Anamod ATS-1 - Actual Owners with experience
 

Yes there's a monster thread discussing this product but much of it's content is speculation before it was actually released - the remainder by people who don't own it but are talking about it.

So in an effort to simply filter people who actually HAVE experience with it I started this thread...also for people who want some information about it from actual users and don't want to wade through thousands of replies of noise mostly.

So...owners and users...how does it compare to actual tape? Is it more of an "effect" or does it handle dynamics like tape does, etc.?

Any other thoughts or comments by users...actual users...would be most beneficial.

Did I say actual owners/users yet?

and the gold question...can it stand in for a tape machine?

There has been lots of discussion on gearslutz from actual owners.

i'll take the bait..so i'll quickly chime in...though it's been discussed 2 death.

With the stock cards you don't really notice too much if you don't mess with the bias, lo and hi controls. It's very subtle. the 456 tape formulation gives individual tracks width. I like to use that on strings..piano..stereo percussion etc. For more in your face I use the G9. Again I use the stock cards for things that need subtlety.

Where this thing shines is when you add the 351 and ATR 102 card...JEEEZUS!!

351 and G9 on drums is absolutely ridiculous. It extends the low end greatly. You can't hear it on regular 8" monitors no matter how good you think yours are. LOL! It gets really noticeable on big monitors...12" ones to be exact. Move the bias a bit to the right (1 to 2 oclock),move the lo to slightly 1 oclock and the hi straight up and viola!

It's deathly close to tape...seriously.

I use the atr-102/456 combo on voxes and more important upfront stuff.

Now here's the thing..if you just strap it across the mix buss...it's kinda just a ..ho hum experience. You can't and shouldn't judge it that way. My initial impressions of the unit were pretty much the same as everyone else...umm..i don't see what the big deal is...i can use a plug in. WRONG!
Where this thing shines is when you throw it in as an insert on a track..fix your desired settings ..then export the track and re-import it into the project. Continue doing this to all your tracks. THIS is where you go HOLY [email protected]!!!!! No comparison...you can't even comprehend the difference. In all actuality after you've done this...strapping it across the mix buss tends to almost be overkill. LOL. I've used an 1" ATR - 102 quite recently and though i crave it and have an other deck as well...(I wouldn't be a gearslut if i didn't!)...It does actually bring a smile to my face and make me think twice about that purchasing another deck.

To me it's all about that ATR and 351 card. Phenomenal job. Again don't judge based on hearing through one track. Damn i wish they'd make an 8 channel version!!

take care
Dennis Ferrer
DENNIS FERRER on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos
www.objektivity.com

So, you would not buy it for a mastering studio?

IMHO.....just using it for that kind of purpose is sort of an injustice to the ATS-1. LOL. It's not the magic bullet where you strap it on 2's and everything sounds like it's tape. when you do that ..it justs sounds to me as if you took the track off a digital medium and put it on a tape deck. Nothing special....I mean don't get me wrong it definitely can add something to the final mix with the right card and usage but...where it seems to shine is when you track and export while it's inserted and begin to stack things. That's where the magic of pseudo tape begins to rear it's beautiful head as it did when you track to real tape. It's the effect of all the tracks being ran individually that does the trick. It allows you to begin to shape the depth of your mix according to what you need to be prominent. Want low end extension on a kick? fine..track with 351 and g9..need some more width to those strings? ok well ..then track with Atr-102 or the studer and 456 and keep the hiss knob to minimum. Background voxes need width? ok..Atr-102 and 456 again....Things begin to take a life of their own. The one thing I will say and with out a doubt this thing does is widen the stereo image of your tracks when all is said and done. I've always said this and still believe that with some DAW software...the manufacturers still don't have it right, I use Nuendo btw, and they do not translate a stereo image that i'm accustomed to hearing off of tape or for that matter anything before the advent of mixing ITB. Ok maybe they do have it right...but maybe that's the problem...maybe wrong is what we're used to!! lol....It's a battle that i've been fighting to overcome for years. No plug can do it properly. All ITB mixes sound narrow in a boxed in sort of way. Yeah there's tricks to fixing this...like using the drMs spatial plug in ...but who wants to tweak 20+ instances on 20+ tracks of that sh!t when you can keep it moving by turning a knob and exporting! This box cured that problem for me so i no longer get dragged into looking at competitors daw's to see if it's a particular DAW sum issue or using a plug in as a crutch. I'll use the spatial plug in for fixing a problematic track now. Otherwise I just strap the ats in an insert and let 'er rip.

