and not suck? If you ever enjoyed Robyn Hitchcock or the Soft Boys in the past you will enjoy this. I do. Recorded with Pat...
I've been lucky to work on a few "old time" records and I totally enjoy it. With acoustic instruments in this context it's all about mic'ing skill and capturing the right feel and great performances....
Steve Silverstein has been a Tape Op contributor for ages now, and finally he has a damn record out, by his duo Christmas Decorations, and it's cool. "Recorded with a little help from our friends...
It's always interesting when you do a few albums with someone whose music you really like and then they move on to work at another studio. Maybe it was my tasteless jokes? Anyway, the best thing is...
After 30 years Jim Dickinson releases another solo record. After 7 producer Grammies, Big Star's Third and playing on Rolling Stones and Dylan sessions you'd think he'd be satisfied. But nope, he's...
Shalini Chatterjee is known to many as a power pop icon, having led Vinyl Devotion for years and now playing music with Mitch Easter with Shalini and The Crackpots. But here she replicates the sounds...
So back to independently-released music. Negativland present us with one of the best CD packaging jobs ever, a work of art (I won't even try to explain, just buy this) and one of their most...
I know people perceive Tape Op as being supportive of an "independent music world", but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy listening to records that take ten years to make and have giant budgets! Our...
