Nothing approaches IK Tape BUT it hates my computer! Alternatives? SOLVED!

[plexuss]

It’s not ideal, but you could always print/freeze the tape to your track. Just make sure you have the clean recording backed up.

I would rather do that than replace it with a lower quality plugin.
It would be nice if IK added an ECO mode for mixing, though.

I've asked LOUDLY numerous times and have always been ignored with this request.

[dblock]

It’s not ideal, but you could always print/freeze the tape to your track. Just make sure you have the clean recording backed up.

I would rather do that than replace it with a lower quality plugin.
It would be nice if IK added an ECO mode for mixing, though.

I agree an ECO mode would be a reasonable compromise. Freezing is just a no-no for me. I've bad experiences with edits and cutting out sections of a song then realizing some things were frozen and blah blah. Just won't do it.

[dblock]

It’s not ideal, but you could always print/freeze the tape to your track. Just make sure you have the clean recording backed up.

I would rather do that than replace it with a lower quality plugin.
It would be nice if IK added an ECO mode for mixing, though.

I've asked LOUDLY numerous times and have always been ignored with this request.

I usually see the standard "quality dictates the high cpu" kind of answers bet not "we're working to try and remedy it" or yeah, an ECO mode makes sense. Same issue with Lurssen Mastering console. I'm sure they can technically do it but maybe it's just not worth their while to put in that kind of effort for the return.

[Lotuz2019]

In another topic I saw that you've checked out Kiive Audio. Does Kiive Tape Face give you the sound and performance you're looking for?

https://www.kiiveaudio.com/tapeface

[plexuss]

It’s not ideal, but you could always print/freeze the tape to your track. Just make sure you have the clean recording backed up.

I would rather do that than replace it with a lower quality plugin.
It would be nice if IK added an ECO mode for mixing, though.

I've asked LOUDLY numerous times and have always been ignored with this request.

I usually see the standard "quality dictates the high cpu" kind of answers bet not "we're working to try and remedy it" or yeah, an ECO mode makes sense. Same issue with Lurssen Mastering console. I'm sure they can technically do it but maybe it's just not worth their while to put in that kind of effort for the return.

Plugins like Soothe2, Voxengo, etc that offer real-time vs render OS options do, of course, not sound as good in lower/no OS modes. But, so what? Would IK rather people not use their products vs use them real-time with slightly less quality? Seems a really DUMB business decision not to support realtime/render OS options and give the user control over how they use the tools. IK is not known to be a "smart" company though and this is part of the reason. None of these companies will budge. Good thing there are other options.

[dblock]

In another topic I saw that you've checked out Kiive Audio. Does Kiive Tape Face give you the sound and performance you're looking for?

https://www.kiiveaudio.com/tapeface

I did check it out. Nice plugin but a little too nice and just too subtle for my taste. It's hard for me to understand sometimes why so many tape emulations in general are so subtle you have to push them to really get anything out of them. I've owned 3 reel to reel machines and the saturation was obvious not subtle. If anything, I'd rather they go too far and give me the option of dialing it back but you can only push most of these plugins so far to get anything more than barely noticeable.

[hitherepeople]

Well, it might just be me. But I have a tendency to be conservative when it comes to these things. I don't use much compression, I don't slam the master with a limiter and I don't do much crazy eq'ing (sometimes I break that rule, especially with guitars! )

Just my 2c, when everything is too noticeable it has a tendency to make the mix sound over the top. But I do hear what you are saying.

[electro]

IK Tape doesn't need a low CPU mode. A tape plugin that sounds like tape comes at a price and as the 1st VST in an FX chain you don't want sound quality compromised which is what an ECO mode will do.

What IK Tape needs is a way to link instances like every other competent multitrack sim.

[Danilo Villanova]

The solution is obviously to do ukelele mono tracks for evah!

I think Chow Tape can be pushed into saturation IIRC.

https://chowdsp.com/products.html

[dblock]

Well, it might just be me. But I have a tendency to be conservative when it comes to these things. I don't use much compression, I don't slam the master with a limiter and I don't do much crazy eq'ing (sometimes I break that rule, especially with guitars! )

Just my 2c, when everything is too noticeable it has a tendency to make the mix sound over the top. But I do hear what you are saying.

And that's fine.I get that. I tend to be heavy handed sometimes on most things compared to what others might do. Fair enough but my main gripe is the lack of the option to be subtle or heavy handed. Seems most of these Tape emu's come with a "It's nice and subtle..." almost like an apology for not giving it some balls "if" we wanted to go there.

[plexuss]

IK Tape doesn't need a low CPU mode. A tape plugin that sounds like tape comes at a price and as the 1st VST in an FX chain you don't want sound quality compromised which is what an ECO mode will do.

