Tape Op Magazine - Issue #119

Interviews

Interviews

Interviews

Interviews

MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Build Your Own Spring Reverb

BY SCOTT HAMPTON

I have been a big fan of spring and plate reverbs for decades, and over the past three years I have spent a significant amount of time diving into the wormhole of designing and building them, initially for my own use and now for others. There are many amazing vintage units in existence, but I wanted to design one around current, commercially available reverb tanks, as not to be at the mercy of sourcing old parts. Recently my custom shop has been offering the result of this research: the SR4, a four-tank unit with a plethora of features. For this article, I took the basics of the SR4 and reduced it down to the simplest design I could come up with to share with the DIY audio community.

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Gebre Waddell (Bonus): Stonebridge Mastering in Memphis

BY LARRY CRANE

Not only is Gebre Waddell the CEO of Soundways [Tape Op #118], he runs Stonebridge Mastering in his hometown of Memphis, created the Refinement plug-in, and is the author of the book, Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques, published by McGraw-Hill.

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Irene Trudel (Bonus): Live! On the Air! - Radio Engineering in NYC

BY DAWN LANDES

Irene Trudel might just be one of the most private people in public radio. A self-professed introvert, Irene has worked in public and commercial radio for over 30 years, and is now a head engineer for WNYC 93.9 FM. Since 1986 she's also hosted her own weekly show on WFMU (Irene Trudel's Show), and her album credits include live recordings of Jeff Buckley, Yo La Tengo, Giant Sand [Tape Op #12], Michael Hurley, Gary Lucas, Bang on a Can, and more. We got together at WNYC's Control Room #5, where I had recorded with her twice before as a guest on John Schaefer's Soundcheck show.

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS

This Issue’s Lords of Listening Soundways: Behind the Gear with Connor Reviere, Gebre Waddell, and Patrick Moss

BY LARRY CRANE

Connor Reviere, Gebre Waddell, and Patrick Moss are Soundways. Their recent plug-ins, the Core Production Bundle, are a new way to help engineers listen, as well as hear details, in recordings and mixes. I met up with them in their hometown of Memphis to learn more about their products and their future.

COLUMNS

GEAR REVIEWS

Gear Reviews

510 Power MkII 500-Series Frame

by 510 Power MkII 500-Series Frame | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

I would recommend the Lindell Audio 510 Power MkII ten-slot chassis and power supply to anyone looking for a rackmount 500-series frame. It has several features that make it very functional and versatile. Firstly, it has both XLR and DB25 connectors (wired in parallel) for the first eight slots....

Gear Reviews

530 Parametric EQ

by 530 Parametric EQ | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

I've been looking for 500-series parametric EQ modules for our API 1608 console [Tape Op #81] for a while now. I love the sound of our API 550 EQs, but sometimes, I want to hit frequencies in between the fixed points that the 550 offers, especially when EQ'ng drums. For this surgical style of...

Gear Reviews

611EQ E Series EQ

by 611EQ E Series EQ | reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

At Panoramic House, we have various EQ modules installed in the 500-series slots of our API 1608 console [Tape Op #81]. Until recently, none of them had sweepable frequencies. I love the sound of the API 550 EQ, but I find it frustrating when I want to make a cut at a frequency that's in-between...

Gear Reviews

API 2500 Bus Compressor Plug-In

by API 2500 Bus Compressor Plug-In | reviewed by Dave Cerminara

The online audio community always cheers when Universal Audio announces a software update with new plug-in emulations. This happened again when the company announced UAD version 9 with the introduction of UAD API 2500. Developed using "for your eyes only" schematics, UA's team of DSP experts...

Gear Reviews

Element Acoustic Panels

by Element Acoustic Panels | reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

The Element broadband absorber panels are a new product from Primacoustic. I have a Primacoustic Stratus ceiling cloud [Tape Op #114] installed in my mix space, and I have been happy with its performance. Unlike the Stratus system, which is built up from rectangular panels that are 2 ft × 4 ft in...

Gear Reviews

F765 Compex 500-Series Compressor

by F765 Compex 500-Series Compressor | reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

You may already know the story behind the legendary ADR Compex dynamics processor, which for many of us, is noted mostly for the drum sound on Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks." Q2 Audio, the manufacturers of the official ADR Compex F760X-RS reissue [Tape Op #108], recently began selling a...

Gear Reviews

FaderPort 8 Mixer Control Surface

by FaderPort 8 Mixer Control Surface | reviewed by Scott McChane

Expanding on the popular single-fader FaderPort [Tape Op #59], PreSonus is now offering the FaderPort 8, which features eight 100 mm touch-sensitive motorized faders and 57 buttons. For those of us who are seeking the fun of mixing on a control surface, while avoiding the drudgery of driving...

Gear Reviews

HG-2 Tube Processor

by HG-2 Tube Processor | reviewed by Scott Craggs

So, what we have here is a big (3RU-height), heavy (26 lb) black box filled with tubes and transformers, from a company called Black Box Analog Design. That's a lot to like already, and I haven't even told you what it does yet. I'd been extremely curious to check out the HG-2 ever since I first saw...

Gear Reviews

KSM8 Dualdyne Dynamic Mic

by KSM8 Dualdyne Dynamic Mic | reviewed by Chris Koltay

My original plan was to write a typical Andy Hong review of the new Shure KSM8 mic, with measurements and thoughts from empirical testing accompanying my commentary of actual in-studio use. But soon after assembling most of my notes for the review, Chris Koltay messaged me a photo of The Mummies...

Gear Reviews

Launchpad Pro USB/MIDI Controller

by Launchpad Pro USB/MIDI Controller | reviewed by Dana Gumbiner

The Novation Launchpad series of USB pad controllers [Tape Op #82 online] has gone through a number of iterations since the first Launchpad came out back in 2009, and here we are with the latest, and most innovative revision yet — the Launchpad Pro. For those not familiar, the Novation Launchpad...

Gear Reviews

LCD-X Headphones

by LCD-X Headphones | reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

For jaded music listeners, the Audeze line of headphones may be the cure for reconnecting with music and audio. Audeze is not a new name to audiophiles. The company has been making high-quality products for many years but have more recently caught the attention of some folks in the pro audio...

Gear Reviews

Processing Creativity: The Tools, Practices And Habits Used To Make Music You're Happy With (Book)

by Processing Creativity: The Tools, Practices And Habits Used To Make Music You're Happy With (Book) | reviewed by Larry Crane

This is one of the best guides to making the best recordings out there, but in fact, it's not really about recording. Jesse Cannon, who has contributed to Tape Op in the past, has himself been the subject of an interview [Tape Op #97], in which he discussed the excellent, often updated book Get...

Gear Reviews

Resonator A & B Dynamic Mics

by Resonator A & B Dynamic Mics | reviewed by Joel Hamilton

When a piece of equipment comes along that challenges the norms of the day, I always take notice. "Normal" is an ever-shifting sandbar in the harbor of consensus, and it never holds still for long in our business. Placid Audio came along many years ago, and from their first run of Copperphone mics...

Gear Reviews

V13 Large-Diaphragm Tube Mic

by V13 Large-Diaphragm Tube Mic | reviewed by Adam Kagan

"Smooth like whiskey" — that's how Vanguard Audio Lab's main man, Derek Bargaehr, describes the sound of the V13 large-diaphragm condenser mic. Vanguard, a small company based in Upland, California, has spent a long time developing a tube mic that competes with upper echelon mics, but at a fraction...