MIDTOWN MANHATTAN: Nashville-based producer/musician/inventor Chris Estes demonstrated his revolutionary Endless Analog CLASP system in Avatar’s Studio G on Monday. The session featured ace-of-bass and producer Jerry Barnes laying down some of his thick, low-end goodness to Pro Tools HD via 2” tape and the CLASP.

The CLASP hardware unit is installed between your mic pre’s, DAW and tape machine.

Since the CLASP is such a newfangled, first-of-its-kind product, there’s a lot to understand about what it does and how it works. There are several great reviews and testimonials on the system here and plenty of information to answer any and all questions you may have. But here’s the gist:

CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) consists of a hardware unit that is installed between your mic pre’s, DAW and tape machine (pictured), and the native Bridge plug-in (RTAS and VST), which you open on any track in your DAW session and use to control the tape transport.

These days, most recordings being done to tape are then dumped into the digital realm for editing and mixing. CLASP allows for a totally hybrid workflow, where analog recording and overdubs are done in real time, controlled with the speed and efficiency of digital, and all audio is stored in your DAW, minimizing tape usage. You can use one reel of tape to record an entire record, or several records for that matter.

CLASP essentially allows the tape machine to be used like a plug-in. You control the tape machine and switch between tape speeds stored in the CLASP right from your DAW. And you can monitor analog in repro mode. See the CLASP connection diagram here.

CLASP's Bridge plug-in

The elevator pitch to engineers via Endless Analog’s website: “CLASP provides sample accurate tape synchronization with zero latency analog monitoring while delivering a true analog front end recording solution for Pro Tools.”

Seeing the CLASP in action, its functionality seems instantly essential. It totally streamlines a process that needs streamlining and will allow so many more people to utilize analog tape as part of their production.

At Avatar, the CLASP hardware unit was connected via MIDI to the Pro Tools HD rig and through an Endless Analog proprietary cable to the 24-track Studer A800. Once the tape machine was aligned and synchronized to the Pro Tools session at both 15 ips and 30 ips recording speeds via CLASP, Barnes tracked a bass line and then monitored off the repro head to select his preferred speed.

During playback, Estes pointed out: “Being able to monitor in repro is a really great thing for getting drum sounds, for example, because you can make judgment calls about what tape speed you want to use for a particular song.”

Chris Estes explaining the CLASP signal/workflow

“You can have it on whatever speed and then have the drummer play, mute his headphones, and then listen off the tape in Pro Tools. And you can make decisions about levels and EQ and things like that based on what you’re hearing.

“You can have the tape rolling while the drummer’s playing and, starting with the kick drum, you can bring the level up to find the sweet spot — right where we get just the right amount of tape compression — and dial it in so when you go to do your recordings, there are no surprises.”

CLASP stores information for up to three different recording speeds. Estes relayed to the group: “In a lot of sessions we’ve done so far, people will record the drums at 30 ips, then they’ll go back and re-cut the bass at 15. Then they’ll cut electric guitars at 7½, which sounds really great if the machine is aligned properly. With this [A800] machine, you’d vari-speed it down as far as you can get it and then do an alignment for that.”

“And if you wanted to use varispeed to overdub just a Tom Fill at 15IPS and have the rest at 30?” engineer Roy Hendrickson asked.

“You’d use the sync I/O in Pro Tools and vari-speed Pro Tools up,” says Estes. “So to make the toms sound bigger you’d vari-speed Pro Tools up and do the tom fill, put it back normal, and then the toms would be huge.”

Demo group at Avatar, Jerry Barnes at right

Estes also points out you can daisy-chain up to three CLASP hardware interfaces and synchronize three 24-track tape machines for a total of 72-channels of recording. You can use CLASP with 24, 16, 8 or even 2-track machines, you can combine different machines and tape speeds for different tones. In addition to Pro Tools, CLASP also works with Nuendo and Cubase.

