Welcome to issue #38 of Tape Op.

I'm writing this as I fly back from an extended trip to New York and the East Coast. John and I went out for the annual US AES conference. The AES is the Audio Engineering Society, more popularly known for their tradeshow (hundreds of exhibitors) than the technical papers and audio standards, though this work is really important too. We made a longer-than- usual trip out of it, and visited many studios, musicians and engineers. It was awesome to see so many different places, from Sterling Sound's multi- million dollar seven suite mastering complex to Geoff Farina's converted Grange hall-home with a tiny music room downstairs, the places ran a gamut of styles, costs and gear. Many times questions of the economics of running/maintaining a studio came up, and there are as many answers as places.* The main lesson though? It sure seemed like everyone was really into the music — isn't that important?

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