Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
Customer Reviews
Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
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J. Barriuso
Amazing plugin
As a new member in the production business, I can´t really define what Ampex does in it´s multiple presets. All I know is, since I bought it, it has changed my final sound, not only in pop/rock productions, but also in orchestral and cinematic works, going allways to the master track.
It´s not only it´s tape or analogical taste, it´s the things it does to the whole block of instruments, gluing them but also enhancing most of them, kinda separating it´s individual sounds.
In most of the cases I don´t know wich preset to choose, each one sounds better in a different sense.
I also use it as a very good delay.
Amazing plugin.
s. chakraborty
THE BEST ONE
This is the best 2track tape plugins. Sounding very real.I enjoyed a lot.Thanks UA
.
Great quality and very effective
This plugin really glues a group or mix together well. I love using it to make it sound like you are in the room with the session.
A. Navarro
Impresionante
Se trata de un plugin que convierte una pista simple de audio, en algo superior. Es imprescindible para todo ingeniero, músico o locutor. Sin duda Universal Audio, vuelve a demostrar que SÍ es cierto que desarrollan los plugins para que sean 99,99% iguales que el hardware original. No dejéis de descargar este plugin is AMAZING!!!!! Good Job Universal Audio Guys
M. Andrews
A Lot Of Fun But... Be Careful!
This plug-in is a LOT of fun to use. It really does sound like tape. The wow and flutter controls are amazing, as is the adjustable hiss. The saturation quality is off-the-charts!
However, ear fatigue is a real thing. After hours of just PLAYING with this plugin, you stop hearing the subtle effects of the table, and start pushing the plugin harder and harder. The good news is, the plugin can take it, and sounds great. The bad news is, you might come back the next day and realize that you pushed it WAY too far.
I seriously don't think I have a need for my outboard TEAC reel-to-reel anymore, though I probably still won't get rid of it... but this is already one of my favorite plugins ever!
K. Beasley
Happy That I Bought This
This plug in does so much when you put it over the entire mix buss. It literally gives an entire mix character. Much better and accurate than other Tape Emulation plug ins. Well worth the money.
F. Brendle
The Tape Machine inside your Bits!
Well... I only can imagine of a good Tape Machine.. will probably never own a real one. But I can "hear" the difference between my "dry-tapeless" sound and the "wet-tape-sim'ed" sound - a BIG difference. I have compared several simulations from several manufactures, but this one is the most amazing one. I like to use the very "clean" Mastering presets as a starting point, except I want to go extreme. This Tape Sim is also excellent for slap-back on vocals. I would be careful to put this one on every channel, this is maybe for the studer, especially for tracking through it. But for the master bus and for indiviual tracks it is a beast!
.
Tape vs Tape vs Tape vs UA ATR-102
I have more tape emulation plugins than I care to admit and none of them gave me exactly what I was looking for. Admittedly, I stayed away from the ATR because of the price tag...I even stayed away from demoing it because I was afraid I would like it! And...that's what happened...two days after demoing it, I bought it. Short and sweet...it does what none of the others did for me in that sonic sweetness department.
.
More than I was expecting for!
I just loved this plug-in since the first time I tried it. It gave me the color, and the right compression I was looking for. That kind of 70s-analog-vibe. I used it on my master bus. Also recorded some voices and guitar tracks with it. Just AWESOME. I will never regret to have purchased the AMPEX ATR 102.
.
More than I was expecting for!
I just loved this plug-in since the first time I tried it. It gave me the color, and the right compression I was looking for. That kind of 70s-analog-vibe. I used it on my master bus. Also recorded some voices and guitar tracks with it. Just AWESOME. I will never regret to have purchased the AMPEX ATR 102.
V. Koenig
Fantastic!
This plug in is brilliant, it`s mostly on each channel together with the new Neve 88rs wich is also brilliant.Nice analog feel.Great!!!
s. kgr
Like! Real Tape recorder sounds
Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder was inserted in all truck.
It was a drum, a base, a guitar and others and a very good feel.
It's different from comp and EQ again, the plug-in which can't be left any more. The use by a master is best of course. Wonderful.
V. Azevedo
Getting smiles from my customers
I have a online Mix & Master studio here in Brazil and I was working on 3 projects, including a MPB CD Master. Between one version and another, with very few adjusts, I decide to use/demo ATR in the session.
When I sent material to the singer's evaluation, she said "Hey, this version sounds different. I liked it.".
