Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
Customer Reviews
Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
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J. Marcovitz
That Extra Something
The ATR-102 plugin is one of the best tape plugins on the market. On one end, you can go super deep into how you want your processing done, or just throw it on your Stereo Mix for extra color. More often than not, it adds that extra bit of color, that extra "something" that can give a song or a cue a touch more character.
S. Savacool
Tape goodness!
So, I have never recorded to real tape, but I have listened to plenty of records that were, and this plugin really gets it. But, never mind all of that. What I want to talk about is how good of a plugin this is for the mix bus. I find that it adds a great level of color, glue, and sweetness to my mix. I usually add it at the very end, after I get the track how I want it, then let the ATR-102 give it that tape warmth and glue and use the eq to tweak the very top and bottom. It sounds great on a drum bus, as well. You can get some great tape delay effects for guitar and vocals, as well. I think this plugin is a must have for people who want their tracks to not sound like the modern "pristine" thing that's all over pop music, but want their music to have character and a more "human" quality.
S. Dawood
The best
Best tape emulator... specially for mastering
M. Palma
ATR-102
Great for every important master
M. Hernandez
Tape On! (In the Box) Wow!
The classic Ampex on your tracks! The plugin without limitations not only for mastering, you can use on anything, put in your guitars, on drums or whatever that you wanted it!
Thanks Universal Audio another bite the dust!
#TheRealDeal #ElRockNoTieneLaCulpa
C. Laster
AMPEX ATR-102
I HAVE THE OXIDE AND THE AMPEX ATR-102 AND I CAN'T WAIT TO GET THE STUDER. FOR YEARS IVE BEEN USING THE STEVEN SLATE VTM ON MY MIX BUS ONLY AND THE ATR WILL NOW TAKE ITS PLACE. IT GLUES THE ENTIRE MIX TOGETHER AND THATS ALL I NEED TO SAY AND THAT'S ALL I NEED IT TO DO! THE ONLY ISSUE I HAVE IS THE PRICE BUT LUCKILY THERE'S THE CUSTOM 3 BUNDLE!!!
A. Picciafuochi
Ideal for warming mastering
Ideal for warming particularly "digital sounding" mastering
R. Shaw
Absolutely Stunning
I can't tell you just how amazing this plugin is, it has to be used and experienced to see just what it does. I previously was using a Slate tape emulation plugin and the difference was very apparent. I still like the Slate for group saturation but for the overall mix this is untouchable.
j. elliott
far and away my favorite tape emu.
permanently lives on my two bus for mix down.
D. Whittington
At the beginning of my Mastering strip everytime!
Even when I place this on my master strip it pulls my track together on Default. The presets are always good enough to find a sound I am after regardless of the style of music I am working on. Cheers UAD!
J. Pitcher
Great Finish
If you're looking for a way to polish the final mix or as a last step in your mastering chain, this is it. It's the final layer that buffs and polishes the overall sound. Love it.
F. Batiste III
Master Of The Two Bus
Just put it on the two bus and watch it turn a good mix into a great one. Best tape emulation period IMHO.
F. Vieira
Can't live without it
This plugin brings my mixing to another level... Great Character and impact!
Use it all time!!!!
M. Cartwright
great
I have been trying this plugin all over my mixes. I tried it with some keys and it added some incredible warble/vibrato effects when the wow & flutter were dialed up. It also sounds incredible for glue on the master when set with normal settings. Just push the input right where the signal pushes into the tape and pull back a little. I like some of the magic that happens there. It makes transients live in a happy place.
S. Gough
Adds life to dead tracks
Great for master and drum busses. Can make drums sound nice and fat. It added some life back into tracks that were cut on a less than impressive console. Reacts very similarly to a real machine
A. Meyer
This is the plugin that made me take the UAD leap.
This is a wonderful plugin. It comes very close to the original. This plugin goes deep in the amount of tones you can get out of it. I like being able to switch between the sync and play heads. This is a mandatory UAD plugin.
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Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder Review
From the moment I first tried this plugin on my entire mix, I felt like I finally found the missing link to a GREAT sounding mix. The number of different sounds you can get just by choosing different combinations of tape speeds, head widths, tape formulas, calibration levels, biasing, wow/flutter, hum/hiss and input/output record levels is astonishing!
A huge range of tape sounds are covered from lo-fi (3.75 IPS, 1/4" head) All the way to Ultra Hi Fidelity (30 IPS 1" Head)
A really cool add on is the tape delay control, which gives you tape delay effect, with variable time control.
A MUST HAVE plugin. Great Job UA!
J. Banfield
Fantastic!
I worked with tape for many years and was happy to abandon it when digital caught up. Tape is a major headache and hope I never have to touch it again. This plugin brings back some of that special "warmth" that those old machines and oxides used to give the sound without ANY of the hassle of a real tape machine. While not necessary for every application (I am a fan of clean digital sound), it is great on some tracks to add that dirt and classic sound. Very flexible and faithful recreation of the "tape" sound. UA has done it again. A bit pricey but if you catch it on sale, totally worth it!
A. Suanlarm
An Absolute Must!
I use this along with the other two tape plugins. I wouldn't mix without them. Everything just sounds better.
N. Dayan
My go-to mix bus plugin
The Ampex ends up on most of my mix busses as a last insert and gives that finishing touch to a mix. It glues the track together and smooths out the top end for that analog sound. I'm also very pleased with the tape delay effects that it can produce and along with the wow and flutter settings, I've been able to recreate that 60s tape flange effect I was looking for.