Let's Talk About Tape Machine Plugins

Lets check out some awesome tape machine plugins and hear what they do!
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[@jkrunch2166]

Yo, I took your advise and made sure to avoid listening to this on my iphone. So I listened on my android instead and it sounds the same. 0/10

[@RiffsAndBeards]

HAHAHA

[@MarvelJAM]

@@RiffsAndBeards iPhone still would have sounded better than Android. ..... kidding

[@CarcPazu]

@@MarvelJAM And Neil Peart would've played those drums much better.

[@maxschmidtke7789]

If you know where to listen in the frequenzy range when he enables the plugins i think you will actually hear it even on iphone speakers. So i did.

[@kaydeersa]

Hahahahahahahaha.. Unbelievable 🙆🏿‍♂️🙏🏿😂😭

[@zachiejbrown]

The lighting in this video is amazing, i think all your vids should be this lighting!

[@mauricedibert2635]

Weird fact: modern tape machines all come from the magnetophone made to record A. Hitler. Richard Mullin an army officer after the war grabbed one, took it home and deconstructed it. Then built his tape recorder, got backing money from BIng Crosby and started Ampex.

[@ectoplasma5]

Also the Neumann mic cmv3 was used by Hitler,called the Htler bottle.

[@user-mr6xp6nk7q]

Leica Lenses, and cameras. For the SS

[@hbomb495]

I really liked how the Ampex smoothed everything out. When you first switched it on my first thought "you can call it a day". But the way the Oxide made the bass literally jump out and brought it to life won out overall for me. That said, you really couldn't go wrong with any of these, but if I had to choose. I'd go the Oxide for sure.

[@JakeBlaze]

Really love these recent videos your putting out. Keep up the awesome work!

[@chronoshadow2611]

To my ears I liked the Ampex the most when applied to the final mix more than to the isolated tracks, really feel like testing some tape machines to see what results I can get

[@ShredShed]

Great video man, you content has been killer the past few weeks

[@NicholasGreenwood]

Revisiting this video in February 2023. Some of the UAD plug-ins are now available without needing an Apollo interface; Oxide and Studer included as I write this. I ran a trial of Oxide as an AU plug-in in Logic and it made an immediate difference on the mix bus. Very impressive!

[@secondsbeforelanding]

always informative, and certainly always entertaining.

[@eyesonly4451]

It sounds all the same on my iPhone! ... Sorry, couldn't resist. But this is a perfect example of why I also gravitate toward the Oxide. It's a fictitious tape machine, but as such, it has been created by UA with the best characteristics of both the 102 and A800. Plus it's easy to use and tweak.

[@lukebogartmix]

Ampex was pretty great all-purpose, a nice thickening of the low-mids, the Studer was the warmest and definitely would be good for softening and warming up harsher tracks, and the Oxide definitely had that bump in the lows, but almost felt like it got a bit more v-shaped and compressed? Pretty colorful, but definitely cool and usable!

[@kamilsliw19941]

Possibly best lighting job you’ve ever done. Looks great!

[@TheBlackJewelz]

Thanks for this man, also that guitar riff is DOPE AS HECK!!

[@Stubz_Perez]

Funny seeing this, I just bought the Waves Audio J-37 and so far, I love it.

[@nettydrone9100]

Thanks very much for helping us out. I have these and right now I am looking to get a non UAD tape plug. That is not because I don''t like UAD they are really GREAT. But, sometimes I am running out of UAD cpu, and that is why right now I am looking into NON UAD Tape plugs. But what I want to point out is that with these UAD plugs you are demoing - there is a TREMENDOUS range of impact by how they are set and there are HUGE differences in those settings! One really major is that you can set them with different types of magnetic tape for the emulation, and another major setting is of course the tape speed! - - Thanks man!

[@mrparkinson]

That third tape emulation was just pinning to the max where the others were just entering the red. Its no wonder you were hearing more saturation from it.

