Endless Analog » Product Reviews

ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN CLASP REVIEW – The Next Big Thing Uses Yesterday’s Technology

Chris — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:00:11 +0000

Although it’s hard to resist the convenience of a digital audio workstation, nothing beats the way analog tape colors sound. It’s a format that makes guitars, bass, and drums sound huge, while smoothing out the voice like butter.

It’s common for engineers to record to multitrack tape to reap the benefits of tape compression and tone, then dump the tracks into a DAW for tweaking and mixing. Unfortunately, tape is an expensive format to use in terms of the blank media—reels can cost as much as $250 each. Considering that you get only 15 to 30 minutes of recording time per reel (depending on tape speed), if you do multiple takes of each song, it can amount to quite an investment.

The million-dollar question is, How do you get the warmth that tape offers, while maintaining the convenience and lower media costs of computer recording?

Nashville-based engineer Chris Estes has an answer. His company, Endless Analog [www.endlessanalog.com], has created CLASP, which, in a nutshell, bounces audio signals off of analog tape before going to disk, but without latency issues.

Fig. 1 (Click to download a high-res PDF)

CLASP, which stands for Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor, combines a 2U hardware matrixing device with a native plug-in (VST, AU, RTAS) interface that, together, routes audio signals through your tape machine—onto and immediately off the tape itself—before sending the results to your recording software. The hardware box provides the no-latency monitoring environment, while the system time-stamps the audio files so that they are sample-accurate with the other tracks in the session, correcting for the amount of time it takes the audio to go through the entire signal path.

I attended a demonstration of CLASP at Studio Trilogy in San Francisco this week, where Estes was tracking a song by Bay Area band The Trophy Fire. It was easy to hear the difference of the tracks played before and after hitting the tape—that part wasn’t such a big deal. What really knocked me out was the efficiency of the workflow: The tape machine and the Pro Tools session were being controlled simultaneously from the computer keyboard as if they were one and the same. I was witnessing a major breakthrough in recording technology, but it was as if nothing special was happening: Everything ran smoothly. I kept thinking to myself, “This is how things should work.”

Of course, its not trivial to make something like this happen. Before I further describe CLASP, let me mention one important detail: you only need to rewind the tape when it reaches the end. The first thing you notice during a session using CLASP is that the engineer never shuttles the tape back and forth, or rewinds between takes. The engineer simply hits record on the DAW and the tape machine immediately begins rolling until the take is stopped. It doesn’t matter whether you’re recording an entire pass or doing a quick punch-in, the process is the same. The tracks you’re recording only use the tape media for a short amount of time—equal to the distance between the record and playback heads—before being sent directly to your A/D converters and onto your disk drive. (Of course, you can rewind the tape at any time by pressing the large rewind button on the CLASP Bridge plug-in in your DAW, but it’s not at all necessary.)

If you’ve used a tape deck, you know how much time is spent rewinding and how much wear that puts on the tape. With CLASP, you can play the tape from top to tail without multiple rewinds in between, so the tape lasts longer and you can reuse it for other projects. Wouldn’t you rather amortize the price of that $250 reel over several album projects?

The hardware/software integration behind CLASP is ingenious, from the signal flow to the control system. The input signals coming from your board are sent to the CLASP hardware unit where they are immediately split: one set of signals goes to the tape machine, the other set goes back to the monitoring inputs of your board (see Fig. 1). It’s these latter signals that give you the no-latency monitoring. Consequently, as you record, you’re not hearing what’s coming off the tape machine: You’re hearing the sound from the board. You can certainly audition the sound from the tape when you’re setting levels, but you’ll hear the straight analog signal as you’re tracking.

A single CLASP hardware unit handles 24 tracks, with analog I/O on D-sub connectors for input, tape send, DAW return, and monitoring. The system supports tape machines by Ampex ATR, Otari, Studer (800-827), 3M, Sony, Tascam, and MCI (JH-series), and an optical tape sensor is available for synchronizing the system with other playback machines.

