Joe Henry

Interviews

Read More →
Sonny DiPerri

Interviews

Read More →
Teri Landi

Interviews

Read More →
Jamie Lidell

Interviews

Read More →
Bob Clearmountain

Interviews

Read More →

MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Chris Schlarb

Chris Schlarb: BIG EGO and Beyond

BY STEVE KROLIKOWSKI, OLIVIA HEMARATANATORN

I met Chris Schlarb years ago in the Long Beach, California music scene, and we became reacquainted recently when I took on engineer and assistant roles for several of his productions in 2016, my favorite experience being Psychic Temple Plays Music for Airports. Recently Chris opened BIG EGO studios in Long Beach. Spanning genres from gospel, to bluegrass, to garage, what remains constant is a commitment to song, performance, and musicianship. Schlarb and BIG EGO's philosophy harkens back to a day when records were finished in weeks, and a label's sound relied heavily on a single studio and its session band. The medium has changed from tape to RADAR, but the vibe remains.

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS
I Am Snow Angel

I Am Snow Angel: Julie Kathryn's Journey into Sound

BY JULIA DRUMMOND, LARRY CRANE

Julie Kathryn is I Am Snow Angel, a sobriquet under which she composes, performs, produces, engineers, and mixes her own music. She also produces many other artists, such as Grace Lachance and ESS SEE, while working out of her home studio in New York City, or across the world as needed. Julie has also designed cool instrument presets for Ableton Live, and the imaginative sample pack - Dream Pack - for Splice. Her debut album, Crocodile, came out in 2014, and 2019 sees the release of Mothership, an album that further defines what I Am Snow Angel sounds like.

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS
New Danger

New Danger: Tulips by Maston

BY JOHN PHILLIPS, PHONOSCOPE

Maston is the project of L.A.-based composer multi-instrumentalist Frank Maston, who also runs the studio and label, Phonoscope. I met Frank backstage at a Jacco Gardner [Tape Op #109] concert in July 2015, when he was a member of the Dutch artist's touring band. When I learned Maston released a new album in October 2017, my curiosity was piqued. I ordered the vinyl edition of Tulips and it has been a constant on my turntable since. Tulips is a wonderful record that transports the listener into a film of his or her own making.

JULY 30, 2025 INTERVIEWS
SoundBetter

SoundBetter

BY LARRY CRANE, MOYO OYELOLA

SoundBetter Founders Shachar Gilad (Left) and Itamar Yunger (Right). In 2013 I met up with Shachar Gilad, the founder of SoundBetter, to talk about the new business he'd started, connecting people involved in the music recording process. Now, over five years later, SoundBetter is doing brisk business. (If you are one of the people I run into that complains you don't get enough studio work, especially mixing or mastering, this is something to check out.) I've received several jobs through here, and made bids on a few that sounded interesting, and it works. Payment is secured through SoundBetter, and when everyone is happy you get paid. I felt like mix jobs were finding me that I would normally never get. It's an interesting service, and I wanted to know more.

COLUMNS

What’s Your Time Worth?
END RANT
Gear Geeking w/ Andy
GEAR GEEKING

GEAR REVIEWS

Gear Reviews

500CS Channel Strip

by 500CS Channel Strip  |  reviewed by Scott McDowell

My studio in San Francisco is built around an Avid control surface instead of an analog console. Because of that, I rely exclusively on outboard to get sounds before I leave the "infinite sample rate" of the analog realm. Over the years I've come to really appreciate the economy of outboard channel...

Gear Reviews

AMBEO Smart Headset

by AMBEO Smart Headset  |  reviewed by Scott McDowell

Apogee and Sennheiser teamed up to make a smart in-ear headset/microphone combo. As a proud owner, I was eager to find out of this magical hybrid beast lived up to its potential. First, what is it? It's two things: a binaural microphone that you wear in your ears, and a hi-fi in ear headset that...

Gear Reviews

Big Knob Studio & Big Knob Passive

by Big Knob Studio & Big Knob Passive  |  reviewed by Tom Fine

Back in 2004, Mackie introduced the original Big Knob, the first affordable monitor/headphone bus controller for DAW-based studios. Essentially, Mackie took the best elements of an analog console monitor section and added some goodies like multiple recorder outputs and a phono preamp, all in a...

Gear Reviews

C725 Microphone

by C725 Microphone  |  reviewed by John Vanderslice, Scott McChane, Steve Veilleux, Bryce Gonzales

We're lucky when three experienced audio professionals come together with their perspectives and experience for a deep dive into a product that deserves close attention. Studio owner/engineer/musician John Vanderslice [Tape Op #10], engineer/gear builder Bryce Gonzales [Highland Dynamics], and...

Gear Reviews

Chroma 500 Series Preamp

by Chroma 500 Series Preamp  |  reviewed by Justin Mantooth

When describing equipment we love, we often use words like "weight," "character," or "glue." Many would argue that the analog domain is where these adjectives thrive – I would have to agree. In my own work I lean heavily on analog inserts and analog subgroups while mixing in Pro Tools. I am always...

Gear Reviews

Colares Vocal Condenser Mic

by Colares Vocal Condenser Mic  |  reviewed by Eli Crews, Adam Kagan

As engineers and studio owners, we all get excited (and check our cashflow) when a new microphone design hits the streets – especially when that microphone is built by an expert with a deep knowledge of the classics we know and love. When Matt McGlynn reached out to us with news of his new FET...

Gear Reviews

ER Series Musician Earplugs

by ER Series Musician Earplugs  |  reviewed by Jonathan Saxon

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders "musicians face nearly four times greater risk of developing hearing loss than the rest of the public." If you haven't thought seriously about hearing protection, hopefully this review will be the catalyst. To avoid...

