Create authentic analog sounds with the new Retrotape plugin

While the world continues to evolve into an ever more digital landscape, many music producers and sound designers are looking for more authentic analog sounds to help bolster their creations. The team at Abletunes recognizes this need and has revealed an exciting new plugin, Retrotape.

Retrotape Brings Back The Cassette Era

Retrotape aims to emulate the warm, saturated sound of cassette tapes from past decades. Retailing at $49, the saturator is compatible with most major DAWs on Windows and Mac, excluding Pro Tools and Studio One Prime. Retrotape features an “Age” slider that allows users to control the amount of saturation applied. This recreates the effect of different amounts of wear-and-tear on an analog cassette tape and the machines used to play them back, which often colored the sound in unique ways. The plugin aims to give modern digital recordings a vintage tinge, to appeal to producers and engineers who want to emulate the beloved sonic qualities of cassette tapes in their projects.

Specifically, Retrotape seeks to mimic the subtle distortions and rich harmonics generated by cassette playback systems. As the oxide coating on tape wore down with use, the sound became imbued with a distinctive presence and texture. The various mechanical parts inside cassette decks also gradually declined with heavy utilization, adding their own distinct imprints. Retrotape gives users direct control over parameters like tape wear, deck speed wobble, flutter, and noise, allowing for precise sculpting of imaginary cassette recordings.

For those who came of age in the era of cassettes, this trip down memory lane promises to evoke nostalgia. But even younger producers are discovering the appeal of analog artifacts in digital production. By providing extensive control over cassette-specific parameters, Retrotape makes it easy for engineers and musicians to endow recordings, from any genre, with the sonic imprint that defined a generation. Whether aiming to conjure up the 80s or simply craving richness and flavor, Retrotape helps bridge the past and future of recorded sound.

Enhanced Sound Shaping Controls

Beyond the slider and the incredible warmth of the plugin, other key features are:

1. Dirt Slider: Whether adding saturation, distortion, or overload, this feature will allow producers to control how much of each and shape sounds to their liking
2. Freq Resp Slider: This unique feature allows users to navigate carrying degrees of stereo imbalances, differential degradation, and unique EQ disparities
3. Depth, Rate, and Jitter: These three knobs are included to help users fully utilize the unique qualities of aging tape decks. Adjust the levels of subtle wobbles, power supply fluctuations, and the quirks of machines to help give any production a unique, analog sound.
4. X and Y knobs: The X and Y knobs directly adjust tape head azimuth and add phasing issues, volume variations, and frequency imperfections
5. Bias Slider: This slider allows producers to manipulate the brightness or warmth of sounds without tampering with the overall balance of the sound.
6. Three Noise Types: With three unique noise types are available to further shape any sound and production.

As everything from the past comes back around to relevancy, the sounds of the 80s and 90s are once again finding their way into modern music and art. This nostalgia for yesteryear is driving designers to focus on crafting plugins and tools that will help to replicate some of the sounds and noises that helped push early dance records and singles into the mainstream. Abletunes certainly recognizes the importance of providing producers with a powerful yet affordable option to help achieve these results. Check out the full preview video of Retrotape below and purchase a copy today right here.