EQing Digital to sound closer to tape

[PHILANDDON]

If you're tracking to digital but want some of that tapey vibe, where do roll off your lows and how much and where do you roll off your highs and how much?

Thanks.

[RCM - Ronan]

Originally Posted by PHILANDDON

If you're tracking to digital but want some of that tapey vibe, where do roll off your lows and how much and where do you roll off your highs and how much?

That tapey vibe has more to do with tape compression and that magic thing that makes the tracks seem a little more cohesive. Recording at low speeds will actually add a low end bump but a well set up analog machine at 30 ips will have as much range (or more0 than any digital system on the market)

[u b k]

this is what a 20-20k sweep usually does on the a810:


60hz flat
120hz +.25db
250hz +.5db
500hz flat
1k flat
2k flat
4k -.5db
8k flat
12k +.25db
16k +1db
20k +1.5db
24k +2.5db


but it's that eq curve coupled with an inimitable form of freq-dependent compression that makes it sound like tape. also big trannies on the inputs and outputs and about 5 zillion other analog gain and eq stages.

and huge VU meters. don't forget the meters...


gregoire
del ubik

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by u b i k

this is what a 20-20k sweep usually does on the a810:

but it's that eq curve coupled with an inimitable form of freq-dependent compression that makes it sound like tape. also big trannies on the inputs and outputs and about 5 zillion other analog gain and eq stages.

and huge VU meters. don't forget the meters...

and if you use 456 the upper mids compress forever... can't forget that.. so you may as well toss in a multiband to simulate that aspect...

oh, and depth... you'll need a depth simulator...

and a crunch simulator...

and smell-0-vision.. gotta have that tape smell...

[PHILANDDON]

Thanks for the help.

U.B.I.K.,

I'm suprised to learn that tape accentuates the highs, at least according to your chart. I thought tape had the effect of rolling off the highs after around 3Khz. As far as the lows go, is everything under 60Hz gone, or does tape pick some of that up?

[theom]

The thing is...
It depends on the program and how hard you are hitting the tape.
You really need a multi band dynamic eq/comp.

Not as easy to model as you might think.
Certainly not just a static eq.
The new neve box might be worth a look at. fatso and hedd also.
The Analog channel II plug can be interesting.
But it still ain't tape

Originally Posted by PHILANDDON

Thanks for the help.

U.B.I.K.,

I'm suprised to learn that tape accentuates the highs, at least according to your chart. I thought tape had the effect of rolling off the highs after around 3Khz. As far as the lows go, is everything under 60Hz gone, or does tape pick some of that up?

[yphs_mst]

Digital is digital .. analog tape is analog tape, you'll never be able to get the 'saturation' colour with EQ. it's not about EQ/freq spectrum, it's about the sound !! U might want to try PSP vintage warmer or somekind plug ins that mimic the tape saturation. EQ .. ? i don't think it will give that analog sound .. moreover, eq has its own characteristic ....

[u b k]

Originally Posted by PHILANDDON

I'm suprised to learn that tape accentuates the highs, at least according to your chart. I thought tape had the effect of rolling off the highs after around 3Khz. As far as the lows go, is everything under 60Hz gone, or does tape pick some of that up?

not all highs are created equal. what tape does is soften the headache freqs, 4-6k, and lift the air, 14k and up. remember, it's not just an eq curve, it saturates and thickens things in a very non-linear fashion.

so e.g. strummy acoustics sound great, because not only does the hardness of the steel get rounded, the spiky attack gets compressed in a way that no other box can do. it's extremely natural and doesn't have any sort of grab that makes you think 'compressor!'.

it sounds like you've never worked with a good tape deck, is that the case? many many great minds are continuously working on ways to emulate tape and all it's luscious mystery, but the naked fact remains that only one thing does all the things that tape does, and that's tape. the hedd, the fatso, the portico... these things all come at it in their own way, but there is absolutely nothing in the world like a u47 into a 1073 and a magical voice coming straight off a 2" studer. the depth is larger than life.

i'm not generally a naysayer, so i submit this with all due respect: you will never begin to approach that sort of mojo by eq'ing a track that went straight to digital. you can soften and attenuate the peakiness, you can bump the low mids, you can open the air band, but you cannot make it sound tapey.

the good news is that top flight studers can be had for well under a grand nowadays, so all this magic is, relative to other high end gear, a ridiculous bargain.


gregoire
del ubik

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by u b i k

many many great minds are continuously working on ways to emulate tape and all it's luscious mystery, but the naked fact remains that only one thing does all the things that tape does, and that's tape.

with all due respect: you will never begin to approach that sort of mojo by eq'ing a track that went straight to digital. you can soften and attenuate the peakiness, you can bump the low mids, you can open the air band, but you cannot make it sound tapey.

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