Many Tape Op readers likely can’t imagine that issue #1 was Xeroxed and hand-folded 28 years ago, but it was. People may think of us as DIY, but there’s a long history of so many helping this magazine be its best, beginning with friends who dropped by to collate and staple for free beers! Thanks to all the folks that have worked so hard with us, and to all the amazing subscribers out there! -LC
Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.
This issue’s cover is an homage to the Pink Floyd song “Echoes,” from the album Meddle. The idea came to me after I saw Brian T. Silak’s photo of Jack Antonoff’s vintage tape delays, as the Binson Echorec...
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One of my favorite records of 2024 to date is Phosphorescent’s Revelator. It’s a beautifully recorded album, featuring Matthew Houck's timeless songwriting and lyrics plus gorgeous arrangements. I was hooked the first...
I just read an excellent new essay called The Case Against Free in which the author suggests that the "free economy" is drying up the economic resources needed to make quality creative works. The article focuses on recordings. It's a well...
Yup, I sit at my computer all day editing articles, writing stuff for the mag and answering the ridiculous amount of emails that always seep in over the course of a day.
illus by Eva Kihl
My pal David Lowery (Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven) has been doing a cool blog called 300 Songs, telling stories of how songs came about and other crazy stories. The most recent one is about the late Don Smith, who produced and engineered a bunch of...
I'm about to write something that at first will seem like another gray-beard waxing nostalgic for a by-gone analog era. But, stick with me, because I think the tables are turning to where going analog might be as forward-thinking as it gets.
Let's...