For Tape Op #29, I sat down and interviewed Tony Visconti, one of my producing/engineering heroes for his work with Bowie, T. Rex, U2, The Stranglers, Paul McCartney, and others. What I found was a...
Despite recent advances in virtual and synthesized instruments, nothing has the same sound and feel as a real piano, cello, violin, or brass section. Those with experience recording these types of...
Jim Kalamasz has owned and run Spectrum in Florida for over twenty years. Over a decade ago, they were forced to move to a new location, and Jim documented this process on a home video camera. On this...
Unterberger, who wrote the great books Turn! Turn! Turn!, Eight Miles High, and Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll, tackles the unreleased Beatle media in this 388-page book. Mostly it's a yearly...
Sessions with Sinatra is a fascinating account of Frank Sinatra in the studio, presented chronologically as his recording career progressed. It is an evaluation and appreciation of his recordings with...
This is the last book I ever bought at Tower Books on the corner of Broadway and Land Park Dr., before they and the entire Tower Records chain, which was started here in Sacramento, CA, went out of...
Subtitled The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums, this 540-page hardbound book arrives in a pseudo EMI tape box and is heavier than a 2" reel of tape. It has three...
This DVD pretty much saved my ass on a recent Pro Tools project that required way more editing than actual mixing. Let's start by saying that I'm not really a fan of PT, despite being an ex-employee...
Geoff Emerick is a legend among engineers and producers. He was the young "balance engineer" for The Beatles on Revolver through Abbey Road, with a spell off for later White Album and Let It Be...
Home recording can be a lonely endeavor. There are great websites, books, and of course magazines to give you ideas and encouragement, but there will always be times when you end up staring at the...
When Lynn Fuston, publisher and coordinator of the 3D Audio comparison series, walked up to the Tape Op booth at the New York AES, I immediately started railing on him. "Oh, look, it's Lynn Fuston....
On the other side of the spectrum is this fancy hardcover ("coffee table") book. Mostly photos and little text, it depicts 27 current-day hip-hop creators in their personal studios. Shelves full of...
