Mountainroad DSP: Lumina Delay Plug-In
reviewed by Adam Kagan
A new delay plug-in, you say? I already have dozens of delays and have been pretty happy with my options – but sure, I’ll check it out. Mountainroad DSP may not be a familiar name, but...
Gear Reviews
The means contribute to the end. Usually.
Ableton: Move
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
Like a lot of Tape Op-ers, I started my recording expedition with a cassette 4-track. For a young songwriter, the 4-track was nothing less than a joy engine – a new way to capture ideas and...
Soyuz Microphones: Lakeside Mic Preamp
reviewed by Larry Crane, Chris Koltay
In a climate where it sometimes seems like a race to the bottom, with companies trying to build the cheapest audio outboard equipment they can, it’s refreshing to come across gear like...
Randy McNutt: Historic Recording Studios (book)
reviewed by Larry Crane
This 399-page, large format book, Historic Recording Studios: America’s Sound Factories and the People Who Made Them, is actually Volume One (A to M) of “A Scrapbook and...
Lauten Audio: Rim Mount Mic Clip
reviewed by Mike Kosacek
I had ruled out mic mounts that attach to a drum’s rim after trying some in my studio years ago, only to find that they transmitted way too many bad sounds directly through the mount. I’ve...
Trident Audio Developments: 80B-EQ 500 Series EQ
reviewed by Brian Tarquin
I’m a faithful Trident user and have had several Trident recording consoles over the years. Trident Studios was formed by two brothers, Norman and Barry Sheffield, in 1968, with artists such as...
AudioScape Engineering Co.: XL-305R Spring Reverb
reviewed by Brian Tarquin
I have always loved a good sounding reverb unit, one that is authentic and usable in real life mixes. I used to own the magnificent AKG BX20E spring reverb, housed in a beautiful 3.5 foot tall wooden...
Universal Audio: UA LA-6176 Plug-In
reviewed by Cochrane McMillan
If you asked me whether you should try this UA LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip plug-in – or any of the company's plug-ins, Apollo hardware units, or their near zero latency console-like digital...
Simone Corelli: X-Raying Sound with iZotope RX (book)
reviewed by Larry Crane
In this large format, 90-page full-color book, Simone Corelli takes on a tutorial ride through iZotope’s RX audio restoration app and plug-in suite, and is updated for the current RX 11 [see...
iZotope: RX 11 Advanced App & Plug-In
reviewed by Larry Crane
I’ve been using iZotope RX [Tape Op #123] for over a decade, starting with RX 3 [#100], and this "audio repair toolkit" has become an integrated part of my workflow on every music project I do....
Tonelux: JC37 Tube Microphone
reviewed by Dan Knobler
The Sony C37A may be the last classic tube mic without ubiquitous modern clones. There are a million variations of the Neumann and AKG classics at all sorts of price points, which is wonderful...
PreSonus: Quantum HD8 Interface
reviewed by Liam Nelson
I was mixing the record that would never die – or at least would never go to mastering. You may have been there yourself; you start mixing, and then the artist goes to another studio and adds a...