From your DAW, you use the CLASP Bridge plug-in to control everything. Among other things, the plug-in keeps track of how much time you have left on the tape, and if you are not paying attention and the tape runs out, CLASP automatically rewinds the tape for you. The plug-in window and the hardware unit have countdown timers that display the amount of time remaining. Remarkably, if you change your tape speed, the counter updates automatically.

The ability to combine different tape-speeds in a single session is one of the interesting benefits of CLASP. In general, the faster the tape speed, the higher the fidelity. On the other hand, the slower the tape speed, the more old-school the sound becomes—rounded transients, beefier bass frequencies, and a bit more oomph. Because everything is, ultimately, sent to disk when using CLASP, you can do a recording pass of the vocals at, say, 30 ips (inches per second), and then do the lead guitar at 15 ips to fatten the tone. During the session at Studio Trilogy, Estes demonstrated the sonic differences that changes in tape speed make and the results were remarkable. It’s the kind of sound we all want from plug-ins, but never seem to get.

Mind you, the technology isn’t cheap. The street price for a CLASP system is $7,495, which isn’t surprising because Endless Analog is a U.S.-based, boutique pro-audio manufacturer, and CLASP systems are built by hand in short runs. “CLASP is a high-end piece of gear,” Estes explained to me. “We use the highest quality components available to support features such as our non-switching, dual-linear power supplies and our transparent audio monitoring signal-path.

“If you think about it,” he noted, “for studios or individuals who have made a substantial investment already in analog tape machines that have been in moth balls for many years, CLASP is a way to bring those machines out of retirement to recoup on the original investment, all the while getting the sonic benefits of recording on tape. Additionally, it gives commercial recording facilities something unique that people cannot get at a typical home studio.”

For less than the price of a Pro Tools TDM system, you get a device that eliminates the time you’d spend transferring everything from tape to disk, while increasing productivity and drastically reducing tape costs. Imagine telling prospective clients they can record to tape, but they’ll only need one reel.

Check out Kevin Becka’s excellent review of CLASP at mixonline.com, where he goes into greater detail about the features and takes the system for a spin at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) in Tempe, Arizona. But you really have to see and hear CLASP in action. Check the Endless Analog Web site for upcoming demos, which no doubt will include Mix Nashville in September and the AES convention in San Francisco this November.

Mike Johnson – Cleartrack Productions

Chris — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:23:58 +0000
Clearwater Florida

"It’s amazing how well CLASP has bridged the gap between tape and DAW. It’s perfect enough that it has completely ended the analog vs. digital debate as far as I’m concerned. I was getting sick and tired of what I heard when going all digital. I’ve always loved the feel and sound of tape, but I was never about to go all analog in a commercial facility, especially when clients weren’t willing to pay extra for tape. Yet I wanted music to sound good, and I really disliked the extra work I needed to put into digital recordings just to tame the pins and needles 2 dimensional sounding 1’s and 0’s. Now I can get back to just making music again. CLASP has changed my life and does so for everyone who records in our studio."
— Mike Johnson – Cleartrack Productions

WWW.CLEARTRACKPRODUCTIONS.COM >

MIX – Endless Analog CLASP Signal Processor Review

Chris — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:14:03 +0000

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By Kevin Becka
Five years in the making, CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) represents an exponential leap forward in hybrid analog/digital technology. It offers an easy, cost-effective way to integrate analog tape into digital production workflow by literally turning any tape machine into a DAW plug-in processor. CLASP drastically cuts rewind time and tape cost because the tape is only used for momentary throughput. This lets you use the same reel for an entire project and run the reel front to back before rewinding. CLASP even pulls some new analog tricks out of its hat, offering the ability to jump between tape speeds on the fly to audition and then print, even mixing speeds in the same project—something that’s impossible in an all-analog production.

CLASP’s simple front panel provides access to essential system functions and a large countdown display.

For this review, CLASP was integrated into an existing studio comprising an SSL 4056 E/G console, a Studer 827 2-inch analog machine and Pro Tools HD2 Accel running on a Mac Pro with 6 GB of RAM, Mac OS 10.5.8 and Pro Tools Version 7.4.2cs4. Conversion was through Apogee Rosetta 800s clocked by an Apogee Big Ben.

