Tape Emulation roundup

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Abbey Road - J37 Tape

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Ah yes, SketchCassette is a good one!

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Yes, is goooood
A well-behaved signature.

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I'm going away from UAD... The only plugin I haven't found a good replacement for is the UAD Ampex ATR-102.
It adds some unique character, color, 3D'ishness and glue that I haven't heard in ANY other tape emulator.. Does anyone know of a good native replacement?

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I don't know how the UAD is, but Bob Ohlsson said over at Gearslutz something along the lines of Kramer Master Tape being practically indistinguishable from the original...
"Preamps have literally one job: when you turn up the gain, it gets louder." Jamcat, talking about presmp-emulation plugins.

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Russell Grand wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:39 am 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!
I have it, and its a great cassette. Frankly it sounds just like my technics deck, but more flexible.

On the other hand, u-he satin sounds like most reel-to-reels i tried...

So between Satin and Cassette i don't really have a need for any other tape sim
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Ploki wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:56 pm
Russell Grand wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:39 am 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!
I have it, and its a great cassette. Frankly it sounds just like my technics deck, but more flexible.

On the other hand, u-he satin sounds like most reel-to-reels i tried...

So between Satin and Cassette i don't really have a need for any other tape sim
Yes, Satin is a fantastic plug too! I don't own it, but it's on my list to purchase one day. :tu:

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Hm.. I demo'ed Satin but thought it was too subtle compared to ATR-102. I probably just didn't set it up correctly to match the settings of an ATR-102. I think I'll demo it again.. Satin would definitly benefit from having matched presets of the "known" tapes emus around I guess.

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cnt wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:02 pm I'm going away from UAD... The only plugin I haven't found a good replacement for is the UAD Ampex ATR-102.
It adds some unique character, color, 3D'ishness and glue that I haven't heard in ANY other tape emulator.. Does anyone know of a good native replacement?
Like you the only uad i couldn't find a replacement for. Now i can.
Closest to uad atr-102 i've gotten is with ikm tape machine 24. They don't sound exactly the same BUT.. It gives me the same glue in low frequencies, can handle loud dynamics, i have enough room to tweak highs and lows and i can drive it to the sweetspot and sound i want.
The only downside is that ikm tapes use considerably more cpu. But then again, i only use 1 or 2 instances max.

Another honorable mention is Saturator x. The preset Tape1 sounds good IF you really lower the input. That is the key, gainstage it so that your input is really low and don't drive it. After the saturator x insert a gainstage to get the level back up. You'll know when you hit the sweetspot.

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cnt wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:46 pm Hm.. I demo'ed Satin but thought it was too subtle compared to ATR-102. I probably just didn't set it up correctly to match the settings of an ATR-102. I think I'll demo it again.. Satin would definitly benefit from having matched presets of the "known" tapes emus around I guess.
satin is very subtle. but that's what i like about it. good tapes are subtle. IKM is subtle-ish, but imo is still a bit of a "caricature" of a tape machine.

u-he satin is the only tape machine i'd dare to use on a master bus.

However satin also works wonders in a multi-track grouped setup. it's really well thought out.
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UAD Oxide is a good one.

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The IK Tapes are amazing. Very CPU intensive.

Airwindows ToTape6 is getting lots of good feedback, it’s free.

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perpetual3 wrote: Sat Jan 25, 2020 4:02 pm The IK Tapes are amazing. Very CPU intensive.

Airwindows ToTape6 is getting lots of good feedback, it’s free.
I think you can get pretty 'close' wih ToTape, FromTape & IronOxide by Chris from Airwindows... As far, as what is possible ITB anyway & keeping the original #workflow in Mind; printing to a Multitrack, then Mixing back into the Desk & final printing to the Master (2-Track) Tape. Between these Steps, there are even more Airwindows Plugs that could help, depending on the sound you want to get overall. But last not least Wytse just found the Ultimate Tape Plugin after his long searching & testing; this is the only 'real' conclusion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owsgVC30wp4
The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore.

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El°HYM wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:07 am
perpetual3 wrote: Sat Jan 25, 2020 4:02 pm The IK Tapes are amazing. Very CPU intensive.

Airwindows ToTape6 is getting lots of good feedback, it’s free.
I think you can get pretty 'close' wih ToTape, FromTape & IronOxide by Chris from Airwindows... As far, as what is possible ITB anyway & keeping the original #workflow in Mind; printing to a Multitrack, then Mixing back into the Desk & final printing to the Master (2-Track) Tape. Between these Steps, there are even more Airwindows Plugs that could help, depending on the sound you want to get overall. But last not least Wytse just found the Ultimate Tape Plugin after his long searching & testing; this is the only 'real' conclusion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owsgVC30wp4
Hot water.

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El°HYM wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:07 am
I think you can get pretty 'close' wih ToTape, FromTape & IronOxide by Chris from Airwindows... As far, as what is possible ITB anyway & keeping the original #workflow in Mind; printing to a Multitrack, then Mixing back into the Desk & final printing to the Master (2-Track) Tape. Between these Steps, there are even more Airwindows Plugs that could help, depending on the sound you want to get overall. But last not least Wytse just found the Ultimate Tape Plugin after his long searching & testing; this is the only 'real' conclusion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owsgVC30wp4
I like Wytse, but real tape is such an expensive pain in the ass i'll take his word for it.
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Valid point. And there is also a problem with #maintenance of those 'older' Machines. But on the other hand & just connecting Numbers; what would happen, if we count the price of every single #plug mentioned in this thread & add them up to a price tag for a simple, used Tape - Machine to get the real flavor?
The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore.

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