Softube - Tape - Mixing With Mike Plugin of the Week 

I just subscribed a week ago, but I have to say that this is bar none the best youtube engineering channel I've found. From the in-depth plug-in reviews to the consistency with the uploads, I really appreciate what you do. I probably watch 3 videos a day (I do security, so I have a lot of free time lol)

This plugin brings the 70’s sauce. Amazing how much subtle difference can do to the feel of the music.

I love this plug in!!

Absolutely perfect…just the review of this plugin I was looking for…very in-depth with clear explanations…this review made me subscribed. Great job man 👍🏼

My favorite review channel. Keep it up Mike!

As always, well informative and with a bit of history 👍🏼

Great review, thank you!

Thanks Mike for another great review. Of all the tape emulation plugins I own this the only one I actually use. It does what it advertises and sounds great

I have watched all the other reviews of this one and yours was the most detailed and informative .. it's like u knew more about it than the manufacturer... softube should cut you a check

Ain't nobody as informative as you Mike thanks and hope your well :)

Hoped, you will test this! And here it is! Awesome, thank you! :D

Thanks for the video and beautiful demo music. Subscribed.

Forget about the plugin, that track is stellar! :D

Been so long since I used tape I forgot about track bleed and crosstalk and how you had to organise neighbouring tracks accordingly. Also storing the tape tails out so as not to get print through echoes before the signal. Ah the good old days that we are now able to revisit in digital emulation.

I love how you always include bits about how the gear used to be used. No other RU-vidr is doing that and as someone who is nerdy and enjoys learning about that stuff, it is so cool to hear. Thanks for what you do!

Great video, great plug-in. When I first heard this one.....out of all the others....this one nailed it. Had to have it. Your spot on with all your info Michael. I also love that track your using to demo this. By chance can you post the title or where I can get that trk. Thanks again -Rick

Instant purchase. One insert on the 2buss was pure 3D tape chewiness!

This video is way better than the Softube demonstration video

great stuff Mike!

Great presentation... Trev

Agree with your tape speed observation. Mr White.. The only time I ran 15ips was for House and 808 bass tracks.. (Ampex 456, +5/180nwebs).. Thumbs up!

I really like this plugin. I'm going to running a side by side with Slate Digital VTM for comparison.

When people worked with real tape they never wanted cross talk, in fact they hated it. I find it funny that you're adding this feature on a plug-in that no one ever wanted when they use the real thing

Sounds like a good plugin bro.

This song is MAGIC tho!

hey, lovely vid

Hey great channel...I was wondering if you had any info/opinion on aliasing with this plugin. Im usually skeptical of plugins that provide harmonic content without an oversampling option. On its face this tape emulation sounds fantastic. Thanks in advance :)

What is this song? This is so good. I think the recording was really great.

Any recommendations on using this in tandem with the (full) Softube Saturation plugin?

What a great review... Definitely want to get this plugin. That song is beautiful!! Can you please post an updated link or website to this song?? The one below doesn't work any longer.

Hey mike, can you do something on your mix template please I follow all of your tutorials but I have never seen a mixing template tutorial from you. Thanks

Hey mike, how do you feel about printing eq and compression. I feel like a reason I take ages to mix is because I'm constantly changing my mind about things, but if i get an apollo interface I'll need to do this, due to lack of dsp. Just wondering what your experience is with this. Thanks for the gold mine of information as always.

Hi Mike, for the purpose of putting on every channel (summing effect), do you prefer the Softube or Kramer tape? Thanks!

Really nice tutorial. Thanks for sharing! Beautiful music as well. Where can i listen to the full track?

Great review as always...would you use a tape plugin like this on electronic based music like hip hop and trap music?

Super nice mix! What reverb are you using on the snare and guitar?

Fantastic video. Thanks for creating and uploading. You are an experienced expert with tape in general, therefore I would like to ask you a question regarding this plugin, Softube Tape. Can you please load an instance of Tape and route some pink noise into it. Using MNoiseGenerator, for example, set the noise level to be something like -6dB peak. Now set everything in Tape to be zero/null, i.e. I/O at 0.0, Amount at 0.0, Flat frequency boost, no crosstalk, and tape speed at 30IPS. Note the VU meter and the LED meters by the faders. Looks appropriate, right? Now change the Tape Speed to 15. Notice the LED meters by the faders max out/peg to full-scale and the VU meters jump about +6-8dB. What just happened and why? Is this something that occurs with real tape machines? I don't understand this at all, especially the LED input meter. The input meter should be independent regardless of what the tape machine is doing. Keep in mind the Amount dial is still at 0.0. Now something else to try: fiddle with the various controls. When doing so, is Tape still performing as you would expect it to perform, comparing it to a real tape machine? To me--and I have NO experience with real reel-to-real machines--it seems finiky and not at all expected behavior. Color Amount (saturation) seems non-existent until 6-10 on the dial...no matter what. Tape Types is understood and in line with how one would expect it to behave, but Tape Speed seems really goofy! The lower tape speeds just sound terrible. Even a cassette tape deck sounded better! Again, limited experience here...but would you mind giving me, and the community, your thoughts on this behavior? Thank you in advance.

Hi Michael, just a personal question: do you work with the plugins all by yourself to make these videos or do you talk with developers to get some more infos from them?

Great plugin BUT, still so funny when tape emulations try to simulate tape distortion. Talking about tape emulations, I like this one, Waves ones and the Tone Boosters one. There's a couple of Studer models from UAD and an AMPEX, I think. Maybe I'm not saying the most accurate thing but it seems to me that they are all different and the way we apply them and the music genre, or even the track or the instrument, everything can make them great or a problem...

Quick question and PLEASE answer. Whats your favorite tape emulation plugin?

Anybody can tell for sure what tape machines are there?!!

Wonder how heavy on CPU this plug is ?

Always enjoy your well informed videos, Michael. So the manual states that "type A is an emulation of a Swiss machine that gained popularity in the 60's". To me, that sounds like they are describing the Studer J37. If you look at the reel graphic they use when selecting type A, it does look like the old reel flanges that were used back then. However, I thought the J37 had a much more colored sound than what type A sounds like. They probably just meant Studer in general by their description perhaps? It does the more modern sound, I think. Probably just reading way too much into it.

Great Vid but I guess the song isn't particularly helpful for this very demonstration.

Air in a box. That's all this is. $$$ for air in a box.