GETTING A GRASP OF CLASP
CLASP is a well-built, two-rackspace box with a large countdown LCD and five backlit function switches for tape rewind (RTZ), sync mode (SYNC), tape speed auditioning (MON), post-stop recording (POST) and machine speed alignment (IPS). The countdown display indicates the remaining time on the reel and can be set to beep as the reel end approaches.

ONLINE EXTRAS

READ:
CLASP in Use At Lenny Kravitz’s Gregory Town Sound Studio

READ:
Signal Flow Diagram

The back of the unit carries enough D-sub connectors for 24 tracks (12 D-subs), a 15-pin machine control port, XLR sync in/outs and MIDI in/outs. There is no minimum requirement for tape tracks; CLASP will operate using analog machines capable of anything from mono up to 24 tracks and can be daisy-chained for up to 72 tracks. Add an optional optical sensor, and an older machine (without a 15-pin transport control port) can also be used.

The key to understanding CLASP (see the signal flow diagram) stems from its signal flow and how the system time-corrects audio. Analog signals from your mic preamps, console or your DAW are recorded through CLASP to tape, then immediately routed off the playback head into your workstation because the deck runs in repro. Due to the head gap delay between record and playback, CLASP cleverly uses plug-ins to time-correct and re-time stamp the audio. The system is sample-accurate: It doesn’t need SMPTE timecode for sync, so all 24 analog tracks are simultaneously available for recording.

It’s important to understand how CLASP accomplishes access to the Pro Tools software. CLASP uses a USB-MIDI interface and HUI protocol for machine control and track arming. For Pro Tools delay compensation to work with the CLASP hardware, it requires 24 mono master faders in the Pro Tools session, each carrying a CLASP plug-in. I used Apogee converters, which—among others—don’t correctly communicate with Pro Tools Delay Compensation. To fix this timing mismatch, an offset number for the Rosetta’s delay was added into the CLASP Bridge plug-in. (For more on working with Pro Tools delay compensation and third-party converters, go to mixonline.com.) These workarounds are unnecessary for users with Cubase, Nuendo or Logic systems, as CLASP can easily gain access to MIDI Machine Control.

UP AND RUNNING
Initial setup was simple. CLASP integrated via the patchbay using TT-to-D-Sub harnesses, plug-ins were loaded into the system and a CLASP-specific session template was created. The 24 master faders used for time correction were hidden via the Show/Hide list, making the session look like any other. Whether the session was from scratch or pre-existing, importing the needed CLASP session components was easy.

Apart from the 24 other plug-ins used in Pro Tools, the CLASP Bridge plug-in is a single instance that can sit on any channel. It offers access to rewind, arming and other essential functions for system operation. I ran a quick one-time setup operation, in which the hardware figures out the difference in time between the record and playback heads and stores it at different speeds. (The system holds setups for up to three machines.)

D-sub connectors give you the ability to record up to 24 tracks through CLASP.

HYBRID HEAVEN
I spent the first day with CLASP in a session recording a six-piece band. Drums were in an iso booth while the rest of the players were taken direct or miked in the large main room. Cue mixes were built from the CLASP outputs, which offer the same listening experience as hearing input on the analog machine: zero latency, before the converters. Levels were set, and the session ran from Pro Tools with CLASP running in the background. After the initial tracks were cut at 30 ips, new Pro Tools playlists were created on all tracks and another pass was run at 15 ips. The difference was remarkable. The bottom end on the kick, low toms and bass was thicker, with more saturation at the top end and, of course, more tape noise. After some discussion, the 30 ips pass was kept and the bass and vocal were auditioned and re-cut at 7.5 ips. This particular singer’s voice benefitted from the lower tape speed, and the bass took on a richness and symbiosis with the kick that was not apparent at the higher speed. Because of the mix of the speeds, the noise wasn’t as intrusive as it was when the entire track was cut at the lower speed.

Another session involved re-cutting drums on an existing track. The CLASP-specific plug-ins and master faders used in the previous session were imported into this day’s session, and I was up and running in no time. Levels were set and I put CLASP into Demo mode to audition tape speeds. As I was listening straight off the uncorrected repro feed from the machine, it necessitated killing the cue feed to the drummer. While the drummer was playing, I could drop out of Record on the analog machine, change tape speeds, engage Record and hear the difference. I can’t say enough about this feature. It lets you audition the “effect” and change levels to tape accordingly. It’s much like changing the settings on an EQ or compressor on the fly.

