Interviews
David Torn: David Bowie, Jeff Beck, SPLaTTerCeLL
by Simon TaufiQue
David Torn is a tough man to pin down — literally and figuratively. One day he's in his upstate New York project studio as a solo artist/avant- guitarist working on the follow-up to his...
Interviews
Jim Czak: NOLA studios: From Steinways to Streisand...
by Bren Davies
The most important question is, 'What the hell are we gonna eat for lunch?'" This is how photographer Brian Silak and I were greeted by a portly and extremely jovial Jim Czak, co-owner and chief...
Interviews
Mix Copyright: Is a mix intellectual property?
by Mike Caffrey
If I mix someone else's recording, is that particular mix my intellectual property? While there isn't a specific court case as a precedent, the answer seems to be yes. In an era where a reference mix...
The Johns Family
Nothing Safe About Rock & Roll: Ethan Johns on Record-making for Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne
by Larry Crane
Ethan Johns would be of note to the recording world if only for his familial ties. Being the son of Glyn Johns [Tape Op #109] and the nephew of Andy Johns [Tape Op #39], one might assume...
Interviews
Mike Hagler: A Kingsize Engineer
by Louis R. Carlozo
Behind the Gear
James Demeter: Behind the Gear with Demeter Amplification
by Walt Szalva
One-time major label artist turned gear designer James Demeter talks about tubes, spring reverb and building gear for REO Speedwagon. Demeter Amplification was one of the first companies to...
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Ethan Johns/Luther Russell: Luther Russell
by Larry Crane
My friend Luther Russell and I have worked together on a number of records for artists and years ago we spent a lot of an Internet music site's money making a solo record for Luther that never came...
Ethan Johns
by Larry Crane
An eye-catching and imposing centerpiece of Ethan Johns' studio is the unique wraparound console he inherited from his father, Glyn Johns. We sat marveling at the console and picked Ethan's brain...
Analog Summing
by J.J. Wiesler
Recently, we've seen an influx of analog summing mixers on the pro audio scene. Products like the Dangerous Music 2-BUS, Chandler Limited Mini Rack Mixer, Audient Sumo, and Folcrom RMS216 are examples...
Spring Reverb
by Garrett Haines
Electrodyne History: The History of Electrodyne, Quad-Eight and Sphere
by Larry DeVivo
I'm going to let you in on a little secret — one that few engineers talk about and several will want to kill me for writing about. What if I told you there was a microphone preamp that could...
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Columns See more →
End Rant
Things to Do in the Studio
by Larry Crane
"I read Tape Op because it talks about music and recording from what, in my mind, is the 'correct' angle — the artistic one. A common theme in this magazine is paying clients doing or saying...
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Gear Reviews See more →
FireWire 1814, Pro Tools M-Powered 7
by M-Audio | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
Ever since M-Audio was purchased by Avid, the parent company of Digidesign, the industry speculated on whether or not Pro Tools would run on M-Audio interfaces. M-Audio has long enjoyed a reputation...
4110 four-channel mic preamp
by Universal Audio | reviewed by Craig Schumacher
The four-channel, Class-A, solid-state 4110 is Universal Audio's first mic preamp that is not derived from earlier classic designs. The 3RU-height device is simple to use and smart looking. It is...
LA-3A Audio Leveler (reissue)
by Universal Audio | reviewed by Craig Schumacher
Sound the trumpets; Universal Audio has done it again! With the reissue of the LA-3A, UA has brought back one of the best, solid-state, optical compressors ever built. Originally designed as a...
CMV 563 mic M 7, M 8, M 9, & M 55K capsules, Bottle mic, B4 capsule, B6 capsule, B7 capsule, Type A, Type B
by Neumann/Gefell | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
When I was close to finishing this review, I began to realize that it's not only just scraping the tip of an iceberg, but it's bound to open a can of worms, and many people will disagree with at least...
Tobybear MiniHost VST player, Simple-Media Spook Keys, Piz Mr. Alias, Elogoxa Sun Ra, SyncerSoft Polyvoks Station, Oli Larkin SE64, Tweakbench Rebar
by KVR Audio | reviewed by J. Robert Lennon
Free VST plug-ins for Windows Like a lot of people who read this magazine, I'm a hardware guy, and I've resisted using computers to make my music for a long time. But I recently realized that you...
SCM20ASL Pro monitor, SCM0.1/15 Pro subwoofer
by ATC | reviewed by Andy Hong, Jason Lehning, F. Reid Shippen, Billy Woodman
Here's another "double" review of a monitoring system-this one orchestrated by F. Reid Shippen. The first viewpoint is from Reid, who many of you have met at the last three TapeOpCons. He was a mixer...
Lil FrEQ
by Empirical Labs | reviewed by Garrett Haines
Empirical Labs is a company that seems content to offer a few outstanding pieces of gear rather than a wide array of average products. You won't see them rushing to push out new devices every six...
