So many tape sim plugins out there, help me figure out which ones would meet my needs?

[Kr3eM]

What gets me is that so many want to ruin their productions with processing designed to do just that. Ruin it.

...XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color is very flexible for produce various things like VHS, Tape and 'other damages' ect... I prefer this when I want to tailor the attributes to the mix instead of degrade my mix with pure emulation.

[Ploki]

Bear in mind a lot of people recommending this or that probably have only ever known hard disk so id advise you to just try them and forget about what others say.

actually..
I worked with tapes before. Semi-pro (Tascam/TEAC), pro (studer) and even multitrackers (albeit more of taste than real work).

and i have a cheap technics cassette deck i usually use to ruin stuff with.

Gotta say, Satin comes the closest of all I cared to try so far.
Having high hopes for Softube, but their licensing annoys me

edit:
to the OP:
probably RC-20 Retro Color comes the closest to Cassette. But its not quite like it either. Mashing a cassette hot is a pretty neat feeling I've yet to discover in a plugin.

besides, cassette decks are cheap and blank cassettes are cheaper. Here it's actually cheaper to go the "real thing" route. For profi multitracks not so much.

[michaeltn86]

for the effects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgSGuJB5gKk

[househoppin09]

Wow, lots of replies! Thanks, some of this info is helpful. I'll definitely be taking a much closer look at Satin, which seems like it'll be indispensable for my purposes. I do want to point out that this is part of a particular set of experiments, so I'm not just looking to get "a tape sound" or make my audio sound "better/fatter" in some general way. So, like someone pointed out upthread, the question really isn't about "what's the best tape sim overall", it's specifically about the models and kinds of tape I listed at the beginning of the thread. Looking forward to seeing if anyone has any further ideas!

[pekbro]

I have Satin and love it, it has pretty much kept me from purchasing any other tape sims, with the
exception of WoW Ctrl from Goodhertz. WoW Ctrl, is my favorite tape sim, Satin is really good,
but the Goodhertz offering is really good and a lot of fun. My understanding is that its mostly
meant to replicate the Tascam 424 MKII PortaStudio as opposed to some legendary studio gear.
WoW Ctrl, quite simply, can do things most other 'tape sims' cannot, tape stop/glitch effects
and whatnot as well as standard tape saturation stuff.

Goodstuff!

[nilhartman]

Wow Control can also sound *expensive/high end*, it’s impressive how versatile (and fun!) this plugin is.
Satin is a close 2nd, love it!
Oh and do yourself a favor and give Airwindows’s ToTape and FromTape a serious try. I especially like FT (a tad more transparent than TT).

[PeterDavid]

+1 For Airwindows! Nice and simple and just really work for me.

[CrystalWizard]

...

besides, cassette decks are cheap and blank cassettes are cheaper. Here it's actually cheaper to go the "real thing" route. For profi multitracks not so much.

This is worth exploring since you want authentic cassette sound. Whether it's cheap probably depends on where you are located.

I wouldn't use the word -ruin-. That's a subjective (although fairly widely agreed upon) description. Changed or processed.

[househoppin09]

Wow Control looks incredible! I wasn't really aware of that one and never dared to think that anyone would bother specifically modeling a Tascam 424. In fact, it looks like Wow Control pretty much takes care of everything from my list of needs, with the sole exception of the 1/2-inch 16-track sound. KVR to the rescue yet again...

So now, my only remaining question is, how about those 16-tracks? Complicating matters is that the sound you get out of them varies quite a bit based on the speed setting, and would probably require a completely different model in each case. Since no one appears to have heard of any tape sims that specifically target anything close to 1/2-inch 16-track, I'm guessing my only option is going to be to try to do the modeling myself, based on the known characteristics of those machines, using one of the versatile sims like Satin or Airwindows?

[Ploki]

U-he satin allows grouping tho, and you can really fine-tune parameters. might be worth a shot.

i think there's a preset modelled after Ampex 1/2" master tape, and a few 2" 24 trackers, and even 1/4".

each of those could be a good starting point for a 1/2" 16tracker.

[Sidom]

IMO, all the Airwindows tape plugins:
-ToTape5 (the best to put at the end of the mix bus).
-IronOxide5 (for saturation and crushing of individual tracks).
-IronOxide Classic (a more transparent IronOxide).
-FromTape (a more simple ToTape).
-TapeDither (tape-like noise).

And all of them are free, suported by Patreon: http://www.airwindows.com/

I agree, Airwindows plugins are awesome. ToTape5 and IronOxide5 are my favourite plugins when it comes to tape simulation. Simple and does the job really well (for me, at least).