Mike Caffrey

Our pal Ronan Chris Murphy does this cool "TV" show on his site, http://ronansrecordingshow.com, and the most recent one is with me and John Baccigaluppi where we talk about Tape Op...

James Goss has interviewed many independent record store owners across the country to see how they stay in business and what they sell. Every month a new store will be profiled with interviews and...

So I just noticed an email in my inbox from a PR person with the headline: "XXXXX MICS FEATURED IN THE BEATLES?: ROCK BAND? VIDEO GAME". What's next? "Shure SM57 seen briefly in...

Ina previous blog post, we saw the beginnings of this project. Damian Wagner was in issue 64 - here's a crazy project where he's amplifying the sound of the earth! "After destroying 3...

Well, not my maker but the man behind the baby that is our RND5088 console at Jackpot! I got to spend a little time (and a photoshoot) with Rupert Neve at The Magic Shop in NYC during the AES...

I didn't do this video. But the guy who did must be spying on me. You can replace the style of music with any style, but the conversation is the same. (Recording Engineers, you can replace...

Tape Op contributor, Chris Mara, has organized an amazing studio event coming up. I wanted to go but sessions have stopped me. If you can make it, this sounds like a lot of fun. Tape Op Messageboard...

Our pal Howard Bilerman will be interviewing legendary producer Bob Johnston in Montreal coming up. Should be a real hoot!

I received several CDs recently, notably the Monsters of Folk (Jim James, M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis) and Porcupine Tree's The Incident, that I really wanted to listen to but was...

Remember Nino from issue #67? His new Bird and Egg Recording Studio is hosting "an open house of sorts. On Sunday, October 18th between the hours of 2pm and 6pm Bird and Egg will be open for you...

Link here for a free pass to the 127th AES Convention in New York City, Oct. 9-12, for “Exhibits Only” registration. Come on down and visit the Tape Op booth and harass us about missing issues or why...

The Little Devils are designer Wade Chandler's new modules for the 500-series rack system. The Compressor has all the controls to which...

Fire Extinguishers in the Studio - It’s...

A lot of you have probably heard the term “microphonic tubes.” But have you ever heard one in action? They actually turn into little microphones. (Hence the name). So, this week I decided to...

Here's a tip that costs nothing for materials, might be good for the environment, and can save some headaches down the road. I don't know about you, but our Postal Delivery Person insists...

Tape Op contributor and studio owner/engineer/producer Mike Caffrey recently sent me some thoughts he had about visitors to the studio during sessions. See issue 73's upcoming end rant for the...

I recently mixed my first album entirely on my laptop. Yeah, maybe I'm a decade behind the curve but I also own a studio and have done a majority of my work there. On this job we were...

I pulled short straw and had to go pick up the take out tonight (take away for our UK readers). The radio was set to NPR, so I let it alone. The announcer introduced a new segment called “Listen to...

Why did I think I could set up my home studio in a couple of hours when it took four months to move Jackpot! to a new building? Tomorrow's shopping list: Solder, S/PDIF cables, etc... I'm...

So here it is. The fateful letter that relentless talent scout and A&R honcho John Baccigaluppi sent to my band Vomit Launch back in 1988. Little did we know that soon we'd be holed up in...

I thought I'd seen it all until I heard about collectors that pass around bootlegged copies of the test tones and bias pads from all genres of artists and albums. From an article in MOJO this...

All around great engineer, and good guy, Ronan Chris Murphy has a few episodes out of his new Ronan's Recording Show. Some studio tours, gear reviews and a look at the SwirlyGig drink holder!...

Larry’s intro to issue #71 was one of his most important notes for engineers in a long time. It’s easy to press play, but not pay attention to the audio hitting our ears. (Have you ever read a book...

If you want to stay in business you need to record all kinds of bands, including those you don't care for. (This is actually a shock to some people. It is. They don't last long, and...