Interviews
Jeff Jones: The Jedi Master
by Ian Brennan
@ Scovil Productions, Norwalk, CT Jeff “The Jedi Master” Jones has been an engineer and producer for music and films in New York City for over 40 years. Starting out as a teenager in...
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New Episode of Creative Recording With Tape Op
by Geoff Stanfield
Larry Crane and Geoff Stanfield discuss mixing analog vs. in the box vs. a hybrid approach in the latest episode of Creative Recording With Tape Op! This episode is made possible with support from our friends at BURL Audio.
Interviews
RZA: From Brownsville to Baroque & Back
by Sam Retzer
Born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and the musical force of Staten Island’s Wu-Tang Clan, RZA (Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) is easily one of the most revered and gifted producers of his generation....
Interviews
John “Spud” Murphy: Filling in the Frequencies
by Steve Silverstein
While I only casually follow British music magazines like The Quietus and Uncut, their frequent championing of the band Lankum caught my eye, and upon hearing the 2023 album, False Lankum, they...
Interviews
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis: At Tonal Park
by Sam Retzer
What happens when you combine the rhythmic backbone of Fugazi veterans Joe Lally (bass) and Brendan Canty (drums, Tape Op #12) with the soaring heights of James Brandon Lewis’ sax, and douse...
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Blog
Sufjan Stevens produces John Legend Children’s Album
by Geoff Stanfield
Here’s a fun and upbeat track from an unlikely collaboration between John Legend and Sufjan Stevens. Check out the first single “L-O-V-E” that features Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen and their children along with Sufjan...
Most Recent
St. Vincent Releases Spanish Language Version of All Born Screaming
by Geoff Stanfield
As a gift to her fans in Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries, St. Vincent has released a Spanish language version of her 2024 release All Born Screaming, Todos Nacen Gritando. Releasing companion albums is a bit of theme with St. Vincent....
Happy Birthday, Mitch Easter
by Larry Crane
by Alex Maiolo One of our patron saints of recording, Mitch Easter [Tape Op #21], turns 70 today. That's almost irrelevant, as this treasure of a human should be celebrated every day, but it prompted me to write about his impact. Like anyone,...
New Episode of Creative Recording With Tape Op
by Geoff Stanfield
Larry Crane and Geoff Stanfield discuss mixing analog vs. in the box vs. a hybrid approach in the latest episode of Creative Recording With Tape Op! This episode is made possible with support from our friends at BURL Audio.
Grammy Nominations
by Geoff Stanfield
It's that time of year again! The Grammy nominations are out and it's always fun to see a bunch of folks we have interviewed in Tape Op on the list. Here are the nominee's for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Lucky Daye...
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RZA's A Ballet Through Mud Out Now
by Geoff Stanfield
RZA releases A Ballet Through Mud, an orchestral work of 11 pieces performed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by Christopher Dragon. Sam Retzer did an extensive interview with RZA in the most recent issue of Tape Op, discussing...
Quincy Jones: 1933-2024
by Geoff Stanfield
Popular music owes a serious debt to Quincy Jones, and he rightly has a place on the list of greatest music producers of all time. He passed away November 3rd, at the age of 91. I was listening to Quincy Jones before I even knew I was listening to...
New Jonathan Wilson & Milton Nascimento: Moon Over Minas
by Geoff Stanfield
This three song EP from Jonathan Wilson and Milton Nascimento was not what I expected. I am a fan of both artists, but Moon Over Minas caught me off guard! It is a reverb-soaked, haunting, and psychedelic listen that leans much more to the sound of...
New Pixies Album: The Night The Zombies Came
by Geoff Stanfield
Whether you have been a fan of The Pixies and their indie rock masterworks Surfer Rosa and Doolittle since the late-'80s, or are just joining the conversation, you'll love their new release, The Night The Zombies Came. ...
Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness
by Geoff Stanfield
Australia has always had its fair share of rock and punk bands, and the tradition continues today with artists like The Chats, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Amyl and the Sniffers, just to name a few. Amyl and the Sniffers new...
Fievel Is Glauque New Album: Rong Weicknes
by Geoff Stanfield
Fievel Is Glauque New Album: Rong Weicknes by Sam Retzer Fievel Is Glauque is the trans-Atlantic duo of keyboardist Zach Phillips (Brooklyn) and vocalist Ma Clément (Brussels), who lead a “series of live bands” to...
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Let's DIY
Let's DIY
DIY Diffusors
by Brad Williams
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...
Let's DIY
Build Your Own Spring Reverb
by Scott Hampton
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,...
Let's DIY
Build a tube Mic Pre: Build Your Own Two Channel Vacuum Tube Mic Preamp!
by Scott Hampton
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...
Let's DIY
DIY Reverb
by Nicolas Collins
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...
Staff Picks
Tape Op Turns 25!
by Geoff Stanfield
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...
Introducing DISCussion!
by Geoff Stanfield
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...
Great Reads on Recording and Music
by Geoff Stanfield
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...
Ikea DIY Plate Reverb Hack
by Geoff Stanfield
Tape Op contributor Thom Monahan dug up this gem. Enjoy!
Larry Crane Discusses the Virtues of the Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Console
by Geoff Stanfield
Read the review of the RND 5088 Console
AES Conventions - Looking Back/Looking Forward
by John Baccigaluppi
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...
Integrating Stompboxes into the Mix
Special Release
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....
My Trade Show T-Shirts
by Geoff Stanfield
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!)...
June 1st, 2020
by Geoff Stanfield
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...
New Gear Giveaways!
by Geoff Stanfield
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...