cclarry Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Get it here https://audioplugin.deals/tape-mello_fi-by-arturia/ 6 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Already had that. Don't miss out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleer Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Indeed, don’t miss out. This is one of Arturia’s best fx. Great for some sweet distortion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 (edited) I don't remember my reel-to-reel tapes ever sounding as bad as the factory presets in this Tape Distortion. I'd get out my old reel-to-reel and try doing a comparison, but by now all my tapes probably have that nasty tape deterioration / degradation squeal. At least the ones I heard the last time I tried listening to some tapes had the squeal. Now, if these new-fangled imitation tape distortion FX plug-ins simulated varying degrees of that type of squeal, they would be more realistic than the distortion-I-never-had sound the contemporary plug-ins offer. Maybe I should find a blank section of tape, record the squeal, and convert it into an IR. 🤪 A realistic reel-to-reel simulator should have several modes of mylar distortion (varying degrees of stretched tape all of which sound different, varying degrees of crumpled tape--including when it slides under the capstan and gets pulled by the take-up reel but still drags across the playback head, when the slightly stretched and twisted tape flips over for about 0.75 seconds before straightening out, etc.), as well as acetate tape artifacts such as a torn tape that either never got spliced or the splice came apart while playing back with the take-up reel spinning for a few seconds before the auto shut-off kicked in. I can't be the only one that remembers the sounds of real tape artifacts! 🤪 Sorry to be so down about this plug-in. Maybe its just that I'd rather have an FX plug-in--like yet another delay that sounds better than real delay ever did instead of a pretend effect that doesn't sound even half as good as the original artifacts. This sounds like it was done by a junior high school DSP hacker who did a science fair project, not by a professional sound engineer. 🤪 On the other hand, its free! 🙂 PS: I just dug out out the CHOW Tape Model Plug-in. Even though it doesn't have the mylar and acetate artifacts, the CHOW version (also free) has more parameters to tweak to better "tune" the distortion tape to sound more realistic. For example, here's just one set of parameters ("Degrade"). Edited October 29, 2022 by User 905133 (2) to report on results from a comparison with CHOW Tape Model; (1) edits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telecode 101 Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 thanks for posting. i missed out on this the last time they gave it away. looking forward to trying it tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e-cue Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 57 minutes ago, User 905133 said: I don't remember my reel-to-reel tapes ever sounding as bad as the factory presets in this Tape Distortion. I'd get out my old reel-to-reel and try doing a comparison, but by now all my tapes probably have that nasty tape deterioration / degradation squeal. At least the ones I heard the last time I tried listening to some tapes had the squeal. Now, if these new-fangled imitation tape distortion FX plug-ins simulated varying degrees of that type of squeal, they would be more realistic than the distortion-I-never-had sound the contemporary plug-ins offer. Maybe I should find a blank section of tape, record the squeal, and convert it into an IR. 🤪 A realistic reel-to-reel simulator should have several modes of mylar distortion (varying degrees of stretched tape all of which sound different, varying degrees of crumpled tape--including when it slides under the capstan and gets pulled by the take-up reel but still drags across the playback head, when the slightly stretched and twisted tape flips over for about 0.75 seconds before straightening out, etc.), as well as acetate tape artifacts such as a torn tape that either never got spliced or the splice came apart while playing back with the take-up reel spinning for a few seconds before the auto shut-off kicked in. I can't be the only one that remembers the sounds of real tape artifacts! 🤪 Sorry to be so down about this plug-in. Maybe its just that I'd rather have an FX plug-in--like yet another delay that sounds better than real delay ever did instead of a pretend effect that doesn't sound even half as good as the original artifacts. This sounds like it was done by a junior high school DSP hacker who did a science fair project, not by a professional sound engineer. 🤪 On the other hand, its free! 🙂 PS: I just dug out out the CHOW Tape Model Plug-in. Even though it doesn't have the mylar and acetate artifacts, the CHOW version (also free) has more parameters to tweak to better "tune" the distortion tape to sound more realistic. For example, here's just one set of parameters ("Degrade"). Kinda orange crayons to apple sauce here. This is tape emu (and other) from a Mellotron, and intentionally more of the lofi vibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 An FX processor that can make any instrument sound like a Mellotron is cool in my book. "The Mellotron, introduced in 1963, was a keyboard that had a tape playback mechanism under every key. Tape MELLO-FI’s sound and behavior is inspired by Mellotron V, our software recreation of this legendary instrument." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, abacab said: An FX processor that can make any instrument sound like a Mellotron is cool in my book. "The Mellotron, introduced in 1963, was a keyboard that had a tape playback mechanism under every key. Tape MELLO-FI’s sound and behavior is inspired by Mellotron V, our software recreation of this legendary instrument." Very true!! I tried IK's Sampletron 2 with some of my own audio and thought it sounded more Mellotron "tapish" (or tape-like) than arturia did. But to its advantage, Mello-Fi works in real time (i.e., on live music as it is being played). 🙂 Sampletron 2's tapes need to dropped & dragged or loaded. So far as I can see there is no audio in to apply the tape FX. 😞 Also, I remembered as I was shutting down last night, I forgot to mention arturia's "tape stop" FX. That's a plus, but I think the Jr. H.S. hacker got a little help from a first-year college sibling who was home on spring break. 😜 Edited October 29, 2022 by User 905133 (2) fixed typos; (1) to add an image of Sampletron's Tape Effects limited controls and to show the non-realtime "drag-and-drop" UI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 8 hours ago, e-cue said: Kinda orange crayons to apple sauce here. This is tape emu (and other) from a Mellotron, and intentionally more of the lofi vibe. I will agree that Mello-Fi can make audio sound like a 3" reel-to-reel tape deck. Very crayonish tape emulation; not nuanced. As for the Mellotron emulation, the factory samples on IK's Sampletron 2 sound much more "Mellotronish" both with and without IK's additional Tape Effects. As for the orange crayons to apple sauce analogy, a free v. expensive comparison would be appropriate. To be clear, the Mello-Fi factory presets do not make incoming audio sound Mellotronish. As for sounding like Lo-Fi tape recordings, they are more caricatures. When I have a chance and more spare time than I have presently, I will dig out my under $100 7" reel-to-reel, some tapes, including some 3" reels done on an ancient first generation (I think) portable tape recorder (can't get more low fi than that) and assuming the mylar tapes don't squeal and the acetate tapes aren't too brittle, I will make some samples and do a good faith attempt to use Mello-Fi to simulate realistic tape effects. I could be wrong, but I think anyone with even a "tin ear" would be able to tell the difference. As I tend to do, if I am wrong, I will correct myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 (edited) PS: I just found some genuine previously digitized low-fi recordings. Though clearly not applicable to a purely Mellotron emulation plug-in, a seriously omnipresent effect plagued by many low-fi recordings is the low voltage battery effect. Do any contemporary low-fi tape emulation plug-ins emulate this? BTW, I did find an old digitization of a 3" reel and I agree that Mello-Fi could be used to simulate about 75-85% of that quality maybe more. I was intentionally hyperbolic in saying that even someone with a tin ear could hear the difference. Apologies to those who paid full price and are offended. I was intending to be humorous, not insulting. In fact, I assumed that anyone who uses Cakewalk would be able to tell the difference. Edited October 29, 2022 by User 905133 fixed wording/typos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitekrazy Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Arturia >>>>>>>>Waves free offerings. 5 machine limit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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