But there’s even more to know…here’s Estes on-the-spot rundown of CLASP’s main functions and features:

1) First of all, the CLASP is a precision measuring instrument, which functions as a sample-accurate synchronization device, so it’s able to profile the tape machine, analyze the ballistics of the machine, calculate to the sample what the latency of that machine is — taking into consideration the transport, the flutter, etc. Then, it’s telling Pro Tools to change the time stamp of the audio that’s coming into the converters.

So, while you’re recording, the meters are actually late but then when you watch the wave forms as they’re going down, Pro Tools is drawing them in relationship to the grid in the correct time. So it’s an actual time stamp, you can take the session to another studio and you don’t have to have the CLASP. You only use the CLASP when you’re cutting tracks.

2) The CLASP is seamlessly controlling the tape transport for you invisibly in the background. It works a lot like the Quick Punch mode — it looks at the track-arming status and as soon as you have tracks armed and you start the Pro Tools transport, the CLASP, analog machine and Pro Tools Quick Punch all start recording simultaneously in the background. It’s extrapolating from the Pro Tools transport and track-arming status. So even though you might have punched in late, you can peel back audio with tape now. Which is impossible otherwise.

3) You don’t have to rewind the tape until you reach the end of the reel. In this case, it’s counting down from 30 minutes (@15 IPS), so you’d only have to rewind every half-hour or so.

4) You now have latency-free analog monitoring. We’re monitoring here through the master-grade analog hardware of the CLASP, not Pro Tools.

5) CLASP compensates for the converter delay times. If you’re using Apogee 16X converters with Pro Tools, for example, that’s 62 samples of converter latency at 44.1, so you simply type in 62 samples in the offset and then everything you play is perfectly in time with where it’s supposed to be when you play it back.

After the demo at Avatar, engineer Roy Hendrickson shared his impressions with us:

“I think what Chris has done here is quite brilliant. The fact that he is getting Pro Tools to record these files into the DAW with an adjusted time stamp is genius.

“And once you’re finished using CLASP and you go back to using Pro Tools normally, there are no side effects, there’s nothing you have to change about your workflow. You don’t have to move your files and it does all those little tweaks that you’d normally have to do — like re-compensating for things like delay manually — this takes care of all that for you in a really elegant manner so you don’t have to worry. You can concentrate on the performance.”

On the Endless Analog website, Chris Estes and Endless Analog VP Amy Becker Estes ask us to: “Imagine experiencing analog tape recording as fast, effortless and timesaving as Pro Tools.” The CLASP system, which Estes started developing out of his garage in Nashville over five years ago, makes this idea – once Estes’ daydream – a reality.

Endless Analog’s CLASP system is available now from Vintage King for $7,495.

Visit www.endlessanalog.com and www.vintageking.com/Endless-Analog-Clasp for more information!

Producer Dave Cobb recording with CLASP at Blackbird Studios

Nashville, TN — Los Angeles-based producer, engineer and composer Dave Cobb has worked with some of the biggest names in neo-traditional country and roots music – Shooter Jennings, Oak Ridge Boys, Waylon Jennings, Jamey Johnson and Brooke White, to name a few. He recently discovered a promising young sister act, The Secret Sisters, composed of Laura and Lydia Rogers. As producer of the group’s upcoming debut album, which is being overseen by Executive Producer and GRAMMY®-winning roots music legend T-Bone Burnett, and set to be released on Universal Republic, Cobb is using the opportunity to masterfully match the Sisters’ unique vintage sound, reminiscent of classic late 1950s country-pop, with period-accurate recordings. A huge piece of that puzzle is Endless Analog’s CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor), the critically acclaimed pro audio product that invisibly merges real Analog Tape with Pro Tools and other DAWs.

Cobb first became aware of CLASP through online recording forums.

"It piqued my interest immediately,” notes Cobb, “because I’ve always been into tape, and matching it with Pro Tools in this seamless way makes a really convenient, fast and easy workflow. CLASP seemed like the perfect marriage of the two. It lets me just work, and not have to think! Designer Chris Estes from Endless Analog gave me a demo at my L.A. studio, and I bought it on the spot. I’ve always had two-track tape machines, but lately I wasn’t using them quite as much. But now that CLASP has come along, it has completely solidified my workflow, and I’m back to using tape machines all the time.”

