Solex

Interviews

Solex

By Pat Graham, Pam Nicholas, and Andy Hong

I was driving along a sunny strip of highway in the middle of nowhere, fighting off road trip hypnosis and the potential disaster that goes with it, when the mix tape supplied by a friend suddenly became interesting. Groovy beats, off-kilter rhythms and slightly skewed lyrics drifted out of the...

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The Microphones! with Phil Elvrum

Interviews

The Microphones! with Phil Elvrum

By Bryan Bingold

Phil Elvrum is the man behind The Microphones, one of the coolest- sounding bands/recording projects out there. He records at Dub Narcotic all the time.

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Phil Elvrum

Interviews

Phil Elvrum: The K Records Studio

By Bryan Bingold

Phil Elvrum is the man behind The Microphones, one of the coolest- sounding bands/recording projects out there. He records at Dub Narcotic all the time.

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John Croslin

Interviews

John Croslin: Austin to SF to Austin

By Steve McAllister, Spencer Gibb
The common: A guy enjoys fiddling with electronics and recording stuff, plays in some...
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Susana Baca

Interviews

Susana Baca: The Voice of the Shadows

By Sasha Zand

No description available.

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MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

MARCH 14, 2026 INTERVIEWS
Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson: The K Records Studio

BY SHAWN PARKE

In 1981 Calvin Johnson began putting out cassettes on his label K and started a revolution and an empire... Shawn Parke gets the story while John Baccigaluppi shoots the film... ...Since that time, he has produced and released records for a huge list of folks, including Beck, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Modest Mouse. I recently sat down with him in his Dub Narcotic studio located in a large building in Olympia, Washington, where the K offices and warehouse are also housed. In 1988, he moved into the building after years of recording in the basement of his home. We talked about recording, music and he told some great stories.

MARCH 14, 2026 INTERVIEWS
John La Grou

John La Grou: Behind the Gear with Millennia Media

BY IAN SWANKE

Most Tape Op articles feature the people behind the making of a record. But what about the people who make the gear that we make records on? "Behind the Gear" is a new column featuring interviews with engineers, businesspeople and innovators who are the faces "behind" the recording products that we know and love. This issue Ian Mills Swanke interviews John La Grou of Millennia Media, a company famous for their pristine mic preamps and "twin-topology" equipment. Next issue: Walt Szalva interviews Dave Derr [Tape Op #33] of Empirical Labs who makes the Distressor. -LC John LaGrou's company, Millennia Media, manufactures some of the most highly-praised outboard gear in use today. His preamps are used by NASA, the White House, and an enormous amount of classical engineers and film scoring studios. Millennia's compressors and equalizers are in constant use in mastering houses across the globe. I visited John recently at Millennia's headquarters in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California, where his was kind enough to share his knowledge, gregarious enthusiasm and insight.

MARCH 14, 2026 INTERVIEWS
Ray Benson

Ray Benson: Not So Asleep at the Wheel

BY STEVE MCALLISTER

Ray Benson is a big guy. He's tall, which he augments with cowboy hat and boots, his voice is resonates in the sub- octaves, and when we shook hands mine was engulfed and nearly disappeared. His office can overwhelm the unprepared. Pictures and memorabilia of all kinds compete for wall space and your attention. There is a shelf of Grammies and guitars are everywhere. More guitars than I could count — some resting in cases, others hanging in rows at ceiling height, more on stands, laying on the floor and propped in corners. His band is big, too. Asleep at the Wheel has sung the gospel of swing for nearly 30 years, garnered all kinds of critical and popular success, and, always, played great music. Note that I didn't qualify it as 'country swing' or 'western swing' — these categorizations are much too small for this band. Thankfully his generosity is equally large. Not only did he answer every question I threw at him he also gave us a Bismeaux Studios. detailed tour of his

COLUMNS

END RANT by Larry Crane
Warning Signs Regarding Potential Clients
END RANT

Warning Signs Regarding Potential Clients

by Larry Crane

One part of running a recording studio is dealing with the booking of studio time, fielding the phone calls and talking with "potential clients". Most of this is fine, chatting with folks about what they are planning to do, what their needs are and how you can work together. It takes some time out...

GEAR REVIEWS

Gear Reviews

CA-805U2 ATAPI to USB enclosure

BY CA-805U2 ATAPI to USB enclosure  |  reviewed by David Huber

It's common knowledge to computer-based digital audio geeks (like myself) that USB is the latest, greatest thing since sliced humble pie. For those who are new to the scene, the Universal Serial Bus is a protocol for easily plugging external hardware devices into a PC or Mac. It's plug-n-play...

