Some good digital emulators of the analog tape sound

The sound of the magnet tape...in the digital world

I really love the analog tape sound. I have written here a dedicated article, in which I praise the qualities of the analog tape sound.

The major virtue of the tape sound his that characteristic soft saturation, which compresses overall the high frequencies, thanks to the pre-emphasis and de-emphasis circuitry. This particular kind of saturation allows to obtain a softer, smoother, relaxing sound, because it softens the transients overall in the mid high and high frequencies: these are the most annoying transients, and their saturation often makes the sound rounder and more pleasing.

But using real reel to reel machines with real magnetic tapes is really expensive, and it has some disadvantages too. It is expensive because reel to reel tape machines not only have an high price (they are vintage gear today), but they also need frequent maintenance by very specialized technicians. Moreover, the magnetic tape adds to the sound some undesirable effects, like:

• Hiss
• Wow and flutter
• Reduction and non-linearity of the frequency response

For these reasons, a solution to obtain that classical tape sound, without its costs and disadvantages, is to use some good software emulations. Obviously, the outcome will not be exactly the same as the original, for two main reasons:

1. Every tape machine sounds different from the others
2. Tape machines are so complex that they are impossible to replicate in a perfect way

That said, there are some good digital emulations that allow to achieve a credible and pleasing tape sound...and there are also some plugins that sound not so good. Let's take a look at some of the most famous products.

Waves Kramer Master Tape

Let's start with a plugin that I haven't appreciated much: the Kramer Master Tape by Waves. This plugin has been developed with Eddie Kramer, and is modeled on a rare vintage 1/4" reel-to-reel machine.

Beside the classical parameters to regulate the tape sound, it also offers the possibility to add an old style delay, with or without feedback, which can be useful in the mixing stage but not for mastering.

Regarding the classical parameters, I have to underline that, in this plugin, the tape saturation is not achieved by the record level, as one would suspect, but by the pot named "flux". The record level pot, instead, determines the amount of tube saturation, characterized mainly by even harmonics, while the tape saturation typically generates odd harmonics (in particular the third).

Coming to the sound, I have to admit that I've never found this plugin so intriguing. The sound is always too much distort for my taste, but without adding that gentle, pleasing compression of the mid-high and high transients, which is the main characteristic of the tape sound. Here, the saturation effect seems to apply on the entire frequency spectrum in the same way: this generates a "diffused" and sometimes annoying distortion.

It also seems to me that this plugin doesn't have an internal over sampling algorithm, which would help to reduce the aliasing effect caused by the production of the superior harmonics. Maybe this is the reason why the saturation here isn't so pleasing to my ears.

In summary: I don't suggest to use this plugin in the mastering stage. Maybe it is useful for mixing, but not for mastering.

PSP Vintage Warmer 2

As clearly stated by the its developer, the Vintage Warmer 2 isn't really a reel-to-reel machine emulation. It is, instead, a compressor/limiter with ultra fast attack and release times, which could be set also to zero. It is usable both in mono and multi band mode.

This plugin can deliver a very realistic and pleasing tape sound, with a particular setting:

• Very fast attack and release times (speed at 100%)
• Release at 1x
• Knee between 50 and 100%
• Multiband mode
• Compression threshold set so that high frequencies saturate more than mid and low frequencies
• Oversample (x2) on, to reduce alising

It really is an interesting and good sounding plugin, and it is quiet versatile too. That said, it really isn't an emulation of the tape sound, so, for those interested in the "original" tape sound, there are better options, like the two ToneBoosters plugins described below.

ToneBoosters ReelBus

ToneBoosters is a software house that produces very high quality audio plugins at very competitive prices. I appreciate almost all their plugins. The two solutions offered by ToneBoosters, in the saturation realm, are ReelBus and Ferox.

ReelBus is a reel-to-reel tape machine emulation, which emulates some specific models. On the other hand, Ferox is a more "generic" tape emulation.

Speaking about ReelBus, I can say that this is the best tape emulation I've tried...after Ferox! Indeed, I prefer Ferox over ReelBus.

However, Reelbus is a superb plugin. It is very versatile and can be customized in every important parameter: input gain, amount of pre and de emphasis equalization, low and high pass filter. There are also many secondary controls, like the possibility to set the amount of saturation and equalization of the magnet tape. All these parameters can be set on many different models of reel-to-reel machines: magnificent!

This is a plugin modeled on real tape machines: because of this, other kinds of saturation are added to emulate the sound of the original machines. For example, even harmonics (generated by tubes) are added. This makes the sound very colored, maybe too much colored for the mastering stage. For this reason, I prefer the simpler and cleaner Ferox plugin.

However, ReelBus remains a wonderful plugin, with a very pleasing and smooth sound: very suggested!

ToneBoosters Ferox

I've already presented Ferox in the previous paragraph. This is a great sounding plugin which emulates a "generic" reel-to-reel tape machine. It has a fantastic sound, and it's also quiet versatile thanks to the many parameters that can be set.

I find the sound of this plugin very smooth, soft, but also clean and not so much colored. It is really capable to sweeten every mix, but it is important to set on the oversampling for minimizing the aliasing effect! This plugin seems to add only odd harmonics (in particular the third one), is less colored than ReelBus and this makes it more suitable for mastering.

Ferox is my best choice when I want to emulate the analog tape sound: very, very, very suggested, and it has a very low price too!