Tutorials
Tom Werman
by Tom Beaujour
Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon, Poison, Mötley Crüe, Molly Hatchet, Twisted Sister. When pitching this article to Tape Op, it was not lost on me that many of the artists that Tom Werman signed...
Interviews
Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs on Recording Lost in the Dream
by Dave Hidek
With 2014's Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs have made it onto most people's playlists. Frontman and producer extraordinaire Adam Granduciel was kind enough to take a break from touring to...
Women in Audio
Happy Accidents: How A Chance Meeting Took Catherine Marks from Architecture Student to Top-Shelf Producer/Engineer
by Larry Crane
An Australian architecture student bumps into famous producer/engineer Flood while studying in Ireland, returns home to start playing in bands, and eventually moves to London and becomes an...
Behind the Gear
From WWII Planes to Stax Consoles: Behind the Gear with Bill Cheney & the History of Spectra Sonics
by John Baccigaluppi, Larry Crane
Bill Cheney and Jim Romney are the men responsible for keeping the amazing legacy of Spectra Sonics, a legendary, if criminally unheralded, pro-audio company alive.
Mastering
Brad Blackwood: Mastering in Memphis
by Hans Dietrich Faulhaber
Brad Blackwood mastered the recording of my friend Brandon Herrington's band's Fast Planet at his studio Euphonic Masters. The sonic quality was incredible! His mastering production skills were...
Interviews
Seth Kauffman: of Floating Action
by Ryan Barrington Cox
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Seth Kauffman has been crafting exotic music for over a decade. Whether he's recording albums under the moniker, Floating Action, sitting in on sessions with Dan...
Interviews
Al Schnier: moe. & more
by Larry Crane
The band moe. has been going strong since forming in Buffalo, NY, over 20 years ago. Guitarist/vocalist Al Schnier joined up in 1991; the band has been busy on the road, as well as releasing albums,...
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Al Schnier (bonus): moe. and more
by Larry Crane
The band moe. has been an ongoing concern since forming in Buffalo, NY, over 20 years ago. Guitarist/vocalist Al Schnier joined up in 1991, and the band has been busy on the road and releasing albums...
Bill Cheney (bonus): Behind the Gear with Spectra Sonics
by John Baccigaluppi, Larry Crane
Bill Cheney and his partner Jim Romney are the men responsible for keeping the amazing legacy of Spectra Sonics, a legendary, if criminally unheralded, pro-audio company alive.
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End Rant
Give Me a Hammer
by John Baccigaluppi
It was at a recent trade show, after a major DAW manufacturer cancelled our meeting, that I realized I was relieved to be off the hook. I always enjoy meeting with this person, and I use and like...
Gear Geeking
Gear Geeking #102
by Andy Hong
I was amazed when I first witnessed radio-controlled airplane models flying through the air. But the complexity and maintenance requirements of fuel-based engines and analog radio systems scared me...
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N22 ribbon mic
by AEA | reviewed by Adam Kagan
When I think of AEA, I think of vintage-styled, classic ribbon mics. The AEA R-series harks back to RCA ribbon mics in both looks and tonal qualities, while AEA's modern manufacturing approach...
Two-V dual mic preamp (500-series)
by Rascal Audio | reviewed by Chris Koltay
The Two-V is a double-wide, two-channel preamp module for the 500-series format. It comes painted battleship grey with minimal markings denoting the usual features: polarity, high-pass filter, phantom...
Red12, Green12, Black212
by 12 Gauge Microphones | reviewed by Joel Hamilton
A shotgun shell — an actual shotgun shell, from a 12 gauge shotgun — turned into a microphone. I liked the idea immediately. "Let's use these shells for creating, rather than destroying,...
Sigma 500 summing box & 500-series frame
by GAS Audio | reviewed by Garrett Haines
The Sigma 500 provides a unique twist on the implementation of an analog summing mixer. The unit contains two 500-series slots to insert preamps of your choice to serve as the final gain stage for the...
M80, M82
by Telefunken | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
We all know that the Shure SM57 and AKG D 112 are pretty ubiquitous on snare and kick on countless recordings, right? Why? Because they are affordable and sound pretty damn good! Many an engineer,...
Isolation Pack shockmount, X1R ribbon mic
by sE Electronics | reviewed by Scott Evans
The X1R is a ribbon mic with a few design twists. It's housed in the same body as sE's X1 large-diaphragm condenser and is designed to produce more high end, and more output level, than the average...
MSL stereo VCA bus compressor
by Vintage Audio | reviewed by Garrett Haines
Located in Caldwell, Idaho, Revive Audio offers hardware, custom builds, modifications, and repairs. I first encountered Revive Audio a few years ago. They were selling rackmount gear reclaimed from...
B26 Orca monitor controller
by Burl Audio | reviewed by Geoff Stanfield
Let's start this conversation off by stating the obvious. You cannot properly record or mix music if you cannot accurately hear what you are recording or mixing. If music is more than a hobby, and you...
VOG Analog Bass Resonance Tool
by Little Labs | reviewed by Steve Silverstein
No matter how many amazing equalizers that I buy, I find that I never have enough great outboard EQs for everything I need. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of expensive EQs is their ability to...
PM40 PianoMic System
by Earthworks | reviewed by Kirt Shearer
I like gear that makes a statement. The long, narrow aluminum briefcase of the PM40 PianoMic System certainly makes one. That of, "I've got an upscale rifle here" — an impression that can come...
MixingLink preamp w/ effects loop
by Eventide | reviewed by Joseph Lemmer
Eventide bills its MixingLink as a "Mic Pre with FX Loop." It is so much more than that! I tried to sum it up technically: It's a mic/line preamp. It's an instrument preamp/DI. It's a headphone amp....
DA-3000 Master Recorder
by TASCAM | reviewed by Allen Farmelo
The DA-3000 is a high-quality, stereo, digital master recorder capable of both PCM (up to 24-bit, 192 kHz) and DSD (2.8 and 5.6 MHz) operation, and it can also function as a standalone A/D and D/A...
PWM-501 compressor (500-series)
by Great River | reviewed by Geoff Stanfield
Writing about audio gear is an interesting exercise in trying to capture the emotional impact of an inanimate object. I think that it is less important how something works than how something makes you...
Chop Shop 500-series EQ
by Louder Than Liftoff | reviewed by Dave Hidek
I couldn't possibly count the number of times I've used an outboard preamp and thought, "I wish this had a two-band EQ." Perhaps the floor tom or the bass is a tad too muddy, or the bottom of the...
bx_refinement harshness control plug-in
by Brainworx | reviewed by Larry Crane, Garrett Haines
Larry Crane: Sometimes a plug-in comes out that I totally adore, but I get worried that its subtlety and usefulness will get lost in the shuffle of "whiz bang" over-the-top effects and emulations of...
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Music Reviews
Various Seven-Inch Singles
by Voodoo Doughnut Recordings | reviewed by Larry Crane
Over the last few years, my town of Portland has become a traveler's destination for food (as well as beer, coffee, comedy, books, and music). Many come to sample the delights of world-renowned...
Music Reviews
I, II, III 2014 remasters
by Led Zeppelin | reviewed by Jeff Slate
"It's been over 20 years since the original CDs were issued. Since then the technology has improved, and there are all these new digital formats out there, so it made sense to revisit the studio...