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A Slice of Music History
The allure of tape machines is easy to understand – that iconic sonic signature that’s been heard on countless classic albums.
Warmth, subtle high-end sweetening, and above all the gentle saturation and compression that glue your tracks together – it’s all yours in the T-RackS Tape Machine 440.
The Tape Machine 440 is modeled on the iconic Ampex AG440B stereo recorder. The 440 series dates from the late 1960s and delivers an unmistakably soulful color that made this historic mixing and mastering machine a legend.
Using a careful mix of convolution and physical modeling, the Tape Machine 440 re-creates the complex interplay of effects taking place in the analog audio tape recording process, down to the finest detail. From the sonic character of the tape formula, to the movement of the tape over the machine heads, every detail is captured with life-like accuracy.
Add warmth and character, low-end weight, ear-pleasing high end and glue your tracks together with this true-to-life slice of recording history.
Re-creating the magic
Analog tape audio recorders are complex systems. They impart magic to the audio material, lifting the art within the music to a higher level. They add musicality to music.
What a tape machine adds to the audio is the result of a number of interactions amongst several interdependent factors. More than just saturation, compression, or EQ alone, these factors work together, one affecting each other with the dynamics of music, adding a “movement” that goes into the soul of what we perceive.
Decades of music produced on these pieces of artful human engineering have tailored the way we think music should sound. It’s imprinted in our DNA.
Trying to recreate this magic in the digital domain has been attempted since the early days of real-time audio plug-ins, with various degrees of success.
| Product Name | IK Multimedia T-RackS Tape Machine 440 Plug-in |
|---|---|
| Brand | IK Multimedia |
| Condition | New |
| MPN | TR-500-TM440-DD |
| Shipping Option | Electronic Delivery |
Signal Path Selection
With “Input,” the signal only passes through the input and output electronic stages of the recorders, bypassing the tape. Depending on how the recorder is designed, the “Input” path can sound extremely transparent or just slightly more colored. “Repro” passes your signal through the entire analog recording system: input-> recording amplifier -> recording head -> tape -> playback head -> playback preamplifier -> output stage.
True Stereo
Even a perfectly aligned tape machine will have slight level, EQ and distortion differences between the left and right channels. This is good and part of the analog recording mojo! The T-RackS Tape Machine Collection perfectly recreates these subtle differences to deliver the real experience. If perfectly identical left and right channel processing is a must, simply disable this feature.
Tape Speed
Select the speed of the tape transport between 7.5 and 15 inches per second (“ips”). The higher speed gives you more fidelity, and the lower speed delivers a warmer, rounder tone.
Transport Modeling
Precisely models the behavior of the mechanical transport. Small irregularities in the movement of the tape creates various degrees of sonic alteration to the audio program, especially between the two channels. Keep it on for the magic to happen! In case a perfectly steady performance is needed, just disable the control.
Record Bias
Ideal bias voltage settings provide maximum sensitivity and low distortion. Intentionally overbiasing is a common technique to produce a warmer, gently saturated sound. Underbiasing can be used to nicely boost the high frequencies in a truly unique way and add distortion and other nonlinear effects.
IK Multimedia T-RackS Tape Machine 440 Plug-in
A Slice of Music History
The allure of tape machines is easy to understand – that iconic sonic signature that’s been heard on countless classic albums.
Warmth, subtle high-end sweetening, and above all the gentle saturation and compression that glue your tracks together – it’s all yours in the T-RackS Tape Machine 440.
The Tape Machine 440 is modeled on the iconic Ampex AG440B stereo recorder. The 440 series dates from the late 1960s and delivers an unmistakably soulful color that made this historic mixing and mastering machine a legend.
Using a careful mix of convolution and physical modeling, the Tape Machine 440 re-creates the complex interplay of effects taking place in the analog audio tape recording process, down to the finest detail. From the sonic character of the tape formula, to the movement of the tape over the machine heads, every detail is captured with life-like accuracy.
Add warmth and character, low-end weight, ear-pleasing high end and glue your tracks together with this true-to-life slice of recording history.
Re-creating the magic
Analog tape audio recorders are complex systems. They impart magic to the audio material, lifting the art within the music to a higher level. They add musicality to music.
What a tape machine adds to the audio is the result of a number of interactions amongst several interdependent factors. More than just saturation, compression, or EQ alone, these factors work together, one affecting each other with the dynamics of music, adding a “movement” that goes into the soul of what we perceive.
Decades of music produced on these pieces of artful human engineering have tailored the way we think music should sound. It’s imprinted in our DNA.
Trying to recreate this magic in the digital domain has been attempted since the early days of real-time audio plug-ins, with various degrees of success.
| Product Name | IK Multimedia T-RackS Tape Machine 440 Plug-in |
|---|---|
| Brand | IK Multimedia |
| Condition | New |
| MPN | TR-500-TM440-DD |
| Shipping Option | Electronic Delivery |
Signal Path Selection
With “Input,” the signal only passes through the input and output electronic stages of the recorders, bypassing the tape. Depending on how the recorder is designed, the “Input” path can sound extremely transparent or just slightly more colored. “Repro” passes your signal through the entire analog recording system: input-> recording amplifier -> recording head -> tape -> playback head -> playback preamplifier -> output stage.
True Stereo
Even a perfectly aligned tape machine will have slight level, EQ and distortion differences between the left and right channels. This is good and part of the analog recording mojo! The T-RackS Tape Machine Collection perfectly recreates these subtle differences to deliver the real experience. If perfectly identical left and right channel processing is a must, simply disable this feature.
Tape Speed
Select the speed of the tape transport between 7.5 and 15 inches per second (“ips”). The higher speed gives you more fidelity, and the lower speed delivers a warmer, rounder tone.
Transport Modeling
Precisely models the behavior of the mechanical transport. Small irregularities in the movement of the tape creates various degrees of sonic alteration to the audio program, especially between the two channels. Keep it on for the magic to happen! In case a perfectly steady performance is needed, just disable the control.
Record Bias
Ideal bias voltage settings provide maximum sensitivity and low distortion. Intentionally overbiasing is a common technique to produce a warmer, gently saturated sound. Underbiasing can be used to nicely boost the high frequencies in a truly unique way and add distortion and other nonlinear effects.
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