Welcome to the Tape Op Archives! ProSoundWeb’s generous sampling of complete articles from past issues of recording’s fastest-growing magazine. Each article contains the full text and graphics, so you don’t miss a thing in our web version. Many of these articles are from back issues that are no longer available, so this is the only place you’ll find them—at least without raiding Larry Crane’s personal stash.

New articles will be posted at regular intervals, so be sure to check back often. As with the print mag, the Tape Op archives will offer a balance of technical how-to articles and provocative interviews with movers and shakers at ALL levels of the industry--from the alternative rock underground to the studio legends of rock’s formative era.

ProSoundWeb is grateful to Tape Op’s publisher John Baccigaluppi and editor Larry Crane for making this archive possible. Though Tape Op remains a completely separate and independent entity (with its own web site www.tapeop.com), this new archive at ProSoundWeb will allow thousands of recording enthusiasts to have easy access to great articles that they may never see otherwise. Enjoy!

Article 19: Avoid gear theft
There are some pretty serious, professional gear thieves out there. Don’t get burned! Fletcher supplies some guidelines for helping deter theft of your gear, and some ideas on swifter recovery if something is stolen.

Article 18: Good drum sound with only three or four tracks
Does it just get too complicated sometimes? Here's a look at some basic yet highly effective approaches to attaining pleasing drum sounds in the studio, using just three or four tracks.

Recording Recipes #4: Flying Musicians.
Curtis Settino sets forth a few recording techniques involving flying (roaming, really) musicians. The goal when using flying musician techniques is to create and capture unique volume, position and/or timbre changes in the performance you’re recording. It’s a roundabout approach to orchestration and dynamics.

Article 17: Introduction to digital audio.
Your ears are analog devices that convert sound waves into mechanical pulses the brain can understand. Your computer is a binary device, which means that it can only understand messages described in ones and zeros. In order to convert an analog signal to a digital signal, a converter executes several operations. The main objective of the converter is to sample a piece of the incoming analog signal (kind of like nibbling on a slice of cake), and then the conversion of each sample into a 16-bit binary description.

Article 16: Roger Moutenot - From New York to Nashville.
A man who's had his name attached to some of the finer albums on the indie-rock scene, Roger Moutenot talks about his move from New York to Nashville and how it impacted his career. He also shares recording philosophies, his work with artists as diverse as Yo La Tengo and Paula Cole, analog versus digital and why he likes indie work.

Article 15: Nowhere to run: Bob Ohlsson, magic and the Motown Sound.
In a masterpiece of interviewing, Philip Stevens talks with recording legend Bob Olhsson about the golden days of Motown, the genius of Stevie Wonder, the way those recordings were made, and “what’s going on” in the modern era. How did we all get here, and where is the art of making records headed? Bob Olhsson’s window to past, present and future.

Article 14: Building Your Own plate reverb.
Bob Buontempo's outstanding "how to" for building your own plate reverb. Clear explanation, backed by graphics, for accomplishing this. Larry Crane, editor of Tape Op, opens the article: "Plate Reverb. Many people ask me about this and I usually tell them to listen to some records from the '70s and '80s and look for reverb with a thick, pillowy sound that doesn't obscure the vocal yet doesn't quite sound like an actual room.

"The sound itself, as you'll see, is created through mechanically vibrating a plate of steel, picking up the decaying vibrations and re-amplifying them much the same way a spring reverb works. They're hard to find used these days, and we were lucky enough to hook up with Bob Buontempo and obtain a reworking of his article from 1983, originally written for Modern Recording and Music."

Article #13: Death Cab For Cutie.
Chris Walla, a member of the uniquely named band Death Cab For Cutie, shares his recording approaches and philosophies employed with the band's acclaimed recorded sound. The story behind mysterious sounds that aren't perhaps so mysterious after all.

For all you "newbies" out there, Chris shares what he found valuable about his recording education, as well as what he didn't find so worthwhile. He also describes his Hall of Justice recording studio - "all this big cranky, clunky, old, old state of the art mid-‘70s analog stuff. It’s all temperamental - like knocking on wood all the time to make sure it works."

Article #12: The db of David Bottrill
From an early age, David Bottrill found himself in the intimate work habitat of musical vanguards Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. A few short years after his indoctrination into the studio he relocated to Real World studios in the UK, where he worked on such notable albums as Peter Gabriel’s So, Passion and Us.

Bottrill is renown for being diverse with a forte of applying his techniques to a wide range of artists: liner notes in albums by King Crimson, Clannad, Tool, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and even Kid Rock immortalize his moniker.

Article #11: Guerilla recording tricks
Colin Odden shares some wacky and cool recording ideas - some that may be a bit out of the norm! Two mic phasing, furnace reverb, reverb reamp, pipes and salad bowls, torn speakers and more! Try them out and have fun!

Article #10: One tube microphone from Berlin and one from Barstow
An outstanding article by David Royer, where he demystifies the Neumann U-47 microphone, explaining how it was designed and why. He then provides a thorough tutorial on adapting a Marshall MXL 2001 condenser microphone, reworking its internal electronics to a circuit similar to that in the U-47.

Plenty of schematics and photos - anyone interested can do this themselves, and for a cost of less than $200!

Article #9: How To Build A Microphone
Joel Cameron's outstanding tutorial on building a quality condenser microphone for about $20 (US). The microphone is largely based on a posting Joel found on the Internet showing how to modify Realistic (Radio Shack) PZMs (pressure zone mics) for better performance. After making a pair of these, he was shocked to find out how amazing they sound, and in fact, they've become his first choice for capturing unhyped, totally natural stereo images.

