ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Tape op

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen your music teacher record your singing or playing on a tape recorder? Well, that's basically what a Tape Op does, but for bands and singers who want to record and make music that people can listen to on CDs or online.

Tape Op is short for Tape Operator, which means someone who operates a machine that records and stores music on special tapes. They also take care of the equipment and make sure everything sounds good.

Before we had all the fancy computers and software we use to record music now, Tape Op was very important. Musicians would come into a recording studio and play their instruments or sing into a microphone. The Tape Op would make sure all the instruments and microphones were set up correctly and then start the recording. They would hit a button to start the tape rolling and then hit another button to stop when the song was finished.

The Tape Op would also make sure the sound levels were just right, so the music sounded great when played back. Sometimes they would have to adjust things like the bass or the treble, so the music sounded balanced.

Today, Tape Ops are still important, but they often work with digital recordings instead of tapes. They might use a computer program called a Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW, to record and edit the music. But the basics of their job are the same: they make sure the sound is good, the instruments and microphones are set up properly, and they hit the record button at the right time.

So, in short, a Tape Op is like a music recording helper who makes sure everything sounds good and records it so other people can listen to it later. Cool, huh?