Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
Customer Reviews
Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
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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
A. Dingley
Yo! This thing is a monster
I had a real 102 for years, and I used it for masters, EVERY DAY. This plug-in is such a great recreation.... And turning off the 'hiss' is so sweet. I love what it does on my high resolution masters... And it's also fun for crunching up drums a bit.
a. zitto
The cornerstone of a Mixes & Mastering!!
Please demo it and your Mixes will not be the same!!!!
T. Friesecke
great!
such a nice sound. if it should sound like oldschool, this plug-in is on my master-channel!
M. Fudge
Magic...
One of the best pieces of processing for your master bus. Instant vine and character. The EQ on this machine works wonders. Also using it as a tape delay has always been one of my favourite tricks on the hardware and I'm glad to see it in the plugin.
M. Jisander
First class
Amazing plugin, makes the mix sound polished and final.
P. BREWSTER
Amazing!
I have not found anything closer to the real thing. Now if they could make a air freshener so I could get the smell of a fresh reel. Nothing like it.
H. Nakanishi
It's great and easy!
It's became my favorite plug-in since I tried once.
G. Anikin
Great as Delay
But not good as a mastering tape machine... not even close to the sound of original ATR. makes sound too mono and over compressed even on a low level. Sounds good as slap delay though.
M. Puigserver Barceló
Nice analog sound
Before I purchased this plugin I demoed it an compared to the waves kramer, j37 and the studer. I think that compared to others, this one offers an immediate difference in sound. The sonic characteristics can go from subtle to more evident. I'm using it on my final mixes and I'm very satisfied as it suites my needs. Nevertheless, I have to say that the price is far too high. I purchased it thanks to a 250€ coupoun and the 50€ price cut that they were offering, otherwise I believe that 350€ for a plugin is close to ridiculous.
A. McCarthy
Its so attractive its MAGNETIC
Amazing quality of sound. You would be hard pressed to make anything running through it NOT sound so much better. Great job UA. Adam, Sydney AUS
.
Makes a big difference
I recently sent some tracks off to be mixed and mastered by a professional studio. When I got the mixes back they were not at all what I wanted or expected. To my ear it was completely wrong. I decided to mix the tracks myself and once I had mixes I was happy with I was looking for tricks to enhance them during the mastering process. I'm glad I found this plugin because it has made a substantial difference. I recorded my first album to tape and I've always felt that record has a nicer vibe to it that I've never quite managed to replicate in the digital realm. This plugin, as well as a few others has really helped to achieve what I was looking for. Definitely my favourite from UAD.
P. Meeks
Superior to track tape machine
There is nothing like adding a tape machine to your sound. I used this exact model in the hardware version,on a daily basis. This plug-in is so true to the tape sound it's amazing to me. Together with the ability to change tape, speeds, Bias, EQ, it truly gives you the flexibility to get any sound off the tape you want. The warmth of this plug-in is outstanding. It was one of the first ones that I got.