Artist/writer Keri Smith came up with this list some time back and it took on a life of its own. During a chat a client showed this to me as we were discussing being a musician and people that were "unhappy" with their lack of success. This sure seems to apply...
A couple of years ago I purchased a download package that a friend's band, Blue Skies for Black Hearts, was offering up. It was a generous offer, proceeds went towards a good cause, and the band is really fun (not to mention that the bandleader,...
Why did I think I could set up my home studio in a couple of hours when it took four months to move Jackpot! to a new building? Tomorrow's shopping list: Solder, S/PDIF cables, etc... I'm amazed at how tangled and messy this quickly got. All I...
The Way Out of Easy is the second album Jeff Parker (Tortoise) has released that was recorded live by Bryce Gonzales at The Enfield Tennis Academy to a stereo Nagra tape machine on a hand built tube console that he designed and built. Besides Parker...
Bay Area native Scott Hansen, a.k.a. Tycho (Tape Op #123), has just released his sixth album, Infinite Health on Mom+Pop Records/Ninja Tune. Fans familiar with Tycho will hear Infinite Health as a logical progression in a sequence of...
by John Baccigaluppi It may not be obvious, but as this magazine’s graphic designer, the recently passed Vaughan Oliver was a major influence on the look of Tape Op Magazine. Being someone who’s not involved with social media, and as...
Tape Op contributor Allen Farmelo has written a fairly in-depth post regarding his processes for capturing and processing sounds on his wonderful blog. Check it out. I bet even some experienced engineers will take note of some of the ideas Allen puts...
The Decemberists' ninth album, As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, is out now. In 2003 I got a call from Colin Meloy about maybe recording his band, The Decemberists. Tape Op contributor, Adam Selzer, had already recorded some tracks for what...
OK, fine, I admit it -- I secretly envy hip hop's most ostentatious bling nuggets (T-Pain's new joint makes me particularly weak-kneed), but let's face it, none of that stuff has any place adorning a guy like me, even if the recession means I now...
It is often challenging within a review period to fully explore a piece of gear and integrate it into the daily workflow. It's not that reviewers won't use the feature set and put it to task in at least a few applications, but to truly get to know...