YMMV but i know i have plenty of gas left over by using this thing. LOL

btw...alot of people cringe at the cost...and i do admit that you can find a used 2" for that price...but I prefer convenience over maintenance..tape quality and tape cost issues..head wear or relapping and 550 lbs of solid ass metal which I ain't in no f'in way gonna carry up a flight of steps! So in my eyes..this was a freakin' bargain.

dennis ferrer
DENNIS FERRER on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos
OBJEKTIVITY

haven't answered the OP's question because i've never had my unit next to a real tape machine, but from memory (we used to own 3 X A800, ATR104 and Studer A80) it does the trick IMO. we did A/B an anamod 660 to an original 670 once, and no one in the room could tell them apart, so if the ATS-1 is that close to real tape... kfhkh the only card that frankly didn't really do it for me too much was the M79.

an 8 track version, even if it had less machine types and tape formulations would be a very cool - maybe in a 500 format so you could get 8 or 10 units in a small space. hope greg and dave are reading.

Hi Dennis, cool to see you = gearslut! kfhkh

Simfonia Della Notte is one of my fav tunes of this summer, we are playing it a lot and it has become quite an anthem here in Holland and in Ibiza. (I'm sure in other places too ;)

Any Anamod action on that track?

BTW +2 on multichannel, or 500 series.

For what it's worth, I've had both an ATS-1 (w/ 351 card) and a Studer A80 in the studio for the past few months. The ATS-1 is indeed quite a gorgeous mastering tool. But don't buy it expecting an effects unit, that's not where its strengths lie.
Truth be told, when I use tape whilst mixing, it is generally as an effect - to squash/saturate/distort - and the A80, the actual tape machine, does this in a more pleasing way. To be fair, this isn't apples to apples - there is no A80 or Emtec 911 card in the ATS-1. All the same, for my purposes (which are blunt and heavy-handed), I haven't used the ATS-1 as much as I'd hoped. I feel like I get the width I want from my summing amp and as far as the nuances of mastering go - I don't really have the ears for that and don't do it in-house.
If anyone's interested, however, my ATS-1 is listed on ebay.co.uk, as we speak :)

I own one.. It aint going anywhere. The 351 card is a must upgrade. I havent got the Atr yet.. The 351 is more of a "immediate" effect to my ears, where the other cards are a little more subtle when talking about individual tracks.

Love the bias knob.. you can most certainly dial in more low end if you like.

It never sounds fake when you hit it hard.. To me it smooths out the highs and lows the harder you hit it.

Didnt like it across the 2 buss... ( I am sure the 102 card would be better suited the 2 buss.)

But for indivdual tracks..

YES..

As a side edit.. I think they would make a killing if they came out with 8 channel Rack unit sititng at around 3000.00


my 2cents..


.

Anamod ATS - 1
 

I have no trouble hearing the Anamod difference on our B&W 805's. I was expecting the difference to be a lot more subtle than our actual experience. As has been said before, the 351 and G9 combo is great on drums and bass.

Also, when I spoke to Greg Gualtieri a couple of months ago, he told that Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound was using the Anamod ATS - 1 with a Pendulum
Peak Limiter for Mastering some mixes.

you should be asking for people who have actually used REAL tape, not ppl who have used the simulator

gooof

Isn't that what he asked, exactly?

Hahaha, exactly.

Sorry but I can't really understand your comment. If it's deathly close to tape, why it doesn't work well on mix bus?

Real 351 and 102 simply work great for mix bus.

