Welcome to issue #158 of Tape Op.

Every issue of Tape Op comes together in slightly different ways. John Baccigaluppi and I will juggle different interviews to run, looking for some magical balance of genres, styles of recording, and interesting people. We'll dig through the Gear Reviews submissions, looking for a variety of price points, varying items, and unique products. Sometimes we'll begin to see small themes develop naturally in the background via connected artists, engineers, and producers – or from shared thoughts about working methods in the studio.

This issue features a longer piece I began writing months ago, "Working With a Mix Engineer," with many layers of advice. I hope it helps anyone that hires mixers to gain more insight into the process as well as facilitate better communication. After completing that piece, it seemed an End Rant also about mixing would be a great idea, so I roped in a bunch of contributors and colleagues to toss their thoughts in the pot. Then, after looking at the rest of this issue's content, I realized I'd better explain that even though we ended up with a lot of mixing-focused content this time around, this is still not an issue only devoted to mixing! Tape Op rarely gets completely theme-orientated, as that concept always feels too restrictive to me. Plus, would that mean we wouldn't write about mixing the rest of the year?

Luckily, we ended up with a bunch of fun content rounding out this issue, and I'm especially excited about finally seeing seminal hip-hop producer Prince Paul in these pages! His records with Stetsasonic and De La Soul have captivated me for decades, and it's amazing to hear his thoughts on studio techniques and equipment.

Enjoy this issue, and keep on collaborating and creating!

— Larry Crane, editor & Founder