I'm trying to integrate a reel-to-reel tape machine into my workflow to gain compression, warmth, etc (as opposed to using analog emulation plugins). I mostly want to use this on vocals, but maybe also guitar and bass. I'm not sure how I can do this.

How? Any thoughts?

1. I thought about creating a scratch track, then have that playing in my headphones while I record to tape, but then I'd have to record back through my interface onto a DAW track, then manually sync it up.
2. Record a scratch track onto tape, then use sound on sound feature, followed by same steps listed in #1.
3. Record everything to DAW, then record desired tracks to tape and back into DAW. This would be the easiest, but I wonder if going through the AD converter a couple of times would introduce any sonic issues.
4. _____ (other)?

 

when u buy a multitrack tape machine like the tascam 38, everything is synced as u play it back and record on top of it. but yeah when you want to transfer it to daw, it has to be played back one track at a time , realtime. too much hassle imho, if u looking for a vintage, dirty , fluttery sound, u r better off with a quality tape plugin like the arturia j-37 or uad atr 102

 

there are a couple of ways to use a reel to reel tape

1 to have "the transformers sound" in real time, without the "tape" (it will be very subtle but effective)

2 to have the full sound of both transformers and tape (the effect will be "more present" with all its problems...many many problems...)

1-it implies to have the tape connected as an "external fx" to your DAW/setup, so you can use it like a ITB plugin, put it in insert then tweak from the real thing and hear the effect in realtime over the track you are playing through it

2-it implies to have the machine FULLY synced with your DAW and everything you have in your setup, so you can record on it and "playback from the machine", then listen to it in realtime. The final bounce will be done from your DAW in realtime. This way the tape machine works "like an external DAW playingback into your DAW", so when you hit the play button ITB the machine starts playing like the rest of tracks in your DAW, all in SYNC. You obviously need a SOLID SETUP to do this, and it aint easy so to speak lol Thats the way it works in 99% of pro studios. Almost all DAWS support this feature. You will need a bit of knowledge, work and patience to setup it

that said, my question is: have you ever worked with a real tape machine?

it's BORING, hard, tedious and it needs experience and pretty often a good technician near to it. It need TIME, calibration of the thing and so on. If the machine you will use doesnt cost at least 3-4k dollars and it's PERFECTLY working I wouldnt NEVER EVER pass through it my whole mixbus or the main vocals. I have a cheap tape machine remaining in my setup, but I use it only to "re-tape" percussion loops or synth loops to achive some distortion, grit and "hiss". So I record out of sync, re-record in my DAW and then put again in time by hand. But it works because I just wont a LoFi sound on certain things sometimes. I also do it with an old cassette recorder.

that said I LOVE R2R ! ! !

 

Last edited: Feb 15, 2025

Look up if your gear and DAW support MTC in some form. That way you can sync a DAW to tape. Still a fair amount of work but it's doable.

 

I'm not using a tape plugin. That is off the table. I bought a tape player . . . trying to figure out how to work it into my flow.

 

Sync is no option. I would need to record and then manually sync later. The question is . . . what's the best workflow for this? Is recording into DAW then sending out to tape and back in a bad idea?

 

it's not a bad idea
most people who have things to say about A/D convertors are either talking out of their ass or are stuck in time in 2006
convertors are way better these days and very unlikely to introduce anything noticeable, especially when you consider all the crap you're intentionally adding to the sound already

 

I wrote my opinion, I do it all the time, it works as LoFi addition to certain sounds, I have an old Revox PR99. With non tonal loops needs just a bit of work, and all the problems of the tape became interesting. I wouldn't do it for a long part that needs good tuning [like vocals or similar] or perfect sync [like main drum lines].

 

I have worked with tape, and I'm just now remembering that it's a glorious PITA. LOL. I guess I just got tired of searching for that "analog" sound when I could pay about the same as a couple of plugins and have an analog reel to reel.

 

Why not just get some tube pres instead? Seems like the qualities you want can be found in tubes. A simple unbalanced tube pre is pretty cheap.

 

Please tell me more. Any brand/model suggestions?

 

There's a multitude of them on AliExpress, usually the cheap stuff is all OEM so brand is not really a concern, though I've heard Fosi Audio is pretty well accepted as a budget option.

I guess all you need to do is route the output of your interface into the mic or inserts of the interface and basically loopback the audio into the DAW. The issue with the budget options is that the tube drive is linked with the gain, if you want an unlinked solution, there are a few legacy Presonus pres that can do that. The Presonus Studio Channel is one of them, plus comes with EQ and VCA comp (but it's single channel, so you need two). Other than that, I guess you can loopback just fine by balancing the gain in and out, but don't quote me on that. I'm only suggesting that because that's something I've been meaning to try for a while already, to see if I can add some real tube warmth to the mixbus.

 

Thanks so much, shinjiya.

 

So can I have your tape machine then, if you're just gonna get a tube pre?

 

Hey, I just paid $300 for it. LOL. The endless cycle of music gear . . . first hardware, then software, not hardware again.

 

Or a Nebula tape library.