Waves Abbey Road J37 Tape

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Quick test,first you will hear the dry version then the processed version,on each track there is a j37 plugin (including the master bus.)
I was looking for a vintage sound so i choose 7.5 ips and ,increased noise floor ,also a tiny bit of increased saturation and tape formula 815.The levels on each track was hitting between 0 and + 3 vu on each track,rms levels were compensated by ear/auto-mode .



https://soundcloud.com/sergiofrias/80s-dry-vs-waves-j37

Like the other poster, I liked the track, but hated what the plugin did here. Way too much distortion, and a very nasal sounding midrange.

Were you hitting it hard? Maybe back off the input a bit. If you weren't hitting it hard, and this is just how it sounds, then my interest in this plugin is waning fast.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

actually i am *guessing* (which o course means i could be totally off bass here) that the demo is driven hard to specifically show what the plugin sounds like when done so.. and in that case, even though the result is not a pleasant sound at all, and i would never mix like that, i need to word this the right way.. well, it tells me that when driven hard it's not too ugly if that makes sense.. like the kramer falls apart a lot worse than that, and FAST. I will demo it myself, but i's wait for an Xmas sale or something and get it for $49 anyway. They might hook me in after all, as i still want a tape plugin with low latency for when i use Logic, and i didn't end up buying satin as it was TOO complicated after all that for me.

[MickGael]

When I downloaded the demo, my first thought was "Wow, this is really sensitive to gain staging." And it is, more than any other plugin I have or have used. Not unlike a real tape machine, you can generate sounds that are unusable without too much difficulty.

I tried some tweaking and thought it was OK. But when I tried some of the presets (3 in particular), I really heard what this can do sonically, and was impressed.

Kramer, Satin and VTM are all very nice, with individual strengths (no UAD for me). To my ears, the J37 Tape offers qualities and virtues that match my sonic sensibilities and taste, so I find it a worthwhile tool. The delay is especially nice.

With judicious use and careful gain staging, I think it delivers.

[J4R1O]

I will demo it myself, but i's wait for an Xmas sale or something and get it for $49 anyway.

Xmas 2014 is so far away...

[J4R1O]

I tried some tweaking and thought it was OK. But when I tried some of the presets (3 in particular), I really heard what this can do sonically, and was impressed.

Those 3 mastering presets sound really nice...

[ObsoleteAcc99]

I will demo it myself, but i's wait for an Xmas sale or something and get it for $49 anyway.

Xmas 2014 is so far away...

Um, Mark my words, this will be cheaper than the current "intro price" on some special within the next four months, and some early adopters will flog them on the MP as well. The intro price is ludicrous and should be the RETAIL price with street max at 99. Do they not know there is tons of competition with satin and VTM? Nevertheless, 49 is what I would spend on it, not more. So if it happens it does if it doesn't it doesn't.

[sergiofrias]

If someone would like to know what the plugin does with the frequency response here is some details:

[J4R1O]

I will demo it myself, but i's wait for an Xmas sale or something and get it for $49 anyway.

Xmas 2014 is so far away...

Um, Mark my words, this will be cheaper than the current "intro price" on some special within the next four months, and some early adopters will flog them on the MP as well. The intro price is ludicrous and should be the RETAIL price with street max at 99. Do they not know there is tons of competition with satin and VTM? Nevertheless, 49 is what I would spend on it, not more. So if it happens it does if it doesn't it doesn't.

Yeah, I know. Same happened with REDD: price goes down, price goes up, and down... and up again 'til the next Armageddon sale. And even its price comes down, I'm not sure if I want to buy it (still happy with KMT, ReelBus, Satin).

[sonicpowa]

Very nice sound when properly gain staged.
Now when LXA @ Gearslutz mentioned the wrong tape threading on the GUI it started bothering me, I can't believe myself, it's just a GUI lol... hope they fix it so I can sleep.

[sergiofrias]

Quick test,first you will hear the dry version then the processed version,on each track there is a j37 plugin (including the master bus.)
I was looking for a vintage sound so i choose 7.5 ips and ,increased noise floor ,also a tiny bit of increased saturation and tape formula 815.The levels on each track was hitting between 0 and + 3 vu on each track,rms levels were compensated by ear/auto-mode .



https://soundcloud.com/sergiofrias/80s-dry-vs-waves-j37

Like the other poster, I liked the track, but hated what the plugin did here. Way too much distortion, and a very nasal sounding midrange.

Were you hitting it hard? Maybe back off the input a bit. If you weren't hitting it hard, and this is just how it sounds, then my interest in this plugin is waning fast.