[@SirMixAlotChannel]

Oxide I loved (bottom end was the best) and the Amperex 2nd place. The Studer didn't have much color to me and transparent tape plugins make no sense in my situation. Buying Oxide now. Great Demo man! Thanks

[@dariofromthefuture3075]

agrred'

[@eoak134]

I really liked how the Studer rolled back some of the mid and high end. Just my 2 cents..

[@LHSBuster]

The result reminded me a bit of the BBE SonicMaximizer 382i, especially with the Oxide Tape.

[@wheresallthezombies]

the waves one is pretty sweet but also the only one ive had experience with. these sound pretty awesome though. my favorite was the amex. it "feels" awesome, warms the track up, and rounds everything in a cool way.

[@SocialGore]

The thumbnail made me feel like you were about to tell me you're not my real Dad

[@paulfrank9047]

You have to remember that distorted guitars are already heavily compressed, so the tape saturation is definitely more subtle (since it’s compressing a sound that’s already compressed) than on an all acoustic recording. I think the mix is solid with or without the tape plugins. Nice track dude.

[@jasonanderson8102]

Listened on my Powerbeats pro. Obviously not anything close to real critical listening, but I thought the studer sounded the best. It made everything punch but also felt the most transparent.

[@_war_cry]

Since we are talking about saturation, it'd be awesome if you review the Harrison mix bus 32 c. I shifted to it from reaper and I was in love with what ever it was doing. Also reduced the number of plug ins I actually loaded to have about 2

[@mrmemyselfandi9609]

WOAH!!! I have all three of these plugs and while my mixes are different than yours, I didn't expect them to respond this differently. I TOTALLY agree your sentiments. The Studer was more subdued...almost robs that kick ass aggressive midrange on the lead guitars that the the apex 102 is at home with....The oxide too. I also couldn't believe that oxide had the smack of that snare as much as it did because it usually sounds like it starts to falter when I push it hard...but here you're making this thing sing into the red and it's swift on it's feet. That's insane. I need to go back and pop it on my mix and drum buss to listen again. The oxide was free for me with my UAD package and I paid for the other two so I kinda feel like maybe I overlooked a diamond in the rough. Meh... I love the Studer for vocals and the stereo buss...amazing....lol...That sound reminds me of Steve Albini records I've heard. I guess it depends on the source. Anyway, thanks for the video...solid thumbs up!

[@mrmemyselfandi9609]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ7UmIiph62dr6M

[@MrMoviePhoneEx]

To my ears, the Studer a800 felt more refined like a CD master, a little flat but very clean, while the Ampex felt almost like it was live and recorded from a line out on the actual mixer, more life-like but a bit chunky, while the oxide just felt like a heavy overdrive in an un-refined space, a great feel but messy overall especially with that bass guitar that just barely holds together. Nice demo, the active switching between plugs makes for a rough transition, but you got your point across :)

[@Gunderslam]

That oxide tape sounds badass!

[@johnvdb5015]

So the Ampex is a stereo 2 track machine emulation, so I use that on my mix bus. And I always track through the oxide tape in console, to simulate tracking to 24 track tape. Cuz the oxide and studer are 24 track machines.

[@SeanLoBiondo]

The Oxide Tape did something really nice to the low end on the full mix.

[@luispower1979]

Loved that song!!!!!!!!!

[@dudearlo]

I put my DT770s into my iphone :) Im kinda feelin that Ampex, but if i couldnt use that one, id go with the oxide. I totally heard a difference. The tape emulation sort of brought the track to life a bit. Idk id its because it was perceived as “louder”. But it felt like it made a difference. Your track had me rockin out xD

[@JosephSmith-lm4ri]

Was listening on my phone so I wasn't getting the best sound quality, but i did notice a difference, all of them kind of brightened the sound and added a little bass, while one of them almost seemed to scoop a little mids with how present the treble and bass were.