The Sisters’ project provided the perfect opportunity for Cobb to put the CLASP to great use. The album’s tracking sessions are taking place in Nashville at Blackbird Studio A, and Cobb made sure to go to every length to attain the classic sounds they were seeking. “We used a bunch of Universal Audio mic pre-amps, old RCA ribbon mics, Neumann U48s – all very period-correct stuff,” he recalls.

"There’s something really pleasing and honest about records from the 50s, 60s and 70s. CLASP enables us to get that classic sound with modern convenience. We used super-minimal mic-ing, period-correct compressors, instruments and setup, and gave the studio a vintage atmosphere. Really, the only difference in the way we tracked it now versus how they would have done it 50-plus years ago is that we have computers to act as a big storage device. With CLASP, we’re able to use one roll of tape, and just constantly hit ‘tape,’ and immediately it’s transferred into Pro Tools. We even used live slap going down to the chambers, and we were able to print it all to tape just as they would have done back then. All the sounds are coming from the rooms, the performers, the mics, the vintage mic-pre’s, and the tape, just like years ago. Pro Tools for us is a storage and editing medium only.”

He points out how CLASP has made their faithfulness to the vintage sound possible. He notes,

"If we’d done it before CLASP came along, we’d have spent probably $12,000 on tape alone, but with CLASP, you only need one roll. We were able to keep every pass we did on the computer – not that we needed a ton of passes – but we were able to keep them all and easily comp between those passes with the convenience of Pro Tools. And we were able to get the classic analog tape sounds without spending a fortune on tapes.”

As Cobb continues to work on projects at his L.A.-based 1974 Studio and elsewhere, he will be sure to keep CLASP as an integral part of his signal chain. He states,

"I don’t have to use plug-ins anymore to try and get the sounds I’m looking for. CLASP opens the doors to sounds that just don’t really exist in the digital realm. Classic-sounding records with modern convenience, that’s what CLASP allows us to do.”

About CLASP
CLASP is the world’s first and only pro audio hardware that lets you record on real analog tape with digital speed. CLASP provides sample accurate tape synchronization with zero latency analog monitoring while delivering a true Analog front end recording solution for Pro Tools. Already being used by top artists, producers and engineers worldwide, CLASP is re-inventing analog for the digital age. CLASP is employed by a diverse range of artists, engineers, producers and facilities, including Lenny Kravitz (at his new Bahamas-based Gregory Town Sound recording facility); Michael W. Smith; Denis Savage, engineer for Celine Dion; producers Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, Chuck Ainlay, John Fields and Tom “T-Bone” Edmunds; and studio facilities such as Clearwater, Florida’s Cleartrack Productions, Los Angeles, California’s Hemispheres Recording and Austria’s Prime Studios. Analog tape manufacturers recommended by Endless Analog for use with CLASP include ATR Magnetics and RMG International.

Nashville-based Endless Analog, developer and manufacturer of the CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) system, has appointed Vintage King Audio, a leading dealer of high-end new and vintage recording equipment, as its exclusive U.S. retailer for its CLASP system. Endless Analog president Chris Estes made the announcement.

Additionally, potential purchasers will have the ability to demo the CLASP system in Vintage King’s facilities as well as in Infrasonic Sound Recording Company—Vintage King Audio’s showcase facility in Los Angeles—and Media Right Productions in New York City.

"The appointment of Vintage King Audio is part of a comprehensive business plan that positions the next stage of growth for Endless Analog,” states Estes. “Vintage King is the acknowledged leader in boutique and classic audio products, which makes them a perfect fit to carry CLASP. Their staff is exceptionally well trained and uniquely qualified to offer Endless Analog’s product line, and their contacts and reputation in the industry are second to none. We look forward to working with Vintage King to spread the word about CLASP and analog/digital hybrid recording.”

