Kramer
softube
UA studer
chowtape
etc…
?
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If this is a parody post, I see all of them are the best, and all of them should be bought and argued on.
If this is not a parody post. I am interested to find out what people look to do with a tape emulation plugin, or think they need to do. Like, who wants the best plugin for effects (stereotypical lofi, tape wow and flutter, etc), and who wants the best for mixing (warmth, saturation, insert buzz word here).
If it’s the latter, I am also interested to find out what context led a person to feel the need for the best tape emulation plugin. For example, who has used reel-to-reel machines enough to desire that same sound in a DAW? Who wants this plugin because they’ve heard it on older recordings? Who wants this plugin because the internet told them to?
Otherwise, the absolute 100% BEST don’t-argue-with-me-because-this-is-the-word-of-god tape emulation plugin is Tupe by Goodhertz. CHOWTape is also the best. Softube makes the best one though, called Tape. Sketch Cassette is beyond comprehension how much best it is, like it is made with an infinite amount of best. I also like the one by Toneboosters because out of all the best, it is the best, unless you take into account that Baby Audio one which is hands down the best, not to mention Satin by U-He which is without a doubt the best.
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non parody post
I do like Tupe, but I think they were going for the sp-303 rather than tape, I like sketch as well… I’m intrigued by the UA studer not just because of the sale but in light of the sale as well
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plugin?
The Vulf Compressor is based off of the SP-303. Tupe it’s more general as it has 4 tape modes, 2 cassette based, 2 adult reel-to-reel based. It does sound good to my ears, and it’s nice and flexible.
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it boils down to modulating pitch, compression and drive.
why have a baked plugin with all three if you can make your own out of your fav parts. its not like all tape machines had the same amps anyway.
this can be a nice start, if you dont have lfo sufficient enough to get the worble how you like it.
add your fav drive + comp, and you good to go.
afaik you can later group and save multiple plugins as a preset if you are using ableton too, which is nice.
I’m glad someone broke out the tape emulation chat from the Software on Sale thread. 
I’ve used Waves J37, Waves Kramer, Softube Tape, UAD Studer, U-He Satin as well as other brilliant but more niche ones such as the (free) VHS Degradation Suite and MRX90 for Reaktor.
So far, UAD Studer is the best for my needs. I wanted something to give glue and oomph to mix buses, and my goodness me, Studer delivers.
I’m yet to try UAD Ampex ATR-102 (please make it native), Chow Tape (free and apparently brilliant), Sketch Cassette, Baby Audio TAIP and Goodhertz TUPE. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of others!
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thanks for nothing i guess
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obviously it’s a matter of taste but for saturation/bias i use ToTape6, for subtle degradation i use CHOWtape. but if i want to give it xxxxxtra flavour/color, i tend to stick with u-He because when overused, i feel like it introduces “problems” of the tape medium in the best way
I like u-He Satin a lot but I haven’t tried a lot of the others. I use Satin a lot though.
I used to have the Waves Kramer plugin but haven’t had it for many years. IIRC it’s far less flexible than Satin.
How hard you hit the ‘tape’ input really matters with all of them.
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I use Arturia Tape MELLO-FI (painful to say) to add ‘flavors’ to things. Flavors like ketchup, or mustard. I’m fixin to upgrade.
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I use Vulf Compressor and Sketch cassette almost religiously now. They are so good for getting the sound I like that they replaced hardware for me.
Additionally like I said before, Chow Tape is one of the best emulations out there if you want to get that “I tracked my live drums or master through a Studer” sound. Its big thick and warm.
I would suggest Vulf compressor as a parallel compressor for drums, Sketch Cassette on Groups and Chow on the master or drum buss. I am not saying you need to use them all on a track, but in general those applications all yield great results consistently.
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I like the Mello Lofi, but not on the mix bus.
The Slate Virtual tape is nice, but I’m about to cancel my subscription. I’ve been pleased with the saturation that comes from the PSP channel strip lately
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I buy way too many of these, but my fav is sketch cassette. Gets me closest to the vibe I seek.
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I love this one:
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Ironically, I’ve just been through all UAD’s tape plugins since I was trying Luna for a few weeks.
I really don’t think these plugs add anything of value, so I probably shouldn’t even be posting this. But to me, they felt nothing like a bunch of pre-made eq settings made with whatever platform they have to produce eq-and-compression like results. I just didn’t see the point, if you’re already using compression and eq on your strips or inserts or whatnot.
I say this with some experience from actual tape. I don’t own a studio, but I spend time in studio-contexts on a regular basis, and what I came out with from my weeks with Luna was that plugs are great and Luna is great, but if you’re really looking for that analogue experience, you won’t find it in these plugs. There’s too much going on in these consoles and shit that can’t be captured.
However - I could still make mixes sound absolutely great with all these tape tools and stuff in Luna / UAD. Killer great, obviously, since loads and loads of commercial tracks use these tools.
But sounding like I was in a studio with Pultec EQ:s, Lexicon reverb and Neve summing and recorded to master tape? Nope. Not to my ears, at least.
I guess I’m gonna be called out for bullshit now. I’ll make myself some coffee before I get the first hit 
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I got myself a second hand cassette recorder for 10 bucks a while ago. You can record the input on an old cassette, adjust input gain to get saturation, and capture the output. I like the result enough, typically adds some lofi flavor…
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that real life gets you simple and cheap solutions for lofi, given you are ready to either mod the thing or abandon some controls.
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I also often do it the Legowelt way using an old Fostex X28 and some shitty Maxell tapes.
He’s using a Tascam 414 in this vid at the end. I wonder if he still produces all his music this way?!
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It seems to me that the general VST interpretation of using Tape refers to something that never really existed.
When I think of Portastudios and reel to reel recorders I’ve had and used over the years, they’ve generally been warm and stable.
BoC have a lot to answer for. 
Anyway, TB Reelbus gets my vote these days… I like that it can be used subtly/realistically, or get into the proper W&F BoC world.
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