Universal Audio's Ocean Way Studios for their UAD platform is a room emulation; this is the most basic fact when trying to describe the plug-in. But this simple description does a huge disservice to...
The newest iteration of VocAlign, a timing and pitch control plug-in from the award-winning UK-based software developer Synchro Arts, comes in the form of VocAlign Ultra. This new version elevates its...
Our community lost a titan when Al Schmitt passed recently. I suppose if there is any consolation, it comes from knowing that Al shared his experience through tools such as his Pro-Channel for Oram...
The HG-2MS from Brainworx is self-described as “your mix bus’ best friend.” Designed to impart rich tube harmonics and analog coloration in mixing and mastering, this plug-in offers...
I’m a big fan of distortion plug-ins – these days, who isn’t? If you are, you’ve got to check out THERMAL, from Output. There’s so much to this plug-in that I’ve...
If you find yourself chasing modern low end, you’ll eventually end up playing with a subharmonic synthesizer. There are plenty of options, ranging from outboard gear like the dbx 120A...
About two months ago, I was mindlessly scrolling on Instagram when an ad for a “Noise Reducer” plug-in caught my eye. (Yes, I know, I got reeled in by an Instagram ad). It showed an artist...
Universal Audio has been quietly updating some of their previously released plug-ins with new features that you may have overlooked if not watching closely. About four years ago, I purchased the dbx...
With the era of analog tape slipping ever further into the past, growing numbers of newer-generation music recordists have had precious little experience with actual tape. Analog tape, though still...
My recording world began via the cassette tape format. I had saved money to buy a cheap home stereo cassette tape recorder, and I’d borrow my dad’s deck for recording my sound-on-sound...
Inspired Acoustics might not be a household name in the music industry, but they have been producing minutely detailed, pipe organ sample libraries since 2005 (used by top tier composers), and are...
Apogee Digital has released a simple, stellar-sounding channel strip plug-in. I’m guessing that ECS stands for Equalizer, Compressor, and Saturator, as those are the tools equipped in this...
I’ve written about vocoders in previous issues of Tape Op, so I won’t go into a lot of theory here, but check this review for more of the basic operational theory of vocoding. Arturia...
