Apogee’s Symphony Desktop was first covered last spring in Tape Op #142. Firmware and software were still in beta testing at the time, so the unit was reviewed based on its primary hardware...
When digital audio workstations were in their infancy, third-party plug-ins were scarce. Even more rare were ones that sounded good. But in those early years, Poland’s PSPaudioware released a...
John McBride [Tape Op #97], owner of Blackbird Studio in Nashville, woke up from a nightmare one night thinking his studio had burned to the ground. Although his studio contains countless pieces of...
Earlier this year, I called Tape Op editor Larry Crane to ask if he could help me with a mixing dilemma. I wanted to recreate the vocal effect on Steely Dan’s “Daddy Don’t Live in...
RME has raised the bar on value with the Fireface UCX II. This German-made ADC/DAC is an all-in-one recording tool of bits and bytes, with no compromises on hardware quality or software functionality....
Eventide has released its new innovative EQ plug-in, SplitEQ. I use the word “innovative” because, after only a few minutes of messing around with it, I couldn’t help but wonder how...
HEAR360 has modeled the Ecoplate I, a well-known analog plate reverb designed by Jim Cunningham in the ‘80s. At the time, it was not uncommon for producers and engineers familiar with the...
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...
Goodhertz is on a mission to help give your recordings vibe and character, and they’re doing a stellar job with the plug-ins they’ve put out so far. Tupe is another brilliant addition to...
Let me start by saying that I am a firm believer in “real drums,” and I’ve spent countless hours tracking and mixing them. The main thing I’ve learned is that everything...
FabFilter has a reputation for taking common effects plug-ins, such as compression and EQ, then elevating them to new, mind-blowing levels of utility and complexity. I’m used to thinking,...
A few months after releasing the MC-3 multi-band compressor plug-in [Tape Op #142] for APB (Analog Processing Box) users, Colin McDowell and the rest of the McDSP crew introduced the Royal Q...
