It arrived today (together with Scotch) - and yes: it is a beautiful one ... The stock cards are a bit plain, 351 a bit "too much", but 102 is very nice, full, round, balanced and larger than life ... Seems my most favourite one now ... Still, I paid 1000 EUR for these three extra cards (102, 351 and Scotch). And these are definitely the ones
351, 102) people would use the most. I would gladly return those stock cards, because I don't think I will ever use them ... With this unit costing already so much, having to pay another huge extra money sounds to me a bit "oversaturated"

Now - how do you work with the BIAS control ?

With your ears.its basically acting like a presence control or eq "tilt".
last night i had it leaning a hair towards the left[counterclock] for a slight bit of presence bump.nice

Enjoy

OK, but what is the basic principle behind it ? When I put it to minimum, I feel the things are more open with more transients ... Put to maximum, it a bit "compresses" ?

Tape bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

straight up and down is the starting point or neutral position.I use it much like a basic hi freq tone control

Well, on a tape machine I adjust it while switching between input and repro head, I would adjust until it sounded as close to 'input' as possible.

On the Anamod I adjust to taste heh

Love that bias knob.. I usually favor counter clockwise of middle postion. I love the 351 card.. I need to grab that 102, though..

You won't regret it.
get the scotch too while your at it.nice for funking up gaytars

We drummers need to stick togetherheh

I like 'gaytars' too though, they're fun

(just not as fun as drums)

or as Rob likes to say "Drumbs"

Yeah, I like his nomenclature on that too!

simplified i think of the bias control on the ATS-1 similar to the top boost and atten dials an a EQP-1A
with with the bias set straight ups its like they would both be at zero
turning counter clockwise is like turning the boost dial up a little
and turning clockwise is like turning the atten dial up a lot

Hello Ats-1 users. I have just purchased the Uad studer a 800 plug in which I like very much. I also have recently pre ordered a burl audio mothership to use in conjunction with my new appogee symphony I/O so I have options for clean or colored with the burl. I was thinking about the anamod as well to act as my mix down deck so to speak. Do you think the anamod would be overkill at that point? I know that some folks like to print the 2 track through the b2 bomber and are getting the two track tape "vibe" that way. Of Course with the anamod I would get the option of all the different tape cards and formulations.
Thoughts?

No.

But remember that you're asking that question in the high-end forum on Gearslutz

The Burl is not a tape simulator, it's an analog transformer thingy. It might have analog richness but not tape richness. Anamod does tape, burl doesn't.

Can't say about the UAD plug, haven't heard it.

I would say to try the Anamod after you get the burl mothership. I believe anamod still has a 10 day trial money back guarantee, so you can try it out yourself and determine if it's 'overkill' or not. Return it if so.

I thought it might be worth sharing my own experience of the ATS-1 (including all extra cards) for the benefit of others who might be considering purchasing one.

First of all I'll say that it is indeed a good-sounding tape simulator and does indeed bring the same kind of coloration that can be beneficial to some types of sounds. I found it was able to change the character of sounds in really interesting ways - the controls provided are really useful for tracking. When I first tried it I was very taken with it and sorry to have to give it back after borrowing for a couple of weeks for a project. After that experience I resolved to buy one when the opportunity came up.

However by the time I next had an ATS-1 in the studio I also had bought and renovated a Studer A80 in the meantime for around £800 in total including a fair amount of hassle sourcing parts and a qualified tech in my area (Studer's not great for posting - ha ha). I was ready to buy the Anamod as long as it still did things I couldn't get from the Studer but in my experience I wasn't able to find a use for it anymore. Sure, it was more immediate than loading a reel of tape so it had workflow advantages but sound-wise I wasn't able to find anything I could do with the ATS-1 that I couldn't get very similar results by using the A80 in combination with pre- and post-tape eq and compression. There were some sounds that Anamod equalled the Studer but none where I felt it had surpassed it whereas there were plenty of times when the Anamod couldn't quite sound as good as the A80 which sometimes just seemed effortlessly musical by comparison.