Gear Reviews

D6 Kick Drum Microphone

BY D6 Kick Drum Microphone  |  reviewed by Ramsey Tantawi

The D6 is the newest member of Audix's D series of microphones, which are intended mainly for use on drums and percussion. A large-format dynamic with a cardioid polar pattern, the D6 is designed for mic'ing kick drum and bass, design goals which place it in roughly the same league as the AKG D...

Gear Reviews

Dirty Guitar DI

BY Dirty Guitar DI  |  reviewed by Steve McAllister

Every town of any size has at least one guitar tech guy slaving away in a garage and making cool stuff. Amps or pedals - creating, tweaking, figuring out how things work. I saw one guy build stomp boxes from old tuna cans. There are some bizarre things out there that sound great and are far off the...

Gear Reviews

DiskWelder STEEL DVD-A Authoring Software

BY DiskWelder STEEL DVD-A Authoring Software  |  reviewed by Eddie Ciletti

Authoring a DVD-A has never been more accessible than with Minnetonka's DiscWelder STEEL ($495 MSRP, reviewed here) or CHROME ($2495 MSRP). Both are as easy to use as your favorite CD burning software. Simply drag and drop any combination of stereo or surround files into their respective folders,...

Gear Reviews

DM-24 Digital Mixing Console

BY DM-24 Digital Mixing Console  |  reviewed by Martin Chittum

The DM-24 is Tascam's latest offering in the world of affordable digital consoles. The DM-24 features 32 channels and 8 busses, 24-bit resolution, 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz sample rates, EQ/compression/ gating on the individual channels, and two main effects processors from TC Works, Antares, and Tascam....

Gear Reviews

Echo Pro Delay Modeler

BY Echo Pro Delay Modeler  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

Unless you've been recording only straight bluegrass, someone has probably brought in a big, green Line 6 Delay Modeler stompbox to use on a session. The thing sounds great, and frees up musicians from locating vintage echo boxes, replacing tape in an Echoplex, and all that. The Echo Pro has been...

Gear Reviews

EL-8X Distressor

BY EL-8X Distressor  |  reviewed by F. Reid Shippen

I am a compression junkie. I admit this freely and without shame, because I've found that certain boxes give me a character that I can't create any other way. This is the reason 1176, LA-2A, BA-6A and 670 compressors are still found in the major studios. This is not to say that other compressors...

Gear Reviews

EQ-200 Parametric Equalizer

BY EQ-200 Parametric Equalizer  |  reviewed by Eric Broyhill

As a mastering engineer, a good analog EQ is not only one of many very important tools, but the one I am most critical of. Having had the opportunity to use almost every EQ made, up to this point the only EQ that really blew my hair back was an old 8 rack-space Sontec mastering EQ that, even if you...

Gear Reviews

GRM Tools Classic and ST plug-ins

BY GRM Tools Classic and ST plug-ins  |  reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

When I was just learning my way around a recording studio almost 20 years ago, the idea of using a computer for music was pretty much unheard of. The idea of every control room having a computer in it was a futuristic promise - only a bit more far-fetched seeming than taking my next vacation on the...

Gear Reviews

HD24 24-Track Hard Disk Recorder

BY HD24 24-Track Hard Disk Recorder  |  reviewed by Joseph Lemmer

The Alesis ADAT HD24 is a 24-track hard disk recorder that operates almost exactly like a tape-based analog recorder. Media for this recorder (IDE hard drives) is the least expensive per track minute of any recorder that I know of. 24 TRS balanced ins and outs with 24-bit 44.1 or 48 kHz converters...

Gear Reviews

ISA 220 Channel Strip

BY ISA 220 Channel Strip  |  reviewed by Dave Trumfio

The 220 is my first choice for anything I want or need to sound transparent. It has that ultra clean character that sounds great on acoustic guitars, shakers, hi-fi vocals etc. Functionally, this unit is really well designed and laid out and has tons of cool little features. Like its big brother,...

Gear Reviews

KSM141 Microphone

BY KSM141 Microphone  |  reviewed by Scott Craggs

I am a man of few microphones, I somehow get by on the kindness of friends who seem to not mind leaving their mics in my possession for months at a time. So I was certainly pleased to have a pair of Shure KSM141s show up at my door. They're multi-pattern (cardioid or omni) small diaphragm...