"Vintage King is reaffirming its place as an industry leader by carrying the CLASP,” states Mike Nehra, Vintage King co-owner and Sales Director. “The CLASP’s revolutionary technology bridges the gap between classic analog recording and modern digital workflow; it’s a cutting-edge innovation that our clients will undoubtedly jump at the chance to work with. Vintage King is incredibly excited to offer them the opportunity to do so.”

The CLASP is a hardware and software system that seamlessly integrates analog tape recorders with digital audio workstations using a proprietary method called SST (sample synchronization technology). CLASP delivers an analog front-end recording solution offering the character of a tape machine while eliminating the delay associated with digital AD/DA converters. Endless Analog founder Estes created the CLASP in order to address the need engineers had for using DAWs in a familiar workflow while still getting the benefits that analog circuitry and real tape have to offer.

Infrasonic Sound will integrate a CLASP system into its existing setup (including the Rupert Neve 5088 console that the studio acquired from Vintage King last year), using CLASP with its three Otari units. CLASP will be available to all those tracking at the studio as well as any Vintage King clients interested in previewing the unit.

"By integrating The CLASP into our workflow at Infrasonic, we’re able to stay completely committed to the best of analog recording while taking advantage of the speed and fluidity of digital recording," says Infrasonic co-owner and Vintage King Los Angeles sales representative, Jeffrey Ehrenberg. "The majority of the sessions we have at Infrasonic track to tape, including the recent session my partner Pete Lyman completed with No Age [Sub Pop]. With the CLASP, we’ll save our clients’ time and money by eliminating consuming tape transfers and excessive tape costs. Additionally, the CLASP enables us to preserve the larger-than-life sound that you can only achieve when tracking to tape, yet edit, comp and tweak as today’s digital productions are accustomed to. I’m looking forward to not only using it myself, but giving Vintage King clients the opportunity to experience what it’s all about firsthand."

Read Kevin Becka’s review of Endless Analog’s CLASP system in the June 2010 issue of Mix.

For more information, visit www.endlessanalog.com, www.vintageking.com/Endless-Analog-Clasp and infrasonicsound.com. To schedule a demo, contact the Vintage King sales department at 248/591-9276.

— Inventor-manufacturer of CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) provides unique insights into analog recording and the use of CLASP, effectively bridging the worlds of digital and analog —

NASHVILLE, TN, May 7, 2010 — The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) recently hosted two days of workshops and seminars with Chris Estes, Founder/President of Endless Analog, the Nashville-based manufacturer and distributor of the revolutionary, critically acclaimed CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor). Estes led four in-studio sessions at CRAS, where students and faculty were given the unique hands-on opportunity to experience CLASP and learn Estes’ insights on analog recording, ranging from tracking methods right through the final mix. Drawing upon his vast experience on both sides of the glass and as an inventor, Estes discussed analog recording and worked closely with the Conservatory’s Director of Education Kevin Becka and Conservatory Technician Jeff Harris for the sessions. Estes used CLASP to merge Studio A’s Studer A 827 analog recorder and the Pro Tools HD system into a singular system.

“Our time with Chris and CLASP was a mind blower for both faculty and students,” commented Kevin Becka. “CLASP is an inspirational piece of gear. It gives artists, engineers and producers an incredible array of tools for cutting great sounding tracks. We were easily able to audition and record tracks at different tape speeds during a session, giving us the ability to do overdubs with more or less tape saturation depending on the instrument. Students could easily hear the quality difference between straight digital recordings and tracks cut through CLASP.”

CLASP is a hardware and software system that integrates Analog Tape Recorders with Digital Audio Workstations using a proprietary method called SST® (sample synchronization technology). CLASP delivers a true analog front end recording solution with the sonic character of the user’s tape machine. No other product comes close to approximating what CLASP effectively accomplishes. CLASP is employed by a diverse range of artists, engineers, producers and facilities, including Lenny Kravitz (at his new Bahamas-based Gregory Town Sound recording facility); Michael W. Smith; producers Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, Chuck Ainlay, John Fields and Tom “T-Bone” Edmunds; and studio facilities such as Austin, Texas’ Yellow Dog Studios, Los Angeles, California’s Hemispheres Recording and Austria’s Prime Studios. Analog tape manufacturers recommended by Endless Analog for use with CLASP include ATR Magnetics and RMG International.

