Interviews
By Larry Crane, Stephen Allbritten, Derek Porter
In an industry that has become more and more digitized, Nashville's Welcome to 1979 and its owner, Chris Mara, are offering clients an opportunity to step back in time. With a recent purchase of a vinyl cutting lathe, Chris, along with his vinyl mastering engineer Cameron Henry, is continuing the...
Interviews
Jensen Transformers was founded in 1974 by Deane Jensen as part of his quest for excellent studio sound. He believed the transforme...
Interviews
For me, the highlight of the inaugural A3E (Advanced Audio + Applications Exchange) event in Boston (September 23-24, 2014) was the closing keynote,...
Interviews
Jensen Transformers was founded in 1974 by Deane Jensen as part of his quest for excellent...
Interviews
What do Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, LL Cool J, Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, U2,...
Interviews
Better known by the last name "Explosion," due to his rock group Doctor...
What do Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, LL Cool J, Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, U2, Mick Jagger, AC/DC, The Damned, The Posies, and Rage Against the Machine all have in common? They all belong to a long and diverse list of artists that have had David Bianco touch their music. I fondly remember my own daily ritual of going into Toast Recording in San Francisco, in 1997, to work on my band's (Black Lab) debut record for Geffen/DGC. David and I have been friends ever since. I recently caught up with him at his studio, Dave's Room.
Ian Shaw, engineer and producer from London, England, relocated to the heart of tropical Key West, Florida, the southernmost point in the continental US. In the winter of 2011 Ian shipped his recording equipment to Key West and built a new studio there, whilst living in a quirky floating home with wife Vicky and dog Pugsy. Ian's records have won awards and earned chart successes on both sides of the Atlantic. Artists include Primal Scream, Nick Heyward, Kevin Rowland, Super Furry Animals, Julian Cope, Furniture, Glen Matlock, Edward Ball, The Would Be Goods and the entire 1990s Riot Grrl scene. Most recently Ian's worked with up-and-coming Folk artist Megan Henwood, Matt Backer, Claudia Morris, Socialist R&B band Thee Faction, austerity rock band Sebastopol, and singer/songwriter Nikki Murray. Bill, who is in his late 60s, is a genuine "back porch" blues singer and guitarist with a signature slide guitar style of playing. He's originally from Richmond, Virginia and enjoyed his first break when he was invited to play guitar in Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's band. Crudup is best known for writing "That's All Right," Elvis Presley's first hit. When Crudup died in 1974, Bill formed The Bill Blue Band, signed to Adelphi Records, and toured extensively in the USA and Europe opening for Bonnie Raitt, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, and many others. In the early 80s, tired of the road and touring, Bill moved to Key West where he's lived ever since. He's considered to be the elder statesman of the music scene here, and in 2013, October 14th was declared by The City Of Key West to be 'Bluesman Bill Blue Day"! Key West being laid back and tropical can present a challenge to recording a conventional studio album, so this recording happened unconventionally. As Bill Blue says, "In a town known for it's liberal ways, year round sunshine, and Jimmy Buffett and Trop Rock, it's hard to have the Blues!"
Better known by the last name "Explosion," due to his rock group Doctor Explosion, Jorge Mu-oz-Cobo started Estudios Circo Perrotti in 2003 in his hometown of Gijon, located in Spain's northern coastal province of Asturias. The group may have a reputation for madcap lyrics and stage antics, but Jorge Explosion has had a lifelong passion for recording. His studio incorporates the impressive collection of vintage and new recording gear, as well as the instruments he has amassed over the years. Artists from across Europe, plus rock-a-billy legend Sonny Burgess, garage stalwarts The Fleshtones (my band), and Texas psyche-pop rockers The Ripe, have had the opportunity to enjoy Jorge's recording skills, as well as what this unique corner of Spain has to offer: traditional cider, sea urchins, and even a bit of surfing.
With the music biz shifting, daily talk amongst musicians mainly revolves around the subject of adaptability. As old doors close, others are opening, offering creative control, DIY tools, and diversification options. Bands rarely find themselves coddled anymore and have to make things happen for themselves, for better or worse. Nobody exemplifies the embracing of this lifestyle better than Oliver Ackermann. First making a name for himself with the band Skywave, he soon after founded Death By Audio, a homegrown effects pedal company that was on the leading edge of the boutique effects boom. Whereas his contemporaries seemed to be on an endless search for the ultimate Tube Screamer clone, Ackermann cut new sonic paths, unapologetically stating that his stompboxes weren't for everyone, catering instead to players wanting to summon more excruciating tones out of their guitars. Coming full circle, these sounds find their way into his current band, A Place To Bury Strangers, a three-piece that includes bassist Dion Lunadon and drummer Robi Gonzalez, who have been making post-apocalyptic noise rock for over a decade. Live shows are heady, strobe-fueled and impossibly loud sensory-overloading events, designed to bring on hallucinations. Woe to the band that hits the stage after them. So it's appropriate that Death By Audio HQ, also a venue and recording studio, looks like an electrical engineer's take on Road Warrior. The walls are lined with enough guitars, in various states of customization, repair, and decrepitude, to shame the members of Sonic Youth. Gear stacks the walls, which are covered in stickers and silkscreen test runs. Yet there is a method to the madness, and everything seems to be in its right place. The shop cranks out an impressive number of well-made pedals that have found their way into the hands of artists as diverse as The Edge, Jeff Tweedy, Trent Reznor, and Kevin Shields [Tape Op #26]. You might think that all of this fascination with decay Ackermann might be a tough interview, but he remains one of the most positive and optimistic people you'll ever meet. It makes sense. Things seem to be going his way.
