TAPE

Listen

Controls

• Drive0 to 24 dB — Input level into the tape saturation (level-matched at -12 dBFS, so it adds colour rather than volume)
• Speed7.5 ips / 15 ips / 30 ips — Tape speed: sets the head bump frequency (45 / 70 / 110 Hz), the high-frequency loss and the emphasis corner
• Head Bump0 to 9 dB — Height of the low-frequency head bump
• Wow0 to 100% — Slow pitch drift of the transport (up to 2 ms delay modulation)
• Flutter0 to 100% — Fast pitch wobble of the transport (up to 0.1 ms delay modulation)
• Hiss0 to 100% — Tape hiss level, shaped by the tape speed
• Output−12 to +12 dB — Output level
• Mix0 to 100% — Dry/wet blend (the dry signal is delayed to stay aligned with the wet path)
• Tape TypeClassic / Type I / Type II / Type IV — Tape formulation: Classic (open reel), Type I (ferric, warm, more hiss), Type II (chrome, more high-frequency headroom, brighter and quieter hiss) or Type IV (metal, cleanest and most extended)
• Noise ReductionOff / On — Cassette-style noise reduction: a compander that boosts quiet highs up to 10 dB before the tape and cuts them after it, lowering the hiss with a slight breathing on loud highs

Best uses

• Glue and warmth on the mix bus
• Rounder low end and softer transients on drums and bass
• Lo-fi, cassette-like wobble with Wow and Flutter turned up
• Subtle analog colour on vocals and acoustic tracks

Properties

Signal chain: Input → Wow/Flutter Modulated Delay (3 ms centre, cubic interpolation) → Pre-Emphasis → Drive → Asymmetric Saturation with memory (hysteresis-like) → De-Emphasis → Low Cut + Head Bump → Hiss → High-Frequency Loss → Mix → Output. The hiss is an exact Park-Miller generator. The dry signal is delayed by the same 3 ms, and the 3 ms latency is reported to the host for delay compensation.

Formats

• JSFXJSFX for REAPER, with REAPER's own sliders
• GFXJSFX GFX for REAPER, with its own interface
• VST3VST3 for any DAW
• CLAPCLAP for any DAW

Factory presets

Clean Mastering Tape · Warm Mix Bus · Vocal Tape Sheen · Drum Tape Squash · Bass Thickener · Cassette Lo-Fi · Worn Tape Warble · Parallel Tape Color · Cassette Type II · Chrome With NR · Ferric Demo Tape · Metal Cassette Master

In the FX chains and Rack presets

Broken Media · Cassette · Retro Bus · VHS Tape

See every FX chain

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