Tape Op

(Book). This book features interviews and articles from issues 11 to 20 of Tape Op , an independently published magazine founded in 1996. With a fiercely loyal readership, Tape Op covers creative and practical music recording topics from the famous studios to musicians creating masterpieces in their bedrooms. Creativity, technique, equipment, passion and learning collide in this entertaining, value-rich publication. Interviews and articles in this volume include Abbey Road Studio, Butch Vig, Jim Dickinson, Joe Chiccarelli, Ani DiFranco, Fugazi, The Flaming Lips, and Ween.

Discover how to achieve release-quality mixes even in the smallest studios by applying power-user techniques from the world's most successful producers. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio is the best-selling primer for small-studio enthusiasts who want chart-ready sonics in a hurry. Drawing on the back-room strategies of more than 160 famous names, this entertaining and down-to-earth guide leads you step-by-step through the entire mixing process. On the way, you'll unravel the mysteries of every type of mix processing, from simple EQ and compression through to advanced spectral dynamics and "fairy dust" effects. User-friendly explanations introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis, while chapter summaries and assignments are perfect for school and college use. ▪ Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. ▪ Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. ▪ Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, Michael Brauer, Dylan "3D" Dresdow, Tom Elmhirst, Serban Ghenea, Jacquire King, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Noah "50" Shebib, Mark "Spike" Stent, DJ Swivel, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, Young Guru, and many, many more... Now extensively expanded and updated, including new sections on mix-buss processing, mastering, and the latest advances in plug-in technology.

In this reissued and updated version of his 2011 memoir, Phill describes the ups and downs of a professional recording studio, working on sessions for The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Joe Cocker at the famed Olympic Sound Studios.

DVD, entitled Wow and flutter, contains recordings of concerts at the festival, held Oct. 1-2. 2004, RPI Playhouse, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.

In Mixing with Impact: Learning to Make Musical Choices, Wessel Oltheten discusses the creative and technical concepts behind making a mix. Whether you’re a dance producer in your home studio, a live mixer in a club, or an engineer in a big studio, the mindset is largely the same. The same goes for the questions you run into: where do you start? How do you deal with a context in which all the different parts affect each other? How do you avoid getting lost in technique? How do you direct your audience’s attention? Why doesn’t your mix sound as good as someone else’s? How do you maintain your objectivity when you hear the same song a hundred times? How do your speakers affect your perception? What’s the difference between one compressor and another? Following a clear structure, this book covers these and many other questions, bringing you closer and closer to answering the most important question of all: how do you tell a story with sound?

Audio production is an incredibly rewarding craft. To take the raw, basic tracks of a fledgling idea and shape them into one glorious stereophonic sound wave is an amazing feat. The transformation from analogue to digital dominance has brought many advances in sound quality and new techniques, but producing digital music with only a standard computer and DAW can be problematic, time-consuming and sometimes disappointing without the right approach and skills. In Template Mixing and Mastering, renowned mix engineer Billy Decker tackles the challenges of in-the-box production through his innovative template approach. He shares his passion and knowledge from over twenty years of industry experience, including an introduction to templates and a step-by-step guide to their set-up and a discussion of drum replacement technology. Channel and setting information for each of the drum, instrument and vocal sections of his template is discussed along with the master channel and his methodology of mixing and mastering. Finally, he gives professional advice and best practice.

The musician & producer reflects on New York City’s early punk rock scene, as well as the creation of some of his most famous albums in this memoir. Popular music was in a creative upheaval in the late 1970s. As the singer-songwriter and producer Chris Stamey remembers, “the old guard had become bloated, cartoonish, and widely co-opted by a search for maximum corporate profits, and we wanted none of it.” In A Spy in the House of Loud, he takes us back to the auteur explosion happening in New York clubs such as the Bowery’s CBGB as Television, Talking Heads, R.E.M., and other innovative bands were rewriting the rules. Just twenty-two years old and newly arrived from North Carolina, Stamey immersed himself in the action, playing a year with Alex Chilton before forming the dB’s and recording the albums Stands for deciBels and Repercussion, which still have an enthusiastic following. A Spy in the House of Loud vividly captures the energy that drove the music scene as arena rock gave way to punk and other new streams of electric music. Stamey tells engrossing backstories about creating in the recording studio, describing both the inspiration and the harmonic decisions behind many of his compositions, as well as providing insights into other people’s music and the process of songwriting. Photos, mixer-channel and track assignment notes, and other inside-the-studio materials illustrate the stories. Revealing another side of the CBGB era, which has been stereotyped as punk rock, safety pins, and provocation, A Spy in the House of Loud portrays a southern artist’s coming-of-age in New York’s frontier abandon as he searches for new ways to break the rules and make some noise. “An endlessly fascinating odyssey through the worlds of Southern pop, New York City art punk, and American indie rock. Stamey’s stories capture you with same finely etched detail and emotional depth that have always marked his best songs. Both an engrossing personal memoir and an eye-opening peek into the creative process, this is a truly essential work of music lit.” —Bob Mehr, New York Times–bestselling author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements “Informed, eloquent, and daring, this book stands as a model of excellence for both music writing and memoir. Stamey moves effortlessly between analysis and reminiscence, history and personal revelation, shedding light on his own creative journey as well as the city—‘planet New York’—that provided a good deal of the inspiration for it. I simultaneously learned so much and was deeply moved.” —Anthony DeCurtis, author of Lou Reed: A Life “Where most musician autobiographies are fueled by backstage drama, this book focuses almost entirely on the creative process, a choice that not only proves to be compelling but helps turn Stamey’s personal journey into a necessary document of peak-era college rock, illustrating how it was a vibrant scene filled with unexpected cross pollination.” —Pitchfork

