Hainbachs Soviet Wire Recorder Plugin | AudioThing WIRES VST/AU/AAX

[Dazd_N_Confuzd]

I don't think Hainbach made this though, as in the code was written by AudioThing? I think Hainbach provided the original device that was modelled.

Yes, I did the code, he provided the device, and also did all the measurements, comparisons, fine-tuning, etc...
It was a great collab as we share the same passion for all these rare vintage devices.
We are already talking about new projects, we'll see how it goes ;)

Looking forward to future collaborations!

What I love about this plugin is the flexibility it provides. You can use it to process the incoming signal 100% wet and really take advantage of its ability to completely mangle a signal in interesting ways. Used in this manner I see it as a contemporary to the various lofi/tape emulations that are on the dirtier side.

Then you have the delay section which has a very handy mix/wet toggle. Setting it to wet and then adjusting the master mix knob allows you to keep the original signal intact while mixing in the processed/delayed signal, therefore having a signal where the repeats can be incredibly dirty in a way I haven't heard in any other delay but still retaining the clarity of a clean input.

[plexuss]

The drop outs seem very abrupt/clicky. I wouldn't expect such an old analogue recorder to have such clicking/hard-transition drop-outs... is this truly how it sounds?

Feature request: drop out softening control - 0- "hard" transitions as it it now, to 10- soft transitions into and out of the drop-out so the clicking isn't apparent.

[TIMT]

The drop outs seem very abrupt/clicky. I wouldn't expect such an old analogue recorder to have such clicking/hard-transition drop-outs... is this truly how it sounds?

Feature request: drop out softening control - 0- "hard" transitions as it it now, to 10- soft transitions into and out of the drop-out so the clicking isn't apparent.

I was just browsing that Heinbach's channel listening to the wire recorder original in comparison to the plugin and i know its youtube and all but you can still tell that they aren't indistinguishable. the clicking as you righfully pointed out and the artefacts seem to enter and drop out in a very linear,rigid fashion on the plugin. the clipping at the top of the range almost sounds gated on the plugin and separate from the source whereas the other example seems to sink its teeth into the input rather than sit on top of it. the feedback loop seems to lack the same sense of chaos too. i'm still going to demo the thing to see what i can get out of it though.

None of these observations are new to anybody i'd guess, it's practically the standard caveats you find with analog models in general in comparison to what they model

[whyterabbyt]

He's the reason why I sold my eurorack modular synth and started collecting test equipment stuff!

Bloody hipster.

The only way you can possibly redeem yourself is to model all that stuff.

[plexuss]

The drop outs seem very abrupt/clicky. I wouldn't expect such an old analogue recorder to have such clicking/hard-transition drop-outs... is this truly how it sounds?

Feature request: drop out softening control - 0- "hard" transitions as it it now, to 10- soft transitions into and out of the drop-out so the clicking isn't apparent.

I was just browsing that Heinbach's channel listening to the wire recorder original in comparison to the plugin and i know its youtube and all but you can still tell that they aren't indistinguishable. the clicking as you righfully pointed out and the artefacts seem to enter and drop out in a very linear,rigid fashion on the plugin. the clipping at the top of the range almost sounds gated on the plugin and separate from the source whereas the other example seems to sink its teeth into the input rather than sit on top of it. the feedback loop seems to lack the same sense of chaos too. i'm still going to demo the thing to see what i can get out of it though.

None of these observations are new to anybody i'd guess, it's practically the standard caveats you find with analog models in general in comparison to what they model

The reason I called this out is because the current dropout approach in the plugin I do not find musically versatile - its a "one trick pony". Making the dropouts more subtle would make the effect more musically versatile. Ideally, it would be nice to have more control over them: softness (transition time), depth (- dB), width (ms), as biases with randomization. Might be too many controls but at the very least making their transition softer would help a lot.

[audiothing]

Drops and clicks on the original can be quite harsh as well, it really depends on the input source, the amount of gain/level, and of course the state of the heads/wire. The reel we tested in Hainbach's machine is probably near its end of life (the sound was getting thinner and thinner). One thing we noticed is that the drops in the original can be more "bubbly" with certain sounds, so it can perhaps give a sense of being more smooth under certain circumstances. I'll see if I can improve that in a future update.

[audiothing]

He's the reason why I sold my eurorack modular synth and started collecting test equipment stuff!

Bloody hipster.

The only way you can possibly redeem yourself is to model all that stuff.

well, let's say that we are already thinking about that...

[crystalmsc]

A no brainer for owner of Reels, which complimenting each other greatly, as saturators and delays.

[epiphaneia]

The discounted price for Reels users is €/$ 29.

Unfair, unfair, I wouldn´t have sold my Reels license, had I known that this thing was coming

[Krakatau]

i'm sold...

...you've done a beautiful work, folks

[gaf_thit]

When I thought I was out, they reel me back in...

Want this one too

[whyterabbyt]

When I thought I was out, they reel me back in...

Want this one too

i see what you did there.

[audiothing]

The discounted price for Reels users is €/$ 29.

Unfair, unfair, I wouldn´t have sold my Reels license, had I known that this thing was coming

If you add Wires to the cart, you can also get an additional discount on Reels

[_leras]

Drops and clicks on the original can be quite harsh as well, it really depends on the input source, the amount of gain/level, and of course the state of the heads/wire. The reel we tested in Hainbach's machine is probably near its end of life (the sound was getting thinner and thinner). One thing we noticed is that the drops in the original can be more "bubbly" with certain sounds, so it can perhaps give a sense of being more smooth under certain circumstances. I'll see if I can improve that in a future update.

Sounds like you could add new, and mid life, to your old 'thin' reel.

How easy would it be to add a newer, fatter, tape reel?

[audiothing]

Sounds like you could add new, and mid life, to your old 'thin' reel.

How easy would it be to add a newer, fatter, tape reel?

New? I think it's gonna be quite hard to get some new old stock wire reels, and probably the heads need to be either cleaned or replaced as well.

Just look at what Hainbach got:


He said he's going to clean them eventually, and we'll check if they sound any different from what we modeled. If yes, we'll add them to the plugin of course.