Gear Reviews

Genesys & Genesys Black Console

by Genesys & Genesys Black Console  |  reviewed by John O'Mahony

Consoles are iconic – for decades they were the nucleus of every professional studio. The first time I stepped into a control room and saw one I knew, right away, that was where I wanted to sit, with the faders and meters jumping to life all around me. Now with the shift to more boutique (or...

Gear Reviews

HEDD Quantum

by HEDD Quantum  |  reviewed by Geoff Stanfield

There are pieces of studio gear that are essential and there are color or flavor machines that enhance, adding personality to your recordings or mixes. There are very few that are both, but the Crane Song HEDD (harmonically enhanced digital device) is one such box – once used, you'll have a hard...

Gear Reviews

Level-Or MK2 Limiter

by Level-Or MK2 Limiter  |  reviewed by Joseph Branciforte

Standard Audio, a California-based manufacturer specializing in 500 Series designs, has released an update of their much-loved Level-Or limiter/distortion processor. The original Level-Or [Tape Op #78] was released 10 years ago, and was inspired by the Shure Level-Loc, an ultra-aggressive PA...

Gear Reviews

MaraTapeCal iOS App

by MaraTapeCal iOS App

As both a refurbisher and seller of pro tape machines, the name Mara is synonymous with tape. When I saw they were entering the iOS app world with their Mara tape calibration program, I was both excited and curious. To many of us, tape machine calibration comes across like some form of dark art,...

Gear Reviews

MC7.1 Monitor Controller

by MC7.1 Monitor Controller  |  reviewed by Don Gunn

Back in "ye olde days," when control rooms were built around a console, monitor control was generally handled in the master/center section of the desk where one could switch between multiple sets of speakers, input sources (console/mix down deck/CD player/iPod), collapse the image to mono for...

Gear Reviews

Microwave Cleaner

by Microwave Cleaner  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

If you have a studio, you have a microwave – odds are the inside of which looks and smells like a truck stop toilet apocalypse (or a Hertz rental car return from Burning Man). Interns would rather quit or buy a new microwave rather than clean it. So, what's an engineer to do? There are chemical...

Gear Reviews

MTP-66 Motown Tube Preamp

by MTP-66 Motown Tube Preamp  |  reviewed by Dave Hidek

Acme Audio has been hitting home runs for the last few years with their Motown D.I. [Tape Op #116] and Opticom XLA-series tube compressors [#86], so when the MTP-66 Motown tube preamp recently popped up on the market, a lot of eyebrows were raised – particularly those belonging to fans of late ‘60s...

Gear Reviews

Multifan S4 USB Cooling Fan

by Multifan S4 USB Cooling Fan  |  reviewed by Scott McChane

Along with failing solder joints and dust, overheating can be an equal opportunity menace to electronics. Previously, the solution for keeping the Mac mini, my UAD-2 Satellite [Tape Op #83], and a pair of external hard drives cool was to place them on a cheap USB laptop cooling pad. This proved to...

Gear Reviews

RackBrute

by RackBrute  |  reviewed by Thom Monahan, John Baccigaluppi, Geoff Stanfield

When Arturia introduced a new series of Brute synths and a Eurorack/power supply system at NAMM last year, we had several reviewers asking about them. Thom Monahan is an experienced analog synthesizer user and wanted to review the MiniBrute 2S, which has an onboard step sequencer but no keyboard....

Gear Reviews

SP2016 Reverb Plug-In

by SP2016 Reverb Plug-In  |  reviewed by Adam Kagan

Eventide has been creating studio-quality outboard processors since the mid ‘70s, and Eventide phasers, flangers, pitch-shifters, and reverbs have been used in creating many of the most famous pop and rock records, from AC/DC to Mariah Carey to Frank Zappa, and everything in between. Eventide...

Gear Reviews

SurferEQ2 Plug-In

by SurferEQ2 Plug-In  |  reviewed by Gus Berry

These days, we are constantly updated with new product announcements consisting of plug-in emulations of old products. While this may be good for our ever-changing industry, it seems that truly innovative products get somewhat overlooked. Sound Radix is a company that has been quietly making modern...

Gear Reviews

The Hot Holder & The Cheese

by The Hot Holder & The Cheese  |  reviewed by Garrett Haines

From the Department of "where the heck has this been all my life!" comes thee soldering accessory from Austin DIY Ribbon Microphones. It's a purple block of dense silicon that can hold components in place, freeing up your hands for the iron and solder. Designed especially for audio electronics,...

Gear Reviews

The Library Music Film

by The Library Music Film  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

If you're not a crate digger, DJ, EDM track sampler, post production whiz, or music historian, you might not know what library music – also known as production or stock music – is, or why there would be a documentary about such a thing. But this rare breed of music – mostly being rediscovered on...

Gear Reviews

Transatlantic Plate Reverb Plug-In

by Transatlantic Plate Reverb Plug-In  |  reviewed by Pete Weiss

Plug-in reverbs sure are handy at times, but most mix engineers will admit that the majority of these plug-ins are more convenient than actually good-sounding. I find myself using certain plug-in reverbs as quick placeholder effects until a later time when I have access to a real plate, spring, or...

Gear Reviews

Veeam Agent for MS Windows

by Veeam Agent for MS Windows  |  reviewed by Mike Kosacek

While reading Tape Op #128, I came upon Larry Crane's review of Qdea's Synchronize! Pro X backup software. About half way through I came upon the dreaded phrase "for Mac OS only." No worries! I'm a Windows user and I've been using Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows for free! That's right, it's free....