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Tape Emulation Plugins. Give me your experiences

Why has Tascam/Teac not released new R2R machines? I genuinely think they could not keep up with demand and could charge a pretty penny.
 
I haven’t delved deeply into all the offerings, but I own and like the UAD Studer and Ampex. They’re not always the right thing, but for a track that has some “vintage vibe” they can work nicely.

And having grown up in the era of tape recorders, I do NOT miss all the maintenance and care-in-handling that went along with them. Degaussing, anyone?
 
nitrateaudio said:
I use them and have a little grab bag in my collection. I make rootsy/folky/world music kind of music. I use Softube Tape and Chowtape on individual tracks when needed. I use IKM Tapes on buses when needed. I am also a big fan of the IK Saturation-X tape settings and use it a lot in amp sims and in mixbox. For lo-fi tape effects I use XLN RC-20 and also IKM tape cassette. the more i do this the more i believe is, pick stuff you like to use and learn how it works and how to use it well. if it gives you good results you like the sound of, thats all that matters.

Tape plugins are great and give good results depending on what music you are making and what goals you are trying to achieve. I persoanlyl love the sound of the old records. It can give the track a warmth and familiarity that can transport the listener. It's amazing to be able to have access to this sort of software technology. Amazing times we are living in.

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I don't see it mentioned often but I also like and use IK Saturator-X.
 
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After watching the Bob Clearmountain video, and then reading all the different interpretations of what he said, I can’t imagine what it was like. Trying to translate the Bible lol.
 
danstein said:
I haven’t delved deeply into all the offerings, but I own and like the UAD Studer and Ampex. They’re not always the right thing, but for a track that has some “vintage vibe” they can work nicely.

And having grown up in the era of tape recorders, I do NOT miss all the maintenance and care-in-handling that went along with them. Degaussing, anyone?
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Keep degausser well away from anythings not clearly marked 'degauss thoroughly' !!!
 
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So many choices


Considering: Waves Kramer (Master), Black Rooster Magnetite (Not sure about CPU Usage), Softube Tape as I work in Studio One and it is very CPU friendly. Thx @doctoremmet for sharing this.

@Alchemedia with Studio One Tape on MixFX I understand it distributes on all channels. However, what if you do not want it on certain channels or you want a different level. Is it controllable in that way per channel or is it less flexible but convenient as I know you only have to apply it as one FX across all channels and busses.
 
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StMichaels said:
@Alchemedia with Studio One Tape on MixFX I understand it distributes on all channels. However, what if you do not want it on certain channels or you want a different level. Is it controllable in that way per channel or is it less flexible but convenient as I know you only have to apply it as one FX across all channels and busses.
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There is a passthrough option, however, the main point of using it via MixFX is to add weight and cohesion to the mix.
 
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Slightly off-topic : Bob Clearmountain told Beato he didn't like tapes and was very happy when they were replaced with digital storage.
The interview is highly recommended for anyone interested in mixing / good sounding records.
 
cedricm said:
Slightly off-topic : Bob Clearmountain told Beato he didn't like tapes and was very happy when they were replaced with digital storage.
The interview is highly recommended for anyone interested in mixing / good sounding records.
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Makes sense, with digital you can have all of the benefits of analog with none of the drawbacks. I’d rather use a tape plugin than actual tape
 
KEM said:
Makes sense, with digital you can have all of the benefits of analog with none of the drawbacks. I’d rather use a tape plugin than actual tape
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I didn't know you had extensive experience of using analog gear to make the comparison. It's always good to hear a really informed opinion.

Just teasing!

What I find odd, in myself, is why analog sounds so good to me - so good that I even want digital sounds to imitate it. Is it just familiarity? Is it about sounding closer to the natural world? Is it hype?

I have recently been learning to enjoy digital-sounding reverbs. But even here I end up adding some form of faux-analog saturation.
 
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Bee_Abney said:
I didn't know you had extensive experience of using analog gear to make the comparison. It's always good to hear a really informed opinion.

Just teasing!

What I find odd, in myself, is why analog sounds so good to me - so good that I even want digital sounds to imitate it. Is it just familiarity? Is it about sounding closer to the natural world? Is it hype?

I have recently been learning to enjoy digital-sounding reverbs. But even here I end up adding some form and faux-analog saturation.
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That’s the age old question, and the potential reasons you’ve given are the ones we’ve been trying to convince ourselves of for decades. There will probably never be an answer and the debate will rage on until the end of time, but I know for myself that digital is just the way I want to do it, I don’t have to deal with any of the negatives of analog and the positives are near impossible to differentiate from its real life counterpart, so that’s the world I’ll stay in
 
KEM said:
That’s the age old question, and the potential reasons you’ve given are the ones we’ve been trying to convince ourselves of for decades. There will probably never be an answer and the debate will rage on until the end of time, but I know for myself that digital is just the way I want to do it, I don’t have to deal with any of the negatives of analog and the positives are near impossible to differentiate from its real life counterpart, so that’s the world I’ll stay in
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I thought the same…I spent £1000s on plugins…then bought UAD Ultimate on sale…then bought an Apollo Solo to test out the Unison preamps…all stepping stones

I’ve just bought a Neve DPX Mic Pre for tracking my guitars and vocals through… No plugin gets close. Should have just done this from the off and saved the money up rather than waste 29 here 29 there on plugins I don’t use….it soon adds up…

Just bought a rack to fill it with an Audioscape LA2A ,1176 just waiting on their arrival.

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I spent £1000s on amp sims …then bought a Vox AC 15 and other amps and built a pedal board…

ThIEBdw.jpg


9tuICNZ.jpg


No plugin comes close…

Still love my plugins…and will mix with them hybrid..but I’ve learnt getting the best possible sound while tracking is for me end game…

I actually think the plugin market is now so saturated it’s become a bit of con…in my testing no amp sim or virtual pedal touches the tone of my amps moving air…and going through an analogue pedal board…when I strummed my acoustic through the Neve DPX…tweaked the EQ and recorded it in my DAW…I was like…that’s it…that’s the sound of a record right there…
 
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easyrider said:
I thought the same…I spent £1000s on plugins…then bought UAD Ultimate on sale…then bought an Apollo Solo to test out the Unison preamps…all stepping stones

I’ve just bought a Neve DPX Mic Pre for tracking my guitars and vocals through… No plugin gets close. Should have just done this from the off and saved the money up rather than waste 29 here 29 there on plugins I don’t use….it soon adds up…

Just bought a rack to fill it with an Audioscape LA2A ,1176 just waiting on their arrival.

5FVsckO.jpg


I spent £1000s on amp sims …then bought a Vox AC 15 and other amps and built a pedal board…

ThIEBdw.jpg


9tuICNZ.jpg


No plugin comes close…

Still love my plugins…and will mix with them hybrid..but I’ve learnt getting the best possible sound while tracking is for me end game…

I actually think the plugin market is now so saturated it’s become a bit of con…in my testing no amp sim or virtual pedal touches the tone of my amps moving air…and going through an analogue pedal board…when I strummed my acoustic through the Neve DPX…tweaked the EQ and recorded it in my DAW…I was like…that’s it…that’s the sound of a record right there…
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Surfybear spring reverb? Great choice there!
 
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