In 2017, one of my best friends, Craig Alvin [Tape Op #137], kept texting me about a record he was engineering. He was saying how amazing the process was, and how awesome the results were. The album...
A little over a decade ago, the A Band Called Death documentary brought cheers and tears to music fans worldwide, telling the fantastic tale of proto-punk band Death’s rediscovery. Having been...
Azalia Snail’s recording career began with a TASCAM recorder running on batteries in the forests outside of New York City. From those early, carefree experiments, she has continued to embrace...
Tim Oliver is the "Senior Consulting Engineer” at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios [Tape Op #63] in the English countryside. With over 40 years of experience, Oliver has worked with a...
I first met Thai Long Ly several years ago at a NAMM Show in Anaheim. He asked me, "What do you ride?" when he noticed the Kriega-branded motorcycling accessories on my backpack. We geeked out about...
Eric Bachmann and Matt Gentling of Archers of Loaf discuss songwriting process, reunions, parenting, and working at Drop of Sun Studios on Reason in Decline.
We interviewed producer and guitarist Blake Mills in Tape Op #115 and for our podcast in 2019. He’s produced newly-released records for both Lucy Dacus – Forever is a Feeling – and Perfume Genius...
Brian Bovinizer is the Marketing and Sales Director at Fort George Brewery in Astoria, Oregon. Being a Tape Op reader, some 11 years ago he spotted Tape Op’s founder/editor Larry Crane enjoying a few pints at the brewery’s Lovell Tap...
Released in 2024, Mdou Moctar's Funeral for Justice is a raucous, distorted guitar-driven album that, along with bands such as Tinariwen, turns the idea of "world music" on its head. The heavy tones of Moctar's guitar plus driving and trancey...
It's always a good day when I discover that there is new music from Panda Bear. It hits all the marks for me; nods to the classics, modern concepts, sounds and presentations, and exceptional vocals and vocal harmonies. Panda Bear's (aka Noah...
We had Rafiq Bhatia as a guest on our DISCussion podcast in June of 2023. His new release, a collaboration with pianist Chris Pattishall, Each Dream, A Melting Door, is a mind-melting work that pushes the boundaries of "jazz". It takes me back...
Bon Iver has released a single and video from the upcoming album, SABLE, fABLE, “Everything is Peaceful Love.” The video was directed by John Wilson who hosts How To With John Wilson on HBO. The track and video are a nice upbeat way to...
The Weeknd has a special knack for making catchy and accessible pop music that is also sonically interesting, dark, and melancholy. It's hard to believe that his first release, Beauty Behind the Madness, was released almost a decade ago, but if...
With hindsight, you could look at Wilco’s A Ghost is Born as a transitional album. Much has been written about their previous LP, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and a documentary film, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, chronicles how during the making...
Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, has just released his 27th album, The Purple Bird. Fans will find the album sits in a familiar country/Americana groove, but The Purple Bird seems to have a touch more fit, finish, and...
We interviewed SASAMI back in Tape Op #157 and now she has a new single and video, “In Love with a Memory". The song was co-produced with Rostam, and features lo-fi songstress Clairo. The full album, Blood on the Silver Screen is out March 7...
While hardly a glamorous concept, room acoustics represent a critical link in the recording or playback chain. While comprehensive room design is a complex cocktail of science, math and chance...
I have been a big fan of spring and plate reverbs for decades, and over the past three years I have spent a significant amount of time diving into the wormhole of designing and building them,...
When asked to come up with a "do it yourself" tube mic pre project, I thought long and hard about what topology to go with. I designed a number of different hybrid tube/discrete class A designs...
In the disembodied world of today's computer-based multitrack mixing, one can spend a lot of time crafting a unifying sense of "space." Despite the dozens of reverb plug-ins and rack devices...
April 15th marks the 25th anniversary of Tape Op Magazine! To mark the occasion, Tape Op founder and editor Larry Crane is making a series of short videos talking about the journey of the mag and some of the memories had along the...
During one of the many calls I have on a regular basis with my musician and audio professional friends, it dawned on me what a priveldge these conversations are and thought it might be a good idea to share them with a larger audience as a way to take...
Here is a list of some of the books on recording and music that we have added to the reading (or re-reading!) queue recently. Are We Still Rolling?by Phill BrownGreat studio session stories about The Rolling Stones, Talk Talk, Hendrix, Led...
Tape Op contributor Thom Monahan dug up this gem. Enjoy!
Read the review of the RND 5088 Console
There has been a heightened interest lately in using stompboxes and pedals as part of the mixing process. There are a few ways to interface your pedals with your system, but here is a quick video on how I do it using the Meris 440 500 series mic-pre....
Convention Report. Man, that old Disneyland hotel was awesome! I'm in the process of moving and was cleaning my office earlier today. I have a large collection of vintage audio magazines and books that I use for clip art when working on Tape...
by John Baccigaluppi The music industry trade shows, and the NAMM Show in particular, have always been a mixed bag for me. Every year, for the last 20 years or so, Larry and I, along with Geoff, Scott, and Marsha (We miss you Andy, Dave, and Laura!)...
Dear Tape Op Readers, We are feeling overwhelmed and deeply saddened by the death of George Floyd. Unfortunately this is far from an isolated incident. Our voices and collective action have never been more needed than right now. Human...
Check out the latest gear giveaways from our advertisers and enter to win! Retro Intruments 500 Pre Giveaway! Enter to Win a 500PRE Here! Audix Mics and Headphones Giveaway! Enter to Win Audix Mics and Headphones! Baby...
