When we hit milestones (such as 150 issues of this magazine!), I always pause and think about what it all means. This magazine is named Tape Op for a reason. What is a tape op? Well, as we get further and further into a digitally-dominated music recording landscape, it's important to recall that a tape op was originally the person who acted as a human tape deck remote – sometimes even in an adjacent space to the control room – where they would stop, start, rewind, and punch in as needed. When the lead engineers were given actual electronic remotes to control the decks, the tape op became more of a second assistant engineer – someone who was learning by watching, and likely asking questions of the higher-up assistant during downtime. They were essential to the recording process, all while building up the skills to become engineers and producers themselves.
