If you’re just making a few edits on open reel tapes, or attaching a leader to tops and tails, it won’t kill you to cut off a piece of leader tape from a spool. But there are times where I’m doing a lot of edits, such as repairing failed splices on post-baked stock or setting up several reels for a...
With mottos like, "You're doing nothing wrong" and, "Nothing is wrong with your mix," Head Voice arrived last fall as a mission statement and an "audio recording zine focused on creativity." Founded by musicians Donovan Quinn, Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance),...
For most live performers, the days of wedge floor monitors are a thing of the past. IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) have become the new standard for stage monitoring, and for good reason. A monitor engineer can take preferred mixes from venue to venue and recall monitoring preferences with the push of a button...
I've had the opportunity not only to sing and play into many sought-after microphones, but I've also been able to use even more mics on artists and instrumentalists as a producer and engineer. I recall the first time I ever performed into a vintage Telefunken ELA M 251E. I was young and didn't...
The Louder Than Liftoff [Tape Op#122] Silver Bullet mk2 plug-in is my new favorite in the box processor by a wide margin – and that’s kind of hilarious, considering that my trusty hardware Silver Bullet mk1 is the analog centerpiece of my personal studio. The thing is, the mk2 plug-in has new features...
Congrats! You have a solid collection of mics and mic stands, a battery of plug-ins, a few pieces of outboard gear for that extra special sauce, a great pair of monitors and stands, and even some stylish acoustic treatments along with a nice large rug for the live room. You are now a studio owner. Not...
As an audio professional, I'm often asked by friends who record podcasts at home for microphone recommendations. So, I was excited when I got the opportunity to review Audio-Technica's new AT2040 hypercardioid dynamic podcast microphone, as it's designed to fit the needs of content creators...
A few months ago, I was hired to work on the audio engineering team at a production camp put on by Sony. One of the events at this camp was a demo of Sony’s immersive audio tools, and this was my first experience with their MDR-MV1 headphones. Sony’s immersive audio team has been pushing hard to develop...
There’s an age-old philosophical question in the audio community: “If a Fairchild compressor/limiter falls in the woods and loses over two dozen tubes and transformers, is it still a Fairchild?” Where does innovation end and compromise begin, and is it even worth attempting to pull off something this...
In what might possibly be the sexiest review ever published in Tape Op, let’s talk about monitor mounts! I was recently in need of upgrading my Atmos monitoring, and I required a better solution for the four height speakers mounted on the ceiling of my studio (I mix Atmos in a 7.1.4 configuration)....
For those that don't know, Vance Dickason has been the editor of Voice Coil Magazine ("the monthly periodical for the loudspeaker industry") since 1987, and the author of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook (LDC) volumes since 1978. LDC is "the world's most popular book on loudspeaker...
Anyone who owns a few large diaphragm microphones has likely seen the common trouble with many shock mounts – failing elastic or rubber bands that cause the mic to droop, clamps that don't securely hold mic bodies, bulky sizes that get in the way of placement, pivoting joints that slip or are hard...
Former Eventide coder/engineer Dan Gillespie, who runs Newfangled Audio (distributed by Eventide), has developed some pretty wild plug-ins. We've reviewed the fantastic virtual synth, Generate [Tape Op#140], and the Elevate mastering suite [#133] before, and now he takes on a tour of what he thinks...
The importance of organization, functionality, and preparedness is central to the work we do when making music with/for others. From my perspective, DAWs are getting more comprehensive and less specialized. Most modern DAWs (digital audio workstations) can help with every stage of music creation, from...
As part of the McDSP Analog Processing Box universe (APB-8, APB-16) [Tape Op#134], the BOB Bass Optimized Bias is a plug-in based on the original BOB module from McDSP's 6060 Ultimate Module Collection. The BOB APB plug-in can provide a massive amount of low end around a selected frequency, and...
As noted in my review of their new 32Classic console [Tape Op#159], in the of classic records, Harrison Audio had just as formidable a studio presence as console standard-bearers like Neve, MCI, API, and SSL. By the mid-‘80s, Harrison Audio had pivoted almost entirely to film and live sound, but before...
Many studio monitors are based on what we call "2-way" configurations, featuring a woofer/driver (usually a cone speaker) and a tweeter handling the low and high frequencies, but a growing number of nearfield monitors use "3-way" setups, with a midrange driver handling frequencies...
We live in a time where ADC conversion is quite good. I remember when our studio was first getting into digital recording, the sonic differences between analog to digital/digital to analog converters were extremely noticeable. We did listening tests on various units and found huge differences – even...
Call me an AI pessimist, but my initial reaction was lukewarm when I considered trying out the Vocal Reverb plug-in from Antares Audio Technologies. Haven’t I already got enough reverbs? How is this new one going to win me over? Once I dove into it, I realized it was challenging me unexpectedly, and...