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Interviews, tutorials, etc. All about the art of music recording.
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Rock is dead. At least the big business of rock 'n' roll, that is. But big budgets, unlimited studio time and total indulgence still exist in the hip-hop and pop worlds. And where there's money,...
In 1910, at 38 Köethner Straße, the Builder's Association of Berlin [Baugeschäfte] began construction on what would eventually become an architectural neoclassical masterpiece....
Australia's Tame Impala, led by Kevin Parker, have taken the classic psychedelic sounds of Cream and "White Album" era Beatles, and combined them with elements that can only exist in the modern...
Coming up through the ranks of Memphis' fabled Ardent Studios [Tape Op #58], Jeff Powell has been making cool records for more than two decades, initially as an assistant engineer, then as a staff...
Name an engineer/producer that has Diana Ross, Sisters of Mercy, Devo, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Ian, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, and Steely Dan in their credits. Chances are you didn't think of Larry...
Some audio equipment becomes more sought after once it goes out of production. A small company from Utah called NTI (later known as Nightpro) introduced the EQ3, PreQ3 and EQ3D in the '90s and then...
Name an engineer/producer that has Diana Ross, Sisters of Mercy, Devo, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Ian, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, and Steely Dan in their credits. Chances are you didn't think of Larry...
Australia's Tame Impala, led by Kevin Parker, have taken the classic psychedelic sounds of Cream and "The White Album" era Beatles, combining them with elements that can only exist in the modern age....
Coming up through the ranks of Memphis' fabled Ardent Studios [Tape Op #58], Jeff Powell has been making cool records for more than two decades, initially as an assistant engineer, then as a staff...
In 1910, at 38 Köethner Straße, the Builder's Association of Berlin [Baugeschäfte] began construction on what would eventually become an architectural neoclassical masterpiece....
The history of recording music is half folklore. Tales of insinuation and glory have us turned around to the point where we don't know much about what really happened during most of the great...
Paul Leary's accidental entrance into the world of recording started in the eighties with his role of de facto button pusher for his band, the Butthole Surfers. Since that time he's produced some of...
A while back I was working on a restoration process for an album that was long out of print. The only materials I had to work from were a ridiculously scratched vinyl LP and some 7-inch reference...
In the middle of a pecan ranch in Tornillo, Texas - 30 miles east of El Paso - you'll find Sonic Ranch, the largest residential recording studio in the world. The studio's owner, Tony Rancich, is the...
Audio engineer David Hough has been with Austin City Limits since the first pilot episode in 1974. Over the course of nearly 40 years, Austin City Limits has presented quality television episodes of...
A couple of years ago I got an email from Brendan, Grupo Fantasma's tour manager, noting that their self-recorded album, El Existential, had won the 2011 Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or...
Mike McCarthy first came to my attention when he started working with the band Spoon [Tape Op #27], for whom he has produced four albums. Mike's produced five albums with ...And You Will Know Us by...
Stuart Sullivan has worked with a diverse list of artists. Sublime, James McMurtry, Tejano greats Little Joe y La Familia, the Meat Puppets, the Dead Milkmen, James Cotton, and Willie Nelson have all...
Stuart Sullivan has worked with a diverse list of artists. Sublime, James McMurtry, Tejano greats Little Joe y La Familia, The Meat Puppets, The Dead Milkmen, James Cotton, and Willie Nelson have...
Paul Leary's accidental entrance into the world of recording started in the eighties with his role of de facto button pusher for his band, the Butthole Surfers. Since that time he's produced some...
Some time back I was given the interesting job of restoring tapes and 7-inch singles on a unique project for the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs. I enlisted the aid of Jamie Howarth and his...
In the middle of a pecan ranch in Tornillo, Texas - 30 miles east of El Paso - you'll find Sonic Ranch, the largest residential recording studio in the world. The studio's owner, Tony Rancich, is the...
A couple of years ago I got an email from Brendan, Grupo Fantasma's tour manager, noting that their self-recorded album, El Existential, had won the 2011 Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or...
Steve and I interviewed Mike McCarthy in 2009. Somehow four years went by before our Austin issue came together. So here's our chat from 2009, and realize that Mike has gone on to do even more...
A while back I was working on a restoration process for an album that was long out of print. The only materials I had to work from were a ridiculously scratched vinyl LP and some 7-inch reference...
I first met Justin Meldal-Johnsen via our mutual friend, Lyle Workman, at a NAMM show. He was a Tape Op reader and seemed like a cool dude. He's also got a big fro, so when I saw him on some TV show...
Brian Kehew is well known as the co-author (with Kevin Ryan) of the massive book Recording The Beatles [Tape Op #53]. But he's also been a fill-in keyboardist (and live tech) for The Who, as well...
British superproducer, Steve Lillywhite, CBE, has spent more than three decades helming storied recordings by artists like U2, Peter Gabriel and the Dave Matthews Band. Fresh from his latest work...
Whether printing complex mixes, section-by-section, through old Neve consoles without automation to 1/2-inch tape, or hauling recording rigs and generators into the mountains of Morocco, Bill...
The days of white lab coats at Abbey Road are long gone. Recording technology has never been more accessible to musicians, and there is a well-defined lineage of great artists who can both craft a...
Brian Kehew is well known as the co-author (with Kevin Ryan) of the massive book Recording The Beatles [Tape Op #53]. But he's also been a fill-in keyboardist (and live tech) for The Who and a member...
Near the end of my interview with Steve Lillywhite, CBE, he confessed to me, "My first thought is that I hate doing some of these interviews. I thought Tape Op was like the other audio magazines, and...
I first met Justin Meldal-Johnsen via our mutual friend, Lyle Workman, at a NAMM show. He was a Tape Op reader and seemed like a cool dude. He's also got a big 'fro, so when I saw him on a TV show,...
A sampling of the artists Robert Musso has recorded (or mixed) gives an idea of the stratospheric world he inhabits on a daily basis - Ornette Coleman, Bootsy Collins, Buckethead, Herbie Hancock, Iggy...
Whether printing complex mixes, section-by-section through old Neve consoles without automation to 1/2-inch tape, or hauling recording rigs and generators into the mountains of Morocco, Bill Laswell...
Looking at the resume of Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie is like reading a who's who of '90s rock: Radiohead, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Uncle Tupelo, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, so on and so forth. I had the...
Jack Drag is really John Dragonetti of Boston- sometimes. John put out the self-titled Jack Drag album in 1996, featuring 10 perfect examples of home-recorded 4-track cassette pop. Then a rhythm...
On a recent Tape Op journey that took me through Athens, GA, Nashville, TN, and Chapel Hill, NC, I had the pleasure of visiting about a dozen recording studios and photographing them and their...
In 1983 I was working in a nice 'pro' 24-track two inch studio recording music that I would never actually buy myself, and then I heard R.E.M.'s Murmur. When I heard that some guy named Mitch Easter...
Mark Nevers is a man behind the scenes...literally. As the 11th member of the twelve (or sometimes more)-musicianed Lambchop you'll likely know him as "fifth head from the left" way back in the...