Prolific inventor Laurens Hammond was granted a patent for the spring reverb in 1939, and in the decades that followed, Hammond incorporated this novel artificial reverberation device in the organs...
If you are new to the technique of mix bus compression, the simple explanation is that you are compressing the entire stereo (or multichannel) mix. A compressor on the mix bus (in addition perhaps to...
"Hardware versus plug-in? Hardware versus plug-in?" Wring hands. Repeat. In the early days of digital emulations of classic pieces of hardware, the argument could easily be made that the digital side...
The legendary TG12345 consoles made by EMI are very rare and scattered around the world, from England to Brazil. If you have scratched the surface of recording history, you know the impact that EMI...
Is that a ribbon mic? Is that a square capsule? Those are just a couple of the things I heard clients ask when seeing the new Audio-Technica AT5045. In a world of copies and recreations of classic...
At AES, we met with Waves, and they asked us why Tape Op never reviews their plug-ins. "Good question," I said. Then, a bit later at the show, Geoff Stanfield and I started talking about how we had...
Let's paint a picture. If you are new to painting, let's paint by numbers. If you have been at it awhile, let's explore and start mixing our own colors and use more than just a paintbrush to apply...
My head is spinning these days with all of the available options for the 500-series format. As a kid, Baskin-Robbins and their 31 flavors seemed overwhelming. Generally, I stuck with what I knew was...
Confidence. Transparency. I like my monitor controllers like I like my politicians. I want confidence that I am hearing what is and what is not there. Confidence that the choices I am making in terms...
Let's start this conversation off by stating the obvious. You cannot properly record or mix music if you cannot accurately hear what you are recording or mixing. If music is more than a hobby, and you...
Writing about audio gear is an interesting exercise in trying to capture the emotional impact of an inanimate object. I think that it is less important how something works than how something makes you...
I just got a new knife. It's Japanese, ceramic. I can use it for damn near everything I need to prep and cook a meal. I have other knives - boning, chef, serrated. So why do I use my new one for just...