I'm a little afraid of this analog perfection porsuit, but, ATR sounds realy good 4 a lot of styles, subtle & real, as A800.
The point is that we are making music happen.
Comparing with A800, side by side, it sounds far different, at almost all combinations.
So sweet using within a Mix session with A800 and in a Master session with a VariMu Manley.
Well, I didn't bought yet, but I know what will happen at the end of trial.
F. M
Just magical
I've been trialing this plug-in on a couple mixes and love the results. Most recently, I tried mastering a song in Logic Pro X with various mastering plugins such as the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor, the Precision Multiband and the Precision Limiter. While those are all quite nice, I ended up scrapping all of them in favor of the ATR-102 because it seemed to do everything I needed (working from the "Ain't That Pretty" preset). It's the one that least undid all the work I'd done on the mix (especially in the stereo imaging) yet tightened everything up so musically. I then added the Manly Variable MU ahead of it with the light touch of the Phil Tan Master Mix Buss, increasing the input just a bit for added limiting. Nice.
D. Hedin
There's just something about it...
I remember when I was first starting out in production, I could never seem to capture that "sound" and/or that "warble", so to speak, that were on so many of my favorite records. The music was just MOVING in a way I just couldn't describe.
Then one day I demoed the ATR-102 and BAM - that was it! Yes, it is expensive, and yes, I have a ton of different tape emulation plugs. But there's something truly special about this one. TIP: If you set the speed to 7.5ips or slower, the wow/flutter is more affected. It will give you that indie tape sound you might be after.
I gotta say - I have hundreds of plugins and many of them I use every day, but this is one of my top 5 desert island plugs. I seriously can't live without it!
C. Huber
magic
i dont know what they have done with this plugin, but this one is pure magic..
you can slap it on almost everytrack and it makes it sound better and fuller, more organic and more 3D
regardless if its your vocal channel, your drum buss, or your masterbuss
incredible!!
thanks ua for making such an awesome plugin
B. Davis
Costly But Amazing
I Demoed this for 14 Days and I must say it really sounds good. It's definitely one of the Better emulations out there.
I use the Studder A800 on A Lot of my mixes and I've grown very comfortable with it. I said let me give the Ampex ATR 102 a Test run after a fellow Engineer mentioned a Compilation mix he used it on that I liked. Man I must say this plugin Sounds nothing short of Amazing. I most likely won't buy it due to the pricing but If I were to buy a tape or Recommend one, It would definitely be up there.
Its very easy to fall in love with the Results.
9/10
B. Davis
Costly But Amazing
I Demoed this for 14 Days and I must say it really sounds good. It's definitely one of the Better emulations out there.
I use the Studder A800 on A Lot of my mixes and I've grown very comfortable with it. I said let me give the Ampex ATR 102 a Test run after a fellow Engineer mentioned a Compilation mix he used it on that I liked. Man I must say this plugin Sounds nothing short of Amazing. I most likely won't buy it due to the pricing but If I were to buy a tape or Recommend one, It would definitely be up there.
Its very easy to fall in love with the Results.
9/10
S. M
Ampex ATR-102- A Superb Plugin
Thank you to AMPEX ATR-102.
This is a Very great plugin from Universal Audio.
Thank you to Universal Audio for creating a product of such a high standard.
Whilst this review is particularly about the Ampex ATR-102, I have been further impressed by products of a similar high standard from Universal Audio such as -
EMT 250 Classic, Cooper Time Cube, Lexicon 224 Digi Revrb,1176s, Teletronix LA-2As/3A, Precision buss C,/Enhancer Hz, /KHz/ K-Stereo & Precision EQ Plug-in,Elysia Alpha C,API Vision Channel Strip, Little Labs-VOG, the Fatso plug, SPL VitalizeMK2T, Neve1081, CambridgeEq,Brainworx bx digital V2 EQ Plug-in, Dangerous Bax EQ Plug-in,Shadow Hills Compressor and the Sonnox Oxford Inflator.
I do not own any Apollo interface or any other hardware from Universal Audio. These plug-ins sit on the UAD2 Satellite firewire box. I like these particular ones because of their high standard of performance every time and any time they are brought into use. They just simply stand out and perform thee best.
As far as plug-ins go and besides the above mentioned plugs I have demoed and tried most other ones from Universal Audio and they are good too.
Cheers.
K. Hegyi
Must have!
I use this on the 2-bus day by day and nothing beats this. It brings life to the song soon as you put it in and with just the right settings you just have a Amazing mix which were just Good in the first place.
Must have!
10/10