[@dominicsinicrope2795]

Fluff I see you’re using logic in this video. Have you switched back to using logic all of the time or are you using whichever daw you feel like using for a project or track? Also if you did switch back to logic, what made you do it?

[@cgonzt5636]

Thanks good explanation. I’m learning to mix, I purchased a buy one take one deal.. I already purchased channel strip, If given a choice multiband compression vs this tape, which would you recommend to get? Some so essential to having good mix. Thanks

[@sighermike]

Oxide then Ampex for me. The Oxide really smooths things out and widens it a little. Just a great smooth, full body sound.

[@robertm8552]

Fluff makes a great point about listening on an Iphone (which I am). I wonder if using such plugins, or even recording to tape, is worth it if it’s not going to sound much different through a device in which the majority of music is consumed nowadays. I think there’s definitely some value in it for fellow musicians, audiophiles, etc. but I don’t think it makes a difference to the common listener.

[@Cjkd7048]

He meant like iphone speakers, and no most ppl don’t listen to music on those

[@silentstormstudios]

@@Cjkd7048 Disagree. The typical person is listening on their phone or through cheap ear buds plugged into their phone. Next most likely scenario is a Bluetooth speaker or a stock car stereo. Applying this type of plugin isn’t going to make any difference to most people. The difference is so subtle and could be achieved through minor EQ and/or compression tweaks. I tried using a couple tape machine plugins on my last mix, but didn’t find any appreciable sonic benefit, even listening through studio headphones and monitors.

[@celula00959]

Ok correct me if I’m wrong The first gave the high end some pop and bite to it. The second one felt like I rounded the mix without making it muddy And the third one gave it like a lot of pop and saturation that you would Normally get by adding some high and mids yet it did not add high or mids to the mix They all sounds so unique that I don’t know what I prefer lol

[@Salien1999]

Variety of Sound's FerricTDS has a tape emulation setting that I tend to throw on anything that's supposed to be micced up, right off the bat. Getting the saturation right on the individual tracks removes a lot of work later trying to make everything "boomy." Especially on kick and toms.

[@niche1117]

Don't let the trolls get to ya man. Great content as always.

[@Notametalband]

I heard the diffrence on my iphonex as if i would thru my audiotechnicas or my studio monitors thats rad asf!!

[@littlearsehole75]

I could discern a difference listening on the external speakers on my tablet. Neato!

[@artbluevibe6629]

Hi, I want to know why use a transient shaper to increase the attack of a kick or snare so that at the end its gonna go through a tape plugin to soften things out ? Wouldn't that be pointless? or am I wrong? Can you help me understand? Thank you so much

[@vektacular]

The Oxford was fantastic

[@Daviddosi]

I have the ampex and i love it but damn i dident think the oxide would sound so good! propably will buy it and use for vocals

[@loganstrong5426]

Listening on my mixing headphones. On the bass, I couldn't really hear anything different in the low end... But I sure as hell FELT it. Wow.

[@singleproppilot]

You mix on headphones? I’m sorry.

[@Nathansthing]

@@singleproppilot i prefer mixing on headphones. It's just a preference thing, especially with things like the sienna studio plugin. You can even use it with a subwoofer(with headphones on)

[@matthewjones8510]

Listened on my phone. Still heard the low end fatten up and the top end smooth out upon the first set of 2bus comparisons. The low end bit surprised me, but high end variance is actually pretty easy to pick up on a phone speaker.

[@Espuelérico]

Im listening through and iphone and i can hear the difference, whoever can't need some ear yoga.

[@gregtuna49]

Using a new lense/lighting? Room looks amazing but now looks really small. What did you do to achieve that?

[@trumancarter1299]

Wow..1 and 3 for me that's awesome..any experience with any of the Slate Tapes?

[@alanredversangel]

I get the point of them, but do you have to change the way you use compression,if you're planning on letting the tape treat transients etc.

[@UmutEmiroglu305]

Thnx man.

