Turtlerock Forum

People's thoughts?
Anyone sell their hardware and replace it with this?

I've never owned high-end tape machines (I used to track onto a Fostex R8, not much better than cassette!!) , but I'm watching a few vids and getting tempted...

It's just a very subtle distortion box, tbh. Tape emulation is silly.

My (probably unpopular) 2 cents.

Ha ha! Thanks Andrew. Kind of expensive if that's all it is..

It's been so long since I bought a new plug-in, I'd forgotten that UAD do demos, so I suppose I'd better try it out next mix.

Hi, I use actual tape machines in my work. Also tape emulation when I feel like it.
Tape emulation IS silly. At least the GUIs are. The spinning reels on the E.Kramer thing crack me up.
It's just distortion really, but it can be fun. It's useful.
Paul

I've been using this plugin for a few years now.

Big fan of it. I have it at the end of the mix bus chain as if you are 'mixing to tape'

I regularly adjust / automate the bias control to get the HF level / saturation exactly where I want it.

I feel like it does something more than just distortion, there are some time based (transient) things going on here along with (adjustable) cross-talk, wow and flutter and imaging.

I also use the Studer A800 at the top of important channels (and also record through it in my Apollo)
Again using the bias control a lot to slow down and shape transients and HF.

I've used U-He, Kramer Tape, Slate VTM and a few other tape emulators and I think UAD have the best thing by far. (Although Kramer Tape is a close second imo)

I am a big believer in tape emulation software. Been mixing 100% in the box for about 4 years now and will never go back to hardware (except tape echoes for hands on fun).

Give it a demo and see what you think though.

If you want more exaggerated tape kind of things definitely look at XLN RC-20 and u-he Satin.

Hi, well transient shaping, wow and flutter, cross talk etc are really forms of distortion.
But if it sounds good....etc.
The tape echo built into Logic can do a pretty good emulation. Just set the delay time and feedback to "0".
I like distortion, saturation, whatever you want to call it, and tape does it well. So do some of the emulators. The transient distortion is of great benefit for many musical styles and instruments. It's interesting how differently compressors react to a signal that has been processed in this way, as opposed to a clean signal. Especially gear from the tape era of recording. Just seems to work better.
Paul

Oh waves J37 is great too.

Really nice slap and wow and flutter effects.

Gives a little more width as it's two separate channels modelled for L+R.

Thanks all.
Actually, I'm impressed!
I slapped it across a mix I've been working on, and certain settings just sound gorgeous. I don't have golden ears, but I like what it does to the wide midrange. Extreme tops and lows can sound a bit weird depending on the bias, IPS, etc but may be useful for individual tracks I guess.
Yes, the spinning tape reels are a bit distracting.

How does this compare to the UAD "Oxide" that they brought out a few years later?
(They did this with the Roland/Boss stuff too, always makes me think of those Woolies Own Brands that appear on the shelves a few months after some other brand product proves popular..)