Electronic Music 411 - how to make software "tape"

05/12/08 + flies

lowpass filter, ok, got that much. what next? seems like some kind of overdrive is called for... perhaps some FIR filtering... How do i make it grainy?

basically i'm interested in fx that i can put inside the feedback loop. hopefully that will be enough.

it wouldn't be that hard to add flutter to the playback either...

edit: title should read "tape" delay

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05/12/08 + Roshi

Detuning/chorusing for wow/flutter
I would think multiple bandpass filters with lfo-> frequency and maybe some subtle distortion on certain bands

I'm just guessing, though...usually I post and then someone tells me I'm rong

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edited: May 12 2008 + flies

maybe 'distort' isn't the right word for the bp idea, since digital filters are linear (distortion is essentially defined as non-linear; non-linear adds harmonics, linear doesn't), but that'd likely create an interesting effect. will report back.

i wonder what would happen if i put a detuning chorus into the feedback loop? that's an interesting idea, thanks dood.

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05/12/08 + ignatius

what OS are you running? if apple OSX then check this:

link

he makes pro tools plugs that are supposed to be really good and are inexpensive.. here's his 'tape' plug in for free as an AU.. but i guess you are making a max patch or something???

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05/12/08 + Roshi

The other thing is I think you'd ideally want something that could carve out regions of the spectrum in a semi random fashion to simulate tape wear...but I wouldn't know how to simulate it.

Yeah, by distortion I mean nonlinear response rather than otherwise

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05/12/08 + flies

iggy said: "but i guess you are making a max patch or something?"

yep.

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05/12/08 + Roshi

two articles on simulating tape wear:

link
link

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05/12/08 + flies

hot. if i can integrate AFM into my max-msp'age all my physicist friends will bow down and offer me their first born and such.

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05/12/08 + Spark

You could always try putting it on tape too..

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05/12/08 + flies

here's the delay with the pitchbend. actualy, it's more like a flanger. there's a (no feedback) 10 ms delay inside a 1 second delay. the delay inside is varied with fm'd flangers. (the rand~ object is no good for varying a delay b/c it's piece-wise linear). There's two of those flangy guys mixed with the regular signal going through the 1 second delay.

here's a sample. link

it begins with the delay on, there' a brief moment with the delay off, then it goes back on again. it's me and my 'friend' talking.

It sounds spacey. not really tape-y.

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05/12/08 + Roshi

Yeah, the detuning I think has to be global to get that wow and flutter effect

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05/12/08 + ignatius

sounds cool but i guess you are going for a cassette tape sound? not a studer tape deck sound? or was all that hiss in the sample?

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edited: May 12 2008 + flies

hiss was in the sample. and tape deck is more the feel i'm going for: the more lofi the better.

yea, roshi, if i made the vibrato global instead of mixing it it would be more tapey, though i kinda liked this too. My hope had been that mixing the detuned stuff in would make it sound somehow thicker, more muddy, but flanging is what i got.

muddy is still something i'd like to try and get...

in fact, getting mud out of pure digital is generally a goal...

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05/12/08 + tapirA

I see that you're a Max/MSP user. I'd make a patch that uses a series of cascade~ filters gone through overdrive~. That solves the "grainy" sounds. Then slightly detuning it I think would make it sound like tape. Just an idea.

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05/12/08 + license

I think you should just take some white noise and use some LFOs to modulate various bandpass filters, amplitude, flutter, etc. and A/B it with some sampled tape hiss. develop a good footprint with that and then start tweaking it for processing other signals.

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