These days it’s hard to put in perspective how revolutionary the Fairlight CMI (Computer Music Instrument) was as a musical instrument when it was introduced in the early 1980s. A brief history...
As an owner of an API 1608 console [Tape Op #81] loaded with a bunch of API 550As, 550bs, and 560s [#26], I’m pretty familiar with API’s EQs in general, and I think they sound great. My...
There have been several beautifully designed and written coffee table books published in the last few years that focus on music gear, including guitar pedals, modular synthesizers, microphones, and...
When I was in the process of rebuilding our studio’s B-room last year, I began rethinking some of the racks we were currently using. I wanted to get something sturdier that would also fit the...
My last iPod died about three years ago when the hard drive failed. Since then, I've lost my iPhone and iPad music library of MP3s during various upgrades when trying to keep them compatible with my...
We’re truly living in the golden age of digital synthesis. I’ve said this before, but I’m bored with skeuomorphic, digital recreations of vintage analog synthesizers such as the...
I’ve written about vocoders in previous issues of Tape Op, so I won’t go into a lot of theory here, but check this review for more of the basic operational theory of vocoding. Arturia...
In the category of alternate controllers, the Sensel Morph is one of the best I’ve seen to date. By alternate, I mean as an alternative to your ASCII keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and piano-style...
Frustrated because your stock Sennheiser MD 421 clip broke and you’re finding out that a replacement for the poorly designed original clip will cost you more than several gourmet pizzas to go?...
This is an ingenious and very useful $25 accessory for anybody who owns Sennheiser MD 421 microphones and is perpetually frustrated at the poorly-designed mic clip/mount, the one that results in the...
The golden age of plug-ins is happening right now. Initially, most audio plug-ins aped existing analog gear such as EQs, compressors, and existing effects units like plate reverbs and tape delays. I...
I’ve always been a big fan of Chameleon Labs’ gear. They were one of the first companies to bring classic audio designs into the realm of affordability. I’ve owned a pair of their...
This is the newly updated and keyboard-less version of the venerable Buchla Music Easel. The original Buchla Music Easel was one of the earliest analog synthesizers. Originally released in 1973, it...
