In 2005, Matt Warshaw, a well-known surf journalist who had written for just about every surfing publication that exists, published The Encyclopedia of Surfing, which became the definitive reference on the subject of wavesliding. With his new book, The Synthesizer, Mark Vail, who has written for...
What can I say about the late Roger Nichols? The engineer on every Steely Dan record. A former nuclear scientist who was addicted to audio quality. The inventor of Wendel, the first digital drum-replacement system. He was all these things and more. His tireless quest for crackle & pop-free...
If you recall my interview with legendary producer/engineer Bruce Swedien [Tape Op #91], you'll have heard some of the key points that reoccur in his Recording Method book. Stereo recording, especially with a Blumlein pair, is great. Ribbon mics are excellent. Hire the best players. Go listen...
This book is as much of a page-turner as you're likely to find in the field of books about audio. It's very well written and the writers are very passionate about their subject matter. While technical issues are discussed here and there, this book is about the people, not the machines...
You may have noticed from reading the last few issues of Tape Op that we have a soft spot in our hearts for vintage synths, with interviews of Malcolm Cecil (keeper of TONTO), Bob Moog, and Larry Fast. I personally credit my days as a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, working...
This book is a mind fuck. So many of the techniques mentioned here are ones you will not find in any other recording books-the kind of tricks that one only learns over long periods of time. That's a good thing. Much of it deals with breaking out of the "visual" placement of mics and...
When someone sent me a work of fiction in which the protagonist is a studio engineer who lives in Portland, I was a bit curious. James Greve has actually worked as an engineer, recording 3 Leg Torso and others around town. The story follows the winding path of the main character as he records...
Here it is, the complete Mixerman diaries as seen on prosoundweb.com, with an added closing chapter, all published as a hardcover book. The fable of Bitch Slap and their incredible studio shenanigans is one of the best examples of what could go haywire in the world of big- budget album making. I...
Shad O' Shea's books on the music business are perhaps some of the most useful to the Tape Op community because he writes them as a veteran studio owner/producer/engineer and songwriter. O'Shea was born Howard Lovdal in 1931. After a stint in Korea in the Air Force, he started a...
One of my greatest pleasures in the studio is watching people's recording awareness expand, especially when there's none there to begin with. Hell, that's how I started, so it's fun to relive in other people. To savvy Tape Op readers, this book may not appear to offer much on...
Any book that lists a timeline of recorded music reproduction on its back cover that goes from Edison's cylinder in 1877 to Apple launching iTunes is gonna hold some interest to Tape Op readers. A very well-written book, Coleman examines the many changes in playback technology and the...
Danny Gatton was one of the most versatile and technically amazing guitar players to ever walk this earth before his suicide in 1994. Ralph Heibutzki (who interviewed Norman Dayron for us in Tape Op #25) covers Danny's life and frustrating career in this book, with ample info on Danny's...