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 forth, I know I did. Even though I don't exactly use the same methodology, I do apply some of the same principles in different ways. A typical "Larry Crane" album will have basic tracks through a multitude of mic preamps picked for each instrument, tracked to 2" tape (16- or 24-track, speed and EQ picked for the "sound"), dumped to Pro Tools through Apogee Rosetta 800s, overdubbed in Pro Tools and mixed through the Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console with almost all analog EQ, compression and effects to 1/4" tape at usually 30 ips. That's a lot of tonal coloration going on and many subtle steps that affect the sound. And I like the results!
More Entries
Blog
Music Biz Changes and Links
by Larry Crane
Here's some links and stuff from a thread I started at the Tape Op Message Board forum: David Byrne interviews Thom Yorke about the Radiohead "In Rainbows" download in Wired Magazine. Pandora Radio is an internet radio site that allows the...
Blog
Text-Only Tape Op Interviews on Kindle and iBookstore?
by Dave Middleton
Now that the Tape Op iPad app is available, we've been trying to figure out the best ways to get the magazine to other digital formats. Expansion to other full-fledged tablets (Android, etc) is a fairly straightforward - if laborious - process, in...
Blog
BEST STUPID STUDIO CHATTER EVER?
by Larry Crane
Al Kooper produced this band in the '80s. They really knew how to argue - with him, with each other and probably with anyone in a ten-mile radius. Al edited out the music and kept the wonderful conversation, releasing it on one of his limited (300...
Blog
Promo CDs and Reality
by Larry Crane
So here's a pile of CDs I'm supposed to be listening to right now instead of enjoying The Skids' Sweet Suburbia album. Some of these I actually bought (so I should be enjoying them I guess) and some were handed over by friends (yes, the Scott...
Blog
The Telephono Recording Project
by Larry Crane
From reader David Matysiak: "I would love to talk to you about audio experiment that I've been working on. It's a project called Telephono. Based on the children's game where you whisper a message and it gets around a circle of people, then sounds...
Blog
Tape Op Staff Favorites of 2018
by Geoff Stanfield
There were so many great records released this year, in fact too many to make a definitve and exhaustive list, but here are a few favorites from the Tape Op family. Consider it a tasting menu and have a great holiday! Click link to listen! Larry...
Blog
Everything Louder Than Everything Else - yikes, a film set in a recording studio!
by Larry Crane
Everything Louder Than Everything Else is a self-described "no-budget semi-scripted drama/comedy" set in a recording studio (in actuality, Vancouver's Hive Creative Labs). Rob Leickner ( Director, Writer, Editor, Camera, Producer)...
Blog
Archive and Catalog
by Larry Crane
I'm in the middle of cataloging 1.5 TB of audio files. This is the work I do for the Estate of Elliott Smith. Two computers keep Pro Tools on the top one and FileMaker Pro and Excel for track sheets on the bottom one. Otherwise the MacBook Pro...