[@donnythompson408]

Prefacing my comment with the understanding that these digital tape sim plugs can be quite useful even without desiring the true sound of tape... Perhaps at some point in the future, you could A/B these various digital tape sims with an actual tape machine; maybe using a 2-Mix as the example, and using a version of that mix that was printed to tape, using one of the current online analog processing services (such as MixAnalog or AccessAnalog), to print the 2-mix to real tape, and then compare the sonic results of that to the various digital tape sims in your DAW. It’d be interesting to hear the comparison, and an unbiased (lol, no tape pun intended) opinion on the differences. Anyhoo, just a suggestion. I enjoy your videos. 😊

[@JohnnyMegabyteCanada]

I was mixing a demo on the weekend using REAPER, and thought I would try using a Free Tape VST (FerricTDS) on the Master Mix Controls, and see if it would sound Warmer When I rendered, the Peaks where half as high and somewhat appeared like a flat line, but half as big as a maxed compression. A) Does the Tape Saturation Waveform normally appear visually like a highly Compressed track ... FLAT ? B) Does the Tape Saturation give a mix more headroom, to boost the mix to get more volume or pump? I didn't try to find out, that's why I ask

[@51percentproductions25]

I liked the Oxide the most.

[@ebheron]

J37 from Waves and VTM from Slate are also very nice.

[@jakeseitz]

Your eyes are brighter than the sun holy crap 😂

[@bjoernkmusic]

Got scolded by a mastering engineer for putting tape emulation across the mixbus before handing in the track. After hearing his explanation and the before-and-after ... yeah, it's pretty easy to turn your track into mush that way. The low end bump can oftentimes do more harm than good, and the right compressor settings can round transients nicely as well. So it's not a tool that works for me personally, I'm gravitating more towards very subtle doses of console saturation these days because of that experience. But that's the great thing about audio engineering - there's not rules how to arrive at a great sounding end product.

[@adammays3128]

Ampex and Oxide seemed to do the most. The Ampex seemed to add a bit of loudness and clarity almost, at least in the full mix. The Studer, I could hardly tell

[@cgonzt5636]

I’m listening thru Blon BL03 iem (I expect bass bloated a bit), my choice is Oxide Tape. ATR, I’m still trying to figure out, the Studer I can’t hear a lot of what it does.. just what like you said, more neutral or flat. Nice demo, Thanks

[@jeffreymaeatro2]

Hi, Riff i hear compression and high end eqing. The studer sounds less processed that the other two.

[@bateman2112]

The only thing I heard was a hitch in the sound when the tapes were started and stopped.

[@CheesybiscuitStudios]

right of the bat, I found the Ampex to be very boomy. Very 'in your face', lots of mid boost going on there. The Studer was very subtle, I did hear it did something but it was too subtle to actually notice. I found the Oxide to be a combination of those two, very in between. It still compressed and boosted the whole mix by a bunch but did it way less than the Ampex making it way more tweakable to taste. I think the Oxide is my favourite due to it's versatility.

[@edwardx.winston5744]

I already own the Studer A800 and Oxide plug-ins. I was contemplating the purchase of the ATR-102 (I have a coupon for a limited-time price of $39), but I am not sure I could not accomplish everything I would ever need using just the two I already own (I also have the Kramer plug-in from Waves, Magnetic II from Nomad Factory, and the venerable PSP Vintage Warmer 2). So ... talk me into the Ampeg ATR 102 plug-in, or talk me out of it?

[@Shane-zo4mg]

My favorite is Softube Tape

[@chrisact9601]

I've been thinking about going for the Waves Abbey Road J37 Tape plugin. The UAD Oxide Tape you demo'd there also seems to hype the upper mids. Not a bad thing just what I'm hearing.

[@GraemeWoller]

I've been using the J37 on everything for years. Really really handy, and you can often get a good deal on it from Waves.

