When Frank Swart, bassist in The Billy Nayer Show (and who engineered The Pixies' first recording, is responsible for many of Morphine's fat tones, and continues to record his band Post Junk Trio),...
Once upon a time, there was a company called Stephens Electronics. They went head-to-head with Ampex, MCI, Studer and 3M, building tape decks that some folks still worship as the best sounding in...
The garbage can do what? All around your home are lots of great musical aids that you can't buy in a music store. The garbage can is one of my favorites, especially a large metal one. Be sure to...
Introduction: From recording software to rack gear to large and small mixing consoles — audio meters are a part of everyday recording life. Unfortunately, the best way to read, interpret, and...
Alex Newport first made a name for himself in the late eighties with the heavy, sludgy sound of Fudge Tunnel, an English band that was around from 1989 to 1995. He moved to the states in the early...
Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan have long been on the Tape Op radar — Kevin conducted the fantastic Emitt Rhodes interview in issue 33, and Brian recently set up and helped with the Ken Scott...
Mike Patton keeps busy — that’s for sure. Since his early days with rock band Faith No More (pioneering the rap-rock genre with their seminal hit “Epic”), through the...
My love of Michael Penn's music so pre-dates my interest in recording that when I was preparing to interview him for Tape Op, I returned to his records — I felt I knew them by heart, to find...
Michael Gira, co-founder of the seminal, earth-moving band Swans, has developed his skills in the studio as an artist and producer. Searching for unexpected ways to create music while maintaining...
Swing open the door to the little wooden shed behind Brian Beattie's house in south Austin and wonder how it all hangs together. The walls are stacked floor-to-ceiling with what looks like a yard...
