Sound Skulptor TS500 Tape Simulator - Sound Example with DM Kahn

[@chrisvanloo1007]

i love looking at harmonics in plugin doctor and not seeing any damn aliasing. so satisfying

[@Rhuggins]

I really appreciate you taking the time to do this, its much appreciated. You seem like a nice dude. I know we all learn as we go, but if I could humbly suggest a bit less talking over the material next time - I think most of us that are sitting and watching this can follow along with very little explanation; perhaps at most a little blurb on the screen to clarify some things. Thanks again

[@DMKahn]

Thank you for the constructive criticism!

[@michaelcaplin8969]

@@DMKahn I must say the "when the lights are on, the unit is on" commentary made me laugh! I mean, come on, we're not THAT stupid, AND it got in the way of hearing the audio! Love the video, and really appreciate you showing us how these sound with really well chosen program material to showcase them. Very nicely done! :)

[@patrickrene9493]

LAWD-A-MERCY!!!!!!! Dope! I’ve been waiting to hear what these sound like. I need 16 of these

[@mrbigtime307]

Just get a real tape machine sounds a thousand times better

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

Nice video, thank you. I love that bias hiend end roll-off to the left.

[@chrossbone]

Thanks for your extensive showing of that piece of gear! I have been thinking about getting two for the past 2 years and never committed, but now as i heard them in proper use i will finally order them soon.

[@DMKahn]

Glad I could help!

[@saren6538]

bet you still never got them :)

[@marblelee]

New master bus chain. RNC1773 to diyre eqp5s to TS500s. Building the eqp5s this weekend. These TS500s sound incredible.

[@marquezvanroeschen5340]

very good!

[@xbadandy182x]

Yeah that thing is amazing. Im listening with AirPods, and mostly what I notice are the harmonics its adding. That thing is great on the Bass Guitar to help it cut through in the lower mids. For the vocals its kind of the same thing. It just adds a really nice and subtle brightness. Definitely awesome

[@andrewwhitehouse1878]

One of the things I noticed when you engaged the units, particularly on the “rhythm section” part, was with the units engaged the sounds seemed to “move”.. it’s hard to explain, but it gave it motion, as opposed to disengaged which felt really 2D (I know bad audio terminology..) but still, there’s a kind of movement or vibe when it’s engaged is what I found 🤘🏻

[@DMKahn]

Yeah man! I know what you mean, I think it’s due to the harmonic character. The more it’s driven, the more it’s engaged. It adds depth and perhaps width depending on what’s being fed into it

[@peevonb7070]

Thanks a lot for making this video. This is a very extensive and great video about the TS500. Well done man

[@DMKahn]

Many thanks 🙏

[@peevonb7070]

@@DMKahn Hey man, you inspired me to get the CP4500, still on the workbench. And then I just had to have the TS500. I subscribed while researching the CP4500 and love your content and I'm gonna stick around. Btw, having the CP4500 and the TS500 you have a awesome endbus chain. Classic bus comp out to tape. New video idea?

[@PaulMiddleton70]

Love the Midas Console!!! I have the Venice 32F, I love the transformers in it!!! Currently listening to your video and appreciate the sound you’re putting out. Keep up the work bruh!

[@DMKahn]

Awesome!!. I ended up grabbing the 32f as well, check my latest dub video!

[@nlgeorgelos]

beeaauutifulll. been looking for good sound samples on this piece for a while now and just stumbled onto this. thanks for doing this!

[@DMKahn]

So glad man! Thanks for the comment and spending the time to watch and listen. Cheers

[@ghost4004]

i learned allot from this video, 1 i cant hear any difference with my monitors but i can with my headphones lol, 2 i really need to train my ear to hear these differences as big as you can. Great video, definitely sold me on a pair of this Unit :)

[@cosmo5179]

Subtle differences really add up! Nice sounds 😍

[@liinmusic4396]

saturation or not, a great sounding mix there.

[@DMKahn]

Thanks brotha!

[@roodsound]

Dude, I was just going to say the same thing. Only up from there!

[@patrolduty8715]

After listen to this demo, i know my next order will be 542. Thank you for helping me to be more decisive. This unit is too subtle despite it sounds goods. The 542 has way wider usable range. Of course it is more expensive, but at least, it sounds better to my ears.

[@izzywalker471]

Check out the ST552 if you haven't yet. by HRK

[@AlecArmbruster]

Kahn: Okay we’ve listened to those drums enough Me: Nooooooo

[@DMKahn]

😂

[@rootsmadiaqentertainment7038]

@@DMKahn😂😂😂😂😂

[@Hugoknots]

Glenn always does his trumpets right!

[@DMKahn]

Oooo yeah!!!

[@Dionysus667]

Very helpful demo. Thanks!

[@DMKahn]

Thanks for commenting and spending time here. Cheers :)

[@bonzology322]

Great vid man, i'm buying a pair

[@stringsnare]

i hear a massive difference. the instruments seem to be more in their 'place'

[@JaymeSilverstein]

How would you compare the sound skulptors to the hrk 552s or the Zulu?

[@peevonb7070]

Haha great building two right now as well.

[@ToniJXN]

So now I know what I have to do. Sound great ♥️

[@monkeyplusplus]

Thanks for the really detailed walkthrough of this unit. While today we've got a ton of options for tape saturation plugins, having something like this for tracking would be super fun. Are you still using these, and if so, has your usage changed at all since you got them?

