Interviews
By Larry Crane, Aya Muto
Years ago, I started seeing an engineer's name associated with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers on a number of releases. Working on Tom's Runnin' Down a Dream documentary, The Live Anthology box set, the Mudcrutch side project, as well as The Heartbreakers' fantastic last two albums...
Interviews
From session bassist, to songwriter, to producer, Mike Elizondo has had an interesting musical path. For 11 years he co-wrote with Dr...
Interviews
If you've listened to metal records produced in the last two decades, you've surely heard the work of Andy Sneap. Killswitch...
Interviews
Interviews
Interviews
In Tacoma, Washington, a town full of rich musical history – including The Sonics, The Ventures, and The Wailers – exists a museum-like recording studio you've probably never heard of. However, unlike a museum, the artifacts of Uptone Recorders are preserved, maintained, and available to record with. Producer Steve Fisk [Tape Op #3] describes Uptone as a "singular experience," saying, "It is not like any place you have ever worked. The gear and instrument collection literally hurts my head." I sat down with Hunter Lea, the lead producer at Uptone Recorders, to talk about the studio, recording during COVID, and the Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood reissues he's producing.
In Tape Op #55 we had a wonderful chat with John Cuniberti, where we discussed everything from his ReAmp product to recording the Dead Kennedys and Joe Satriani. In this interview we asked him about his OneMic series, where, for several years, he's recorded artists performing two songs live in a room, captured via one AEA R88 stereo ribbon microphone. These recordings are also shot for video and are stunningly beautiful. We were curious about the process, so I got John into Jackpot! Recording a few years back for an interview, while he was at The Hallowed Halls studio nearby tracking some OneMic sessions.
In Northern Ireland, in a certain region of the countryside, you can find Analogue Catalogue Recording Studios. This residential studio is run by Julie McLarnon, an engineer/producer with a fascinating history and a passion for analog(ue) recording. Her records for The Vaselines, Jeffrey Lewis, King Creosote, Barbarossa, and The Shivers are proof of her skills. Myles O'Reilly's documentary short film with her, The Psychology of Analogue, is also worth tracking down on YouTube, and I found her insights in it on hearing quite interesting.
I usually like to structure my reviews with a full description of the product I’m writing about, then provide my experience with it (along with use cases during the review period), and ultimately, conclude with what I think of said kit. I’m turning that approach on its head with my review of the...
From the requisite hand-wired boutique pieces of the ‘50s and early ‘60s, to the large format commercial consoles that followed, and then right into the modern project-style studio, hardware from Rupert Neve’s bench has filled the decades – and sometimes defined them. His recent passing marks not...
If you’re an audio professional, it’s likely you know the simple number “73” means only one of two things: It’s either a reference to the revered Neve 1073 mic pre/EQ, or a clone of one. One could argue it is the most famous and most widely imitated mic pre/EQ design that exists. Why? The original...
I would be hard-pressed to remember a recording project where I didn’t use an Audix microphone. Your initial reaction to the name Audix may paint a picture of affordable workhorse dynamic microphones that sound great on percussion and bass instruments, but this company has made plenty of headway in...
Held in high regard by many as the “ultimate analog drum machine,” Elektron’s Analog Rytm has been around since 2014, with the Mark II iteration arriving in 2018. The eight-voice hybrid drum machine has a heavy steel enclosure, angled slightly for desktop use, with a considerable amount of I/O on...
As a home recordist on a limited budget, I’ve been hooked on 500 Series modules for the past few years. In addition to the possibility of building my own gear, like my beloved CAPI VP26 [Tape Op #77] and Hairball Audio Elements [#110] preamps, one of the initial appeals of collecting 500 Series...
About two months ago, I was mindlessly scrolling on Instagram when an ad for a “Noise Reducer” plug-in caught my eye. (Yes, I know, I got reeled in by an Instagram ad). It showed an artist recording their podcast in what looked like a bedroom. There was some obvious background noise from the HVAC...
