Hey guys,
I hope everyone is doing well.
I have found that a tape saturation plugin never works for me on master bus. It made the mix worse. I always feel that the plugin reduces the energy and the glossiness of the entire mix. It's fine when I use it on individual channels tho.
I've read that if you don't apply some kind of tape saturation on the master bus you'll never achieve a pro sounding mix.
Am I doing anything wrong?

 

I am in that "analog/saturation" trip for some months now. I' tried almost everything out there, but one plugin stood out: Magnetic II from Nomad Factory. It does wonders on the master bus and in separate tracks. Another plugin that i found useful is Decapitator from Sound Toys.

 

Austica D361A , 1st option turned on, full might be too much. Insert it when you start mixing not after.
This is the plugin that gives the most pleasant saturation harmonics, weight and depth.

 

Magnetic II is really good.

 

Satin, by U-HE, it's the beez...

 

+1 on Satin

 

This premise is pure nonsense. You can produce a "pro sounding" mix using your DAW's native plugins, if you know what you're doing.

Anyway, for a touch of tape, I've been using Overloud's TapeDesk a lot lately, as the first insert of every track. I use it very subtly, keeping the VU's needle mostly away from the red zone. Also, I dial random low (less than 1.5%) wow/flutter values on every track, to add some subtle movement.

For master bus tape, I've been using Goodhertz Wow control. It sounds great, but you have to use very subtle values as well. If you don't want to take any chances, turn off everything and just mess around with the "color" and "saturation" sliders. The "color" button ads a lot of crackle, so be very very gentle with it.

This is my go-to tape sound recipe at the moment.

 

I'm using a combo of Airwindows FromTape and ToTape in sequence. Sounds good! Secret Sauce Settings of course ;)

 

Bro, the d361a eats that overloud tape plugin. Trust me, its a different world. Quite heavy on the cpu though.

 

Thanks for all the suggestion guys. Well after I thought about it, maybe I need a relatively flat Tape Saturation plugin with no low end bump nor scooped midrange. Do you guys know any?

 

I never understood how the "Vintage Tape" in Ozone works, but sometimes I pick a few of the presets and suddenly some sounds actually sound better, even the master mix does. Increased Warmth is my favourite. wish i knew how to turn the knobs on this one because it seems pretty powerful if you know what you're doing

 

Sure, I never tried it but I know Nebula's stuff usually sound better than ordinary plugins. I truly hate the workflow, though.

Anyway, the thing about Overloud's TapeDesk is that it's impressively light, so you can use it on every track. It may not sound impressively faithful as Nebula's stuff on once instance alone, but the cumulative effect of several instances set up with very subtle settings is amazing to my ears.

Just to clarify, I'm talking very subtle here. Tape shouldn't be obvious. I like to set up my analog coloring thing in a way that you can barely notice it's there but you miss it when it isn't...I've been educating myself in this "barely noticeable" mixing philosophy and it's giving me great results, at least for my taste...It's the cumulative effects that counts most, in my opinion, and being able to load TapeDesk on every track and have it pulsing differently on each individual instrument really gives a great mojo.

 

Last edited: Oct 13, 2017

You dont need nebula for this bro, its a regular acustica plugin

Yea, i know what you are talking about though, overloud is getting better and better and their plugins are very light on the cpu.

Will try to test tape desk some more.

 

Oh, I'll give d361a a try then. Just saw that it's available on the sister site.

By the way, if you're going to give TapeDesk a shot, try using it like I said. Load it as the first insert of every track and use subtle settings. Add a little different amount of wow/flutter to every track. Configure the inputs so the distortion on each track is barely noticeable.

 

I will add my grain of salt : try a single instance of Nebula console or Acqua strip on master.

You want something subtle, to give a a little "polish", and treat those transients well ?
Nebula/Acqua is what you need.

Tape is not the best on master to me, because you will need it VERY subtle.
So instead of tape, try console strips ;)
Even with everything neutral, it will give you that final polish shine

I'm always impressed on how Alexb consoles master strips are magic...and no setting
I just try several ones to find the best in a specific situation.

 

How are Tim Petherick`s nebula tape plugins?

 

I'm curious too now Never tried any of Acoustica plugin standalone besides Nebula.

 

Its available on the sister site, if not the russians have it. Other plugins try what this one does like a champ. You will also need a lot less other saturation/tape plugins on other tracks and busses. Have no dea why acustica abandoned it, probably licensing issues when some developers went their own way.

 

Try NOT using tape plugin. IRL Tape degrades the sound & you shouldn't be surprised. Instead, try EQs, exciters, & MB compressors.