Now that DUY finally have released their popular plug-in DaD Tape for Windows users I thought it was the right time to do a proper review of it. I’ll try to get ahold of MagicEQ, Magic Spectrum and EverPack for review later on as well… But now it’s time for DaD Tape!

The controls

The DaD Tape interface is very basic, but this is not a bad thing, after all, why would a tape emulator be complicated? Besides the input and output levels there are three drop-down menus for machine, speed and noise reduction. Among the machines are one from each decade since the ’60s, including a raw tube (or valve as DUY would call it) emulation. The available options are ideal tape, 80’s, 70’s, 60’s, 60’s tube, and 1/2 inch. The tape speeds available are the standards, 7 1/2, 15 and 30 ips. The noise reduction can be set to either noiseless, type A or type B, or simply off.

DaD Tape also have a slot-typed preset system. There are four slots that you can copy, paste and save to (A to D). There are no presets included however, and while I normally complain about that, they are not really necessary in a plug-in like this. Choose a machine, a speed and a noise reduction, then simply adjust the input and output levels. That’s it! The meters are good and you can easily see when the in-signal hits the red for that sweet tape distortion.

On the tracks

DaD Tape is to me more aggressive than McDSP Analog Channel AC2, less gritty than Massey Tape-Head and a bit darker than Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation. If these are the character traits you’re looking for then go buy it right away. I stand by the conclusion in the Spotlight on tape emulators that it isn’t as flexible as Analog Channel, but that definitely doesn’t mean that it’s a one way plug-in. The different machines emulated clearly have different attributes, so it could really be used for just about anything that need some tape-ish sound. Charles Dye might like the Ideal tape setting, but as a sucker for pre-80’s music I really like the edgier sounds of the earlier models.

I say it’s aggressive, and what I mean by that is that you don’t have to push it very hard for a good effect. I find that this attribute suites me very well on aggressive vocals (rock, edgy blues etc. and I’m sure metal and angry hip hop as well). I also enjoy it on drums, especially on a drum sub mix. DaD Tape is very “punchy”, especially on percussive elements, and this is of course the reason why I like it on drums. I also said that it’s darker than Reel Tape Saturation. I think this is because Reel Tape Saturation adds a little in the highs while DaD Tape seems to cut the highs a bit like most other tape emulators.

Conclusion

DaD Tape is to me perhaps the most aggressive tape emulator on the market, and I like it especially much on aggressive rock-type vocals as well as on all kinds of percussion. It will of course work on any signal that needs tape emulation, but to me, these are the areas that it really shines. It’s quick to work with and it’s easy to get good results with it. DaD Tape might not be the most flexible tape emulator out there, but the options it presents should be well enough for any tape needs, especially since there is a good amount of machines to choose from. You can’t really go wrong with it, and if you need edge then you really need to check it out.