Monthly Archives: July 2013

Tape Machine: Vintage Tape Emulation for Reaktor

Here’s a guest post from Reaktor user Martin Klappacher, in which he gives us a heads up about a vintage tape emulation from the recent past. I’m forever finding overlooked jewels uploaded to the Reaktor library that I either ignored the first time around or downloaded and left languishing in some corner of my hard drive. After all, there are only so many hours in a day. That’s why it’s important for Reaktor users to communicate. Do you have a favorite unheralded gem from the user library? Let us know in the comments! – Pete

It’s pretty obvious that one of the biggest trends in the last couple of years regarding audio is the digital recreation of vintage/analog gear as software (plugins). Not long ago it seemed that everyone was raving about tape saturation, especially the recreation of specific tape machines as algorithms. Some well-known plugin manufacturers hopped on the bandwagon and created some rather expensive and mostly dongled products.

Recently I stumbled across a Reaktor ensemble on my HD I totally had forgotten about at all. Since I think it’s not that common among Reaktor users and a couple of years old, I want to share with you. It’s simply called Tape Machine  created by S. Millward.

Tape Machine v5.2

Described as multi effects processor it has seven different stages to recreate the feel of a vintage tape machine. But the really great thing about this ensemble are it’s snapshots. There are 43 presets exclusively for different models/settings of Studer, Otari, Tascam, Ampex, Sony and other tape machines. These snapshots have exactly the same EQ curves as the original devices, are very subtle and therefore are best suited for the use on acoustic material, buses or the master channel. Of course you can dial in more extreme values for radical results as well, take a look at the remaining snapshots for examples.

I hope this is helpful for someone and have fun! (Thanks again to S. Millward for the great ensemble!)

Tape Machine v5.2 » Last Updated: 2011-08-29 » Download (Reaktor User Library)

CC BY-SA 3.0Martin Klappacher

Supersaw Synth for Reaktor – The JP-4C

Producer, composer and sound designer Alex Shore has created and released the JP 4C Reaktor ensemble with supersaw features, built as part of a research project:

In 1996 Roland released the JP-8000, their first virtual analogue modeling synthesiser. The JP-8000 became very famous for one thing, the Super Saw. This unique sound helped define the trance music genre and is still commonly used in electronic dance music production today.

The JP-4c is a Reaktor patch designed to emulate the infamous Super Saw oscillator.


 Here’s what it sounds like:

Alex says:

The JP-4c is built upon a combination of research conducted by myself and other individuals, with the patch being able to effectively emulate the original Super Saw’s unique timbre. Detailed research and analysis of the Super Saw found that the oscillator exhibits some interesting characteristics giving it a particular sound.

Download and further information here.

(Hat tip: Martin Klappacher)

Free Hanky Tank Hang Drum Ensemble from Boscomac

HANKY TANK is a tonal percussion instrument crafted from a propane tank. It offers sound close to a hang drum. But here, the Hanky Tank has a 4-octave pitch range, the ability to choose between many tonal modes and arpeggiator for jammin! In terms of sound, you can choose the intensity of the harmonics, the dissonance of the body, the general color, reverb etc.. The setting of the precision allows to simulate live shots. 
Get it here.