Interviews
Digital or Analog?: Pro Tools Mix Plus 24: Gift from God?
by Eric Stenman
Like most engineers, I learned my trade on various tape- based analog machines. Most of my early days were spent working on a Fostex B-16 1/2". Soon enough, I had graduated to 2" recording and spent...
Interviews
Bob Weston: Recording Sebadoh, Polvo and more
by Larry Crane
We get a lot of requests for future interview subjects and Bob Weston has easily been one of the most mentioned. Bob is known for his spacious, natural-sounding recording style and being a member of...
Session Musicians
Jon Brion Does Everything: A long talk with one of LA's best session players, producers, & composers
by Larry Crane
Jon Brion is well known as a session musician, record producer, solo artist and now, with the work he did for Magnolia, a scorer of films. In his world, all of this is equally important and...
Interviews
Stuart Hallerman: Engineer and Studio Owner
by Ben London
Stuart Hallerman has run Seattle's Avast! studio since 1990. Stuart left his hometown of Chicago in 1980 to attend Evergreen College in Olympia,WA.After "the 5-year plan" at Evergreen's recording...
Interviews
Phill Brown: Recording the Rolling Stones' Classic, Beggar's Banquet
by Phil Brown
We interviewed Phill Brown in issue #12 of Tape Op. Over the years he's worked with some of the greatest artists ever, like Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Traffic, Spooky Tooth, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin,...
Interviews
People Like Us: New Life for Old Tech
by Steve Silverstein
I caught up with Vicki Bennett when her solo project, People Like Us, performed at Subterranean in Chicago. While her live performances now include found video footage in addition to sound, Bennett...
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Digital or Analog?: Multi-Channel Audio interfaces for your PC
by John Baccigaluppi, Hillary Johnson
When I first started recording music, my first purchase was a trusty and reliable TEAC 3340 4-track reel to reel recorder. That deck worked great for many years. I later upgraded to a Fostex 8-track,...
Digital or Analog?: Pro Tools Mix 24: Work of the Devil?
by John Vanderslice
Note: If you have sold your car (and re-mortgaged your house) to buy one, stop reading and start chanting: "It's okay to record on a G4, it's okay to record..." This is not another digital versus...
Make Your Own Piezo Drum Triggers
by Leigh Marble
Ingredients: piezo discs (at least one for each drum you want a trigger on, preferably more in case you screw up) small gauge, double-stranded wire (about 6" of wire per trigger) speaker wire or...
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End Rant
Just Listen!
by Larry Crane
I recently spent a big chunk of my days working on a record by my friend Luther Russell. We decided it would benefit the record to mix at a different studio, Supernatural Sound. I've spent most of...
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Gear Reviews See more →
Keyfax Omnibus Edition
by Julian Colbeck | reviewed by Leigh Marble
I can honestly say this is the best book I have ever read on synthesizers. It is the kind of book that you find yourself reading with your fingers stuck in various pages, all marking sections you are...
20/20 Monitors
by Event | reviewed by Scott Craggs
So my new roommate is a recording geek like myself, and he brought a bunch of cool stuff with him. One thing he had were these Event 20/20 monitors, which he suggested we try. I was a little reluctant...
L47 multi-pattern tube microphone
by Lawson | reviewed by Adam Selzer
This large gold-plated mic gets a lot of "oohs" and "aaahs" when I pull it out of its case. Thankfully, the L47 lives up to its appearance. Modeled after the Neumann U47, it shines in vocals with its...
6V6EH Tube
by Electro-Harmonix | reviewed by Barry Rudolph
Electro-Harmonix' new, premium-grade 6V6EH tube is built to meet or surpass the USA JAN Phillips or hard-to-get RCA 6V6 tubes. If you have a vintage amp in need of new tubes, the 6V6EH is the one to...
Shock Mount
by Gary Young | reviewed by John Botch
Have you ever felt a little ripped off when you pay an extra $100-$300 to buy a shock mount for the expensive mic that shoulda' come with one for free? I've got one shock mount that came with a pricey...
MD409 Microphone
by Sennheiser | reviewed by Scott Craggs
I've used this mic on a bunch of sessions lately, and y'know, it's one of those mics that seems to sound good on anything. I've put it on everything except drums, and the sound always seems full, warm...
Masterlink
by Alesis | reviewed by Eric Broyhill
The Alesis Masterlink is a versatile user-friendly hard disc recorder with a built-in CD burner. I used this unit recently on a mix down that I had recorded on a 2-inch, 16-track recorder and my...
Mini-Pedals
by Danelectro | reviewed by Graeme McIntyre
After dropping $150 on my Dan-Echo pedal (which I love), you can imagine my surprise when I surveyed my local music retailers' pedal cabinet and saw a tiny little Danelectro Overdrive pedal for $30....
N/D 357 Dynamic Microphone
by Electro-Voice | reviewed by Steve Silverstein
ElectroVoice markets its series of N/D small diaphragm dynamic microphones as female vocal mics. The now-discontinued N/D 357, which the N/D 367 has since replaced, is the middle price model in this...