One of the coolest, and least promoted (and previously difficult to find) books I've come across is Too Hot to Handle: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Recording Studios of the 20th Century. Author Randy McNutt is a huge fan of classic American music and the regional studios that used to record the hits (and misses) of yesteryear. I recently stumbled across his Home of the Hits blog, and wanted to let others know that it's well worth visiting. Randy is dedicated to preserving the memories and history of the music biz, and importantly understands that it was the people and their vision that makes all of this so fascinating.
More Entries
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Journal for the Art of Record Production
by Larry Crane
Eddie Ashworth dropped me a line about the work he and many other scholars are doing with the Art of Record Production folks. Be sure to read The Journal for the Art of Record Production online. It's densely full of articles, interviews, reviews...
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Vinyl Lives?
by Larry Crane
James Goss has interviewed many independent record store owners across the country to see how they stay in business and what they sell. Every month a new store will be profiled with interviews and photos. Pretty fun. Here's the link: Vinyl Lives
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A letter from Tape Op's Publisher
by John Baccigaluppi
Dear Tape Op Reader, We wanted to let you, the folks we make this magazine for, aware of a fundamental change in our business. Short version: We are cutting our ad rates nearly in half. Why? Here's the long version: Tape Op is an...
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MIXING IN THE BOX
by Larry Crane
I recently mixed my first album entirely on my laptop. Yeah, maybe I'm a decade behind the curve but I also own a studio and have done a majority of my work there. On this job we were attempting to cut and mix a record in three days and we didn't...
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Michael Nehra Looks Back at 30 Years of Vintage King
by Geoff Stanfield
Vintage King recently celebrated their 30 year anniversary. Like most things, there is a story behind what has now become a fantastic retailer of both vintage and modern recording equipment. I caught up with founder Michael Nehra on a Zoom call and...
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Archiving the Elliott Smith Audio
by Larry Crane
(me and Elliott rolling in Jackpot!'s original MCI JH-16, Feb. 1997) As most readers of Tape Op may have picked up on by now, I have been involved in the archiving and cataloging of the music of my late friend, Elliott Smith. Here's an interview I...
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Sea of Bees in a Shed?
by John Baccigaluppi
Larry and I recently spent a few weeks in the UK doing some interviews for the mag that you'll be seeing soon. Over the weekend I left Larry in London to play some gigs in Oxford and Cornwall with my friends in Sea of Bees. One of the...
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A Great Way to experience an angry comment to Tape Op
by Larry Crane
Enjoy a light-hearted animated romp courtesy of xtranormal.com's wonderful service. This is a real comment posted to our blog here. Sure is nice to feel the love.