[@DMKahn]

I am using them during my live dubs, on my FX sends to add some grit before it hits my phaser and before it hits my strymon tape delay unit. They’re really great

[@DMKahn]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4StfpKuZdOsl8U you can hear it on the bass. That bit of saturated phaser sounds awesome. Really brings the mid range out of the bass in an awesome way.

[@marquezvanroeschen5340]

@DM Kahn Thanks for the super demonstration :) I'm looking for some good saturation and on top of my list was the MP573 Neve preamp clone, but now I'm really thinking of getting two of these TS500 instead . Would you say they can be also used for tracking as well?

[@DMKahn]

Yes for sure!

[@preciseaudioblog]

Ok. In this case, I would go with Neve Portico series tape saturation. Cheers!

[@DMKahn]

I’m sure those are great units too! Almost twice the price tho

[@preciseaudioblog]

@@DMKahn I think that the cp4000 and the mo573 and more worthy than the originals. Sometimes, one hear the test different on youtube. From 1 to 10, what grade would you give it? Cheers!

[@massimod5771]

Differences with Neve 542 tape emulator?

[@anshubhatia6609]

Price is probably the biggest difference. Both add low end in a pleasing way and add subtle harmonic saturation. If I didn’t already have the 542, I’d go with the ts 500.

[@akah2877]

Exelllleeennnt !! How to connect the 500 serie please ? Can you tuto please ? Bless

[@dalynnch]

Much mahalos for sharing your knowledge... Today I understand saturation my braddah, cheeeeeeee!!!

[@dalynnch]

And da TS500 tape simulator too my braddah!!!

[@sifseb3498]

Hi, great gear here and great demontration ! one question, how do you connect this to your system ? thanks

[@DMKahn]

Thanks! I’m routing through my console which has built in FireWire conversion. However the same can be achieved with any multiple output and input capable interface. Hope that makes sense. Also something to note is I’m using the I/O plugin in Logic that physically brings it in and of the channels.

[@sifseb3498]

​@@DMKahn It makes sense yes, thanks. I have an Allen & Heath zed r16, maybe it could be routed through the master inserts, this console don't have direct outputs.

[@nzreggae2534]

How does this compare in sound the Zulu? A multi track tape recording would affect tracks individually. So processing each track or group separately would be an interesting A/B comparison to switch between. Cumulative is the word I think. The Anamod is claimed to be the most realistic hardware tape emulator. Are you surgically sterilising your drum recordings with gates and eq's? Maybe you could try recording less clean and polite drum sounds. More bleed and ambience and grungey stuff somehow. Modern reggae is too clean a lot of the time IMO. These hardware tape emulators on all tracks and hardware mixing with colourful outboard should be significantly 'warmer' than in the box.

[@DMKahn]

They’re both really cool, I track thru Zulu and the TS. I’ve used Zulu more on full mixes than the TS, if that helps.

[@danvandal4127]

Big up, these sound great!

[@DMKahn]

Thanks dan!

[@fawdian]

hey there why is mute on? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@DMKahn]

Say what?

[@zanem9022]

How do u like this unit for tracking vocals?

[@DMKahn]

Haven’t tried it for that applicatikn

[@ReeWebster]

Am I tripping out? Hearing a guitar pick from strumming, or a washboard? Either way it's really grating me lol.

[@peteralbert9805]

You still recommend to use two of this on a master bus, right? I am preparing to order a pair soon.

[@DMKahn]

Definitely they’re great

[@peteralbert9805]

@@DMKahn Would you use one separately for some particular tracks, or rather on the mixbus for all the instruments and vocals together?

[@DMKahn]

I use them on drums while recording as well as mixbus

[@LosFicosMusic]

This or the Neve 542??? Talk to me my people!!!!

[@v1o]

It doesn't sound like tape. But neither does the RND. To me the closest to tape vibe is the Zulu.

[@NME_REK]

Why would you ever control it with plug ins - it’s all about the sound hitting circuits getting pushed with real voltage.

[@DMKahn]

So I could show you how it sounds lol

[@Raumweiter]

great

[@celrasamen]

bro how can I contact u?... thks

[@DMKahn]

[e-mail]

[@bubz75]

Woy 🙏🏾🔥

[@indidub479]

🔥🔥👊🏽🔥🔥

[@kobey95]

Sound a little bit like decapitator !

[@fullalbums5675]

about the frequency response when it's off, the signal still goes through the transformers when in OFF mode, so what you can see it's this, not a desk, your desk should be more or less flat

[@DMKahn]

Very interesting; that makes a lot of sense, thanks!

[@RobCoates1]

Hear no difference whatsoever. Just like the STS...too subtle. Doesn't sound like tape at all!

[@DMKahn]

Interesting, I can hear a difference in every setting. The harmonic character is different. Maybe the KZbin compression takes a little bit of it away but I can absolutely hear a difference when it’s pushed hotter

[@AlejandroGonzalez-ph6pw]

FLACOOOOOO!!! NO PODES HABLAR ENCIMA DE LA MUESTRA QUE ESTAS HACIENDO NO SE ENTIENDE NADA!!!!

[@DMKahn]

NADA POR NADA, LIMONADA 🤣 QUE PASA CALABASA