Once out of repro-only mode, I could sync to the track and re-cut the drums. The drums were first cut at 30 ips, then I created new playlists for the second pass and cut at 15 ips. Just for fun, I then dropped down to 7.5 and did the same. CLASP’s front panel buttons make this a simple operation: Choose the desired speed on CLASP, change the machine’s speed and you’re off.

Once the drums were cut, we started experimenting with the rest of the track—which had been cut directly to Pro Tools a year before. I created an ADT (automatic double tracking) effect on the vocal using the interface. This is similar to how it was done in the 1960s: using a secondary tape machine set at a different speed. I didn’t need a second machine because I re-recorded the vocal to a new track through CLASP at a slower speed. The difference in the head gap created a great double. I tried a few different speeds until I nailed it and moved on.

Another great trick? I took some interesting guitars that unfortunately had a nasty digital edge to them and tamed them down by re-recording them through CLASP. This corrected the edginess, giving the tracks a roundness that was easier to tuck into the mix. This particular technique was an “a ha!” moment for me, seeing the possibility of tweaking the sonics of tracks not previously recorded to analog tape.

WOW AND WONDER
The only problem with CLASP is that it’s harder to describe than to use. At first, it’s tough to grasp the concept, but once CLASP is in your session, the wow and wonder of your first encounter with pro audio is revived. During sessions with live musicians, I was easily jumping between tape speeds, auditioning and changing levels to tape based on what I heard, then printing that directly to Pro Tools. It was easy to re-record original digital tracks back through CLASP for color, create ADT, run tests at different tape speeds—all while having a blast. The system quickly reminds you about the beauty of tape’s effect on transients, low frequencies, cymbals, vocals, guitars and more, especially at slower speeds. The workflow was sonically and functionally inspiring because CLASP puts the tape machine behind the curtain, letting the session run just as it would with the DAW alone.

Like other early releases of new technology, CLASP is costly. However, the payoff for home and commercial studios with tape machines in mothballs, or those looking to put their own unique creative stamp on their work, is worth it. And the timing is perfect: The used audio gear market is rife with tape machine bargains from 2-tracks on up. Plus, the arguments that good tape is no longer available or too costly no longer hold water. I bought 10 reels of RMGI 900 2-inch and the formulation is as good or better than any BASF, Ampex or Quantegy tape I’ve used. There was a time when this wasn’t true, but the market has reset itself and there’s plenty of good tape out there from ATR and RMGI. In all my years of writing product reviews, I’ve gotten excited about great products from time to time, but this is something more: It’s a concept whose time has come. If you get a chance, try CLASP for yourself and rediscover your love of sound.
Kevin Becka is the technical editor of Mix.

Michael W. Smith

Chris — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:36:46 +0000

Multi Grammy and Dove Award winning legendary contemporary Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith talks about his new upcoming album and his experience of making the recordings with Endless Analog’s award winning new CLASP analog / digital hybrid recording technology!

Lenny Kravitz

Chris — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:58:27 +0000

CLASP inventor Chris Estes with Lenny Kravitz in Lenny's new studio Gregory Town Sound.

"I love the CLASP. It has made it possible to finally use my entire collection of tape machines from the Abbey Road J37 to my 3M M79 and the Studer 827 all at different ips settings. I really like the way I can hit the tape machines as I normally do and instantly be able to edit in Pro Tools, without having to do syncing or bouncing back and forth between the two mediums. I’m happy someone finally figured out how combine tape and Pro Tools and now it is an integral part of my studio setup. Thanks Chris and Amy for preserving analog.”