Portico 5012 dual mic preamp
by Rupert Neve Designs | reviewed by Mike Caffrey
I'll start this review by reading your mind. I can tell you're thinking two questions. The answers are: the 5012 sounds great; and yes, you should buy one. If it's still at the introductory price of...
AT4031 cardioid condenser mic
by Audio-Technica | reviewed by Chris Garges
The discontinued AT4031 was an early microphone in Audio-Technica's extremely popular 40 Series. It is a small- diaphragm, end-firing microphone that was eventually replaced by the AT4041. It is...
Mini Rack Mixer
by Chandler Limited | reviewed by Mike Caffrey
A rack mixer wasn't initially on the Chandler design agenda, but designer Wade Goecke ("Behind the Gear," Tape Op # 46) got so many calls saying, "There are a lot of summing boxes out there, but I...
Active Snare Dampening System
by Remo | reviewed by Mike Caffrey
$25 bucks to a better snare sound right this way... A couple of months ago, I produced an album with Omar Hakim on drums, and he turned me on to the Remo Active Snare Dampening System. In most cases,...
EQ-P Tube Program Equalizer, EQ-H Tube Program Equalizer, M72s Microphone Amplifier, M76m Microphone Amplifier, Mercury 66 Limiting Amplifier
by Mercury Recording Equipment | reviewed by Pete Weiss
For years, David Marquette cultivated a reputation for elegantly racking and powering Neve, Telefunken, and other desirable vintage modules. He eventually decided to branch out and produce his own...
Live 5
by Ableton | reviewed by Chachi Jones
Long held as an irreplaceable tool for electronic musicians to compose and perform their music, Ableton Live is increasingly gaining favor with the rest of the music world. As one of many professional...
Alphabet Soup
by Oz Music Code | reviewed by Andy Hong
I haven't had this much fun with audio software in a long time. Imagine an application window that displays a graphic representation of a computer keyboard. Onto each key you can drag-and-drop any...
MS-36B2 Studio Monitor Stand, MS-45B2 Studio Monitor Stand
by Ultimate Support | reviewed by Andy Hong
I've owned an Ultimate Support bicycle repair stand for a dozen years now. It's awesome, and it kicks ass over the big "blue" manufacturer's repair stands. I'd also used Ultimate Support PA monitor...
PEQ1R New Revision ?A?
by Wunder Audio | reviewed by Garrett Haines
I wrote a pretty positive review of the Wunder Audio PEQ1 preamp/EQ in Tape Op #41. At that time, the unit was available as either a replacement module for some vintage consoles or in a custom rack...
SSA 2A
by TUBE-TECH | reviewed by Adam Kagan
We live in a DAW world, and that world provides us with ultimate recall and almost-infinite processing choices via hundreds of plug-ins. But we still want more! Now we crave the artifacts, coloration,...
Reamping Pack, J48 Mk2 phantom-powered DI, JDI passive DI
by Radial Engineering | reviewed by Andy Hong
I'm a big fan of Radial Engineering's products, and Tape Op has published reviews of a number of Radial's products: JDV Mk3 Class-A DI in Tape Op #36; JD7 Injector multi-output guitar re-amping and...
DK25/R Drum Kit System, DK25/L Drum Kit System
by Earthworks | reviewed by Andy Hong
I've been a believer in Earthworks microphones ever since I got my first pair of TC30K omni condensers. Since then, I've added a bunch of Earthworks SR69 and SR68 cardioid condensers to my cabinet....
G5 Vertical Rackmount
by Redco Audio | reviewed by Andy Hong
I hate how the Mac G5 is too big to mount in a 19'' rack sideways unless you cut off its handles. And no one seems to make a rackmount case that you can fill with the parts of a gutted G5 like you can...
AT2020 cardioid condenser mic
by Audio-Technica | reviewed by Garrett Haines
With inexpensive mics seemingly as common as guitar picks, one must ask, "Does the world need another cheap mic?" But after testing the AT2020, my answer is a resounding, "Yes!" Because the AT2020 is...
Pacifica 2-ch mic preamp
by A-Designs Audio | reviewed by Larry Crane
The Pacifica by A-Designs is a two-channel, solid-state, transformer-balanced mic preamp. Its front panel is simple-each channel has a DI input, phantom-power switch, 20 dB pad, polarity switch, and a...
Machinedrum SPS-1
by Elektron | reviewed by Inverse Room
Drum machines get a bad rap. And why not? Much of what comes out of them is sterile, repetitive, and mechanistic. In some cases, it's the machine's fault. Most of them aren't very versatile, pumping...
BM5A active studio monitors, BM9S active subwoofer
by Dynaudio Acoustics | reviewed by Kyle Bittinger, Bryan Cord, Andy Hong, Nick McCarthy, Neil Mclellan, Ramsey Tantawi
As the Gear Reviews Editor, one of my responsibilities is matching up recording equipment with reviewers. In other words, if there's a piece of gear that the editors of Tape Op or the readers of the...