An Ode to Ribbons
by Andy Hong
I can remember back in 2002, when I first joined the Tape Op team as Reviews Editor, ribbon mics were relatively rare, and even new ones, like the now ubiquitous Royer Labs R-12, weren't too often...
Columns
Sporadic and regular articles from our contributors.
Don't Give Up
by Larry Crane
I'm in front of the console, about one hour into a mixing session with a new client in attendance. I've got too much on my mind, an issue of the magazine to write and edit, gear to upgrade...
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Negative Creeping
by Larry Crane
Last year I met up for beers with an audio engineer who was passing through town while doing front of house for a well-known artist on a sold out tour. While we were chatting about life and audio, he...
Until the Studio Tech Arrives, YOU Are the Studio Tech
by Andy Hong
The other day, the blower motor of my studio's HVAC system died. The air handler is a large-volume, low-velocity unit (to minimize noise), and the access panel in the wall wasn't large enough to...
It’s the Process, not the Processing
by Larry Crane
For the last six months I've worked on an album that's very much steeped in the style of the classic mid-century crooners. Artists like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Julie London cut...
Gear Geeking #108
by Andy Hong
I've mentioned before that one of the goals of Tape Op Gear Reviews is to educate our readers. In other words, we strive to publish reviews that are just as informative about recording techniques as...
Learn Recording, the Hard (and Rewarding) Way
by Dave Simonett
When I was younger and flat broke, I was offered a place to stay in my friends' house. It was a room in an old, unfinished basement, and I thought it'd be nice to have some walls. Being without funds...
Gear Geeking #107
by Andy Hong
Let's talk about tape — not the kind that you record on, but the kind that's sticky. Or actually, the kind that's sort of sticky — tape that's used to mount, attach, or repair things, but...
Gear Geeking #106
by Andy Hong
Allen Farmelo has been writing Tape Op gear reviews for a decade. His reviews are always engaging, educational, and importantly, inspirational. Allen always seems to find an arc up to a concept,...
Making Records in the Age of PONO
by Allen Farmelo
We are witnessing the dawn of dramatic format changes for audio delivery. On the one hand, we now have streaming audio and, on the other hand, we have the movement away from compressed digital formats...
Gear Geeking #105
by Andy Hong
When I saw Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum perform at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston in 1986, the bands were loud enough to cause physical pain to my ears. The high frequencies were especially...
All In
by Larry Crane
I opened my commercial recording studio (Jackpot! Recording) in 1997, after years of simultaneously having a busy home studio while working day jobs to pay the rent. Making this leap to a full-time...