[@ImmyT89]

what i heard is it adds warm saturation (more pleasing to the ears) while making it sound less hi-fi and more analog?

[@kylegrossi8175]

That Oxide for the win

[@SonovaBish]

The Ampex is my favorite for this demo. Oxide is next.

[@izvarzone]

Hard choice for me Oxide vs Ampex on this vid. For my own stuff I'd probably prefer Ampex, cause it have crosstalk.

[@screamo4211]

love guitars recorded on tape!

[@ccrecordings]

Funny enough the galaxy s9+ has an amazing speaker configuration and I can hear the difference on it. 🔥

[@TheSingingCelebrant]

Looking for something to use for Vocals please/ Any suggestions appreciated

[@franklinbelliard7625]

New camera angle... nice.

[@hoborec]

I have the ATR and Studer from UAD but never use them any more. When I want tape I use tape. The way they handle transients are no way near the real thing. They can sound cool and great as saturators though.

[@harvesteroftone5473]

So here's an idea. How about you review 3 tape emulations that only people with UAD hardware can use. That should go down a treat.

[@seventhplace]

That would be snobbishly boring. Besides, you wouldn’t want to max out your UAD cores

[@izvarzone]

You only need 1 tape on master, that's less than 1 core.

[@markconner5341]

Stupid question….does it sound better when pressed on vinyl?

[@TheVoltWithin]

My favorite was the Oxide Tape. It added so much power and warmth.

[@Locoandchooch]

I actually still use my MCI 2” I haven’t found a decent plugin to replicate. However I’d like too spend time with one of these.

[@thedevilsadvocate5210]

Are you still using your MCI 2” ?

[@Locoandchooch]

@@thedevilsadvocate5210 No, I have a Studer now.

[@wowzers_imamess]

Did anyone else notice fluffs eyes are a really bright blue in the 1st few mins

[@F0nkmaestro69]

He's become a cyborg

[@campar1043]

oxide tape sounds beautiful

[@MrMusicopath]

the oxide is like instant mastering

[@A.Moortal]

Any recommendations on free tape plugins?

[@izvarzone]

none so far

[@reginaldbowls7180]

I could hear a big difference on my AirPod pros

[@LukVonTrug]

I have the feeling the iphone listening mafia will knock on your door soon!

[@rune288]

never thought about plugins as having their own genre lol

[@fernandoobregon3359]

Yes oxide more agressive .... studer A800 sounds most rounded softer ... maybe perfect for softer music.

[@PieterGNel]

Awesome video man! What drum machine do you use?

[@musicmore5169]

Is It like key word like , a form of filter ?

[@AmericanMe]

Cubase Magneto is awesome on guitar which is a tape emulator

[@stevenslusher5694]

ATR had punch, Oxide had boom, Studer had a fuzziness

[@EoPatrux]

FerricTDS >>>

[@jonahcovers1856]

do you put this before compression in the chain?

[@AndrewWilley]

typically will come before any bus or master level compression.

[@jonahcovers1856]

Andrew Willey awesome. Thank you for the response!

[@rockhead03]

Where your making Other New Songs for Your Band Dragged Under

[@newrockorder]

ampex on the mixbus is perceivable on my iphone 11

[@ldfox11]

My 2011 macbook pro blew a graphic chip so I can't tell the difference on my pc laptop.

[@lendada13]

Mr. Meseeks!!!!!!!

[@jamesbarron7568]

Your eyes are more blue than your shirt like whoa.

[@juljos9343]

I’m struggling with this. I know you said wear headphone and good monitors. But I’m still not sure if this is gonna work. And I notice it’s also not cheap. Very good effort though on all youtube promotions.

[@abeldeleon5901]

I preferred the sound of the Ampex.

[@TheDirtymexican0]

I’m listening on my Nokia but I don’t hear a difference, what should I do?

[@berthamadrigal4185]

Oh my fart knuckles that shirt doe hi I’m mr meeseeks