Tape Emulation roundup

[Turello]

ToneBoosters Ferox

Would you rather use Ferox than ReelBus 4?

Saturation mode
Allows to select between a variety of tape saturation modes obtained from TB Ferox, TB ReelBus v2 and TB ReelBus v3, and new modes only available in ReelBus v4.

Of course,i have an old version (probably 2.8. with 0 latency and into single tracks works perfectly... ReelBus i prefer on bus, sub bus or mastering stage...

I don't remember a zero latency version of Ferox...

One of the reasons I have stopped using some of the older TB plugins like Evoke,Sibilance and Bus Comp is because of the high latency...

Jerome has brought the latency down in the v4 plugins and some of them offer zero latency...

That was appreciated...

I only use a couple of the v3 plugins now and they will be shown the door very soon because the v4 plugins have basically made them redundant...

Ferox can be replaced by Reel Bus 4 without a lot of tears being shed

Well, free to don't believe but i can confirm the version 2.8.8 is 0 latency...

Talking about other TBs mentioned, i like a lot only Bus Comp but just in some mastering stage (it depends on the source)...
About new 3/4 TBs, I works often with EQ, Reverb and Comp, very flexible the EQ and not expensive like a ProQ2... By the way, any of our taste is different and this is just my opinion...

To back in the thread, i don't know why/how it's possible but i find a lot of Tape emulations/saturations too violent in insert but perfect in parallell...

[simon.a.billington]

there are also the Waves Audio tape emulations - but wait until they turn up at $29.

If you have Reaktor there are a number of ensembles for that. NI just brought out a list which includes VHS tape too.

Yeah I second that.

IK have also released 4 great models that are currently on sale as we speak. Although, its alot more than what you would spend on a Waves sale. I've heard they are quite CPU intensive, so they are not the kind of thing to put on every track. Although, I think that's an inherently bad idea anyway.

[Lotuz2019]

I've heard they are quite CPU intensive, so they are not the kind of thing to put on every track. Although, I think that's an inherently bad idea anyway.

Interesting. It's probably more convenient just to put tape plugins on buses plus master or even just on the master, but if you want to emulate a studio with reel to reel recorder in your DAW, then shouldn't every track have its own tape plugin?

[El°HYM]

Good points.

I would say it could be less or more:

Signal > Preamp > Mixer > Channels > Busses

from there:

Busses > Multitrack Tape Recorder

& from there:

Multitrack > Mixer > Busses > Stereo Sum

then obvious:

Stereo Bus > 2 - Track Tape

Just one (classic) Workflow & pretty simplified; yet a good thought to keep in Mind.

[plexuss]

I've heard they are quite CPU intensive, so they are not the kind of thing to put on every track. Although, I think that's an inherently bad idea anyway.

Interesting. It's probably more convenient just to put tape plugins on buses plus master or even just on the master, but if you want to emulate a studio with reel to reel recorder in your DAW, then shouldn't every track have its own tape plugin?

Yes, however you have to do this midful of the sound you are creating with it. it helps to know what a multi-track tape mix sounds like because it's easy to over-do it or in general end up with a sound that is not realistic. This kind of produciton technique is within the realm of the very-subtle and/or psychoacoustic - it's easy to make deviations that negatively impact the fidelity of the music. Same goes for any subtle digital saturation.

[simon.a.billington]

I've heard they are quite CPU intensive, so they are not the kind of thing to put on every track. Although, I think that's an inherently bad idea anyway.

Interesting. It's probably more convenient just to put tape plugins on buses plus master or even just on the master, but if you want to emulate a studio with reel to reel recorder in your DAW, then shouldn't every track have its own tape plugin?

Yes and no. Remember that many tracks were recorded to one channel just to save on space, like multi-mic setups.

Also by doing that you will start running into negative effects that the engineers had to start fighting against. Increased noise level, too much distortion, loss of fidelity. It might be authentic, but there is a lot about those authentic albums that sound inferior in quality to today’s standards.

People wear rose coloured glasses when they think back to the classic albums growing up. They are confusing the experience of how the album made them feel at the time with some sort of sense of superior quality. Clearly that has lead to many false assumptions.

[ChamomileShark]

Yes and no. Remember that many tracks were recorded to one channel just to save on space, like multi-mic setups.

Also by doing that you will start running into negative effects that the engineers had to start fighting against. Increased noise level, too much distortion, loss of fidelity. It might be authentic, but there is a lot about those authentic albums that sound inferior in quality to today’s standards.

People wear rose coloured glasses when they think back to the classic albums growing up. They are confusing the experience of how the album made them feel at the time with some sort of sense of superior quality. Clearly that has lead to many false assumptions.

It's an interesting thing. For the first 15 or so years of making music I lived with the problems of tape all the time, using mainly a 4 track reel to reel and a two track Revox A77. I think even then I liked the idea of beauty emerging from the layers of noise so for me this isn't so much nostalgia thing. I guess I was born lo-fi.

And then there is the saturation / distortion that tape adds - which no doubt you can get another way in the digital realm without resorting to tape emulation..

My understanding about the whole vinyl / CD thing was that after being used to the EQ curves of vinyl when much of the back catalogues (and sometimes new stuff) people overdid the treble / harshness when transferring to CD. I expect that then improved and by EQing like vinyl you could have "warm" sounding CDs..but now I'm rambling.

[heavymetalmixer]

Airwindows released ToTape 6, now with less aliasing, and a more controled and better sound:

http://www.airwindows.com/totape6

[Lotuz2019]

I guess I was born lo-fi.

[jamcat]

Tape, rooms, electronics, imperfections, distortion, and noise makes a recording tangible. It anchors it to a time and a place. A moment that HAPPENED vs. a collage of disembodied, sterile sound that never really did.

That gives it weight as a historical record. It is the human element that makes the difference between records that over time will matter vs. those that won't.

[acousticglue]

I just played today Audiority Blue face into Kuassa Matchlock into Eos Plate reverb w mix output of Iron Oxide classic, Klanghelm SDRR desk mastering to Toneboosters Barricade limiter and sounded wonderful tele sound. 4-5% cpu

[Russell Grand]

I'm gonna repost my suggestion as no one seems to have acknowledged it: Wavesfactory Cassette. It's currently the very best on the market, hands down. Do yourself a solid and pick it up asap!

[JerGoertz]

I'm gonna repost my suggestion as no one seems to have acknowledged it: Wavesfactory Cassette. It's currently the very best on the market, hands down. Do yourself a solid and pick it up asap!

Let me rectify that situation! Indeed, this sounds fantastic for that old, degraded consumer casette sound.

[Russell Grand]

I'm gonna repost my suggestion as no one seems to have acknowledged it: Wavesfactory Cassette. It's currently the very best on the market, hands down. Do yourself a solid and pick it up asap!

Let me rectify that situation! Indeed, this sounds fantastic for that old, degraded consumer casette sound.

Yes! It's an excellent plug.

[Lotuz2019]

SketchCassette also sounds great. No need to (although you can) use it moderately like reel to reel emulation plugins. If you wear a T-shirt that says 'I WAS BORN LO-FI', then you should check out SketchCassette.