“I am very impressed with the Conservatory’s faculty, students and curriculum,” stated Chris Estes. “CRAS has a vibrant, dedicated pool of students and renowned instructors with a passion for recording. The school offers an excellent way for these talented individuals to get their start and education in the recording industry. I am proud to have been able to address them, and I am thrilled with the support they have shown for the CLASP system.”

Based in Tempe, Arizona, with a satellite campus in Gilbert, Arizona, The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is a premier audio recording, sound engineering and music production school teaching both analog and digital recording concepts from day 1 of their 30-week program. Every Conservatory student learns tape alignment on Otari and Studer 24-track tape machines, and the Conservatory has eight studios running both 24-track analog tape and Pro Tools HD 2 TDM systems. Over 800 students a year go through the Conservatory’s program, and in 2010, the Conservatory had 27 students credited on 55 GRAMMY®-nominated records with six GRAMMY winners on albums from Green Day, Booker T. Jones, Beyoncé and more.

ENDLESS ANALOG APPOINTS CLYNE MEDIA TO LEAD MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS INITIATIVES Clyne Media, Inc. March 10th, 2010 — Inventor-manufacturers of CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) look to increase media exposure and market share —

NASHVILLE, TN, March 10, 2010 — Endless Analog, the Nashville-based inventor, manufacturer and exclusive distributor of the revolutionary, critically-acclaimed CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor), announces the appointment of Nashville- and New York-based firm Clyne Media, Inc. to handle its directed marketing and public relations. The announcement was made by Chris Estes, Endless Analog Founder and President, and underscores Endless Analog’s commitment to its marketplace.

CLASP is a hardware and software system that integrates Analog Tape Recorders with Digital Audio Workstations using a proprietary method called SST® (sample synchronization technology). CLASP delivers a true analog front end recording solution with the sonic character of the user’s tape machine. Currently, no other product comes close to approximating what CLASP effectively accomplishes. CLASP is employed by a diverse range of artists, engineers, producers and facilities, including Lenny Kravitz (at his new Bahamas-based Gregory Town Sound recording facility); Michael W. Smith; producers Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, Chuck Ainlay, John Fields and Tom “T-Bone” Edmunds; and studio facilities such as Austin, Texas’ Yellow Dog Studios, Los Angeles, California’s Hemispheres Recording and Austria’s Prime Studios.

“We are thrilled to have Clyne Media on board as our PR team,” stated Estes. “Robbie and his group have a great reputation throughout the industry, with the right experience and expertise to greatly assist us in our ongoing media and sales efforts. Clyne Media will be a key element to help us increase brand awareness and capitalize on high-profile installations of CLASP by leading artists, producers and engineers — they will undoubtedly be an enormous asset for our company and end users. We are certainly on the same wavelength, and Endless Analog is looking forward to this partnership.”

Clyne Media is one of the nation’s premier specialized marketing communications/media relations agencies, serving the needs of leaders in the high-technology electronics and entertainment market sector and related industries. The company will pursue new editorial opportunities on behalf of Endless Analog and help focus public relations efforts with industry editors and independent journalists worldwide.

Agency President/CEO Robert Clyne will handle the account management, while dedicated company staff will cover media relations, technical writing, editing and other marketing communications initiatives.

“We are very excited to be working with Endless Analog,” Robert Clyne commented. “Their CLASP product is one-of-a-kind, and their principals are clear innovators with a revolutionary vision for the future of audio and the integration of digital and analog recording. They are the type of client with whom we are proud to do business, and an excellent addition to our current client roster.”

For more information, please visit http://www.endlessanalog.com.