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Audio Books Review: Audio Books Roundup

by David Ackerman, John Baccigaluppi, Myles Boisen, Louis R. Carlozo, Martin Chittum, Scott Colburn, Larry Crane, David Cuetter, Matthew Cullen, Larry DeVivo, Bill Dodd, Jeremy du Bois, Kiley Henner, Graham Hick, Bob Katz, Steve McAllister, Bill McMaster, Eric Morrison, Steven Nereo, Steve Pogact, Brian Roth, Rob Shelby, Steve Silverstein, Kenneth Sluiter, Philip Stevenson, David Weiss

Since Tape Op Magazine only comes out every other month, I assume that our typical reader has a little time left over in which to read and learn more about the art and science of recording. With that...

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End Rant

Elliott Smith

by Larry Crane

When I interviewed Steve Fisk in 1996 for Tape Op #3, one of the answers he gave for situations that made recording sessions go poorly was, "people dying." I remember thinking this was a heavy...

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GTQ2 Stereo Mic Amplifier

by Aurora Audio  |  reviewed by Drew Townson

Admittedly, there are more than a couple Neve 1073 mic-pre/EQ clones out there. While one may claim to be a true reproduction, another will call itself a variation. Well it's time for those companies...

DRS-2 Stereo Mic Preamp

by Phoenix Audio  |  reviewed by Eanna Cunnane

Needing a good dual channel pre for stereo recording, I recently purchased a DRS-2 from Phoenix Audio UK. Although it's an original design, the DRS-2 has some Neve heritage; its Marconi switches are...

AlphaEnviro Hanging Baffles

by Acoustical Solutions  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

In the last three issues, I've reviewed a number of moveable products that I'm using in my tracking room to control acoustics. With only one live room that's suitable for full-volume tracking, I...

90-R100-RR console desk

by Argosy  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

Studio furniture for home and project studios needs to meet different criteria than furniture for large commercial facilities. For starters, smaller studios tend to be in basements or rooms with...

Vol. 1

by Drums on Demand  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

This is a CD-ROM of stereo drum tracks (real drums, real room) recorded as WAV files at 24-bit, 44.1 kHz. There are 41 song sets with up to 33 parts (fill, chorus, etc) per song. Plus, there are solo...

R84 ribbon microphone

by AEA  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

"More mics," that's what I always ask for when Christmas comes around. All the other tools used for recording are great, but mics are always the first in line to capture acoustic-based sounds. I'm...

Awesome DAW SUM Sampler

by 3D Audio  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

Concerned about "mixing in the box"? Want to really hear the side effects of different software mixers, analog consoles, digital consoles, bus summing? There are 29 mixing platforms here, with the "A"...

HDS-6, HR-6

by Furman  |  reviewed by Andy Hong

This summer I had the pleasure of recording the band Ida in my studio. During "basics" tracking, the band insisted on playing as many of the instruments "live" as possible. With four band members and...

ISA 428 Pre Pack

by Focusrite  |  reviewed by Scott Craggs

The ISA 428 is Focusrite's entry in the rapidly crowding DAW front-end field. Stock, it's basically four mic preamps in a box. With the addition of an optional card, you get eight channels of 24-bit,...

Nuendo 2.0

by Steinberg  |  reviewed by David Huber

Over the last few years, a handful of DAW's have moved past puberty and have become serious, feature- packed, digital-audio production systems. One of the forerunners in this field is Steinberg's...

Reverb 4000

by TC Electronic  |  reviewed by Adam Kagan

We've all become accustomed to the phrase "This is the best processor, mic, etc. for under x thousand dollars." We have also come to realize what that phrase means: The item doesn't sound quite as...

MiniTraps

by RealTraps  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

In Tape Op #36, Andy Hong favorably reviewed the RealTraps bass traps. I won't go over all the details, but the basic gist is that RealTraps are flat acoustic panel treatments for recording spaces...

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Music Reviews

Lovers Lead the Way

by Viva Voce | reviewed by Larry Crane

Viva Voce recently moved to Portland from Nashville, and consist of the married team of Kevin and Anita Robinson. They recorded this CD at home on a "pimped-out PC with a Terratec card eight I/Os and...

Music Reviews

You are Here

by +/- | reviewed by Larry Crane

Jimmy and Pat from Versus strike out on their own. At a gig this band is a standard four-piece. On record they can break down into a New Order-ish electronics sometimes, though other songs recall...

Music Reviews

Normalized

by Andre LaFosse | reviewed by Larry Crane

Andre calls his guitar technique "turntablist guitar" - using loops, multitracking and bare hands to coax a variety or rhythms and sounds out of the guitar. The results are rhythmic, grooving pieces...

Music Reviews

Transfiguration of Vincent

by M. Ward | reviewed by Larry Crane

Matt Ward has been getting much acclaim for his brooding songs and dark, husky voice. These songs were mostly recorded by Portland's Mike Coykendall at his Blue Room home studio (in his cool-sounding...

Music Reviews

Systems/Layers

by Rachel’s | reviewed by Larry Crane

New classical? Rock musicians playing quiet music? Whatever one wishes to call it the music of Rachel's is evocative and beautiful. A seven piece ensemble augmented in places with members of the SITI...

Music Reviews

It Still Moves

by My Morning Jacket | reviewed by Larry Crane

Have you heard this record? Have you heard how much reverb is on the vocals? It sounds awesome - a good thing someone has had the nerve to step out like this. The band and songs are good too, by the...

Music Reviews

Momentary Delights

by Jkettle | reviewed by Larry Crane

Anyone that thinks making records with a sampler and a computer will fade away is living in a fantasy. Jkettle is the home recorded/sampled (Squirrel Studios West Coast) project by Jeff Kettle, mostly...

Music Reviews

Velocity of Sound

by The Apples in Stereo | reviewed by Larry Crane

Yes, the Apples still exist! And their pop tunes and bouncy rhythms are as infectious as ever. This new record was recorded by Robert Schneider, at his Pet Sounds Recording Studio in Denver, with...

Music Reviews

Dark Side of the Moon DVD

by Pink Floyd | reviewed by Larry Crane

Okay, I'm just making sure our readers know this is out now. If the idea of watching Alan Parsons pulling up the individual tracks of DSOTM doesn't sound appealing from even just a pure technical "How...

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