I was hitting about 0 to +2 DB on some tracks,to reveal more the sound of vintage tape...and yes i agree that i like my dry sound more on that exemple,duo to having a lot of hi frequency lost because i choose 7,5 IPS mode.

So here is another test ,now using 15 IPS mode (flattest frequency response,abbey roads preset) with tape hitting on almoust every track to 0 db,once again RMS compansated using Voxengo Span RMS analizer on each track.
sorry for the cheesy sounding exemple,i love the 80's

you will hear the dry version,then the 15 IPS and finally 7.5 IPS


https://soundcloud.com/sergiofrias/80s- ... ips-vs-7-5

[K-Slash]

Quick test,first you will hear the dry version then the processed version,on each track there is a j37 plugin (including the master bus.)
I was looking for a vintage sound so i choose 7.5 ips and ,increased noise floor ,also a tiny bit of increased saturation and tape formula 815.The levels on each track was hitting between 0 and + 3 vu on each track,rms levels were compensated by ear/auto-mode .



https://soundcloud.com/sergiofrias/80s-dry-vs-waves-j37

Like the other poster, I liked the track, but hated what the plugin did here. Way too much distortion, and a very nasal sounding midrange.

Were you hitting it hard? Maybe back off the input a bit. If you weren't hitting it hard, and this is just how it sounds, then my interest in this plugin is waning fast.

I was hitting about 0 to +2 DB on some tracks,to reveal more the sound of vintage tape...and yes i agree that i like my dry sound more on that exemple,duo to having a lot of hi frequency lost because i choose 7,5 IPS mode.

So here is another test ,now using 15 IPS mode (flattest frequency response,abbey roads preset) with tape hitting on almoust every track to 0 db,once again RMS compansated using Voxengo Span RMS analizer on each track.
sorry for the cheesy sounding exemple,i love the 80's

you will hear the dry version,then the 15 IPS and finally 7.5 IPS


https://soundcloud.com/sergiofrias/80s- ... ips-vs-7-5

Not a fan of the 15 IPS version, but I totally dig the 7,5 IPS !!! Love the way it make things upfront and saturated. Just the sound I like.

[sergiofrias]

Not a fan of the 15 IPS version, but I totally dig the 7,5 IPS !!! Love the way it make things upfront and saturated. Just the sound I like.

+1

[ObsoleteAcc99]

ouch, i don't like either of what those do.. really need to demo this.. in both examples it has this time completely ruined the mix for me. Plus i don't understand their stubborness in adding a 30 ips version for those who want a touch but prefer the fidelity.. same with their kramer..

[kvaca]

ouch, i don't like either of what those do.. really need to demo this.. in both examples it has this time completely ruined the mix for me. Plus i don't understand their stubborness in adding a 30 ips version for those who want a touch but prefer the fidelity.. same with their kramer..

+1
one of those rare ocassions I have to agree with you
but I still think it sounds better than its competitors

[sascha]

If someone would like to know what the plugin does with the frequency response here is some details:

Hm... don't want to step on anyone's toes... but for all I know about magnetic recording, the overbiased curves are pretty much the contrary of what should happen in the real world. Overbias creates more overall flux, since the bias signal is typically a multiple of the input signal (often 4 to 5x the amplitude). This increased flux - when overdone - leads to high-frequency saturation and self-erasure on the tape. One usually wouldn't want to go that far, but the tendency remains.
When biasing a tape, one wants to linearize the process, which is: get the least distortion for the entire dynamic range, and hopefully: independent of frequency. In reality, there is a 'sweet spot': underbias has the most HF content but creates crossover distortion, since the operational curve (within the hysteresis loop) isn't linearised, especially not in the central region. Overbias manages to linearize the curve, resulting in low overall THD figures, but at the expense of reduced treble. Most machine manufacturers go for a compromise and set it somewhere in the middle, with a minimum tolerable level of THD (especially the 5th harmonic, as a function of crossover distortion) and good treble response. The reason why some people prefer slightly more bias often results from the 'warmer' overall tone; less 5th harmonic, less overall treble, and often fatter low end.
Therefore I'm a bit puzzled why your figures show a brighter top end. Perhaps someone knowing these EMI/Studer machines or someone from Waves could explain? Might be that I've overlooked something.

@sergiofrias: do you have THD figures at hand? Perhaps 1k, 10k & 15k, at either bias setting? Could also be plots of the resulting harmonics series. That would help to clarify.

BTW: the low end looks right to me. Massive coil/pole-piece interaction visible, apparently. I personally like that.