Interviews
Tim Palmer: U2, Pearl Jam, Bowie
by Larry Crane
An unsung studio hero? That's how some people see Tim Palmer. With a career beginning in London in the late '70s, he worked on records with Kajagoogoo, Cutting Crew, and Dead or Alive. Later work with...
Interviews
Joe Mardin: on his Dad, Arif Mardin
by Larry Crane
In 2006 the world lost Arif Mardin, a classic (and classy) record producer and arranger who'd originally worked at Atlantic Records for over 30 years, producing hits for artists like The Bee Gees,...
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Brad Wood: Liz Phair, Idful, Ben Lee
by Larry Crane
Ever since I started seeing Brad Wood's producer credits on excellent records coming out of Chicago by Seam, Shrimp Boat, Red Red Meat, Veruca Salt, and Eleventh Dream Day I was curious about him and...
Wayne Peet: Engineering Jazz
by Jonathan Saxon
Wayne Peet is an accomplished pianist/keyboardist and a first call player in the jazz/new music/avant-garde scene in Los Angeles, but he's also known as an excellent recordist, mixer, mastering...
Tim Palmer (bonus): U2, Pearl Jam, Bowie
by Larry Crane
An unsung studio hero? That's how some people see Tim Palmer. With a career beginning in London of the late '70s, he worked on records with Kajagoogoo, Cutting Crew and Dead or Alive. Later work with...
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End Rant
It’s the Little Things That Count
by Larry Crane
Years ago John Fischbach, a well-established and respected producer/engineer, came to my studio to record an album that our mutual friend, Luther Russell, was producing. [See Tape Op #21.] In those...
Gear Geeking
Gear Geeking #99
by Andy Hong
As a studio owner, I'm constantly battling entropy. Whether it's everyday gear, or rarely-used tools and accessories — stuff tends to pile up randomly in corners and cubbies. When I decided to...
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Apollo 16 audio interface w/ UAD processing
by Universal Audio | reviewed by Garrett Haines
The original Apollo [Tape Op #95] is a groundbreaking unit that combines real-time UAD plug-in processing, A/D and D/A conversion, and mic preamps in a single 1RU-height box. While the original unit...
SRH1540 headphones
by Shure | reviewed by Larry Crane
We always ask our gear reviewers at Tape Op to take the product in question into the studio and use it on sessions. I think this is a good thing. To me, there's not much use in the real world for key...
SGI Studio Guitar Interface system
by Radial Engineering | reviewed by Larry Crane
What's a Studio Guitar Interface? Well, the SGI allows us to take an electric guitar, or any high-impedance, unbalanced instrument signal, and send it down a balanced signal path (think mic cables,...
521 ZDT 500-series mic preamp
by Earthworks | reviewed by Adam Kagan
Earthworks, while best known for its catalog of super- accurate microphones, also produces a line of microphone preamps based on the philosophy of extremely-low distortion and fast-responding...
B32 Vancouver mix bus
by Burl Audio | reviewed by Geoff Stanfield
If you are short on time and just want the thumbs up/down on the B32 Vancouver 32×2 mix bus, it gets an enthusiastic thumbs up. All the adjectives that you might find in an adult-film review are...
SF-2 active ribbon mic
by Royer Labs | reviewed by Dave Hidek
The SF-2 is a phantom-powered version of Royer's discontinued SF-1 ribbon mic, which means you get to press the +48V button without feeling like you've brought about the end of humanity. After that...
SONAR X3 Producer
by Cakewalk | reviewed by Alan Tubbs
Cakewalk has been in the news a lot lately. First, Gibson agreed to buy them from Roland. Having a guitar maker buy a DAW company is not as odd as it first seems, since Gibson also owns TASCAM, maker...
Symphony I/O 8×8+8 Mic Preamp, Symphony 64 | ThunderBridge
by Apogee Electronics | reviewed by Garrett Haines
The original Symphony I/O was already reviewed [Tape Op #87], but Symphony is more than a converter; it is a configurable product line. With six different expansion modules, the Symphony chassis can...
Symphony I/O 8×8+8 Mic Preamp
by Apogee Electronics | reviewed by Garrett Haines
The original Symphony I/O was already reviewed [Tape Op #87], but Symphony is more than a converter; it is a configurable product line. With six different expansion modules, the Symphony chassis can...
Symphony I/O 8×8+8 Mic Preamp
by Apogee Electronics | reviewed by Garrett Haines
The original Symphony I/O was already reviewed [Tape Op #87], but Symphony is more than a converter; it is a configurable product line. With six different expansion modules, the Symphony chassis can...
Sceptre S8 active monitor
by PreSonus | reviewed by Andy Hong, Steve Silverstein
Before we get to Steve Silverstein's opinion on the newest speaker offering from PreSonus, let me butt in. After reading the first draft of Steve's Sceptre S8 review and his email exchanges with...
DRS-EQ/500 equalizer
by Phoenix Audio | reviewed by Steve Silverstein
The Phoenix Audio DRS-EQ/500 is a 4-band equalizer in 500-series format, loosely comparable to the API 550b. Each band offers fewer frequency points than a 550b, without overlap between the bands. The...
Dove LDC FET mic, Archangel mic preamp
by Ronin Applied Sciences | reviewed by Joel Hamilton
Transparency comes in many colors. The Archangel is a mic preamp that seems to create its own reality of transparency - with unprecedented "passive gain" topology; cool, interesting design; and...
Echo Dream 2, Robot, Apocalypse
by Death By Audio | reviewed by Chris Woodhouse
Never saw it coming. Another day at work at the Dock (our spanking-new studio spot in Sacramento), helping my bud John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees, Coachwhips, Damaged Bug) spray fuzz guitar all over...
Orion32 AD/DA converter & USB interface
by Antelope Audio | reviewed by Andy Hong, Chris Koltay, Tony SanFilippo
Every now and then, a product comes along that sets a new bar for sound quality, features, and price. The Orion32 is a prime example. When contributing writers Tony SanFilippo and Chris Koltay...
19-09 Optical Compressor
by Western Dynamo | reviewed by Adam Kagan
Western Dynamo is a relatively new manufacturer, based in Austin, Texas. Started by J. Morris, an experienced studio tech and recording engineer, Western Dynamo aims to produce audio products using...
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Music Reviews
I Dream of Wires film (extended version)
by Robert Fantinatto | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
I would highly recommend Robert Fantinatto's documentary film not only to anyone interested in modular analog synthesizers, but to anybody interested in sound and the electronic reproduction of audio...
Music Reviews
There’s a Dream I’ve Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971
by Various Artists | reviewed by Larry Crane
Somehow Light in the Attic Records has been given access to the vaults of LHI, the company that producer, songwriter, singer, mogul, and cowboy Lee Hazlewood helmed in the mid-'60s and early-'70s....