KVR Audio

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:22 pm

Well, at least someone pointed out what i always thought, that you can get the same kind of effect without using a magic one click "instant tape heaven!" plugin. If you need all those effects, of course. Frankly, i don't know if i even want to sound like an old tape.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:11 pm

bungle wrote:Oh look, KVR

Wha~?! Where, can't see it...

chk071 wrote:Well, at least someone pointed out what i always thought, that you can get the same kind of effect without using a magic one click "instant tape heaven!" plugin. If you need all those effects, of course.

Well of course you can if/once you know what's happening under the hood.

Same goes for example for a chorus - which is what... a delay within the first 20ms, with or without modulation?

If you know "how" it's easy to combine several "task modules" to get the effect you want. If you understand that, I'm sure you'll have a sh*t-ton of fun with modular subhosts.

chk071 wrote:Frankly, i don't know if i even want to sound like an old tape.

You're sure it's not just the way you write?

Joking aside - at this point - we're talking about "convenience" and access to a "specific sound".

These days, old tech is frowned upon because of their often negative sideeffects (noise, instability of the sound, maintenance, space, finance to use 10+ devices) - unless you love the tinkering, have the money and space for it. But why do you think that digital equipment was such a revolution (still is!), and why people want "the best of yesteryear" back again - but in plugin form?!

Do you personally need it?

Maybe not - you now(? or !) know how to get that specific sound yourself with a little bit of extra work (though it's not guaranteed that the interaction of these modules work as desired)... so you can create a Mona Lisa without it being a true Mona Lisa.

Or you can go the easy route... pick an off-the-shelf plugin that does all that for you without moving another finger. And in this case, the assortment these days is huge.

macmuse · Post by **macmuse** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:48 am

Compyfox wrote:Regarding VTM (I've yet to properly test Softube Tape)...

How were your results testing Tape against VTM, Saphira, J37?

macmuse · Post by **macmuse** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:00 pm

jens wrote:
Compyfox wrote: I ask myself "why sell it at such a high price at the first place?! What's the 'actual value' in this case?!".

The one you are willing to pay for it...

I might pick it (Waves J37) up, I might not. Still shuffling my Summer budget for something else (hardware related actually)]
If you're not after it's - excellent - delay and mod fx functions, I'd say don't...

otherwise imo Saphira is much better... which I think Softube Tape can't hold a candle to - and it's the same with TB Reelbus. With most of the dedicated console and tape-emus - and alas, right now I think Softube Tap belongs in that category (I really wanted to like it, low CPU&latency and all) - for me it's that they either are so subtle that I can't really tell what they are doing or they are often rather destroying than improving whatever is going through them.

TB Reelbus is amongst the rare exceptions for me here.

Otherwise personally I clearly prefer generic tools such as SDRR, Saphira, VSM-3 and Destructor, where you can relatively exactly dial in the response you want while leaving out all those artifacts that you find undesirable.

Sorry to be the party-pooper here...

I wonder if Saphira is much like the HG-2 BlackBox with its harmonics/saturation.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:11 pm

macmuse wrote:
Compyfox wrote:Regarding VTM (I've yet to properly test Softube Tape)...
How were your results testing Tape against VTM, Saphira, J37?

No time to test currently, and I don't want to waste my iLok trial period.

Also - not the least interested in Waves Saphira

Shalotta · Post by **Shalotta** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 10:42 pm

Nice, very nice Softube-ish Studer,
not as detailed as the UAD Studer but stabilize the low end.

My question:
not sure if I was too hasty with offline installation, the vst2 wasn`t landing where I wanted ? I used vst3

Silaris · Post by **Silaris** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:03 pm

In spite of purchasing Overloud's TAPEDESK recently and owning other tape emulations, I bought Softube's Tape yesterday along with some other Softube products on sale this month (Passive-Active Pack and Tonelux Tilt).

The main selling point of the Softube Tape, for me, is the MixFX compatibility with Studio One 3, which is a DAW that I use regularly and will likely use more often now that the 3.5 update has been released. Overall, another solid product by Softube, IMHO.

skiltrip · Post by **skiltrip** » Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:49 pm

I'm actually preferring this as a regular insert on the bus rather than in the MixFX slot. (Most of the time). Happy to have the option though because sometimes it's the right way for that particular Bus.

The more I use this thing the more I'm seeing how I can use it on just about every source, even if my intended goals are different.

shroom81 · Post by **shroom81** » Sat Jun 24, 2017 1:30 am

The transient smoothing of this thing is unreal, it's a must buy plugin imo

skiltrip · Post by **skiltrip** » Fri Jun 30, 2017 8:29 pm

I ended up buying. The nature of this thing is very subtle, but that's a really good thing. There are a ton of heavy handed saturation options out there. TAPE is uniquely designed to massage your audio into something a little more controlled, a little more beautiful.

When demoing this on individual sources, or on one drum loop for example, I wasn't particularly blown away. Where it excelled though, is when I took a song that was already mixed, and started using TAPE to massage things into place that were bugging me. My vocal was a little bit thick in an unpleasant way, but I couldn't seem to track it down with EQ, because anything I did was too heavy handed. TAPE was able to massage the vocal right where I wanted it with little to no effort. The High Freq Trim knob is a dream, seriously. Combined with the warming and light compression that TAPE adds, the Freq Trim knob really puts things right where you want it. No compromise. It added just a little bit more control on my Master Bus, and as expected, pulls my Drum Bus together just a little bit tighter, using a little bit of Crosstalk and with the Freq Trim knob.

I ended up adding TAPE to a lot of sources, and a lot of busses, and I can't say there was a single instance that it wasn't a useful addition to the sound.

I know it's late in the game for a lot of you and your demo period, but if your demo is still going, try it on a full (and complete) mix and see what you can do to improve what you've already done using TAPE.

Obsolete236871 · Post by **Obsolete236871** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:42 pm

It's on Black Friday sale right now and I'm thinking about getting it. Is it true that Softube does not support Windows 7 any longer?

telecode · Post by **telecode** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:26 pm

Anyone using it and compared it to IKMs tape emus? Is it less of a performance hit?

rasmusklump · Post by **rasmusklump** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:33 pm

It is a fantastic sounding plugin with nearly no cpu hit at all. Marvellous.
I have it on each of my tracks as first insert.

rasmusklump · Post by **rasmusklump** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:34 pm

Izak Synthiemental wrote: Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:42 pm It's on Black Friday sale right now and I'm thinking about getting it. Is it true that Softube does not support Windows 7 any longer?

I am still on Win 7 and every Softube plugin works as expected

lwj · Post by **lwj** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:42 pm

I’d go for the Harmonics plugin right now. All round more versatile saturator.