Acustica Taupe - Hype Or The Real Deal?

[wagtunes]

In case you`d like to have first impressions on YT,
user "AntiTeatar Music" is pretty quick on AA products in general.

The "laser bug" is documented but it is supposed to be fixed as of today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlSZx58gmEY

Let me start off with the positive.

The variety of timbers this thing produces is nothing short of mind boggling. But it does appear to be more of a channel strip than a pure tape emulation, not that that's a deal breaker.

But seriously, 13 minutes of drums? I'd like to hear how this sounds on a master buss with the same degree of abuse.

[systmu]

laser bug? I thought that was intended??? i thought it just sounded like a tape flanging filter effect lol.

I think the whole thing sounds amazing. the laser bug preset works great too I set full tape in the plugin max and 35% mix in reaper. OMG.

[jens]

In case you`d like to have first impressions on YT,
user "AntiTeatar Music" is pretty quick on AA products in general.

The "laser bug" is documented but it is supposed to be fixed as of today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlSZx58gmEY

Wow - that sounds extremely low-fi to me!

Is that supposed to blow me away? What are people using a degrader like that for?

[tomheavybeats]

Laser bug fixed and Taupe is fantastic. Satin lifeless compared to it imo. EQ module on it is so good too. 30 day demo, just try for yourself

[sleepcircle]

yeah? i mean, have you worked satin's settings much? it's pretty transparent on its default settings but that's sort of like the 'platonic ideal' of a tape machine. there's quite a bit of room for adding character.

[Omkar]

In case you`d like to have first impressions on YT ...

Let me start off with the positive.

The variety of timbers this thing produces is nothing short of mind boggling. But it does appear to be more of a channel strip than a pure tape emulation, not that that's a deal breaker.

But seriously, 13 minutes of drums? I'd like to hear how this sounds on a master buss with the same degree of abuse.

In case you`d like to have first impressions on YT ...

Wow - that sounds extremely low-fi to me!

Is that supposed to blow me away? What are people using a degrader like that for?

What I like on AntiTeatar Music`s "Plug-in Abuse" series is
the in time preview after the release of a unit
to showcase what it is and to push parameters into the extreme
to signify if the tonality remains persistent or lubricates.
The series is def not owed to the experience of aesthetics,
the raw meat so to speak ...
but I think your concerns find a home in the comment section of his channel.

The low-fi could be intentional on some tabs,
there seems to be some cassette players included.
The upper center window indicates the frequency response
of what has been chosen.

I can`t comment on the unit itself
but as the "Starwars" fix is done it will cost me the Sunday I guess.

I find the list of GS user "doom64" helpful:
https://justpaste.it/AcusticaAudioAcquaMasterList

explaining (sometimes guessing) in short what real unit
is behind the fantasy names.
Finally one now can compare the plugin with the arsenal of tapes at home.

[tomheavybeats]

yeah? i mean, have you worked satin's settings much? it's pretty transparent on its default settings but that's sort of like the 'platonic ideal' of a tape machine. there's quite a bit of room for adding character.

Just try Taupe is all I'm saying, got blown away by the sound. I didn't have that reaction with Satin

[Vortifex]

..

[wagtunes]

Okay, downloaded the demo and put it through the ringer on a pre mastered track I did. My 2 cents real quick because not worth more time than that.

As a channel strip, it's excellent.

As a tape emulation, it's fair. It has NO tape controls. They're all just tape presets. No wow, flutter, bias, tape hiss or anything. You pull up the machine you want and you're stuck with the preset sound.

Thanks. I'll pass as I'm not looking for another channel strip with some built in tape presets and certainly not at that price.

Will be looking at Satin as it does more of what I'm looking for.

[wagtunes]

Know what? Just saved myself a lot of money on both of these.

Satin? Forget it. Listened to a demo. Bypass and then on. Guy says "As you can hear, it's real subtle."

No, it's not subtle. There's no f**king difference. I have Abbey Road and Kramer Tape to do that for me. I don't need another "no difference" plugin.

Yeah, Taupe blows Satin away but I don't need another channel strip. I can get those same sounds from the various plugins I have now. Don't need to spend 10 euro just to get them all in one place.

[plexuss]

Wag, where you are going to hear the difference with a tape emulator like Satin is more in the over-all sound-stage (width, depth, height) and how the various tracks either stick out more or blend in more. It's more subtle than a big EQ move for sure. But it should be: a good tape machine is designed to impart as little distortion as possible - but they still mess with the signal in ways that affect phase, etc. giving those kinds of net results. But yes if you can't hear it then it's not worth bothering with. All these kinds of small incremental changes can add up and have a more obvious effect on the perception of the track, but yes you have to be able to hear them and know how to work with them to get good results. otherwise you are wise to pass.

[cturner]

Certainly run some white noise through and capture the response curves. Pretty useful as targets for the Ozone match EQ.

[perpetual3]

Know what? Just saved myself a lot of money on both of these.

Satin? Forget it. Listened to a demo. Bypass and then on. Guy says "As you can hear, it's real subtle."

No, it's not subtle. There's no f**king difference. I have Abbey Road and Kramer Tape to do that for me. I don't need another "no difference" plugin.

Yeah, Taupe blows Satin away but I don't need another channel strip. I can get those same sounds from the various plugins I have now. Don't need to spend 10 euro just to get them all in one place.

Check out Toneboosters Reelbus 4. It can definitely NOT be subtle.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Wag, where you are going to hear the difference with a tape emulator like Satin is more in the over-all sound-stage (width, depth, height) and how the various tracks either stick out more or blend in more. It's more subtle than a big EQ move for sure. But it should be: a good tape machine is designed to impart as little distortion as possible - but they still mess with the signal in ways that affect phase, etc. giving those kinds of net results. But yes if you can't hear it then it's not worth bothering with. All these kinds of small incremental changes can add up and have a more obvious effect on the perception of the track, but yes you have to be able to hear them and know how to work with them to get good results. otherwise you are wise to pass.

I think wags Would be much better off with something like Audiothing's 'Reels', as he's clearly after the kind of artifacts that come from poorly-maintained tape machines, and badly-degraded tape. And while machines in such a state can be good for sound design, they're not the states that most of these tape plugins seek to emulate.

[perpetual3]

Wag, where you are going to hear the difference with a tape emulator like Satin is more in the over-all sound-stage (width, depth, height) and how the various tracks either stick out more or blend in more. It's more subtle than a big EQ move for sure. But it should be: a good tape machine is designed to impart as little distortion as possible - but they still mess with the signal in ways that affect phase, etc. giving those kinds of net results. But yes if you can't hear it then it's not worth bothering with. All these kinds of small incremental changes can add up and have a more obvious effect on the perception of the track, but yes you have to be able to hear them and know how to work with them to get good results. otherwise you are wise to pass.

I think wags Would be much better off with something like Audiothing's 'Reels', as he's clearly after the kind of artifacts that come from poorly-maintained tape machines, and badly-degraded tape. And while machines in such a state can be good for sound design, they're not the states that most of these tape plugins seek to emulate.

Yeah, Reels nails the lofi sound exceptionally well. I thought about it, but between Reelbus 4 and DAW Cassette it was too much overlap for me. I think Reelbus 4 is amazingly flexible and can be both hifi and lofi. I also find the drive EQ fantastic for using the plugin creatively especially together with the delay.