Now I won't be surprised if dedicated ATS-1 users will declare that I was missing some subtleties in the way the various machines are modelled, particularly on the supplementary cards and that may well be the case but I have to weigh that up against the various things that just worked so well on the Studer that the Anamod couldn't really replicate. I came away from this experience convinced that I won't miss the Anamod until I'm swimming in money but can't find the time to maintain a tape machine (or will I just get a tape operator with all that money...?). The Anamod is a beautiful, useful machine but it costs so much more than a decent tape deck that I'd advise those considering buying it to also weigh up the pros and cons of the real thing.

I understand your point. But you do get more "modelled" choices with the ATS-1 than compared to say one tape machine.

Having said that, different tape machines sound different even when they are of the same make and model..

This is cliche, but at the end, its just how you use them...

Sounds like the Anamod is doing it's job admirably, emulating a tape machine+tape to the point your results were similar between the two. And lets not forget the fact the Anamod Studer card is modeled off the A800, not the A80 (which do sound different). Many do prefer the sound of the A80 over the A800 (and for the A800, not even sure if Anamod modeled the transformer version or not). Also, were you using the same tape formulations? Biased the same?

The Anamod isn't 'suppose' to sound better than the tape machine it modeled, though it does have the advantage of no wow/flutter or tape hiss (if you dial it off).

It's an unknown factor for you whether your A80 will be cheaper to own/mantain over the course of 5 years or so vs. the Anamod (let us know!). Plus, your A80 doesn't have the ability to sound like an Ampex 351 either (etc.)....

Is there an owner of the AnaMod ATS that has the equipment to carry out a certain test ? for me please.
i.e.
Take a frequency response test 20Hz to 30kHz, and while monitoring it, adjust the BIAS TRIM and inform me of any changes that take place within the FR.

Many Thanks

Tony.
[email protected]

Anamod-ATS1 came in the mail on Monday. Strapped it across the mix bus and began experimenting with all the cards.

My chain:

Protoolos HD -> Out of Lynx Aurora 16 D/A -> Folcrom summing box -> Pacifica 2 channel preamp (for make-up gain) -> API 2500 Bus compressor -> Anamod ATS1 w/ 102 machine and 456 tape -> back into Protools


No looking back.

How would the anamod ats-1 compare to a culture vulture?
Is it a similar sound?

Never heard the culture vulture, but it's not designed to emulate tape saturation/distortion/compression, so...No.

I.AM.IN.LOVE Anamod - Thank You !!

I have been using mine a lot lately on the back end of my Capi vp28's.

Huge....

The really great thing about the Anamod is the way you can track through it. Really adds sweetness to individual tracks. Bass guitars and vocals always get it. Mine hangs off the stereo 2 on my ssl g plus.mixes go through it as well but you can
Patch to it for tracking. A really nice unit. I have a real nice 1/2 inch machine but no one wants to pay for tape anymore. So it's the ats1 to the rescue. Good luck folks

With the Slate, UAD and Waves excellent tape plug ins, does the Anamod still hold up as something better with its high price

Simply yes.To me,if the end result is 10% better , I can't put a price bracket on that .The ATS-1 is so flexible in tone and control,not to mention what it does to the stereo field.No plug in I've ever heard comes close and I'm a huge Slate fan .

There is no right or wrong answer but if spending over $2,000 gets you a 10 percent improved to your ears it could be well worth it. For many of us, the Slate and two UAD plug ins (Studer and Ampex) add a gentle smoothness to the signal like tape for a couple hundred dollars. The cost difference between the ATS-1 and the plug ins can be best used for another microphone or pre amp. Everyone has a different perspective on the sound they want and as mixing is so subjective. If you have the money for it and it gives you the sound that is better than plug ins, go for it.

So, when you have it on the 2 bus : do mix into it from the start or do you bring it on when the mixe is done?

No I almost always mix through it. I like to know what I'm getting.

Cheers.
Skip

Which cards do you like for mixing skip?

bump to an old thread.... does anyone else wanna chime in?