FWIW i doubt i'd mix to a 351 (anamod or real) but YMMV. 102 is another story.

i'm not sfere recording, but anamod does remind me of what a real machine would do. haven't heard a tape machine in a long time, but we used to own several and hear them day in and day out for a good number of years.

anyway the anamod unit has worked for me at times and at times not, depending on the material.

i get the impression people think 'tape' is some magic bullet that will automatically make things sound '3D', 'glued', 'mojoized' etc. etc. - alot of crap has been recorded on tape... probably more often than not, just like anything else. on bass and vocal the anamod has worked wonders here, and other times not. haven't had a chance to track hats, low snare and maybe overs on it yet but i do look forward to it. :)

Bob Katz is a power user and there is a web site where an audio engineer posted his impressions...
I will look here and post it as I find it.

I won't discuss it anymore other than to say I still love it. I want more. I want them to make a real looking 24 track with a remote transport!! boingboing

+1, but the mini me version so i can get it in the room! cooge actually i think i would settle for 8 tracks.

Thank you.

There's a couple for sale in the classifieds already. Might be worth a shot if you can't be bothered with the real stuff.

I use it on the mix buss almost exclusively. Works just like tape. I think that the poster was saying that just like tape the effect becomes additive and is very much noticeable in the way that multiple tracks glue together.

Just remember that Anamod offers their 10 day money back trial period, which probably won't be offered on a used sale...

Link
 

Here is the link I mentioned:

Allen Farmelo | blog

I have never personally used tape so I can't compare however the ATS-1 is fantastic for electronic music - particularly anything dubby or bassy - it adds a beautiful creaminess to the bottom end.

I want to get that 351 card but on the Anamod Website it mentions it but doesnt say where to get it - will try to find a local distributor who has them...

email or call Anamod and ask them who would have it in Oz.

The 351 card will blow your mindheh

---Also: Anamod does the trial period thing on the additional cards too, so if you don't like, you can return within 10 days (ask if they still do this...and/or if an Oz distributor will honor that).

Using it right now on on the mixbuss for a T-model Ford album, an 88 year old bluesman. 351 with 456. Sounds really good. The record isn't supposed to be retro, but this just lends that last patina of authenticity to it. There was little to no budget (for reels, etc.) and this is just the ticket in this case. Fattening.

1. Love the bass glue. I never imagined how an entire mix could be glued together by common low freq content.

2. I neeeeed the 351 card, I'm going to order this on Monday. The whole 50's tape mojo is what I was really looking for when I got the unit. The stock cards are great but I'm really looking for that older sound.

3. Tracking with the unit is really fun and extremely helpful tone shaper. It makes it very easy to dial in an overdub into an existing mix.

4. Of the two stock cards, I've been dialing in tape machine #2 the most (can't remember which model it is). Of the two, this one provides the most noticeable tape saturation. #1 is extremely subtle.

Yup.
 

ATS [and 660] fan here.
Initially I heard the thing way back at AES..on headphones.
sounded kinda cool but hard to really tell on the noisy show floor.
so out of curiosity[+ still a bit of skepticism] and Raal's encouragement, I decided to shoot it out w/ some well maintained real deals.
first thing I noticed,the low end on my modded M79 was more "extended" than the ATS version.
hmmmezed
On a positive note however,the Studer card[A800] sounded damn good next to a real thing[827].[good for individual tracking,etc].
promising.
Since those initial tests[and hearing the 351 card] I've been borrowing/using the thing whenever i could get my hands on it.
basically what I've come to the realize is that the ATS may not exactly "emulate" my specific machines personalities.
.. don't really care.it sounds good
the vibe,glue,euphonics etc of the real deals is there,and the ability to switch machines/formulations on the fly and tweak them instantly is great.
have yet to find any comp that does specifically what this box does to the kick/snare/bass relationship.it's subtle but addicting.love it.
I dig the fact that Dave really took the time to model/ math lots of different versions of the same machines[ie:Lenny Kravitz' 102,etc] to create these cards.


Cool.
straight up the 351 card rocks..not for every two buss app but mixed lots of stuff through it.
sounded good..even with the defective card!

dude. after being a total bumheh & borrowing your unit this past year i finally broke down this week and ordered my own fully loaded ATS .
looking forward to finally hearing the 102 and Scotch 111 cards.[arrives Weds]
of course gonna immediately compare to the real 102 @ the main spot next week

Oh man let me know how the scotch card plays out!