Yup, we're finally back on track with clothing here at the US branch of Tape Op. Check it all out, plus back issues, at Good Mountain, our new supplier of direct mail order goodies for Tape Op.... [KEEP READING]
Welcome to the beginning of Tape Op Magazine's first official "blog" (oh, how I hate some of these computer geek terms). We'll be calling this the Tape Log, like those sheets of paper that keep track of what tracks were on a reel of tape, y'know? Like in the old days? Remember?
Anyway, mostly there will be comments and information dredged up by myself, Larry Crane (editor/founder). I'll also have some of our writers/contributors join the fold as we move along, and anyone is encouraged to add comments to the postings on here. With the publication of each physical copy of Tape Op Magazine, there will also be posts here with bonus interview comments that we edited out for space or continuity reasons, writer's feedback and stories on articles we have run, bonus features that we have laying around and more. Plus I will fill you lovely readers in on the exciting life of a magazine editor, teasing you with stories about places we've been lately, where we'll be soon and interviews as they happen - and maybe even some of my cooking and home remodeling exploits if you're lucky. If you have ideas for items to post on this site, please drop me a line. Thanks for taking the time to peruse this site, and for reading Tape Op Magazine!
-LC
Anyway, mostly there will be comments and information dredged up by myself, Larry Crane (editor/founder). I'll also have some of our writers/contributors join the fold as we move along, and anyone is encouraged to add comments to the postings on here. With the publication of each physical copy of Tape Op Magazine, there will also be posts here with bonus interview comments that we edited out for space or continuity reasons, writer's feedback and stories on articles we have run, bonus features that we have laying around and more. Plus I will fill you lovely readers in on the exciting life of a magazine editor, teasing you with stories about places we've been lately, where we'll be soon and interviews as they happen - and maybe even some of my cooking and home remodeling exploits if you're lucky. If you have ideas for items to post on this site, please drop me a line. Thanks for taking the time to peruse this site, and for reading Tape Op Magazine!
-LC
I'll bet if you asked any busy business owner or manager what they spend the the most time doing, it would be the art of telling people, "No." For years I've found this to be true in regards to running Tape Op Magazine. "No" may seem a negative word, but in order to keep focused on the work at hand,... [KEEP READING]
I'll be hosting my Recording Workshops at Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon, once again. The first round of workshops will be held April 24/25 and May 1/2. For more information click on the Jackpot! site and find out what we'll be doing. People liked these events in the past, and I have a good time "teaching" or whatever it... [KEEP READING]
We're thinking of printing some bumper stickers to help promote the Tape Op brand name. Our ideas have included: "My Other Car is a Tape Op" "My Child is an Honor Student at Tape Op" "Honk if You're Tape Op" "I'd rather be reading Tape Op" "Powered by Tape Op" "Show me your Tape Ops" "Don't Laugh, it's Tape... [KEEP READING]
Caro Snatch did this interesting online interview with Robert Henke from Monolake on her site. An interesting note is that he created this album, Silence, "without any compression." Well, yeah, uh, if you work in the box and want to draw/automate lots of automation then I guess compression isn't needed. Hell compression is really never needed - it just helps... [KEEP READING]
I'll be doing a "Quickies 6: In the Studio" panel-type thing at SXSW on Saturday, March 20th, 11:00 AM, at the Austin Convention Center, Room 16A. I think you have to sign up for this, so check their website for more info. It'd be cool to meet some Tape Op readers at this. Also, to all subscribers: keep an... [KEEP READING]
I think it's for real? Is it? What is it? Why? See Barry Rudolph's report on Treeverb... [KEEP READING]
James Beaudreau is a former member of the Billy Nayer Show (1998-2003) and started Workbench Recordings - a netlabel, blog, and recording studio in NYC. They release one track every Tuesday along with artwork and texts about the creative process, recording process, and other experiences of the creative recording artist. "Most of the audio posted so far was recorded in... [KEEP READING]
I've interviewed and enjoyed Alan Parsons' company a number of times over the years, and a while back he even cornered me at an AES conference and videotaped a quick interview about Tape Op. He claimed to be putting together a video about recording. "What a great idea," I thought. Some of you might think only of the group that... [KEEP READING]
Our pal Ronan Chris Murphy does this cool "TV" show on his site, http://ronansrecordingshow.com, and the most recent one is with me and John Baccigaluppi where we talk about Tape Op Magazine. I think it's a good insight into how the mag works and who we are.... [KEEP READING]
James Goss has interviewed many independent record store owners across the country to see how they stay in business and what they sell. Every month a new store will be profiled with interviews and photos. Pretty fun. Here's the link: Vinyl Lives... [KEEP READING]
So I just noticed an email in my inbox from a PR person with the headline: "XXXXX MICS FEATURED IN THE BEATLES™: ROCK BAND™ VIDEO GAME". What's next? "Shure SM57 seen briefly in a movie"? "Rob Thomas sings into wrong side of a mic in a video"? Oh brother.... [KEEP READING]
