I've been auditioning and comparing a ton of analog tape-sim and mojo boxes (saturators, tube preamps, etc.) lately. I hear a huge difference in how they improve so many aspects of what I'm recording, particularly drums and drum-buses.

But what about synths? If the goal is to capture as much frequency and dynamic range with synths as possible, do any of you LEAVE OFF the tape-sim and 'mojo' gear on synths, but keep it on for everything else? I find in particular compression often steals a lot of what makes hardware synths so unique, making them sound 2D and more like less than stellar plugs.

I know saturation tends to make things blend better in mixes, but if the synths is playing a more leading role in the production (often the case in what I'm recording), do you want the recording to have compressed highs and slightly flattened transients?

Bought the jive from jptrfx recently, wicked looker, very strong build and superb on synths and apparently it's circuitry is based on/cloned from some old tape pre amps of an akai machine from the 70's, lovely gritty (but not too much) gain and compression and they also added 3 different clipping diodes that all sound very different when switched in or out. This thing finds new and also plays with frequencies rather than diluting them.

Can't speak highly enough about it. Oh it can also just be a really great amplitude booster.

Line in is no problem for it, he made all his pedals to manage all levels he says. Lovely fella, has time for his customers but the problem is he has some very attractive gear to sell so it's all too easy to get sucked in haha

The UAD Studer A800, Slate VSM and Fabfilter Saturn are all great plug ins.

When recording synths, I often track using the Neve Channel or the Manley Voxbox to add a bit of oomph.

When mixing, putting the above on each channel can really help glue it all together, yet also somehow separate each sound.

Using the Studer A800 on each bus as if it were an actual tape machine definitely adds a certain mojo.

I'd also be tempted to shy away from convention, experiment and use your ears as oppose to the monitor which is something we all tend to migrate towards.

I'm a nightmare for precision faffing using stuff like Pro 3 and sometimes wrecking the work I've done with my ears.

I would say yes, though tape sim for me is better on a drums / bus rather than synth. Zulu is great but subtle unlike other boxes.

Tone boxes in the other hand. Presume you’ve checked out the Silver Bullet? You can do no wrong buying that box for whatever purpose you like! The EQ on it is so simple and sweet too.

I use tape or sims on everything. I find similar tape setting and preamps gives my amatuer mixes a more cohesive sound.

Ive an akai R2R and a cassette deck I use, mainly for an effect rather than enhancing anything...soft side Ive got all the UAD tape plugs, theyre excellent, and IK multimedias tape bundle which I really havent tried.

The hardwares great but at the general publics pricepoint you get more out of a plug or pedal...IKs bundle was a great price and looks really in depth, you even choose your tape manufacturer.

Nebula pro with tapeboost+ and R2R from cdsoundmaster is really impressive too

I'm rather excited about this...
https://www.motomodular.com/details

Which are your preferred UAD plugs, and how do you generally use them?

can you explain how this would be used? is it for sound effects glitching type stuff, cv control of tape parameters?

For me compression on a synth is like adding another envelope generator and VCA to the synth. It extends the synth engine.

I find synths get good vibes from transformers. I have an EQ by White Instruments in my rack with massive transformers and inductor filters. Sounds lovely on synths. Adds character too.

More than purpose built tape emulation I find guitar and bass amps more worthwhile to get really characterfull synth tracks. Sometimes just the spacing of the mic and the amps speaker reveals an entire world of possibilities.

If there's nothing touched going into the DAW I use Oxide on every track, Studer A800 on buses, and the ATR-102 on the final mixdown...imagine if this was real machines I was talking about

Ive used my R2R (Akai GX4000D) on one tracks final mix but its not quality, it narrows everything but is still an OK effect...the UAD plugs are a different league. They can really take the fizz off the OB6 or just generally put everything in a similar space, lots of uses...hardly touch an EQ after tracking


Man I talk a better mix than I actually mix

I’m trying to determine if a Space Echo is worth it. I have the pedal that Boss made a few years ago and I like it a lot. I have a feeling the OG would be wasted on me though.

yeah but nice waste

Lots of ways from a mono mellotron to a tape echo to resonant filter to a self generative music machine, etc. All with CV control, some short vids of it that I really like...
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqA77JTFbTq/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuxgeUbFPnU/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqQkI_3lphP/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGFdzPldsk/

I sold my space echo years ago and this will be replacing it.

wtf did I just watch, it was awesome??

