These are then transferred into a DAW, to combine tape sound with the freedom of editing. No longer limited by track counts in a DAW environment, tape machines are often used purely for these sonic qualities, to record drums, bass and guitars. Recording to tape yields a subtle coloration and compression that is often described as 'warm' and 'cohesive', with solid low end and overall presence making instruments glue together in a musical way. And although two‑inch tape is increasingly scarce and expensive, and tape‑machine maintenance is time‑consuming, studios around the world still rely on the performance and the sound of analogue multitrack recorders. Over the years, a lot of classic albums have been recorded on it, by artists including Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty and Jeff Buckley, to name but a few. The first microprocessor‑controlled tape machine, the Studer A800 marked a new generation of professional multitrack recorders when it was introduced in 1978.
We decided to put their claims to the test and pit the plug‑in against the real thing, in a classic analogue‑versus‑digital shootout.
UA say that their plug‑in takes tape emulation to new heights, mimicking and reproducing every nuance of analogue tape compression. A year in development, the Studer A800 plug‑in for the UAD2 DSP platform is officially sanctioned by Studer and modelled after a 24‑channel Studer A800 two‑inch tape machine. Their latest plug‑in takes on perhaps their most demanding challenge yet.
Can UA's Studer plug‑in really reproduce the sound of saturated multitrack tape in all its glory? To find out, we tracked down a real Studer A800, a top‑flight studio and a hitmaking band.Ĭalifornia‑based Universal Audio are well known for taking great pains to emulate vintage analogue gear as accurately as possible in their software.
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