In a majority of cases, the absolute worst motive for undertaking a DIY electronics project is "cost savings." Gear builds are gratifying for a number of reasons, but factors like economies of scale dictate that you will often end up spending an amount approaching (or exceeding) the cost of a...
Let's paint a picture. If you are new to painting, let's paint by numbers. If you have been at it awhile, let's explore and start mixing our own colors and use more than just a paintbrush to apply it. Now, in the hands of a novice, even the best paintbrush and the finest oils in the world are...
I've had a pair of ADAM S3-A [Tape Op #33] powered monitors for about a decade at Jackpot! Recording Studio, and they've treated me well. I had been through a number of speakers before them, and in most cases, I either outgrew these monitors' limitations quickly, or I blew out too many drivers....
In today's boutique audio market, variable-mu designs have become very popular after the rediscovery of such classic units as the Fairchild 670, General Electric BA-5-A, and Gates Sta-Level. What Anthony DeMaria over at ADL has done this time is painstakingly resurrect another lost classic with his...
Triad-Orbit is a new brand of professional microphone stands from Access Products Group, a company that has been designing and producing products for other market leaders for over twenty years. The Triad-Orbit catalog includes Triad stands, Orbit booms, and Micro mic adapters - all clean-slate...
French loudspeaker manufacturer Focal recently introduced the mid-priced Alpha series of professional studio monitors, all of which feature a polyglass cone woofer, double front bass ports, and an inverted dome tweeter similar to the one used in Focal's celebrated CMS line - at about half the price...
Twenty years ago, there really wasn't much of a market for "plug-ins." Sure, there were some limited software tools for audio, but they were mostly proprietary to a specific editor. Very little product existed in the way of standardized plug-ins that could be used across different editing programs....
Twenty years ago, there really wasn't much of a market for "plug-ins." Sure, there were some limited software tools for audio, but they were mostly proprietary to a specific editor. Very little product existed in the way of standardized plug-ins that could be used across different editing programs....
Sometimes when "researching" at night with the TV, my ears will prick up at a sound. As often as not, if I recognize it, it comes from Heavyocity. Their libraries seem to find a place all over film and TV, and elements from their latest offering, DM?307, can be heard in the Godzilla trailer. If the...
What sets the iD22 apart from countless other compact audio interfaces I've tried is its big-console feel and sound. And really, it's the most "analog" sounding USB audio interface I've heard! The iD22 has two channels of analog input and six channels of analog output, as well as an optical...
If you do any audio processing in the analog domain, whether you rely on a large-format console or just a modest rack of gear, you'll realize quickly how powerful and easy-to- use these half-width, 1RU-height tools from Avenson are when you plug them in. Plus, you'll appreciate how they do what...
I am a fan of the 500-series format, but each time I see a new module enter the fray of over 200 different modules, I have to wonder what makes this one special. Phoenix Audio produces high quality, Class A circuitry in the heritage of vintage Neve-style designs, and I was eager to check out the...
At AES, we met with Waves, and they asked us why Tape Op never reviews their plug-ins. "Good question," I said. Then, a bit later at the show, Geoff Stanfield and I started talking about how we had both purchased and were using Waves ADT. "Hey, wait a minute," I said, "This is a review if we do an...
The first thing one notices about Softube plug-ins is that the graphics are kinda stunning. Now, I'm not foolish enough to think that skeuomorphic precision and meticulous shading are going to make the stuff sound better exactly, but the first impression is a good one, and what soon follows is the...
It seems there are two popular approaches to implementing virtual instruments. On one hand, you have Arturia's excellent models of classic electronic instruments that offer control over every possible parameter, including some that never existed in the original instruments. Arturia's virtual...
If you, like me, have recently moved to the Thunderbolt computer interface platform, these two products may be of interest to you. I recently sold my Avid TDM hardware in favor of a Universal Audio Apollo platform. In my opinion, Apollo is the first real contender to displacing the Avid hardware...