AUDIOTREE.tv

Interviews

AUDIOTREE.tv

By Andy Hong

I've been a fan of Audiotree's video webcast for a couple of years now. It's by far my favorite live-music program available online and, in my opinion, it's the best sounding and best looking one too. But it wasn't until I saw a series of tutorial videos on YouTube...

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Dusty Wakeman

Interviews

Dusty Wakeman: Managing Mics and More

By Larry Crane

Mojave Audio makes some of the highest quality mics at a great value; I've used several of them since they debuted and am a big fan. Dusty Wakeman has been running the company for years. I wanted to know more about his past, and how he ended up at a fine company like Mojave.

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Mac DeMarco

Interviews

Mac DeMarco: Varispeed and Beyond

By Ben Berke and Jay Mamana, Yuki Kikuchi

Mac DeMarco's persona precedes him. He's a bedroom auteur in the great tradition of R. Stevie Moore and Ariel Pink, and he's managed to cut some of the most fan-beloved records of the 2010s. Budgets? Shoestring. Mic closet? Not enviable. Collaborators? Once a guy named Garfield...

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Richard Swift

Article

Richard Swift

"What you can control are knobs, faders, and being a nice person." For ten years...
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Recording the 50th Anniversary Monterey International Pop Festival

Interviews

Recording the 50th Anniversary Monterey International Pop...

By John Baccigaluppi
So my phone rings, and Tape Op contributor Jesse Lauter tells me he needs some help...
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Jeremy Ferguson

Interviews

Jeremy Ferguson: Battle Tapes Recording

By Zachary Gresham
Battle Tapes Recording has been at the epicenter of left-of-Nashville rock and indie music...
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MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

COLUMNS

END RANT by Larry Crane
When Does the Production Happen?
END RANT

When Does the Production Happen?

by Larry Crane

Years ago, while talking to the late Cosimo Matassa [Tape Op #40], I remember marveling at the sounds he had achieved while recording early hits for Little Richard, Fats Domino, Roy Brown, and many others in the '40s, '50s, and beyond. Initially he was working with a limited number of tracks, a...

GEAR GEEKING by Andy Hong
Gear Geeking w/ Andy
GEAR GEEKING

Gear Geeking w/ Andy

by Andy Hong

Years ago, I reviewed the Eclipse Tools 900-005 Cable Tie Gun [Tape Op #29]. If you've ever used a tool like this to tension and cut cable ties, you'll never go back to using your fingers and a set of diagonals (or pliers) to perform the same job. A cable tie gun is essential for bundling together...

GEAR REVIEWS

Gear Reviews

AT8459 Swivel Mount for Mic Clips

BY AT8459 Swivel Mount for Mic Clips  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

The AT8459 is a product that encourages you to say, “How did I ever live without it?” It’s a compact, double-socket arm with mic threads on the ball ends. After you screw on a mic clip to the male-threaded end, and attach the female end to a mic stand or boom, you can articulate your mic into...

Gear Reviews

AT8471 Isolation Mic Clip

BY AT8471 Isolation Mic Clip  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

While organizing my mic cabinets recently, I decided to replace some of the crappy plastic mic clips that I’ve collected over the years. Some of the cheap clips I bought separately, some came with low-cost mics, while others came with expensive Sennheiser, Neumann, and AKG mics. And some mics, like...

Gear Reviews

bx_subfilter Plug-in

BY bx_subfilter Plug-in  |  reviewed by Scott McChane

Four knobs, a three-position switch, and no bull! bx_subfilter is touted as a simple but effective tool for tightening up bass frequencies, and it is 100% free for all Plugin Alliance members. I’ve been drinking the Plugin Alliance Kool-Aid for almost two years now. As an informed member, I...

Gear Reviews

Cable Management Sleeve

BY Cable Management Sleeve  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

The landlord of our new studio location really likes organized racks and cables. His control room looks like a server farm installed by IBM. Cables are loomed, labeled, and cut to length. No excess clutter can be found. But I come from the school of thought that anything behind the rack is fair...

Gear Reviews

DiskMaker X macOS Boot Disk Creator

BY DiskMaker X macOS Boot Disk Creator  |  reviewed by Scott McChane

In my opinion, macOS 10.8.5 running Pro Tools 10.x is stable and “rock solid.” Some of us put off inevitability to maintain productivity, but eventually “progress” (be it for our own benefit or not) will move us forward... or our older hardware will fail. For the time being, I’m gambling that a...

Gear Reviews

guitaRF Reflexion Filter

BY guitaRF Reflexion Filter  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

When SE Electronics invented the trademarked Reflexion Filter [Tape Op #56] in 2006, I recall many engineers in our industry thinking it was a groundbreaking product, while others were skeptical. Since then, the basic premise of the Reflexion, a curved acoustic barrier that surrounds the rear of a...

Gear Reviews

Kii THREE Active Monitors

BY Kii THREE Active Monitors  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

This powered monitor incorporates the most impressive speaker technology I have ever experienced. It’s a real game changer. The Kii THREE’s dispersion pattern is cardioid, even at the lower end of the frequency spectrum, where reflections from nearby wall/floor/ceiling surfaces normally wreak havoc...

Gear Reviews

Komodo W Bass Trap 2.0

BY Komodo W Bass Trap 2.0  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

When the music-recording market made a shift towards project studios and converted spaces, many of us had to suffer through years of crappy sounding rooms. I have countless memories of working in studios that lacked acoustic treatment, while sitting behind the console cursing at the difficulty of...

Gear Reviews

Model F511 USB Fan

BY Model F511 USB Fan  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

Opolar sells a variety of fans. The F511 is a 9’’ diameter, three-blade desktop model with two speeds and a built-in stand. It can be useful in remote-recording situations or anywhere you have 200–600 mA of current available from a USB Type A port. (I mention this because most USB hubs have an...

Gear Reviews

Red Range

BY Red Range  |  reviewed by Neil Mclellan, Andy Hong

The Red Range is Focusrite’s latest series of audio interfaces, currently comprised of the Red 4Pre and Red 8Pre. The former has four built-in Red Evolution preamps, and a total I/O count of 58 in and 64 out, divided across digital and analog channels. The latter has eight preamps, and a total of...

Gear Reviews

Spectra Mobile Headphone Amp/DAC

BY Spectra Mobile Headphone Amp/DAC  |  reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

In my recent review of the Audeze Deckard headphone amp/DAC [Tape Op #119], I emphasized the value of high-quality monitoring systems for laptops, iPhones, and other portable devices. An enhanced mobile listening experience really makes a difference, and its merits should not be ignored. What has...

Gear Reviews

T50RPmk3 Headphones

BY T50RPmk3 Headphones  |  reviewed by Pete Weiss

Having worked (and played) in various recording studios since the mid-’80s, I’ve seen (and worn) my share of Fostex headphones. Along with AKG K240 and Sony MDR series models, Fostex cans were everywhere in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I remember two basic versions from back in the day. There was the...

Gear Reviews

The Anchor Under-desk Headphone Hanger

BY The Anchor Under-desk Headphone Hanger  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

Elevation Lab is an industrial design firm based in Portland, OR, that can’t decide whether its name includes a space or not. It makes the kinds of products that we wish were included with the gear we purchased. From iPad and Apple Watch docks, to magnetic chargers — the company offers a portfolio...

Gear Reviews

USB Detector Power Meter

BY USB Detector Power Meter  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

USB products are everywhere. macOS-based mastering engineers have been dealing with external disc burners for many years, ever since Apple decided internal units were passé. And it seems everyone has clients who rely on thumb drives and those small portable hard drives. All that moving around can...