An album-by-album account of working with iconic artists such as Anthony Kiedis, Michael Stipe, Gord Downie, and Bono, from a leader in the field Mark Howard, a record producer/engineer/mixer and a trailblazer in the industry, will take you through the star-studded world of recording and producing Grammy Award–winning artists. Listen Up! is an essential read for anyone interested in music and its making. Along with the inside stories, each chapter gives recording and producing information and tips with expert understanding of the equipment used in making the world’s most unforgettable records and explanations of the methods used to get the very best sound. Listen Up! is both production guide and exclusive backstage pass into the lives of some of the planet’s most iconic musicians. Writing with his brother Chris Howard, Mark Howard provides a rare glimpse into the normally invisible, almost secretive side of the music story: that of the producer and recording engineer.

A visual portrait that delves into the people and processes behind self-recorded music, featuring some of the biggest names in music today. Everywhere you look, musicians are creating, recording, and selling their music without the help of big-name studios, producers, or labels. This book offers tangible--and visually stunning--proof that self-recording is a path to artistic freedom. Each chapter takes on a specific aspect of self-recording through original interviews with musicians and all new photography, revealing the joys and complications of recording music on one's own terms. You'll learn how some of your favorite musicians charted their path to self-recording and how they use emerging technologies to make exceptional music. The book features intimate shots of artists recording in living rooms, backyards, and garages--such as Eleanor Friedberger, Mac DeMarco, Vagabon, Tune-Yards, Yuka Honda, and more. The first book devoted entirely to the practice of self-recording, Mirror Sound charts a way forward for any musician who aspires to make their own music and those who just love to listen.

In this new edition, discover how to achieve commercial-grade recordings, even in the smallest studios, by applying power-user techniques from the world’s most successful producers. Recording Secrets for the Small Studio is based on the backroom strategies of more than 250 famous names. This thorough and down-to-earth guide leads you through a logical sequence of practical tasks to build your live-room skills progressively from the ground up, with user-friendly explanations that introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis. On the way, you’ll unravel the mysteries of many specialist studio tactics and gain the confidence to tackle a full range of real-world recording situations. Specifically designed for small-studio enthusiasts, this book provides an intensive training course for those who want a fast track to releasing quality results, while the chapter summaries, assignments, and extensive online resources are perfect for school and college use. Learn the fundamental principles of mic technique that you can apply in any recording scenario – and how to avoid those rookie mistakes that all too often compromise the sonics of lower-budget productions. Explore advanced techniques which help industry insiders maintain their competitive edge even under the most adverse conditions: creative phase manipulation, improvised acoustics tweaks, inventive monitoring workarounds, and subtle psychological tricks. Find out where you don’t need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. Make the best use of limited equipment and session time, especially in situations where you’re engineering and producing single-handed. Pick up tricks and tips from celebrated engineers and producers across the stylistic spectrum, including Steve Albini, Neal Avron, Roy Thomas Baker, Joe Barresi, Howard Benson, Tchad Blake, T-Bone Burnett, Geoff Emerick, Brian Eno, Paul Epworth, Shawn Everett, Humberto Gatica, Imogen Heap, Ross Hogarth, Trevor Horn, Rodney Jerkins, Leslie Ann Jones, Eddie Kramer, Jacquire King, Daniel Lanois, Sylvia Massy, Alan Meyerson, Justin Niebank, Gary Paczosa, Tony Platt, Jack Joseph Puig, David Reitzas, Bob Rock, Laura Sisk, Fraser T Smith, Young Guru, and many more. Now extensively expanded and updated, with new sections on contact mics, software instruments, squash mics, and ensemble depth distortion.