Full Description
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An authentic tape machine, now in your DAW
Packed into a streamlined interface, Tape Mello-Fi provides you with all you need to inject modern, sterile records with analog-modelled, authentic tape sounds in seconds. It encompasses the tones you'd expect from hardware tape machines with a crunchy and gritty preamp, lush modulation and chorusing with Wow and Flutter and noisy, crunchy textures when simulating the virtual wear of the tape.
Traditionally, tape was used to record every instrument in a mix. Now, you can use it as a creative tool for vibe and feel. Of course, you still have the option to run entire groups, mixes or masters through it for an instant vintage feel but Mello-Fi can be used to add movement and excitement to anything from synthesizers, piano, vocals, guitars, sound design and more.
Bringing the tape machine up to date with modern producers, Mello-Fi includes a host of new features to meet modern demands. Enhanced stereo width, gain-compensated preamp drive, host tempo-synced tape stop features and much more make this a highly-playable and interactive plug-in for your productions.
All the controls you could need
Divided into two sections, Mello-Fi contains a Preamp and Tape section. Each with its own independent range of controls, you are in control of dialling in a sound which matches your instrument, unlike traditional static hardware tape machines.
The Preamp section lets you add the distinct sound of overdriven tape machines and includes a Drive, Tone and Noise control. Apply distortion with the Drive control, increasing the signal level going into the preamp for authentic clipping sounds which can be taken even further when the Boost control for even more saturation. The Drive control is gain-compensated, meaning you won't need to adjust your output level at higher values. Change the timbre of your preamp drive and colour with the Tone control, shaping your sound by dampening the high-end for a more vintage feel. Lastly, Noise adds classic analog texture as an extra layer in your sound, perfect for voices, pads or synths to get a more old-school tone.
The Tape section is where the magic happens. This is what gives the Tape Mello-Fi the sound. Flutter alters the pitch of the original sound by mimicking the rotations of the tape motor that aren't perfectly consistent, creating a unique modulating, swirling effect. Wow follows a similar process but at a much slower rate than the Flutter control and so is perfect for use when thickening bass guitar, backing vocals or drum loops. Both of these controls can be used in tandem to create spaced-out sounds that take you to the core of '70s experimental prog rock. Virtually age your tape with the Wear control, adding more crunch and grit to your sound. The last control is the Mechanics control, adding the tape motor noise into your signal, perfect for making your tracks sound like they were recorded on tape.
Not just there for aesthetics, the visual rotating tape offers a unique feature in letting you simulate tape-stop sounds. This interactive design lets you click on the tape and sync to your tempo with a range between 1/4 bars and 8 bars.
Powered by technology
Using proprietary modelling algorithms, Tape Mello-Fi can recreate the iconic instruments down to the component parts to create unrivalled realism and immersion. Unmatched in analog emulation, Tape Mello-Fi is powered by TAE and Phi technologies. TAE offers component-level modelling to accurately present the characteristics and behaviour of the instrument, whilst Phi's state-of-the-art physical modelling brings the acoustic properties into the virtual world for hyper-realism. The result is truly a next-level sound that is indistinguishable from the original to add to your productions.
Reviews
"Love this! You can give anything that same classic character as a mellotron! Great on vocal pads." - Stephen Kozmeniuk (Dua Lipa / Kendrick Lamar)
"Tape Mello-Fi lets you put anything into the mellotron world as subtly or aggressively as you'd like. The Drive and Tone controls are fantastic, the tape controls are as soothing or as seasick sounding as possible. Tape Mello-Fi is simple and perfect." - Ilan Rubin (Drummer / Nine Inch Nails)
"A stunning lo-fi effect can be achieved with this lovely plug-in. The Mellotron effect gets the classic "wow" sound and tape saturation sound." - Steve Levine (Producer - Culture Club, Beach Boys)
Features
- Shape the response of preamp distortion and colour with Tone control
- Authentic tape emulation and lo-fi effect based on classic Mellotron sound and behaviour
- Employs classic parameters such as Mechanics, Wear, Flutter, Noise and Wow
- Flutter and Wow introduce pitch fluctuations at differing rates
- Simulate the sound of aged tape with Wear control
- Enhance the realism with simulated mechanical noises with Mechanics control
- Preamp section features Distortion and Boost controls to enhance the analog character
- User adjustable tape wheel with tempo-synchronized Tape Feature from 8 bars to 1/4 bar
- Carve unwanted muddy sub and piercing high-end with 12dB/oct low and high-pass
- Offset Wow and Flutter between left and right channels for an ultra-wide stereo image with Stereo Width feature
- Apple M1 compatible
General
- Compatible across all major DAWs on both Windows and Mac
- Download, manage and organize your plug-in and updates in Arturia Software Center
- Fully scalable GUI fits any screen size for optimized workflow
- MIDI compatible offers real-time control with your favourite keyboard or controller
- Step-by-step in-app tutorials, showing you crucial parameters and tips inside each plug-in
- Powerful preset browser lets you filter, organise and save your favourite presets to recall in any future sessions
Specifications
- Operating system:
- Mac: Mac OS 10.13+
- Windows: Win 10+ (64bit)
- Format:
- Mac: VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS (64-bit DAWs only)
- Windows: VST, AAX, NKS (64-bit DAWs only)
- RAM: 4GB
- Processor: 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
- Disk space: 1GB
- GPU: OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
- Product code: 1200-97