What IK Tape needs is a way to link instances like every other competent multitrack sim.

A workflow I use for high-CPU plugins in to just bypass them when working in real-time and enable them for render - I rely on auditioning the render to tell me if I need to adjust in any way. It's not ideal because it's a bit of working blindly. But that is the workflow these companies force me into. If IK Tape had a lower quality real-time mode I can guarantee it would be high enough quality to work with in real-time and then rely on a high quality setting for render. A real-time OS option would be of great use as it is on other company's products that offer this. It's just a big lost opportunity for IK, and a customer irritant for those that prefer this kind of workflow. IF you don't great then it's not an issue for you and we don't need to hear about it.

[dblock]

IK Tape doesn't need a low CPU mode. A tape plugin that sounds like tape comes at a price and as the 1st VST in an FX chain you don't want sound quality compromised which is what an ECO mode will do.

What IK Tape needs is a way to link instances like every other competent multitrack sim.

Well yes and no.
Yes, ECO mode is exactly what I would expect with lesser quality. That said, I bet I would prefer IK Tape in ECO mode to most of my other tape plugins in full mode. That is how I would compare it.
And No, I have a bunch of Acoustica Audio plugins many of which have a very known reputation for cpu heavy because of their quality BUT kudos to them for constantly "trying" and in many cases succeeding in improving efficiency in their plugins with core updates that make their plugins more and more cpu friendly and accessible without sacrificing quality one bit. Granted some of AA's and other's plugins will NEVER run on some machines smoothly but some of those plugins have gone from impossible to use to possible because they don't just say "oh well that's what quality costs and move on, they try. It can be done. Whether it's worth doing is a whole another question. I just hate to see the "high cpu high cost of quality" a standard excuse for not trying to improve it stance.

[dblock]

The solution is obviously to do ukelele mono tracks for evah!

I think Chow Tape can be pushed into saturation IIRC.

https://chowdsp.com/products.html

Are you kiddin me? I can't record my ukelele through my dual Marshal stack in mono!

[jens]

Looking for a IK Tape backup. I have most of the Tape alternatives but nothing touches it
in terms of realism for my taste but unless I do a solo ukulele track, I can almost never use the damn thing being so resource heavy. Don't know what it is about not being able to put some balls on these other Tape plugins like that. I used to own a couple of reel to reel tape machines and there was nothing subtle about the saturation they produced so why are Tape emulations (other than IK) so subtle? I'd rather they be overly thick and saturated and I have to dial them back a bit than to have to push them to the limits to really get anything out of them. Just not enough tapeness for my taste. I guess I'm spoiled from owning the "reel" thing. Get it? So now I've been reduced to whining til somebody comes up with the goods of real sounding tape saturation that doesn't end up on the sidelines because it's too much of a hog.

The solution is simple: get a new computer that has got the balls to deal with it. If these subtle differences really matter to you, it should be important enough for you to make that kind of investment. For less than 1000$ you can buy a laptop now that will enable you to put an instance of these on every track. And if you want a desktop, it'll be even less than what a decent laptop will cost.

[dblock]

Looking for a IK Tape backup. I have most of the Tape alternatives but nothing touches it
in terms of realism for my taste but unless I do a solo ukulele track, I can almost never use the damn thing being so resource heavy. Don't know what it is about not being able to put some balls on these other Tape plugins like that. I used to own a couple of reel to reel tape machines and there was nothing subtle about the saturation they produced so why are Tape emulations (other than IK) so subtle? I'd rather they be overly thick and saturated and I have to dial them back a bit than to have to push them to the limits to really get anything out of them. Just not enough tapeness for my taste. I guess I'm spoiled from owning the "reel" thing. Get it? So now I've been reduced to whining til somebody comes up with the goods of real sounding tape saturation that doesn't end up on the sidelines because it's too much of a hog.

The solution is simple: get a new computer that has got the balls to deal with it. If these subtle differences really matter to you, it should be important enough for you to make that kind of investment. For less than 1000$ you can buy a laptop now that will enable you to put an instance of these on every track. And if you want a desktop, it'll be even less than what a decent laptop will cost.

That is true but I'm not ready to part with my Openlabs XXL workstation. I can tolerate it's limitations until it literally falls apart because it's just a badass machine despite some of cpu limits.Instead I decided to see if anyone has come across a similarly realistic tape sim that I'm not aware of that's more cpu manageable. The really simple solution ended up being some Softube Tape settings hitherepeople suggested. From there I was able to tweak it enough to be a good backup on projects too busy to be able to use IK Tape on. Thanks for your input.