IK Multimedia T-RackS Tape Echo
Tape Delay Plugin
Warm Echoes from The Past
The Tape Echo is a faithful recreation of the highly sought-after Echoplex EP3 tape delay.
The original unit made its appearance in 1969 and was immediately adopted by musicians and guitar players as the standard for delay effects.
The principle behind it is that of a traditional analog recording machine, where the incoming signal is printed by a tape head onto magnetic 1/4" tape.
A second tape head placed afterward plays back the recorded signal creating the delay effect.
Varying the distance between the two heads determines the delay time.
The IK Multimedia Tape Echo takes all of the analog "imperfections" of moderate headroom class A electronics coupled with magnetic tape into account and puts them under your control.
The added advantage of software flexibility and power offers BPM syncable delay times, stereo operation for two independent delay lines, and complete automation.
All of the electronics and tape behavior have been closely matched: from tape hiss, wear, wow and flutter, and AC line hum (selectable among US and EU voltage).
With these controls, the Tape Echo can be used as a standard analog delay (when set accordingly) or pushed to the extremes, where the use of the Wow and Flutter, preamp gain, and tape wear turn it into a wild effects generator.
The natural and organic delay trails will sit nicely in a mix giving a track its own 3D perspective, still making it blend nicely with the rest.
A classic use for this module is on vocals, where the added bonus of BPM syncable delay times can make for very warm and lush echoes.
Another of the staples of this kind of delay has been surf guitar, where its unmistakable signature "slap" turns an ordinary clean guitar track into a trademark sound.
System Requirements
- MacOS 10.10 Yosemite and above
- Windows 7 and above (64-bit only)
- Intel, AMD, or Apple Silicon CPU
- 4GB RAM or more
Plugin Formats
AAX Native, AU, VST2, and VST3