Gear Reviews

KSP-8 effects processor

BY KSP-8 effects processor  |  reviewed by Pete Weiss

Every once in a while, a signal processor comes along that does so many things so well that you feel like it's the last 19" wide box you'll ever have to buy. In the '80s, it was the Yamaha SPX-90. In the '90s, it was the Eventide 3000 series. We're well into a new century now, and Kurzweil, a...

Gear Reviews

Logic Platinum 4.xx upgrade to 5.2 on Mac OS 9.2 and 5.3 on OSX + Logic Control surfaces

BY Logic Platinum 4.xx upgrade to 5.2 on Mac OS 9.2 and 5.3 on OSX + Logic Control surfaces  |  reviewed by AJ Wilhelm

From more attractive buttons, to selectable POWr dithering algorithms (the main competitor to Apogee's UV-22 dithering algorithm-See interview with John LaGrou in this issue. -Ed), to the optional Logic Control mixing surfaces, this upgrade improves upon both big and small aspects of Emagic's Logic...

Gear Reviews

LSR25P Compact Bi-Amplified Monitoring System

BY LSR25P Compact Bi-Amplified Monitoring System  |  reviewed by Mike Caffrey

These self-powered monitors are meant for use with a computer workstation, edit suite, or small control room. It took me a little while to appreciate what that meant - but once I did, I found the LSR25Ps to be pretty useful. I like to test monitors by mixing something that I didn't record and have...

Gear Reviews

MP2-MH microphone preamplifier

BY MP2-MH microphone preamplifier  |  reviewed by Mike Caffrey

This is a great mic preamp. It's very quiet, has plenty of gain and does a great job of accurately reproducing what you feed it. It's a Class A, discrete, solid-state pre, and all the internal audio connectors are gold plated. There are two channels with XLR ins and outs on the rear panel and a...

Gear Reviews

Oxford + GML EQs for RTAS

BY Oxford + GML EQs for RTAS  |  reviewed by John Baccigaluppi

Julian Standen did a short review of the Oxford Eqs for Pro Tools TDM in Tape Op 26 and mentioned how great they sounded. I firmly agree with Julian and have to pretty much say that this plug-in(s) are the Rolls Royce of digital software EQs. But, like a Rolls Royce, they're not exactly cheap: 870...

Gear Reviews

Quartet Four Element Tube Preamp/Processor

BY Quartet Four Element Tube Preamp/Processor  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

This device is a mic/DI preamp, three-band EQ, compressor, and de-esser. It is all pure tube, class A with both transformerless and transformer-balanced outputs. The pre, EQ and compressor/de-esser sections can also be used independently through connections on the rear panel. This is a lot of...

Gear Reviews

Reason/Pro Tools Bridge

BY Reason/Pro Tools Bridge  |  reviewed by Graham Hick

As a home Pro Tools Digi 001 user I've gotten heavy into software synths and all of the benefits they bring. Reason is one of my favorites. I love the interface, and you can load it with as many sounds as you can find. Yet I always wanted it to work the way SampleCell did - as a plug-in that I...

Gear Reviews

Spirit M12 mixer

BY Spirit M12 mixer  |  reviewed by Joseph Lemmer

The Soundcraft M12 is one of many compact, budget "utility" mixers on the market. The biggest differences from the other mixers are the digital output, the 100 mm "big console" faders, and - my favorite - the look. This thing is gorgeous. It has a black metal top with white writing and rich yet...

Gear Reviews

VTB1 Variable Tube Mic Preamp

BY VTB1 Variable Tube Mic Preamp  |  reviewed by Brian Lucey

Studio Projects has outdone itself with the B line of mics. These are very, very nice sounding mics - for dirt cheap. The B1 and B3 incorporate 1'', 3-micron diaphragms and are transformerless, with a tone that is clear - all clean without any harsh frequencies. The pricing on these is so low it's...

Gear Reviews

XTS-50AV Full-Range A/V Extension Speaker

BY XTS-50AV Full-Range A/V Extension Speaker  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

So my pal Craig Smith stops by one day and says, "Hey, they have these little RCA speakers down at Radio Shack that are just like Auratones." So I laugh (not at Craig, but at Radio Shack, the butt of many jokes around here) and file this info away for future reference. Then the next time I'm in...