ISSUE ARCHIVE
NO. 171 | Nov 2025
NO. 170 | Sep 2025
NO. 169 | Sep 2025
NO. 168 | Jul 2025
NO. 167 | May 2025
NO. 166 | Mar 2025
NO. 165 | Jan 2025
NO. 164 | Nov 2024
Mar/Apr 2013
I spend a fair amount of time pondering what to write about for the End Rant of Tape Op. We are 94 issues in, and sometimes it's difficult to think of topics I haven't covered before. Being that I own a commercial recording studio, I frequently consider the way in which it's run. But I also wonder about the relevance of writing about owning a service business like this, and whether lessons learned there would be of interest to all of our readers. This issue I thought of a topic, something so obvious and right in front of me I feel there are aspects of this that would apply to anyone working in a creative field, and maybe — just maybe — I could drive home a point about recording that's been very important to me from the beginning. Check it out here.
At Tape Op we rarely have "themed" issues, but in 94 we go on a journey into the deepest heart of Texas. For a number of years I've made the springtime trek to the fine city of Austin for the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference. I love going to Texas, and visiting Austin — such a vibrant music town. If you're down there I hope we see you at our Tape Op Party (Thursday, March 14th at the Lucky Lounge) – it's always a blast. Enjoy!
— LARRY CRANE,EDITOR & FOUNDER
Paul Leary's accidental entrance into the world of recording started in the eighties with his role of de facto button pusher for his band, the Butthole Surfers. Since that time he's produced some of t...
Stuart Sullivan has worked with a diverse list of artists. Sublime, James McMurtry, Tejano greats Little Joe y La Familia, the Meat Puppets, the Dead Milkmen, James Cotton, and Willie Nelson have all...
Mike McCarthy first came to my attention when he started working with the band Spoon [Tape Op #27], for whom he has produced four albums. Mike's produced five albums with ...And You Will Know Us by th...
In the middle of a pecan ranch in Tornillo, Texas — 30 miles east of El Paso — you'll find Sonic Ranch, the largest residential recording studio in the world. The studio's owner, Tony Rancich, is the...
Audio engineer David Hough has been with Austin City Limits since the first pilot episode in 1974. Over the course of nearly 40 years, Austin City Limits has presented quality television episodes of l...
A couple of years ago I got an email from Brendan, Grupo Fantasma's tour manager, noting that their self-recorded album, El Existential, had won the 2011 Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternati...
A while back I was working on a restoration process for an album that was long out of print. The only materials I had to work from were a ridiculously scratched vinyl LP and some 7-inch reference reel...
A while back I was working on a restoration process for an album that was long out of print. The only materials I had to work from were a ridiculously scratched vinyl LP and some 7-inch reference reel...
Stuart Sullivan has worked with a diverse list of artists. Sublime, James McMurtry, Tejano greats Little Joe y La Familia, The Meat Puppets, The Dead Milkmen, James Cotton, and Willie Nelson have all...
A couple of years ago I got an email from Brendan, Grupo Fantasma's tour manager, noting that their self-recorded album, El Existential, had won the 2011 Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. After I heard the CD I wanted to know how it all went down, so I tracked him and Adrian down in their hometown of Austin and learned the story of a rented house and trying but fun recording sessions. I was also lucky to catch live sets by Grupo and Brownout, a related band of Adrian's, where both groups delivered the goods to excited audiences. Grupo Fantasma has done several records with Stuart Sullivan, also in this issue, and they have a new album coming out in 2013, produced by Steve Berlin [ #55URL] of Los Lobos. The Making of "El Existential"
In the middle of a pecan ranch in Tornillo, Texas — 30 miles east of El Paso — you'll find Sonic Ranch, the largest residential recording studio in the world. The studio's owner, Tony Rancich, is the grandson of the ranch's founder, and here on his family's property he runs one of the most accommodating and amazing studios you'll ever find. Touring the grounds and the four studios (and mastering suite) with Tony we found Pat Dillett [ #79URL] mixing and album for Mexican pop star Benny Ibarra and a metal band from Italy laying down blistering basics. Tony's generous and enthusiastic vibe guides this unique place, and you can see why bands like Sublime with Rome, Hanson, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, Old 97's, Animal Collective, Mudvayne, Cannibal Corpse, and The Mountain Goats would choose to come here to focus and make great recordings.
Steve and I interviewed Mike McCarthy in 2009. Somehow four years went by before our Austin issue came together. So here's our chat from 2009, and realize that Mike has gone on to do even more records...
Paul Leary's accidental entrance into the world of recording started in the eighties with his role of de facto button pusher for his band, the Butthole Surfers. Since that time he's produced some of t...
Some time back I was given the interesting job of restoring tapes and 7-inch singles on a unique project for the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs. I enlisted the aid of Jamie Howarth and his Pl...