TapeOp: The Creative Music Recording Magazine
Issues #19 (Sept/Oct 2000) and #20 (Nov/Dec 2000)
http://www.tapeop.com
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If you've ever
bounced tracks between two cassette recorders in a desperate attempt to add one more guitar part to your new pop song, or wrapped a Radio Shack
microphone in a plastic bag, put it in a bucket, stuck the bucket in the tub and filled it with water while recording the proceedings, or tried to build your own
speakers out of cellophane, magnets and tape, then TapeOp is for you. Even if you've never done any of those things, but you're interested in the process,
techniques and culture of "creative music recording", then surely a free subscription to TapeOp should be in your future.
TapeOp started out, as many indie publications do, firmly committed to low/no budget, homebrew, non-commerial recording and the people who do it. A tapeop
is (or was, in the analog days) a lowly studio helper, the person who pushes the buttons on the tape recorder, makes the tea and cleans up the unsightly mess left in
the restrooms after a particularly eventful recording session. While a tapeop is not normally considered part of the creative team in a recording studio, you can be
almost certain that she's noodling around in the studio long after the bigwigs have left, and that her experiments are more creative and ambitious than most of what
the "pros" that she works for are doing. TapeOp is all about the celebration and even validation of such behind the scenes experimentation and risk taking.
As TapeOp has grown it has moved away from its low-end-only roots, which in this case has been a positive thing. What remains is a commitment to exploring
the world of experimental recording techniques and the people that populate that world, whether they're bigwigs like Steve Albini or littlewigs (comparatively) like
Death Cab for Cutie or Phill Niblock. The magazine is free because of the advertising it contains, some of which is for high-end pro gear, although a lot of it is
clearly aimed at low-budget home studio types. Gear reviews and whatnot also cover the whole $$$ spectrum, from $1350 mic preamps to $30 homebuilt
microphones.
Each issue is a mix of interviews (with well known and not so well known recording engineers, producers and musicians), how-to articles and product/recording
reviews. A sampling from the last two issues:
- Jim Dickinson: Legendary Memphis Producer
- Andy Partridge: XTC's Home Studio
- Visual Ideas for the Studio by Oz Fritz
- Death Cab for Cutie: Home Production Tricks
- Phill Brown: Zeppelin, Mott the Hoople & More
- 4-Track Tips
- Roger Moutenot: Producer for Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney...
- Phill Niblock: Minimalist Speaker Placement
- Scott Fritz & KCRW: Live Radio Recording
- Digital Audio Intro
- Analog Bias & Calibration
As you can see, there's no particular bias or agenda here, apart from letting us hear what interesting people have to say about their work. Both analog and digital
recording issues are covered, and the music that's talked about ranges from indie-pop to classic rock to obscure avante-garde classical. And while there are often
big names in the magazine, the little folks are just as well represented.
The only thing that I can think of to cite as a weakness in TapeOp is a certain lack of editorial oversight -- the interviews tend to be pretty raw, and some of the
writing could use a little polish. At the same time, that's really part of the charm of TapeOp -- that it's not polished, that there's absolutely no chance of someone
getting confused and thinking they're reading the latest issue of some narsty glossy music magazine like Keyboard.
So really, there's ultimately no reason for you not to go out and get a subscription to TapeOp, unless you have no desire to know what's going on in the
world of weirdo music recording. And if that's the case, then why in the world are you reading Splendid in the first place!?! TapeOp is an ambitious, creative,
funny, useful magazine. Give it a try.
-- Irving Bellemead
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