Depends on what I’m trying to achieve of course, but I frequently use tape sim on my synth tracks, especially on pads and atmospheric sounds. For something more punchy or for intentionally very bright sounds I tend not to. For soft, vintage flavoured used arpeggios and sequencer lines, it can add some magic. I have a Strymon Deco and use various plugs ITB.

Here's the thread on muff's..
https://modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=199200

Yeh, since grabbing the UAD hardware, I'm eq'ing much less at the mix stage.

Get it right at source and all that...

I agree about the UAD plugs. They've really helped me focus on tracking and creative polishing as oppose to fixing everything.

Definitely highly recommended.

I'll have to investigate Oxide. I usually flip between the Neve 88 and Voxbox when tracking.

I will tell you this, the OG does sound divine. But they're inconsistent. I bought a real 201 and was kinda unimpressed. Sold it, then tried a 101. Wow, mind blown. 3d and glorious. The downside, with all 'real analog gear', is that once you record it, some of that 3d is lost. The pedal sounds ok compared to it recorded, but in person, whew, its like a synth. Some plugs are pretty damn good in terms of hearing it recorded. Logic's built in tape sim is pretty damn good!

I found the Oto BIM really excellent. There's something special in that box, the way the overdrive and compander circuitry mixes with lo-fi digital delay, really can get 3d and organic sounding, and no maintenance to worry about.

-Chris

Zulu

Everything goes, you just have to remember that a synth doesn’t need a preamp. A synth puts out a healthy line signal that should be fine. You use a preamp as an effect. Does that effect make sense? You have to make that determination yourself. If you’ve got an airy swirling pad going on, you probably want to leave it as is or you’ll get that flattening effect that’s undesirable. If you have a very bright chimey FM sound that seems to be sticking out like a sore thumb, then running it though an Echoplex might just be the way to go.

Here’s what I’ve used to good effect...

Behringer X-Air 12. It’s a mixer with a great bunch of effect algorithms built in. This is dedicated to my 002.
Roland Torcido. Digital distortion, but sounds great. Dedicated to my Dominion 1. Sometimes for a little extra grit on a bass, but sometimes for full on distort-o-rama.
Elektron Analog Heat. Good on everything for a little clean boost to pure fuzz. Stereo with stereo analog filters.
Arturia Preamp collection. Really nice for a bit of saturation and EQ.
IK Multimedia Tape Delay.
Virsyn VTAPE
PSP Vintage Warmer II

I may go for an Apollo interface to get some of that UAD goodness... I just can’t seem to find anyone who can tell me if they’ll work on my old Dell XPS that only has USB 2 and Firewire.

the Neve plugs are superb...but I tended to go with the 73 or the 610's...mostly because my hardwares 73 clones and/or the 610s are so good.


now UAD is mostly for the tape emulation, delays and reverbs alongside hardware

My chain going into oxide is GAP 73 > EQP-KT > 2A-KT (stereo) or ACMP 73 > 76-KT (stereo)...Im still going to use the plugs when arranging more than two stereo signals etc


fck I love gear

WTF we have pretty much the same setup, even Torcido, which I love too!

Software wise, I'm using various bits of the ozone suite for processing printed tracks.. I'm lazy and use the "AI" alot (which is pretty good actually). There's tape saturation, multiband distortion, vintage eqs, compressors etc. for vibe, with loads of tools to fix problems or preprocess first. I find it mostly subtle but always a major improvement and tasteful. Not sure how the vibey bits compare to competition..