Voxengo Tapebus; awesome!

DaveC · 1st March 2005

Anyone ever tried the Voxengo Tapebus on vocals?
After recorded some vocals with a Neumann TLM 103
through a cheap-ass TL Audio 5051 pre,
I used the Tapebus at the end of the software-chain(Waves RVox-Waves QClone-Voxengo Tapebus),
and it sounds really good.
So it's also excellent for using it on individual tracks instead
of running the whole mix through it.
I'd like to hear some opinions from those who also tried the Tapebus on individual tracks, especially lead-vocal tracks.
Please leave out the 'it doesn't sound close to tape'-b.s.
as this is a music-computer section.

dharma one · 1st March 2005

havent tried it on lead vox but i guess it would make a good limiter. id like the convolution part of it to be disableable for that though

Broken · 1st March 2005

Does anyone know what converters they used to make the impulses?

CeretoneAudio · 2nd March 2005

Im pretty sure that aleksey uses an RME HDSP 9632 so I guess he used those converters o do the impulses, unless maybe he used an external box.

Tape buss rocks BTW.

BrianBrian · 2nd March 2005

TapeBus is indeed awesome. It really can add a lot of density to vocals, drums, or even a mix.

I think Aleksey did not take the IRs of the gear himself. I believe that a few people with access to reel-to-reel machines captured the IRs for him, based on his instructions.

matucha · 2nd March 2005

I wasn't so impressed, maybe I didn't try hard...

jbuntz · 2nd March 2005

You can't grab an impulse of a tape machine and expect it to sound remotely like the real thing.

DaveC · 2nd March 2005

Quote:

You can't grab an impulse of a tape machine and expect it to sound remotely like the real thing.

I was afraid someone would come up with this.
That's why I wrote the "please leave out the-it doesn't
sound like the real thing-b.s."
I thought this was the music-computer forum?

Density was the exact word I was looking for BrianBrian

Things are finally getting better!
Wonder how Salvator from Tritone Digital is doing...

matucha · 2nd March 2005

I don't care about if it is like real thing or not, but I tried it on few things and...

didn't do anything "better" with the signal. The best I get was "ok, I like it the same as original, but it has different color". And in cases like this I choose not to do anything to the poor little signal ;-)))

DaveC · 2nd March 2005

Quote:

I choose not to do anything to the poor little signal ;-)))

Very true!
It's like trying to Photoshop a crappy picture with a nice filter...
But in cases like having a limited budget or gear, it wouldn't hurt
to give it a shot, would it?
Ofcourse I also wouldn't expect to record vocals with an SM58, then inserting Antares Mic Modeler and think I have a modeled sound of a Sony C800-G.
Still the Tapebus makes a 'moderate' recorded signal a little juicier and fatter.

BrianBrian · 2nd March 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by jbuntz
You can't grab an impulse of a tape machine and expect it to sound remotely like the real thing.

Yea, obviously not. That's not the only thing TapeBus does. The impulse response comes at the last stage, supplying the overall EQ curve bumps and phase smearing. Before that, modulation noise is added, the pre-emphisis curve is added to the audio which feeds a very subtle compressor, and then some saturation happens based on the drive setting. Don't be so quick to knock a product based on a misunderstanding about how it works (don't mean to sound condescending here...). It's really a complex plugin.

Overall, I don't even care how authentic it sounds, I just like it as a "densifier" or a drum-crusher. It really sounds so much better than Magneto or Vintage Warmer, which both just seem to add some harsh distortion and fart-noise even with moderate/subtle settings. Hopefully the guys from Tritone Digital will come out with a superior product. It probably won't be as cheap as TapeBus though!

spherop · 3rd March 2005

i agree - do not pre-judge this plug b4 checking it out.

i have only used the demo - but found it to be very useful.

density while maintaining definition and punch. it's really doing something nice to the audio.

most everything voxengo comes up with is useful and well conceived.

Bang · 5th March 2005

I used this subtely on snare and toms and it really works, especially when you listen with the whole mix. When solo'd, it doesn't sound like much, but within the context of the mix, the snare really fattened up nicely.

Steve
www.bangrecording.com
www.blacklinerock.com

DaveC · 5th March 2005

Quote:

density while maintaining definition and punch. it's really doing something nice to the audio.

My point exactly; a lot of plugins already tend to screw up
the sound once inserted only, without touching anything.
Voxengo's plugins don't have the screw-up-once-inserted-feature

Using lampthruster together with tapebus (both from Voxengo)
is a nice chain to start with.(Ofcourse I'm talking about vocals)
The only thing that bugs me is that Soundforge 7 still doesn't support VST-plugins, which is very bad.
And I don't want to switch to Wavelab or Samplitude, because Soundforge's wave-display is so nice to work with...
Maybe ask the people from Voxengo if they'll ever port their plugs
to the DX-platform...

lordnielson · 6th March 2005

I think Cakewalk has a vst to dxifier of sorts.

Pete

carlsaff · 16th March 2005

I don't think TapeBus really sounds "analog," but it has it's uses. For one, it can smear tranisents nicely. This is not necessarily something you want all the time, but it can be handy. I used it to soften a particularly spiky, harsh fuzz guitar track recently and the client seemed to like the result a great deal.

