Daniel Miller has been a figurehead of cutting edge music since he released his first single, "Warm Leatherette," as The Normal in 1978. The rise of his label, Mute Records, soon followed, with a...
Harmonia's five LP box set, Complete Works, contains all the released material of this fascinating German band from 1973 to 1976, including their 1976 collaboration with Brian Eno and four...
I've seen Gareth Jones' name on records since the '80s and have always wanted to meet him. My imagination created a stuffy, meticulous character; an engineer/producer driven by a need for...
For most of 1997, it was nearly impossible to avoid hearing "Lovefool" by The Cardigans on a regular basis. As one of the rare hits heard on both popular and college radio at the time, its chorus...
The silver sedan parked outside has a license plate that read "Dr. Vibb," a nickname I was very familiar with. I knocked on the door and a man — who could've easily been my brother —...
A collector of guitars. Owner of Major Label and Ecco-Fonic Records. Record producer and engineer at his Ecco-Fonic Studios. Band leader. Guitarist. Author of two volumes of The Strat in the Attic....
Heba Kadry and Adrian Morgan began mastering albums at two of New York City's largest production houses — The Lodge and Sterling Sound, respectively. Their combined discographies are diverse,...
Copenhagen may get all of the attention, but just three hours away lies the second largest city in Denmark: the port city of Aarhus. With it's huge university, and rich Nordic history, it's long...
Even before the Warm Audio EQP-WA was first shown at the NAMM Show in January 2015, I had multiple reviewers giving me a holler asking to review it. Warm Audio's take on the revered Pultec EQP-1A...
About the size of a large guitar pedal, the Decoder is an all-analog box that lets you convert mic or line-level Mid- Side signals to stereo Left/Right. It's relatively easy to set up a digital matrix...
Many of us love ribbon mics. Arguably, they can be the best option for some sources. But even fans know how low the output level of ribbons can be. Active ribbon mics have appeared in recent years,...
The first ribbon microphone was co-invented by Walter H. Schottky and Erwin Gerlach in the 1920s, but the first "broadcast quality" ribbon mics were designed by Dr. Harry F. Olson for RCA. Prototypes...
The venerable AKG D12 is one of those mics I hear about a lot but don't see in person very often. I've borrowed a few from friends, and each one sounded very different. Plus, hilariously, each time I...
Seattle's DIY Wizards are at it again — this time with more preamps taking advantage of the 500-series format. The Elements line-up of preamps includes four models: Gold, Copper, Bronze, and...
Here's another multi-opinion review from three of our contributing writers. Mastering and restoration engineer Jessica Thompson recently joined the staff of Coast Mastering in Berkeley, CA. Sarah...
When RØDE asked Tape Op if we wanted to review the new NTR active ribbon mic, I briefly thought of doing the review myself. But I quickly decided that with nine ribbons already in my mic...
Larry Fast is a rare breed. One that is on the forefront of artistically combining human with machine with music in mind in order to create a listening experience that goes beyond conventions. For...
It only makes sense that with a renewed interest in analog synthesis, modular synths would make a comeback. However, rather than the hulking beasts Keith Emerson tortured on stage, or pampered...
With his early years in Roxy Music, arty solo albums in the '70s, the creation and conceptualization of "ambient" music, groundbreaking collaborations with David Bowie and as the producer of albums...
For years I've received brief emails from Damian Taylor. He might be in some remote location or some major metropolitan center, making records with a wide variety of artists. Frequently he'd have some...
With news of Neil Young pushing to get studio quality audio out to the consumer, it occurred to me that it would be good to get some perspective on how we go about comparing audio quality. One of the most problematic issues surrounding audio...
Everyone has been talking about Dave Grohl's new documentary Sound City a lot lately. That's cool; it's a fun romp of a movie, even if Dave can't decide whether he's making a film about a Neve console, a dying studio, a rock star jam session or an...
Larry Fast is a rare breed. One that is on the forefront of artistically combining human with machine with music in mind in order to create a listening experience that goes beyond conventions. For...
Carol Kaye is one of the most recorded bass players of all time, with 10,000 sessions and 40,000 songs under her belt, including a staggering list of hits for Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers,...
In a fascinating and really open Facebook debate initiated by fellow producer, cycling enthuiasist, and coffee-drinking pal, Eric Ambel (www.ericambel.com), I was alerted to what was finally a clear insight into how and why Spotify could possibly...
It is truly remarkable to step back and examine the full societal impact that some recording engineers and mixers have had on American culture. During his 18-year tenure as Chief Engineer for Motown...
I'm about to write something that at first will seem like another gray-beard waxing nostalgic for a by-gone analog era. But, stick with me, because I think the tables are turning to where going analog might be as forward-thinking as it gets. Let's...
When Tape Op's 420th issue rolls out in 2040, the way we record, edit, mix, and master audio will be transformed entirely from the processes we use today. Currently we are separated by physical...
Over the last few years we've seen an explosion of online music services. Pandora, iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, Soundcloud and dozens of other platforms are touted as groundbreaking ways to deliver music to listeners. But this success is on the...
Richard Kaplan, owner engineer of famed recording studio Indigo Ranch [Tape Op #103] is selling the remainder of his classic equipment collection. It includes vintage and rare pieces by API, Aengus, Fairchild, Teletronix, Neumann and...
