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Issue No. 23

May/Jun 2001

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May/Jun 2001

Welcome to issue #23 of Tape Op.

 

Welcome to issue 23 of Tape Op! I just worked a 12 hour day and it's 1 AM and I'm pretty tired. I'm writing this from Seattle as I'm nearing the end of a tracking session for the new Walkabouts album at Studio Litho (where Tchad Blake did the last Pearl Jam record!). I'm working with a band I've been friends with for years and really enjoy musically. I'm also using some amazing gear for the first time, like an API console and a Studer 24-track. Things are sounding pretty damn good, and I'm getting a lot of input into the feel of the tracks. The hardest part is getting Tape Op done in time (sorry John!) and managing Jackpot! Recording from another town. Plus I miss my girlfriend terribly, and I wonder how easy it will be to take jobs away from home in the future, though I'm sure I will choose to. Sometimes I think this is crazy, but I really don't want to go back to waiting on tables. Like I said in the letters section, this isn't a job that you choose, it chooses you instead. I'm gonna go to bed now — I'll see you next issue.

-Larry Crane

PS: Thanks to the Walkabouts for hiring me, Floyd for helping, Jason and Emily for housing me, and Jane for waiting for me... 

— Larry Crane, editor

In This Issue See more →

Interviews

Matmos

by Donald Bell

If I told you Matmos made audio cut-up, experimental, electronic music that closely parallels conceptual art, you'd probably write them off as some snobby, avant garde, artsy-fartsy, black...

Interviews

John McEntire

by Jesse Cannon

John McEntire is known for many personas. Some see him as a musician, having played drums and other instruments in bands like Bastro, My Dad is Dead, Red Krayola, The Sea and Cake, Seam and, of...

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End Rant

Consider the Source

by Larry Crane

Just the other day a band came in for a quick tracking session. As they were setting up their gear I heard one of the guitar players comment that he wanted to buy a guitar preamp for $250 so he...

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Gear Reviews See more →

Monitoring

NF-1A monitor speaker

by FOSTEX  |  reviewed by Eddie Ciletti

On first listen the Fostex NF-1A sounds different from most monitors. Many have a smiley-faced EQ curve, with lots of boom and sizzle to make things sound good. If your critical listening needs have...

Dynamics

DS201 Dual Gate

by Drawmer  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

I used to think that gates were all the same. I bought an inexpensive quad gate years ago and have used it quite a bit for cleaning up a bit of tape hiss or amp noise during mixing. When I tried to...

Dynamics

L2M Mastering Limiter/Expander

by Requisite Audio  |  reviewed by Larry DeVivo

You know how there are certain things that come in to your life and once they do you realize that you just can't live without them? That was the experience I had when I first heard the L2M Mastering...

Media, Tools

online recording courses

by ArtistPRO  |  reviewed by Steve McAllister

Before I jump into a review of these courses, allow me to tell you little bit about myself. I've been home recording for about 13 years or so, first with a 4-track and an Shure 57, now with an...

Microphones

IM27 dynamic mic

by Byetone  |  reviewed by Scott Craggs

This Russian beauty will amaze you. It sounds really, really good. Its frequency response is 60 - 17 k and is nearly flat from 170 - 17 k (there are some slight 2 dB...

Accessories, Tools

Proscreen 101 pop filter

by Stedman  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

One relatively inexpensive piece of gear that can have a lot of impact on your recordings is the good old pop filter. For most, this is a fabric mesh screen to place in front of a vocal mic in order...

Music Reviews See more →

Music Reviews

Thousand Yard Stare CD

by Kitchens & Bathrooms | reviewed by Roman Sokal

What is peculiar about the avant rock music machine that Kitchens And Bathrooms create is that has a 3rd person narrative quality to it. That is, their approach is so set back (but not necessarily...

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Music Reviews

I-VII CD

by Vitriol | reviewed by Roman Sokal

For twelve months, Ben Christian Green (of Godflesh) deposited himself within the Cambrian mountains to escape modern civilization and search within the imposed silence of his surroundings - to hear...

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Music Reviews

Vibrations EP CD

by Experimental Audio Research | reviewed by William Bernhard

Sonic Boom seems to have disappeared from the general public eye since the demise of his seminal band Spacemen 3 over a decade ago. His musical excursions have become increasingly more withdrawn into...

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Music Reviews

At Rush Hour The Cars CD

by Royal City | reviewed by Roman Sokal

For those who are into absorbing sparse modern folk with a cerebral poetic twist a la Wilco or Sparklehorse, then the sparse and etched sounds of Royal City will carry you through another joyfully...

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Music Reviews

Tender Machines CD

by Concentrick | reviewed by Dewey Mahood

A few years back a lot of people were talking about electronic music. It was being hyped as though rock would disappear and only digital bleeps would be left. Fortunately, what actually happened...

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Music Reviews

Unsung Heroine CD

by Midnight Choir | reviewed by Steve Silverstein

Norway's Midnight Choir create dramatic - sometimes melodramatic - tension through simplicity and subtlety. To capture their pretty and often quiet songs, they turned to engineer Phill Brown and...

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