Gear Reviews

FabFilter’s Twin 3 is a sweeping update to their well-received virtual Twin 2 synth, originally released back in 2009. Fourteen years later, Twin 3 represents a massive overhaul to almost every aspect of the instrument, and it truly is a joy to use. FabFilter’s growth as a company is evident with...

In 1959, Motown Records' president, Berry Gordy, needed a first-class reverb for the label's studio. The EMT 140 plate reverb had just come out, but most studios built their own chambers in those days. Gordy and chief technical engineer Mike McLean converted the studio attic into an echo...

The Sonnox Claro equalizer (from their Toolbox range of plug-ins) is a fantastic sounding, intuitive EQ for professionals and beginners alike. Multiple interface options provide visual feedback in addition to traditional EQ functionality. I have never met a Sonnox product that I didn’t think was...

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Oh, I remember… outboard gear can be fun! I am fortunate to have 31 flavors of compressors, EQs, tone-makers, and boneshakers. I even own a few studio spring reverbs, but nothing quite like the Wellspring, an "analogue stereo spring reverb system" from Wales-based Teaching Machines. With...

Late last year, I received an awesome email from Takeo Yamamoto, who had stumbled across Tape Op #4 when he was living in NYC ages ago. He now owns the pro audio sales/distributor and development firm, Umbrella Company, in Japan. One of their products is the Active Mic Cable, an interesting new...

I've been using OWC RAID drives at my studio for around 15 years, and the Gemini is the latest version we purchased. Ostensibly simply used as an external hard drive to store data, this unit is described by OWC as a "Thunderbolt Dock and Dual-Bay RAID External Storage Enclosure." It...

Subtitled, "A Half Century of Recording in One of America’s Most Innovative Studios, Through the Voices of Musicians," Antonia Tricarico's photo-filled (250!) book on Don Zientara [Tape Op #8] gives us a wonderful glimpse into who Don is, and what has made his Inner Ear Recording...

As a perfect companion to our interview this issue, director Robert Fantinatto and producer Jason Amm's 87-minute film on Morton Subotnick brings to the screen a portrait of where he is now and what he has accomplished. Interspersed with a journey into live performances in his 70s and 80s,...

I made sure to start this plug-in delay's review without touching a single preset. Despite the feature-filled control panel, I understood and utilized most functions without reading any manuals and ignoring the tool tips. Right away, creating stereo delay lines was simple, and setting up times...

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Avantone began making microphones close to 20 years ago, and has recently updated their BV-1 large-diaphragm tube condenser microphone to the BV-1 mkII. First off, this upgrade comes as a significant design change. The original BV-1 was in the form of a large lollypop, whereas the mkII looks more...

Many of us might be familiar with this scenario: A client brings in a hard drive of old DAW sessions to remix. You plug the hard drive in (likely needing some weird cable and adapter), and nothing appears on the computer's desktop. Many HD issues like this are simply due to the electronics in...

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We’re all super excited over here at Tape Op when API introduces new gear, and the enthusiasm doubles when said equipment is priced affordably. Additionally, a joyous hysteria breaks out “around the office” when our industry shows signs that supply chains are beginning to normalize. All of this is...

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Ah, the AKG 414. There are so many iterations of this mic. Every studio worth its salt has at least one, and if they’re on their game, they own several. We see them often used as drum overheads, room mics, on acoustic guitars, and percussion. However, I have placed them on all sorts of sources –...