Regardless, the AnalogFlux package is a really great value. In addition to TapeBus, the chorus and convolution plugs are really nice. Voxengo rarely disappoints.

jbuntz · 28th March 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianBrian

Yea, obviously not. That's not the only thing TapeBus does. The impulse response comes at the last stage, supplying the overall EQ curve bumps and phase smearing. Before that, modulation noise is added, the pre-emphisis curve is added to the audio which feeds a very subtle compressor, and then some saturation happens based on the drive setting. Don't be so quick to knock a product based on a misunderstanding about how it works (don't mean to sound condescending here...). It's really a complex plugin.

Overall, I don't even care how authentic it sounds, I just like it as a "densifier" or a drum-crusher. It really sounds so much better than Magneto or Vintage Warmer, which both just seem to add some harsh distortion and fart-noise even with moderate/subtle settings. Hopefully the guys from Tritone Digital will come out with a superior product. It probably won't be as cheap as TapeBus though!

The inherent distortion of a tape machine is a distortion of the differential of the signal rather than the signal itself. The phase smearing and eq bumps are an unfortunate side effect unless you are working on a tape machine with a certain tone to it.

housegezeichnet · 25th August 2011

sry for bumping this old thread....is this plugin still worth to get after all those fancy tape stuff that popped up recently?

lhama · 25th August 2011

It still does something Nice, which is usefull once in a while, but it's nowhere A's usefull A's the uad Studder or the Waves mpx.

1st March 2005	#1
DaveC Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 640 Thread Starter	Voxengo Tapebus; awesome! Anyone ever tried the Voxengo Tapebus on vocals? After recorded some vocals with a Neumann TLM 103 through a cheap-ass TL Audio 5051 pre, I used the Tapebus at the end of the software-chain(Waves RVox-Waves QClone-Voxengo Tapebus), and it sounds really good. So it's also excellent for using it on individual tracks instead of running the whole mix through it. I'd like to hear some opinions from those who also tried the Tapebus on individual tracks, especially lead-vocal tracks. Please leave out the 'it doesn't sound close to tape'-b.s. as this is a music-computer section.

2nd March 2005	#5
BrianBrian Gear maniac Joined: Dec 2004 Location: CA Bay Area Posts: 200	TapeBus is indeed awesome. It really can add a lot of density to vocals, drums, or even a mix. I think Aleksey did not take the IRs of the gear himself. I believe that a few people with access to reel-to-reel machines captured the IRs for him, based on his instructions. __________________ -Brian

2nd March 2005	#9
matucha Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2002 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Posts: 2,952	I don't care about if it is like real thing or not, but I tried it on few things and... didn't do anything "better" with the signal. The best I get was "ok, I like it the same as original, but it has different color". And in cases like this I choose not to do anything to the poor little signal ;-))) __________________ Matous Godik www.soundcloud.com/zka4t

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1st March 2005	#2
dharma one Gear maniac Joined: Jan 2005 Location: London Wimbledon Posts: 173	havent tried it on lead vox but i guess it would make a good limiter. id like the convolution part of it to be disableable for that though

1st March 2005	#3
Broken Gear addict Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 310	Does anyone know what converters they used to make the impulses?

2nd March 2005	#4
CeretoneAudio Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 694	Im pretty sure that aleksey uses an RME HDSP 9632 so I guess he used those converters o do the impulses, unless maybe he used an external box. Tape buss rocks BTW.

2nd March 2005	#7
jbuntz Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,716	You can't grab an impulse of a tape machine and expect it to sound remotely like the real thing.

3rd March 2005	#12
spherop Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 251	i agree - do not pre-judge this plug b4 checking it out. i have only used the demo - but found it to be very useful. density while maintaining definition and punch. it's really doing something nice to the audio. most everything voxengo comes up with is useful and well conceived.

5th March 2005	#13
Bang Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,701	I used this subtely on snare and toms and it really works, especially when you listen with the whole mix. When solo'd, it doesn't sound like much, but within the context of the mix, the snare really fattened up nicely. Steve www.bangrecording.com www.blacklinerock.com

6th March 2005	#15
lordnielson Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2004 Location: C o p e n h a g e n Posts: 864	I think Cakewalk has a vst to dxifier of sorts. Pete

16th March 2005	#16
carlsaff Gear addict Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 368	I don't think TapeBus really sounds "analog," but it has it's uses. For one, it can smear tranisents nicely. This is not necessarily something you want all the time, but it can be handy. I used it to soften a particularly spiky, harsh fuzz guitar track recently and the client seemed to like the result a great deal. Regardless, the AnalogFlux package is a really great value. In addition to TapeBus, the chorus and convolution plugs are really nice. Voxengo rarely disappoints.

25th August 2011	#18
housegezeichnet Gear maniac Joined: Jul 2008 Location: Düsseldorf, Germany Posts: 203	sry for bumping this old thread....is this plugin still worth to get after all those fancy tape stuff that popped up recently?

25th August 2011	#19
lhama Gear addict Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 307	It still does something Nice, which is usefull once in a while, but it's nowhere A's usefull A's the uad Studder or the Waves mpx.