Interviews
Ryan Ulyate: Digging for Gems
by Larry Crane
Years ago, I started seeing an engineer’s name associated with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers on a number of releases. Working on Tom’s Runnin’ Down a Dream documentary, The Live...
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Interviews
Mike Elizondo: Creating an Atmosphere
by Larry Crane
From session bassist, to songwriter, to producer, Mike Elizondo has had an interesting musical path. For 11 years he co-wrote with Dr. Dre, making hits for 50 Cent, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. His...
Interviews
Andy Sneap: The More Things Change…
by Avinash Mittur
If you’ve listened to metal records produced in the last two decades, you’ve surely heard the work of Andy Sneap. Killswitch Engage, Megadeth, Carcass, and Judas Priest are only a few of...
Interviews
Mad Professor: The Sound of the Studio
by Geoff Stanfield
My introduction to Mad Professor was via an album called No Protection, his dub remix of Massive Attack’s Protection. It was a journey to a musical universe that I was aware of, but had never...
Interviews
John Leventhal: Let the Process Unfold
by Gus Berry
John Leventhal’s record production skills first caught my ear when I was a young kid obsessed with Shawn Colvin records. Since then, his playing and production has influenced me more than any...
Interviews
Julie McLarnon: A Truly Analogue Cat
by Larry Crane
In Northern Ireland, in a certain region of the countryside, you can find Analogue Catalogue Recording Studios. This residential studio is run by Julie McLarnon, an engineer/producer with a...
Most Recent
Ryan Ulyate: Digging for Gems
by Larry Crane
Years ago, I started seeing an engineer’s name associated with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers on a number of releases. Working on Tom’s Runnin’ Down a Dream documentary, The Live...
Mike Elizondo: Creating an Atmosphere
by Larry Crane
From session bassist, to songwriter, to producer, Mike Elizondo has had an interesting musical path. For 11 years he co-wrote with Dr. Dre, making hits for 50 Cent, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. His...
Andy Sneap: The More Things Change…
by Avinash Mittur
If you’ve listened to metal records produced in the last two decades, you’ve surely heard the work of Andy Sneap. Killswitch Engage, Megadeth, Carcass, and Judas Priest are only a few of...
Mad Professor: The Sound of the Studio
by Geoff Stanfield
My introduction to Mad Professor was via an album called No Protection, his dub remix of Massive Attack’s Protection. It was a journey to a musical universe that I was aware of, but had never...
John Leventhal: Let the Process Unfold
by Gus Berry
John Leventhal’s record production skills first caught my ear when I was a young kid obsessed with Shawn Colvin records. Since then, his playing and production has influenced me more than any...
Julie McLarnon: A Truly Analogue Cat
by Larry Crane
In Northern Ireland, in a certain region of the countryside, you can find Analogue Catalogue Recording Studios. This residential studio is run by Julie McLarnon, an engineer/producer with a...
Hunter Lea & Uptone Recorders: Exploring the Past, Recording the Future
by Alan Kroph
In Tacoma, Washington, a town full of rich musical history – including The Sonics, The Ventures, and The Wailers – exists a museum-like recording studio you’ve probably never heard...
Learning How to Really Record
by Larry Crane
Do you want to know how to make better recordings? Start by making a lot of bad (or not-quite-perfect) recordings. Yeah, I know this may sound like some tired old adage, but it’s true. I know,...
5057 Orbit Summing Mixer
by Alan Tubbs
From the requisite hand-wired boutique pieces of the ‘50s and early ‘60s, to the large format commercial consoles that followed, and then right into the modern project-style studio,...
Comp IIT Compressor
by Adam Kagan
Geoff Daking began his career as a drummer in a signed band, then became a recording engineer, and almost three decades ago began building his own brand of recording gear in California. This is to say...
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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
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...
Let's DIY
DIY Shockmount: Build Your Own Microphone Shock Mount
by Tom Rogers
Here's a ridiculously cheap and simple way to make a pretty nice microphone shock mount. Cost is under 10 bucks (way under if you build more than one) and it shouldn't take too much more than a...
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
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!)...
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....
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...
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...