Lenny Kravitz…

P.S. Tell Grandma I miss her brownies.
( photo credit Mathieu Bitton )

Dave Cobb

Chris — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:01:04 +0000
Los Angeles
Record Producer/Engineer

Brooke White, Waylon Jennings, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Lucy Walsh, Chris Cornell

"CLASP is amazing, it makes me sound like I know what I’m doing!"
— Dave Cobb

WWW.DAVECOBB.COM >

Niko Bolas

Chris — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:31:50 +0000
NASHVILLE – LOS ANGELES – NEW YORK
Multi Grammy Award Winner. Gold and Platinum Record Producer/Engineer

Neil Young, Billy Joel, Don Henley, Fiona Apple, Frank Sinatra, John Mayer, Keith Urban, Steve Perry, Toto

"CLASP, so simple even I can use it!"
— Niko Bolas

WWW.NIKOBOLAS.COM >

Nathan Chapman

Chris — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:34:45 +0000
NASHVILLE
2 Time Grammy Award Winner. Gold and Platinum Record Producer/Engineer

Taylor Swift, Jewel, Train, Jimmy Wayne

"CLASP has made such a tremendous improvement with the sound of my productions. I can finally take full advantage of my MCI JH24 and CLASP’s zero latency direct analog monitoring totally put me over the edge. Singers and musicians can now hear themselves in real time and as a result perform better than ever before. Plus, now my vintage microphones and pre’s can sound the way they were intended by the original designers because I’m actually hitting tape on the front end before Pro Tools! Now my home studio is competitive with any large studio I would be in and I’m proud of that! I appreciate what these guys have done to make recording sound great again and also making recording fun again. For me it gets a little sterile recording with Pro Tools and its no fun, it’s digital. CLASP gives me the ability to add new colors and options that have never been possible without sacrificing any speed or workflow. To anybody out there thats wondering “How do you go from completely in the box in your home studio to incorporating the CLASP system…” It’s really not that long of a journey and when you make it you’ll know that it’s worth it!"
— Nathan Chapman

WWW.NATHANCHAPMAN.COM >

John Fields

Chris — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:59:27 +0000
LOS ANGELES
Gold and Platinum Record Producer/Engineer

Switchfoot, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Rooney, Miley Cirus
Producer, songwriter, musician, engineering-whiz — John Fields defies categorization. He can’t be musically pigeon-holed, either. Whether it’s rock, pop, electronica, funk, or some combination thereof — as long as it’s high quality — Fields is ready to make music. In the past ten years John has worked with nearly 100 different artists.
" CLASP sounds RAD, I’ve always loved the analog sound and have been using plugins for a while to emulate that. They do an ‘OK’ job, but at the end of the day there is nothing like cutting to tape! Some of my bigger records that I’ve done, we always cut to tape and then we’d transfer over to Pro Tools to do further editing and overdubs. But with these records, when I listen back, they just sound great! There is a certain fullness to the sound. And now with CLASP, you don’t have to use so many plugins now that you are going through CLASP and tape. And it used to be a big hassle to lock up your tape deck with Lynxs and SMPTE and all that stuff and you would have to wait maybe twice as long after you did a drum take. With CLASP, now all that is over with. "
— John Fields

WWW.JOHNFIELDS.COM >

Ed Seay

Chris — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:25:25 +0000

Multi Grammy Award Winner. Gold and Platinum Record Engineer/Mixer/Producer

Martina McBride, Trick Pony, Clay Walker, Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton

"It’s great to have the analog vibe back! CLASP brings back all the great things we love about analog sound but without all the hassles. It’s easy, fast, sounds great and a very well thought out system. I dig it!"
— Ed Seay

WWW.EDSEAY.COM >

Tom “T-Bone” Edmonds

Chris — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:27:59 +0000

– Tom “T-Bone” Edmonds uses CLASP to record Lenny Kravitz new upcoming album release —

Lenny Kravitz, Todd Rundgren, The Isley Brothers, Meat Loaf, Patti Smith, Rick Derringer, Baha Men

