Tape Plugin?

[mementus]

I have TB ReelBus and Magneto II.
Do you know any other tape plugins to expand the palette?


Do you use the tape on the mixbus, siingle tracks or submixes usually?

[RSL369]

https://www.u-he.com/cms/satin
http://slatedigital.com/virtual-tape-machines/
http://www.waves.com/plugins/j37-tape#b ... y-bush-j37
http://www.waves.com/plugins/kramer-mas ... aster-tape
http://cdsoundmaster.com/site/cds-softw ... lugin.html (should be used in combo with this: http://cdsoundmaster.com/site/cds-softw ... e/vtm.html )

I use tapes on individual tracks only, rarely (or never) on the master bus (except perhaps the "Invisible" preset on Reelbus, try it).

EDIT: oh yeah, there's this one too: http://www.masseyplugins.com/plugins/tapehead

EDIT 2: since you have eLicenser, you can try this bundle as well: https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/v ... _deck.html

EDIT 3: forgot about this one: http://www.nomadfactory.com/products/ma ... index.html

There's also some UAD stuff, but those require expensive DSP cards which aren't everyone's cup of tea.

[mementus]

Which elements are good candidates for the tape? (or which one are a Big no-no!, in your opinion)
Snares, Vocals, OHs then?
Or do you only try them each time on everything and see?

For me it's hard to say "hhmm this sound needs the tape!" I have to try them each time individually on everything and it takes a lot of time. Not a good workflow.

[RSL369]

As far as I'm aware, there are no set rules there, you can put a tape emu wherever you like.

I use them for those sounds which require some "color", or perhaps those which are too sharp in the top end and could use a bit of "softening".
Some emus (such as Slate or Massey) tend to add a lot of bottom end, so if a particular sound is lacking in that department, you can try it there.
People sometimes use an instance on each track to get that "cohesive" effect in the mix, although some would argue that's an overkill.

[bmanic]

FabFilter Saturn has some Tape algorithms as well. Also check out the two algorithms in IK Multimedia Saturator X.

[egbert101]

<delete>

[Googly Smythe]

u-He Satin.
Good for chorus, echo and tape-style flanging, too.
Put them on your groups with ever-so-slightly different settings.

[mementus]

I already use saturators. i.e. SDRR.
Do you use saturators + tape/saturator on busses or when you use a basic saturator don't reach for a tape plug too?
A bit of confusion.

[funky lime]

I usually put tape (TB Reelbus) on my busses. Putting tape saturation on every single track, especially in a dense mix, usually ends up making things muddy, and therefore necessitates more corrective EQ and whatnot.

But I generally put it on (BFD) drum busses... buss the snare top/bottom together and slap a tape on that. Buss the kick in/out, buss the toms together, etc, and put tape on those. There's something about the way tape saturation affects the transients of drums that I find pleasing to my ears.

But sometimes, stuff will sound better with a different kind of saturation (tube), or with none at all. I'm realizing that just slapping stuff on tracks/busses by default, without considering what its for or if the track even benefits from it (i'm looking at YOU, mr. highpass filter!), is a good way to exacerbate mix issues, and can lead to chasing your tail in circles.

It seems some of us (I guess I can only speak for myself, really) have this notion that anything "analog" is going to make our music sound more like the music of our idols of yesteryear, but sometimes your mix doesn't actually need tape saturation and you're only doing it because it's how it used to be done.

...Which is kind of why I like Reelbus. LOL. It can be super transparent enough where it's hardly doing anything at all, but still satisfies that "vintage" craving of putting tape saturation all over everything just for the sake of it.

[rod_zero]

Well, you have to start with a goal, how do you want to sound like? if you are going for vintage sound then putting tape on every channel can work.

Or maybe you don't want that and just want to make some sounds more rich or "bold", well you use saturation and choose what fits more. An aggressive lead may need something like ohmicide, a pad something different as RC20 Retrocolor.

So the key is to know what you want to achieve, for what, why and what tools are the best ones.

Saturn for example can fit many roles, from subtle to extreme to effects.

Satin normally is quite subtle, rolling off highs to get a less bright sound.

[Nielzie]

Putting tape saturation on every single track, especially in a dense mix, usually ends up making things muddy, and therefore necessitates more corrective EQ and whatnot

This. Don't loose yourself too much in using tape saturation emulations. Less is more, is my humble opinion. Same goes for compression.

[mementus]

On the same bus do you use others saturator and tape saturator bith or just one of those?

[MogwaiBoy]

My absolute favourite (I have Magnetic II, Saturn, Reelbus and SDRR - I'm a sucker for these kinds of plugins!) for mastering is the Vintage Tape module in Ozone 7 Advanced. It doesn't add noise, warble or other artifacts - it just does a 3D "sounds moar huge!" kind of thing. It's a real sleeper. You can use it instead of EQ to enhance bass depth, high end shimmer etc.

I haven't tried Satin, though!

[Ah_Dziz]

The sknote tape emulator is a handy tool. I mostly use it when I need to do a period based track. I then slap it into the signal path of everything I'm working with whether it's groups or individual tracks. I usually have all those instances linked. Then I'll put a master tape at the end of the master channel with cleaner settings to get a "mixed to tape" sound. It's pretty effective if you are attempting to get the sound of something that was recorded in the middle to late 20th century.

[wesleymayhem]

My absolute favourite (I have Magnetic II, Saturn, Reelbus and SDRR - I'm a sucker for these kinds of plugins!) for mastering is the Vintage Tape module in Ozone 7 Advanced. It doesn't add noise, warble or other artifacts - it just does a 3D "sounds moar huge!" kind of thing. It's a real sleeper. You can use it instead of EQ to enhance bass depth, high end shimmer etc.

I haven't tried Satin, though!

I agree... The Ozone 7 Vintage Tape does amazing things to a mix/master.