Welcome to issue #31 of Tape Op.

It's the end of summer, so why have I spent so much time indoors? Making records (check out the new Sleater-Kinney,One Beat, dammit), buying and remodeling a house, moving, going to weddings, editing a magazine, driving to Seattle to see Mission of Burma (thanks to Bob Weston) — so much stuff eats up my time. Speaking of that, I may have a bit more free time now that Andy Hong (aka "The Gear Geek") has agreed to take over as "Reviews Editor" ofTape Op. His reviews have been among the finest that we've run, he's always abreast of new recording technology (uhhh, not my strongest trait), and I think he'll do a great job of it. Itwouldbe nice to have a day off sometime soon though. I'm trying to work more freelance engineers into my studio to open up my schedule a bit, so wish me luck. I've heard horror stories of "studio burnout" and I'm trying to steer clear! By the way, it looks like we are doing the Second AnnualTape OpConference next year here in Portland, Oregon on May 30-June 2. Look towww.tapeop.comor our new conference websitewww.tapeopcon.comfor the most current info. Craig Schumacher of WaveLab Recording is now our man-in-charge of the Conference, so wish him luck and buy him a beer next year!-Larry Crane

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