"DO NOT let the cost fool you, this mic’s fbottomeningly good performance will blow your mind—and it’s easy to build!" -Joel Cameron

Article #8: Tchad Blake: Recordist As Creative Artist
The phrase “recording artist” is usually reserved for the sensitive souls who sing and play the stuff that makes its way into those shiny little discs. But there are some on the recording end of the process who truly deserve the title.

Tchad Blake is among them. In the last decade, Blake, with frequent partner Mitcheli Froom, has created an aural terrain unto itself. Like a latter Beatle’s album or Brian Eno recording, Tchad Blake’s work is usually a “down the rabbit hole” experience – the listener is transported to another realm where the sonic texture asserts itself as a part of the creative process itself.

For a recording work titan who has worked with a staggering number of heavyweight music makers from The Master Musicians of Jajouka to Tom Waits to Sheryl Crow, Tchad comes across as an unexpectedly down-to-earth guy.

But like all those who climb creative heights, he began his trek at street level…

Article #7: John Hardy, Builder of Mic Preamps
England has Rupert Neve and Malcolm Toft; two of the most noted, and acclaimed, pioneering designers, and builders, of Classic Professional Audio Equipment. From their Pre Amp designs, to their Equalizers, Compressors, and Consoles, they made some of England's best gear.

In America, there is Bill Putnam, George Massenburg, and Deanne Jensen, and many more. But when it comes to Pre Amp design, John Hardy is one of the most noteworthy of them all.

His designs were ahead of their time, and are still hard to beat, let alone equal, even today.

John goes into some technical details, in this piece, which includes several schematics of his work, but even the technically faint at heart, will be able to comprehend the information, because John explains things using easily understood analogies, while never talking down to the reader.

Whether you've never read a technical piece before, or are an amateur designer, yourself, you'll find something useful to take away from this rare interview, with an American Classic!!

Article #6: Ken Nordine, Master of Word Jazz Is Ken Nordine the REAL Forefather of RAP?
In this bopping interview, Ken, who had several successful albums, with his recordings of 'Word Jazz', his unique style of sung-spoken word plays, over fresh and interesting Music, tells about how developed this concept, and Art Form.

From his start as a Radio announcer, to his continuing voice work on commercials, and his current tenure as a Radio Talk Show Host, Ken has built up a Cult following of fans.

Ken's explanations of his spoken word techniques remind one of a Jazz Musician explaining his chops and philosophies, especially when he talks about things like his phrasing of speech patterns, to fit over odd time signatures.

Check out this interesting blend of styles, and use of the Human voice!!

Article #5: The Go-Betweens
This Tape Op interview is with the Go-Betweens, a late 1970s-1980s band, who were influenced by the sound of the 1960s. They were originally from Australia, and then moved to England, where they remained until their 1990 breakup. A recently released compilation album of their early and more popular tunes, lead to a reunion tour, and Tape Op snagged them for an interview, at one of their shows. The band gives an extensive account of their studio experiences, in this piece.

Article #4: An Interview with Jack Endino Grunge!!
Read about how it all started in Seattle, Washington, when Tape Op takes on Jack Endino, the 'Father of Seattle Grunge Engineering', in this interesting interview.

From Nirvana's infamous statement "Recorded in Seattle at Reciprocal Recording by Jack Endino for $600.00" on the back of their 'Bleach' album, to recording Mudhoney's breakthrough debut, Jack helped start it all.

This mostly technical interview is filled with his recording techniques, and production tips, for all to steal!!

Article #3: Calexico
The typical Music or Recording magazine interview usually consists of a Pop Star fluff piece in 'People' magazine, or a 'Classic Rock' act, describing the tape baking process necessary to remix their old album for a 5.1 surround re-release, to Mix magazine.

But Tape Op is one of, if not the only, International Publication, to feature Independent Label Acts, and those with Self-Released Recordings, as the subjects of its interviews. Now, Pro Sound Web joins in, by posting these pieces online.

Calexico is one such Indie act, based out of Tucson, Arizona. In this interview, they talk about recording their latest album, their Independent label, and even Pro Tools.

Read it, because YOUR band might be the next one in a Tape Op interview!!

Article #2: Share with Engineer Phill Brown
Veteran Engineer and Producer, Phill Brown, doesn't hold back anything in this interview, conducted by Tape Op Editor Larry Crane!!

Phill started his career at London's Olympic Studios in the late 1960s, and has a list of Recording and Production credits that reads like a venerable 'Who's Who' of Legendary Recording Acts and Artists. Phill still continues to be an active presence in today's contemporary Music, Recording, and Production scenes.

And, in this interview, not only does Phill get into details of the Sessions he's done, and Artists he's worked with from a technical perspective, but also from a personal, and sometimes private one, as well!! Interesting and informative reading, from every aspect!!

Article #1: Splice, Edit and Loop Analog Tapes
In the 'Good Old Days', when analogue tape was the only recording medium available, the editing process was not 'quite' as simple as it is today, using digital audio's 'cut and paste', 'word processing-like' methods of editing sound data.

Back then, 'cutting and pasting', as they referred to analogue tape editing, meant physically 'cutting' the tape, using a razor blade and splicing block, then literally 'pasting' it back together, with a piece of adhesive splicing tape!!

And that is still how the Art of Analogue tape editing is being practiced today.

This article, by John Holkeboer (with Tape Op Editor, Larry Crane), is a must read for anyone who is a newcomer to recording and editing, those who've only done their editing in the digital domain, or anyone else who'd just like to hone up their analogue tape editing chops!