Ina previous blog post, we saw the beginnings of this project. Damian Wagner was in issue 64 - here's a crazy project where he's amplifying the sound of the earth! "After destroying 3 subwoofers and having to completely redesign the playback engine I was able to finally finished mic'ing and successfully creating a live realtime feed of the earth at... [KEEP READING]
Well, not my maker but the man behind the baby that is our RND5088 console at Jackpot! I got to spend a little time (and a photoshoot) with Rupert Neve at The Magic Shop in NYC during the AES convention last week. Thanks to Steve Rosenthal for hosting a fun party and to Rupert Neve Designs for the fun... [KEEP READING]
I didn't do this video. But the guy who did must be spying on me. You can replace the style of music with any style, but the conversation is the same. (Recording Engineers, you can replace mastering with 'my friend has a hacked copy of Cubase.')... [KEEP READING]
Tape Op contributor, Chris Mara, has organized an amazing studio event coming up. I wanted to go but sessions have stopped me. If you can make it, this sounds like a lot of fun. Tape Op Messageboard Thread and instructions Welcome to 1979 Studio... [KEEP READING]
It's not Idol, technically, but America's Got Talent and its dentally-impaired overseas cousin are still franchises helmed by Simon Cowell, who I think we can all agree has become somewhat of a figurehead for shitty pop music and general asshattery. You'll be rewarded here, sort of, with a perfectly passable aw-shucks-diva cover of the Stones' "Wild Horses" if you... [KEEP READING]
So this book, Getting Great Sounds: The Microphone Book, shows up in the mail for potential review. Uh, well, just take a look at this porno shoot outtake on the cover. I refuse to read it, I will tell others how offensive this cover is, and that's what I'm doing right now. I thought half the people in the... [KEEP READING]
Our pal Howard Bilerman will be interviewing legendary producer Bob Johnston in Montreal coming up. Should be a real hoot!... [KEEP READING]
I received several CDs recently, notably the Monsters of Folk (Jim James, M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis) and Porcupine Tree's The Incident, that I really wanted to listen to but was unable to hear. Why? Because these promo discs were watermarked and copy protected to ensure that I didn't rip them and post them online (uh, something I... [KEEP READING]
Remember Nino from issue #67? His new Bird and Egg Recording Studio is hosting "an open house of sorts. On Sunday, October 18th between the hours of 2pm and 6pm Bird and Egg will be open for you to see and feel. There will be wine and hors d'ouvres and maybe an impromptu session. Please come by and see the... [KEEP READING]
Link here for a free pass to the 127th AES Convention in New York City, Oct. 9-12, for “Exhibits Only” registration. Come on down and visit the Tape Op booth and harass us about missing issues or why we don't review your CDs or write about your studio. We'll be giving away recent issues and lots of smirks and smiles.... [KEEP READING]
Hipper music bloggers than you're likely to ever find here have been freaking out over surrealist hip hop duo Das Racist for a while now, ever since the Pineapple Express rap tune "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" came out earlier this year. Even beyond being an ode to the brilliantly efficient fast-food convergence in the first place and implicitly... [KEEP READING]
Fire Extinguishers in the Studio - [Note to our EU readers. I don't know if the U.S. letter conventions apply in your locale, but the fundamental suggestions in this post are universal.] It’s a really smart idea to have a couple of fire extinguishers in your studio. (If the studio is a commercial business, its probably also required by... [KEEP READING]
A lot of you have probably heard the term “microphonic tubes.” But have you ever heard one in action? They actually turn into little microphones. (Hence the name). So, this week I decided to replace the input tubes on my Manley Massive Passive with some NOS Telefunkens that I purchased from a reputable tube dealer. I’m about to start... [KEEP READING]
Here's a tip that costs nothing for materials, might be good for the environment, and can save some headaches down the road. I don't know about you, but our Postal Delivery Person insists on bundling our mail in rubber bands (gum bands for our Pittsburgh readers). Within a month or two we had a pint glass full of these... [KEEP READING]
Simultaneously making apparent the depths of both my dorkiness and my loyalty, I steadfastly stood by Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" all through its various tribulations over the last couple years -- first with its questionable placement on the OC, which omitted the superb contrapuntal opening segment and jumped right to the "hook," as it were; then as the subject... [KEEP READING]
Tape Op contributor and studio owner/engineer/producer Mike Caffrey recently sent me some thoughts he had about visitors to the studio during sessions. See issue 73’s upcoming end rant for the origins of this piece. -LC "I always tell people that having visitors will lead to getting less done. They say, "No, it's cool they'll be quiet." Then they're usually... [KEEP READING]
I recently mixed my first album entirely on my laptop. Yeah, maybe I'm a decade behind the curve but I also own a studio and have done a majority of my work there. On this job we were attempting to cut and mix a record in three days and we didn't get to the mixing part in time. I... [KEEP READING]
I pulled short straw and had to go pick up the take out tonight (take away for our UK readers). The radio was set to NPR, so I let it alone. The announcer introduced a new segment called “Listen to This,” that features famous musicians talking about important music that “must not be missed”. Today’s episode was hosted by Maroon... [KEEP READING]