Eleuthera Island – Veteran recording engineer Tom “T-Bone” Edmonds uses CLASP to record Lenny Kravitz new upcoming album release. Of Endless Analog’s CLASP he says:
"To be clear, I am an analog guy….and Lenny is definitely. But we use Pro Tools because we have to have it. I was ecstatic when I saw CLASP! It marries the two things we love. Analog recording and the speed of Pro Tools. And with CLASP there is no reason to not use tape. The warmth is back!”
Lenny Kravitz new private recording studio on Eleuthera Island, Gregory Town Sound, is a literal vintage analog studio paradise. The new studio uses CLASP with multiple analog recorders in conjunction with Pro Tools 8.
"I was amazed how fast the system works and how minimal the learning curve was,” he admits. “Chris Estes, the inventor of CLASP, explained the system and immediately we were able to start recording new songs. CLASP also gave us the ability to switch between tape machines and tape speeds for different sounds. It’s amazing!”
T-Bone says they love the warm sound analog provides and as digital recording came on strong they found themselves impressed with the convenience of Pro Tools but never felt the sound was as good as what they could get with analog tape. Moving from one tape machine to the other, while recording, is yet another benefit to the CLASP technology.
" Gregorytown Sound is home to multiple tape machines, including the original Studer J-37 used by The Beatles to record Sgt. Pepper, so this is of particular benefit to Lenny’s recording process. CLASP is great!”
With the use of CLASP, analog tape recording is no longer a thing of the past. CLASP integrates easily and efficiently into any studio’s workflow, allowing users to achieve the warm and expressive sound of real analog tape while recording and editing with the speed of a DAW.

www.lennykravitz.com >

Chris Mara

Chris — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 01:28:13 +0000
NASHVILLE

"Often times adding technology to a session makes my life more difficult, not easier, so I was naturally skeptical, but rest assured: CLASP works flawlessly in the background. It didn’t surprise me at all to learn that the inventor & designer is also a session player- CLASP keeps the session workflow in mind and has several features that only someone who does sessions would think of. Kudos! I grin ear to ear every time my analog deck drops into record when I hit a SPACE BAR!"
— Chris Mara – Producer/Engineer/Studio Owner

WWW.WELCOMETO1979.COM >

Bryan Lenox

Chris — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:47:26 +0000
NASHVILLE
Grammy/Dove/American Music Award Winner. Gold and Platinum Record Producer/Engineer

Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Toby Mac, DC Talk, Wynonna Judd, Kirk Franklin

"It had been SO long,I had forgoten how AWESOME recording to analog tape was. The CLASP will revolutionize recording as we know it today. Dust off those old Analog machines and get some TAPE. There Ain’t Nothin like the Real Thing ! No PlugIn’s needed,Just CLASP .
Thank YOU CHRIS and AMY ESTES for changing recording history."
— Bryan Lenox

WWW.BRYANLENOX.COM >

John “Yosh” Jaszcz

Chris — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:18:22 +0000

Grammy Winning Engineer John Jaszcz Uses CLASP

– Happy to Cut on Tape Again John Jaszcz Uses CLASP for the First Time —

NASHVILLE – Multiple Grammy winning engineer John “Yosh” Jaszcz was asked to do the honors of recording emerging pop/rock/funk band Like Candy Red in Nashville at Quad Studios. The collective producer group known as Zodlounge are long-time friends of the former president of Nashville AES, Yosh. They are currently part of this developing project that features the amazing blended vocals of sisters, Bree, Lyndee, and Hailey Collier. They were eager to try out CLASP as it fulfilled their desire for an analog sound. Yosh found access to the product as they were intrigued that it claimed to offer the ease of using a digital recording workstations (in this case Pro Tools) while cutting on tape.
"What surprised me was how easy it was to use and integrate into our session. We were on a strict budget as this band is in development so we literally couldn’t afford anything to slow us down. Yosh said. " Quite the contrary, we were able work fast and the tracks sound unbelievable! It has been a really long time since I have cut tracks that have that extra warmth you can only get cutting to tape.
Brett Vargeson, part of Zodlounge, echoed his friend’s sentiments admitting he was mildly skeptical if CLASP could live up to the hype.
"I am sold! It is an incredible addition to our studio. I waited about a week after the sessions at Quad and I just had to have it in my studio to finish up overdubs!
With the use of CLASP, analog tape recording is no longer a thing of the past. CLASP integrates easily and efficiently into any studio’s workflow, allowing users to achieve the warm and expressive sound of real analog tape while recording and editing with the speed of a DAW.

