Mar/Apr 2006

Welcome to issue #52 of Tape Op.

 

This April marks ten years of doing Tape Op Magazine, just as last November marked our 50th issue. We've been getting a lot of praise and encouragement from readers and we all thank you all very much.

This issue has a slight theme to it regarding skateboarding. Some of you may be scratching your heads wondering where this comes from, but given some of the great records that Tommy Guerrero and Ray Barbee have been making and the work that Thomas Campbell has been doing it's hard to pass up. Plus my partner in crime, John Baccigaluppi, is an avid skateboarder (checkoutthe1/4pipeinhisstudio!) and used to be part of Heckler Magazine, a great read for skating, snowboarding and music. There's always been a connection with skateboarding, art and music — check it out.

We're busting our asses to put together TapeOpCon 2006, June 16-18 in Tucson, Arizona. It looks to be as great an event as any year yet, so sign up and come on down! We'll be learning, meeting, eating and drinking — plus some rockin' out at night. Don't miss this event! www.tapeopcon.com

Alright, have a great spring, and get out there and record some music. Thanks again for reading,

— Larry Crane, editor

In This Issue See more →

Tommy Guerrero

by Monte Vallier

Tommy Guerrero may be best known as one of the members of the infamous Bones Brigade skate team from the '80s. A lot less people know that he has been playing music for as long as he's been...

Zea

by Larry Crane

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world — plus some great music comes from there, like The Ex and Solex. While visiting there a while back, I asked Elisabeth of Solex who was...

Ill Ease: Motel Room Recording

by Pam Nicholas

Elizabeth Sharp records twisted bits of rhythm and melody under the name Ill Ease. After stints behind the drums in New Radiant Storm King and on bass in Skinner Pilot, Sharp decided to go solo and...

Hugh Pool

by Liz Bustamante

In an anonymous garage on a residential street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn sits Excello Recording. It's been there for 13 years, long before the parade of hipsters crossed the BQE. It's an enigmatic...

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Columns See more →

End Rant

No Glam Gear

by Larry Crane

I just hit the ninth anniversary of signing the lease on my studio space today, and I'm in the planning stages for moving into a new building (courtesy of my landlord-to-be, Hamptone). Reflecting...

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Gear Reviews See more →

Tubelink2 limiter

by Audio Technologies  |  reviewed by Chris Garges

The Tubelink2 is an interesting two-channel variable- MU tube limiter. It is a Class-A/B design with custom transformers on both the input and output and a complement of readily-available tubes...

Handmaster Plus exerciser

by Doczac Enterprises  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

Every January, I attend the NAMM show with John Baccigaluppi and Larry Crane, and we spend days walking like zombies through giant rooms full of instrument and gear manufacturers. Pretty much...

SONICEYE level checker

by Fong Electronic  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

Fellow gear reviewer Eric Tischler sent me this helpful tool. It's a key fob with a 1/4'' plug and four LED's, one for power and three for -32, -22, and -16 dBu signal level. You plug it into a jack,...

iDrum & XRB iPak

by Glaresoft  |  reviewed by Dana Gumbiner

Face it. You need a drum machine. Whether it's for something as simple as generating a decent click for a drummer, working out song arrangements, or even for full-blown drum and percussion tracks, the...

2032 mic preamp/EQ

by GML  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

The GML 2032 is a single-channel preamp/equalizer that draws from the designs of the GML 8300 mic preamp series and the GML 8200 equalizer, adds a high-impedance instrument input on the front panel,...

Stereo Mic Positioner

by AEA  |  reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

This was one of the neatest things I saw at last fall's AES show, but after Wes Dooley was nice enough to give me one, it was lost in shipping coming back from the show. So, after seeing him at NAMM,...

USB Phono Plus

by ART  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

This affordable little box will hook up your turntable to your computer's USB port, thus allowing you to transfer vinyl LP's to digital. If this doesn't answer all those emails I've received asking...

Synth Legends Night DVD

by audioMIDI.com  |  reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

This is a very cool DVD produced by and available from audioMIDI.com. Bob Moog (in his last public appearance), Tom Oberheim, and Dave Smith (of Sequential Circuits and Evolver fame) are the featured...

EMI TG 12413 Limiter plug-in

by Chandler Limited/ Abbey Road  |  reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

After last year's AES show, this was the one plug-in I was really excited to hear. We have one of the hardware Chandler TG 12413 limiters in the studio, and it has quickly become a favorite amongst...

Cardinal condenser mic

by EV/Blue  |  reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

This is one of the first mics resulting from the collaboration between Electro-Voice and Blue Microphones. It's a medium-diaphragm (14 mm) condenser microphone in a beautiful and very functional form...

PM5 Precision Monitor

by E-MU  |  reviewed by Dana Gumbiner

My first thought upon powering up these compact nearfields was, "Wow, these sound much bigger than they look!" After spending some time tracking and mixing through them, I'd have to say they give much...

InspectorXL

by Elemental Audio  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

During one of my Recording Workshops a few years ago, while I was talking about using an RTA (Real Time Analyzer) to check mixes, a student piped in that there was a free plug-in online. So we...

 

Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.

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