How Do I Get Tape Saturation - Plug-in Or Outboard?

[jtrainer]

Hi all,

I am currently embarking on the quest for the best tape saturation solution outside of an actual classic multi-track tape machine. (for use with ProTools on a new iMac OSX)

So far I have my options as the following:

1.) Plug-ins (RTAS) - Voxengo VariSaturator, VirSyn VTAPE, DaD Tape, Colortone Pro or URS Saturation plug-in?


2.) Outboard Tape Emulators - Empirical Labs Fatso Jr, Neve 5042 or ATS-1 Analog Tape Simulator?

Have I missed any options?

Any and all help/opinions/experience is VERY much appreciated!


Thanks,
jt

[Dozerbabar]

You should absolutely try Masseys TapeHead (High-end plug-ins for Pro Tools). The trial never expires, so you can try it for as long as you like, but the trial doesn't have the medium-setting which is the one i use the most.

Great plug though. Just like everything else he makes :D

[TonyBelmont]

You could probably just get a tape machine for what the outboard tape emulators cost.

[Hxd Ped]

But then you have to buy tape and maintain it. I don't think it's worth the expence if you're just going to use it to color the sound after the fact.

If you're going to record to tape first, then put it into ProTools, then only you can decide if it's worth the expence.

Then again, you might find a hell of a deal on a tape machine.

Damn it, thought myself into a corner again....

[u b k]

Originally Posted by Hxd Ped

But then you have to buy tape and maintain it. I don't think it's worth the expence if you're just going to use it to color the sound after the fact.

it's definitely worth it to me. 'coloring the sound after the fact' changes the whole game.

i recommend it.


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[peeder]

You missed Digi Reel Tape Saturation plugin, which is available for RTAS. I have never tried it. Some people like it.

5042 was considerably more character than Massey, but I do like Massey. The price difference meant no 5042 for me.

Never heard the Anamod or the Fatso either, though the Fatso does many different things.

There are other things you can do to fatten and mudden and such. E.g. reamping. Or parallel compression. Or multiband compression. Some of the "maximizer" plugins feature nice saturation (I use UAD, but on an iMac you are stuck with host-based plugs, e.g. Oxford). An Amp sim might do something nice in places, e.g. parallel on drums.

Tape is tape and nothing quite sounds like it. I don't think an iMac and a tape machine is such a natural match, but for just 2-channel work it can happen.

[Dozerbabar]

A Fatso is of course a great option as well. I've used it a lot (because a good friend of mine has it ) and I would definetively have had one myself if it wasn't for the price tag...

TapeHead does the job for now, and it does it well!

[Outlaw Hans]

Just get a two track tape machine in good condition. Remember that maintaining two tracks is far easier than maintaining 24 tracks. 1/4 tape isn't all that expensive either.

[Knox]

I don't know what aspects of tape you are looking for (there are many great aspects) . . . but I can honestly say I have found none of the hardware or software based 'so called' solutions sound close to the real thing. But then, I find all the plug in 'emulations' of any of the hardware gear don't sound close to any of the real things. It's why I use tape daily (with PT) and use outboard boxes / tubes etc with a console. ProTools and plug ins are lacking much in the area of sounding 'analog' and the joys of it. So my suggestion is . . . if you want the real thing, and you are used to the real thing . . . all this emulation stuff is not going to give you what you are looking for. I always laugh when people talk about the problems of keeping a tape machine going over a PT rig. My 24 track is FAR less trouble then ProTools!! I haven't had to 'upgrade' it (every six months / one year) buy new computers etc in the many years I have had it. I haven't had to buy special interfaces to make it sound good or need to buy new versions of something so it will sound good. I have done regular maintenance only plus 1 head relap . . . it's never 'crashed' . . . and it sounds great! You might want to look into the real deal IF it is viable.

[matt thomas]

cranesong hedd should be in there

the urs one you mention is not a tape effect

neither is the voxengo

both these companies do have plugins with tape saturation tho

narco

[Nu-tra]

I just made the move and got an MCI JH-24. I haven't been so excited about recording in a long time. I only use the MCI for my personal projects and I enjoy the "Ritual" of having a tape machine. My machine is in good shape.

Good luck

[robot gigante]

I don't think you're going to have much success getting that sound from a plugin. I have no experience with the hardware emu units other than the HEDD.

HEDD is a great converter box- with something like the HEDD's conversion you might find yourself missing tape a little less because it is more musical than many other converters. The tape sim on the HEDD sounds pretty good but doesn't sound like tape (surprise surprise).

Cranesong Phoenix is definitely a plugin I would pick though. It's subtle, similar to the HEDD process but not the same.

Massey Tape Head is good too, but it's too much of of an effect to put on too many tracks and definitely not for the master bus (Phoenix can work well in small amounts there however). It's definitely a grungy sound, and goes from subtle to too much pretty quickly. I don't find myself using it that much and when I do it's more when I want a distortion box, like digi's surprisingly useful old lofi plugin only more subtle.

Reel Tape is OK, I actually liked the tape delay a lot better than the regular tape emulation. Again, not something I would want to mix through. A big step up from Massey and Phoenix? No, just a different flavor. I demoed it but didn't buy.

One thing that is common to all the plugin sims is that you definitely lose something when you put something on a track that you don't with the real deal. It's always a compromise. That doesn't make them useless as sometimes the benefits (sometimes by far) outweigh the loss. They grunge up the signal in a way that is definitely digital, and while there are many things that digital does really friggin' well, distortion is not one of them imho.

One other option you could look at is getting a kickass hardware tape delay like a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo and reamping some tracks through it- simply using it as a delay unit will add something to the mix that you can't get ITB. Too much of a flavor to have on too many tracks at a time or to have on important tracks (unless you're doing stuff in parallel and tuck the reamped track under the uneffected one), but if you want some tape sound in your mixes but don't want to buy a multitrack machine it's probably the best option as far as I'm concerned.