www.theyoshman.com >

Eric Greedy

Amy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:46:27 +0000

Engineer and Producer

Hurt, Atomic Solace, Destiny’s Child, Smashing Pumpkins, Barbara Streisand, Ringo Starr

"This is the greatest thing to come along since I can remember…. TAPE AGAIN!! …it works seamlessly. It makes ‘the difference’ more than any plug-in, or any other piece of outboard gear, I can think [of]. Now I am only bummed it’s not in every studio I visit. I just recommend it hands down… especially of you already have a tape machine and you do any form of rock. I used to love tape… haven’t had it in a few years, and I love it. This made using it with pro tools so easy and kept the work flow smooth as well as making it so you only need one reel per project."
— Eric Greedy

WWW.ERICGREEDY.COM >

Chuck Ainlay

Amy — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:30:42 +0000

World-Renowned Grammy Winning Engineer and Producer.

Dire Straits , Vince Gill , Sheryl Crow , Dixie Chicks , Peter Frampton , George Strait , Willie Nelson

“For anyone seriously interested in making a great sounding record, analog is the way and with CLASP there is no waiting for tape to lock up which means you can work at the speed we’ve become accustomed to on DAW’s.

CLASP works invisibly in the background allowing you to capture all the great warmth off the tape but without impeding the workflow and since you’re not saving endless out takes of tape, CLASP is easy on the budget as well.

We just used CLASP to layback 5.1 and stereo mixes for the DVD re-release of Dire Straits, Alchemy live album. It worked perfectly for that. We were able to use Mark (Knopfler’s) 2″ eight track with CLASP and yet maintain perfect syncronization with the video.

Of course I’m way into CLASP!”–Chuck Ainlay

WWW.CHUCKAINLAY.COM >

Alvin Speights

Amy — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:49:01 +0000

World-Renowned 4 time Grammy Winning Hit Mix Engineer.

India Arie, Outkast, TLC, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Goodie Mob, JT Money, Keith Sweat,

Boyz II Men, BeBe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Jagged Edge, Monica and many others.

“Clasp is Hot! It makes me want go back to tape.
The function of the CLASP makes the tape experience as easy as ProTools
I LOVE it!!!” — Alvin Speights

WWW.ALVINSPEIGHTS.COM >

W. Michael Porter

Amy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:23:25 +0000
Owner, Convergent Computer Services Former Product Manager, Quantegy Recording Solutions Former Chief Engineer, Woodland Studios and Sound Stage Studios, Nashville “Chris first approached me about this project 3 years ago while I was Product Manager for Quantegy Recording Solutions. While we were not in a position to offer development and manufacturing we did encourage Chris to go forward with the project. Chris and I have talked several times during the development about various ideas for implementation. I was delighted that he invited me to be among the first to see the completed project. Briefly, he has developed a seamless bridge between a digital audio workstation and an analog tape machine. I must say, it’s a very elegant solution. I’m duly impressed. Impressed with the scope and operation of CLASP, but even more impressed with Chris’ abilities. When he couldn’t find a developer for the project, he did it himself. He learned on his own, programming, power supply theory and construction, circuit board layout and interface design. The outcome is a product that you would think came from a major audio manufacturer. In all, he has put together a great product and it should breathe new life into the old analog tape machines that are sitting in the closet. Get a demo of CLASP and see how it can capture analog tape sound into your digital audio workstation without sacrificing any speed.” — Mike Porter

Mark Gray

Amy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:28:58 +0000

Engineer and Producer

The Killers , Britney Spears , Timbaland , Jamie Foxx , Celine Dion , Usher, Guns N’ Roses

"I am just blown away by the CLASP, I am definitely getting one. Endless Analog has brought the standard of audio back with this box."
— Mark Gray

WWW.STUDIOATHTEPALMS.COM >

Jamie Roop

Amy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:55:41 +0000

CEO Friendly Records

Engineer, Producer, Arranger

“Thank you for following through on this idea… Your product will truly make the recording world a better place!!” – Jamie Roop

Friendly Records

WWW.FRIENDLYRECORDS.COM >