Old 11-28-2015, 03:01 AM   #1
Joaquins Void
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Default DIY Tape saturation

Tape saturation is mostly just a case of frequency dependent saturation. So it can be modeled pretty well with just two instances of reaEQ and a clipper.

I like to use GClip (gvst.co.uk) but for the sake of demonstration we can use the hard clipper found in JS/Utility/Limit

Load up a track to experiment with.

On the master buss, insert one instance of reaEQ
Set band 1 to 100Hz, Low shelf, +6dB, 1 octave.
Set band 4 to 5000Hz, High shelf, +6dB, 2 octaves.
Turn the other bands of, and save it as a preset.

Insert JS/Utility/Limit and set it to -30dB

Insert another instance of reaEQ
Load the previously saved preset
Right click on the graph, and select flip all bands.

Go back to the limiter and dial back the dry/wet knob to taste.

And Bobs your uncle. To get a cleaner midrange increase the EQ gain from +-6dB to +-12dB. There's really no end to how much you can tinker with the EQ. For a more tape cassette like sound, try a single regular band at 500Hz. 4 octaves. +-12dB.
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Old 11-28-2015, 11:57 AM   #2
ashcat_lt
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It works even better if you use "curvy" distorters, like the JS saturation, my JS "diode" clipper, etc. ReaComp is actually pretty good for this kind of thing, too. Set all time parameters to 0, ratio to infinity, and use the knee control to adjust the distortion curve. I would not go adjusting the wet/dry balance myself. That ain't how tape saturation works. You change the amount of distortion by changing the level going into it. The volume slider in the first instance of ReaEQ is a good place to control that, though the threshold or limit or ceiling control also does the same thing.

You can mess around with those EQ settings, too. Some resonance (lower bandwidth) on the low shelf going in might be interesting. A low pass around 18K on both EQs (don't "flip" this one) will very subtly warm things up, but it will also "help" the anti-alias filters which is kind of a good idea any time you're adding distortion. Remember that the two EQs don't have to be exactly complimentary. Maybe set the post-distortion low-shelf at -4db to get a bit of girth. Maybe the high-shelf corner frequency is a little lower after the distortion. Real tape is not flat.

But if you're really going for tape you have to also add noise. It's not actually a joke, though. That little bit of randomness in the signal has a subtle effect on the action of any non-linear process along the way. I'm not sure you can really hear it, but I know people sort if feel it.

Then there's wow and flutter and the best thing for that is a freeware VST plug called wow and flutter. Subtlety is the key, here, though. That plug will mess things up pretty fast, and almost doesn't have enough resolution on its controls at the low end.

And IDK what to do about the bias tone and the weird IM distortion that it can cause. I looked into it a bit and kind of decided it wasn't really worth it.

Because I'm not really going for the sound of real tape. I'm going for a sound that incorporates some of the things that I like about tape. Using the knowledge of what worked and why and applying those principles without actually trying to emulate.

Because I've got a couple different tape emulations and I'm never satisfied with exactly what they do, but with them as with this, they really sound best when you can't barely hear them. They can be kind of sneaky, too. Like you turn it on and it sounds good and you turn it up and it sounds better and you turn up more and it sounds even more better and then you go smoke a cigarette and come back and it sounds like cocaine. So then you crank it way back down and everything's cool again.

A little bit in a lot of places is usually much better than one big dollop at once. Touch each track just a little bit on its own and then the whole mix just a bit and it'll have a lot more euphonic character than just pounding it at the mix stage.
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Old 11-28-2015, 12:16 PM   #3
Reno.thestraws
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Emphasis de emphasis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Gs-o39C5o
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Old 11-30-2015, 04:00 PM   #4
cyrano
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reno.thestraws View Post
That is a great video! Learned a lot, thanks.
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