Cassette tape emulation plugin by Wavesfactory interface

Cassette: Tape Emulation Plugin by Wavesfactory Free Download

Rated 4.8/5 on Plugin Boutique (1,900 ratings)

Cassette is a tape emulation audio plugin from Wavesfactory that models the sound of vintage cassette tapes and decks. It is available as a VST3 and VST2 plugin for Windows and macOS.

VST3VST2WindowsmacOS64-bit

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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Free trial available from the developer

01Overview

Cassette recreates the character of a recording medium that many producers grew up with. Wavesfactory built it from an analysis of many signals recorded to real tapes, aiming to capture how the original units colored sound. The developer describes it as a tool for adding nostalgia, movement and an analog feel to a mix, with a focus on being fun, pleasant to the ear and true to the medium. A trial is available.

Best for

Lo-fi drum processing
Vintage vocal color
Nostalgic synth textures
Analog mix saturation
Tape-style sound design

Developer: Wavesfactory
Category: Tape Emulation
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Models vintage cassette tapes and decks based on analysis of real tape recordings
Four selectable cassette types: I, II, III and IV
Frequency-dependent saturation, compression, hiss and asperity noise
Wow, flutter, random high-frequency loss and channel crosstalk modeling
Modular Tape section to enable or disable each processing step
Stability section with randomness for unpredictable analog behavior
Artifacts section including Random Snap pitch instability
Oversampling with internal processing at 192 kHz

03In depth

Tape Character and the Four Cassette Types

Cassette models four cassette types, each with its own sonic traits. Type I is the standard ferric-oxide format. Type II, with its chromium dioxide formulation, is associated with a noticeable lift in high-frequency response. Type III, a ferro-chrome format, is included for its short period of use in the 1970s and early 1980s. Type IV, a metal formulation, is described as having firmer bass and louder high frequencies.

Changing the tape type affects the frequency response, saturation, compression, static noise (hiss) and dynamic noise (asperity noise) of the plugin, so switching types is a practical way to shift the overall color of a sound.

Modular Processing and Controlled Randomness

Beyond the front panel, Cassette exposes four sections for finer control: Tape, Stability, Extra and Artifacts. The Tape section lets you enable or disable each processing step. Stability adds randomness to make the result less predictable, and Artifacts includes a Random Snap option that simulates a tape catching momentarily and causing pitch instability. The Extra section holds the Re-Cassette parameter.

The plugin uses oversampling to reduce aliasing and works internally at a 192 kHz sampling rate, according to the developer.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	Wavesfactory
Type	Plugin
Category	Tape Emulation
Formats	VST3, VST2
Operating systems	Windows, macOS
Architecture	64-bit
Free trial	Yes

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What is Cassette?

Cassette is a tape emulation audio plugin by Wavesfactory. It emulates the sound of vintage cassette tapes and decks, including their frequency response, saturation and noise.

Which formats and operating systems does Cassette support?

Cassette is available in VST3 and VST2 formats for Windows and macOS. It is 64-bit only and will not run on 32-bit systems.

What do I need to run Cassette?

On macOS you need 10.9 or higher, with Intel or Apple Silicon support, and a 64-bit DAW and OS. On Windows you need Windows 7, 8 or 10 (64-bit) and a DAW that can host VST or VST3 plugins, or Pro Tools.