Reels: Tape Emulation Plugin with Echo and Tape Stop by AudioThing Free Download

Reels models three 1/4-inch tape frequency responses and saturations, each with its own character. The JP tape has a relatively good frequency response for used tape, the IT tape is new old stock with a limited frequency response, and the FR tape is overused and badly stored, giving the roughest sound.

Beyond the tape itself, Reels reproduces the playback and recording imperfections of consumer machines. Harshness adds mid-range harmonic distortion, wow and flutter add pitch instability, ducking causes random volume loss, and crosstalk leaks signal between the left and right channels. Hiss and motor noise are both adjustable with an envelope.

The tape type also changes how wow, flutter and ducking behave, so switching tapes shifts the amount of pitch and volume movement as well as the tone.

Reels includes an echo section whose sound changes with the selected tape type, especially at higher feedback settings. This makes the echo a part of the tape character rather than a separate delay.

The tape start and stop effect imitates a reel-to-reel machine. Stopping the tape slows it down with a pitch-down and fade-out, and starting it speeds it up with a pitch-up and fade-in. The speed of this effect can be adjusted, which makes it usable as a transition or a performance effect.