AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Guerilla Recording Tricks
Colin sent us these wacky and cool recording ideas. Try them out and have fun!
Interviews
Interviews
Interviews
MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Phill Brown: Steve Winwood 31st October 1976
We interviewed Phill Brown in issue number [#12] of Tape Op. Over the years he's worked with some of the greatest artists ever, like Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Traffic, Spooky Tooth, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Robert Palmer, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood, Harry Nilsson, Roxy Music, Stomu Yamash'ta, John Martyn, Little Feat, Atomic Rooster, and Talk Talk. This is another excerpt from his (still!) unpublished book, Are We Still Rolling? Last issue: Phill goes home exhausted. –LC
AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Rupert Neve: Pro Audio Guru
There is a humble man who lives in the small town of Wimberley, Texas. His name is on recording consoles all over the world, and so many important works of music have run through his signal chains that we don't even need to mention them. He is still designing recording gear, such as the fabulous "Channel in a Box" by Amek. The things he builds sound musical, which is what this is all about, isn't it? (Also present at this interview were Rupert's assistants, Mark Phillips and Kevin Burgin.)
AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
COLUMNS
GEAR REVIEWS
Gear Reviews
560 graphic EQ
You have all heard the "professionals" rave about them but even as a "project-studio" recordist I'm way down with the API. I mean, what other company do you know that has built shit almost exactly the same way for over 30 years, maintained the high-quality and excellent reputation that put them on...
Gear Reviews
B4 Tonewheel Sets software add-ons
As a very regular (and happy) user of Native Instruments simulated Hammond organ, the B4, it was nice to see them release a set of add-on sounds for this indispensable "virtual instrument". The new sets include some definitely non-Hammond sounds like the Vox Continental, a Farfisa and a nice...
Gear Reviews
Demonstration CD
Ostensibly this is a promotional device (only $3.50, for shipping) for Royer ribbon mics, a product that we highly recommend here at Tape Op, but there's something that makes this CD a cut above. Sure, you may want to skip over an excerpt of "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer or Jewel...
Gear Reviews
HEDD 192
One of the more interesting signal processors to come along has to be the HEDD 192 from Crane Song. HEDD stands for Harmonically Enhanced Digital Device and is quite unlike any other processor on the market that I know of. As its name implies, the HEDD 192 allows you to bring out the inner harmonic...
Gear Reviews
ID-One condenser microphone
Okay, you might have thought large-diaphragm condenser mics were getting cheap - but now PPA blows everything out of the water with the $99.95 ID-One. Of course it's another one of those inexpensive Chinese- made, fixed cardioid-pattern mics, in fact the insides looked a lot like the...
Gear Reviews
KSM27 condenser microphone
Shure adds to its line of silver, curvy KSM- series mics with the affordable KSM27 (available as low as $299). It's a cardioid-patterned condenser with low end roll off and 15 dB pad switches built in. There's a warm spot in the low mids that complements a lot of sources - on voice over it sounds...
Gear Reviews
LA-2A Leveling Amplifier
As you probably know by now, especially after issue 24's feature interview, the Putnam brothers reactivated their dad's company and started building some of his old products again. And they are wonderful products, like the 1176 compressor, the 610 mic pre, and also this LA-2A - one of the...
Gear Reviews
LeVeLAr Compressor/Limiter
LeVeLAr is a single channel tube compressor/limiter designed for home recordists and small project studios. Some tube purists find ART devices to be gimmicky, but home recordists like myself find them to be immensely useful. The LeVeLAr is exceptionally simple in its user interface. You get 1/4"...
Gear Reviews
M-80 8 Channel Mic Pre
This is eight Class A FET mic pres with custom input transformers in a double space rack. The power supply is pretty heavy duty and is external to the unit with a multi- pin cable connector. Each pre has switches for phase reversal, +48 v phantom power, -20 dB pad, and an 80 Hz high pass. The specs...
Gear Reviews
MDR-NC5 noise canceling headphones
I bought a pair of MDR-NC5s for a recent airplane ride and they are the coolest thing in the world! You can use them with or without a Walkman or CD Walkman or whatever. They've got a built-in mic which phase- reverses the ambience to your ears, plus a filter which rolls off 300 Hz and below (gets...
Gear Reviews
Model ASC EQ
The Speck is a four-band, one-channel EQ. The low end operates between 20 and 150 Hz with a peak/shelf switch. The low-mid is switchable, with a sweep of either 40 to 800 Hz or 400 Hz to 8 kHz, and the variable bandwidth adjustment works on both settings. The totally parametric midrange works from...
Gear Reviews
Oxford R3-EQ TDM plug-in for Pro Tools
Having tried all the available Pro Tools TDM EQ plug- ins out there I was looking forward to Digidesign's new hardware and software updates to get me the step up in sound quality I was craving but these aren't planned until mid 2002. The wait was killing me! I track with vintage and classic...
Gear Reviews
QuietComfort Acoustic Noise Canceling Headset
With all the traveling I do, I feel that airline flying without ear protection is akin to walking into a rock show without a set of earplugs. Obviously, I value my ears, so I'll do whatever is necessary to keep my hearing as healthy and acute as possible. If I fly without ear protection, I'll...
Gear Reviews
Reaktor 3.0 software
A year ago Reaktor 2.3 came into my life a like a software messiah (read my review in issue #21). The program has so many mind-blowing features and functions that despite how long I've owned version 2.3 I'm still finding new and remarkable ways to use it. Reaktor is a native synthesis audio program...
Gear Reviews
SCX-25 condenser microphone
With its distinct lollipop look and precision machining, the SCX-25 draws attention to itself immediately. This cardioid-patterned mic is cool looking and streamlined, with no roll off or pad switches to be found. The SCX-25 is a large diaphragm condenser with a pronounced high midrange bump around...
Gear Reviews
Waveburner Pro Audio CD Mastering Software
This is a beautifully useful and utilitarian piece of Macintosh software. It only does one thing, but it does it really well: assemble, sequence and tweak two track mixes into Red Book compliant CDR masters. If you've been using Toast or Jam to burn CDs, you'll want to throw them away after you use...