Learning the ideal applications of your gear is an excellent ear training exercise, and frankly half the job – whether you’re a recording engineer or a musician. For me, simply remembering this essential process helps to navigate equipment purchases and corresponding reviews, which KRK, being the...
Peterson Goodwyn and his crew at DIY Recording Equipment (DIYRE) won’t be strangers to many long-term Tape Op readers. Their Colour 500 Palette [Tape Op #107] has been reviewed, along with several other DIYRE and third-party Colour modules. For those not familiar, the Colour 500 Palette is a 500...
Geoff Daking began his career as a drummer in a signed band, then became a recording engineer, and almost three decades ago began building his own brand of recording gear in California. This is to say that Daking is one of the few companies where hardware is designed by people who successfully...
Universal Audio has been quietly updating some of their previously released plug-ins with new features that you may have overlooked if not watching closely. About four years ago, I purchased the dbx 160 UAD plug-in. At the time, I left a four out of five stars customer review on the Universal Audio...
For effects pedals with an expression input, consider using the Expression Knob by El Garatge. It’s well made, saves space, and is easy to use – I love it! This L-shaped device has a 1/4-inch TRS right-angle male connector at one end, a knob approximately 1/2-inches in diameter at the other end,...
My biggest fear when using a new interface is always, “How much downtime will there be before I can get this thing up and running?” The drivers are never up to date out of the box, my OS is outdated, or some other random incompatibility prevents me from getting to work without a headache. After...
I’m always excited to see a new product from Little Labs. I’ve been collecting Jonathan Little’s [Tape Op #75] ultra-handy studio devices for over 15 years, starting with the ground-breaking IBP Phase Alignment Tool [#33]. I’ve purchased a number of his various boxes over the years, and I use his...
Many pieces of audio gear have a reputation that precedes them. They’ve been heavily used for decades, reviewed, revered, copied, and cloned. Names and numbers like Neve 1073, Universal Audio LA-2A [Tape Op #26], API, Fairchild 670, Universal Audio 1176, and the list goes on. Rarely do I stumble...
The P331 Tube Loading Amplifier is the debut product from Whitestone Audio Instruments. Dave Rosen investigated making a device for line level audio signals to enhance wife Kim Rosen’s [Tape Op #108] mastering rig. It was not intended for commercial sale, but beta testers implored the Rosens to...
It’s very simple – if you record music using Pro Tools with any regularity, and don’t require (or can’t afford) a full-blown HDX system, I cannot advise you strongly enough to buy Avid’s new Carbon interface. It has the two main features that I have been waiting for in a non-HDX system for the...
In 1963 in the Welsh countryside, brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward set up shop and began recording rock bands on their family’s farm. A few years later, they became the first “residential studio” when they hosted the band Spring in a spare bedroom. Over five decades on, Rockfield Studios is still...
If you find yourself chasing modern low end, you’ll eventually end up playing with a subharmonic synthesizer. There are plenty of options, ranging from outboard gear like the dbx 120A Subharmonic Synthesizer to plug-ins like Lowender by reFuse Software, but when RootOne landed, it really shook...
I love microphones. When used – or abused – in the right situation, I’m a firm believer that nothing will give you an interesting tone or character like a unique microphone. Whether it’s a cheap thrift store mic or a sophisticated, out-of-budget vintage beauty, there’s not a preamp or piece of...
A bass amp is not a typical product often seen on the review pages of Tape Op. Reviews usually center on mainstream recording equipment as opposed to performance amps, but I was really curious about Sonic Farm’s Tantra bass tube preamplifier, especially since Sonic Farm makes one of my favorite...
I’m a big fan of distortion plug-ins – these days, who isn’t? If you are, you’ve got to check out THERMAL, from Output. There’s so much to this plug-in that I’ve barely had time to scratch the surface, but everything I have found I’ve loved! The closest comparison in my personal plug-in collection...
I vividly remember the first time I was exposed to moving fader automation. I was 12 years old, and the medium-sized recording facility was centered around two seminal Yamaha DMP7 [Tape Op #122] digital mixers. The experience blew my mind. Even though the faders were noisy, and their resolution was...