Softube Tape Echoes Plug-in  From Softube

The warm ambiance that tape delay lends to a track can make it transcendent. From Elvis to King Tubby to Radiohead, the ripple effects of tape echo can be seen on important records that span decades. Analog tape delays are costly to own and maintain and, while plug-in versions have filled the void, they come with an unwelcome cleanliness. Many tape delay plug-ins can give you a realistic tape effect, but only Tape Echoes gives you the tape delay you hear in your head—minus the headaches.

Tape Echoes is overflowing with all the pulsating color and character you need to take your tape effect from authentically gritty to lavishly analog. With the Drive & Dirt features, you can effortlessly drench your track in as much wobbly, glitchy, distorted delay as you can fathom. And by setting the delay time to Just Dirt, you can achieve a classic old-school grit. It's a plug-in plush with vintage lo-fi vibes and it’s an absolute dream to use. Tape Echoes: you can say that again.

Designed by Experts, Built on Legacy

Our history of emulating professional gear is long. After nearly two decades collaborating with such premium audio brands as Weiss Engineering, Tube-Tech, Solid State Logic, Chandler Limited, and Trident, Softube’s record of perfectly recreating hardware classics in software form speaks for itself.

Tape Echoes hearkens back to this legacy and the spirit of Softube giant Tape, and we took the same meticulous approach we always do–everything needs to be exact, with precise A/B testing and fine-tuning to sound exactly like the original hardware that inspired it or better. Nothing less, always more.

Dripping with distortion

Tape Echoes’ exclusive Drive & Dirt features let you quickly and easily go from gentle realism to extravagant saturation. Drive offers preamp and tape distortion, while Dirt’s parameters affect tape speed, wobble, flutter, dropouts, and frequency response. Set it to Just Dirt and turn the reverb off to get the old-school wobble and grit of tape without repetitions—perfect for transforming a hi-def loop into lo-fi vibe.

Artistic undercurrents

In a sea of retro replicas, there’s only one tape delay that’s awash with vivid color and intense character. Drive, Dirt, and Tape Glitch beckon you to open the floodgates of reality-bending experimentation and take a dip in unadulterated creativity. But be forewarned: after Tape Echoes, other tape delays just won’t feel as fun to use.

Tap into tape

The Number of Taps knob captures the resounding depths of classic tape delay hardware. Mimicking the sound, behavior, and timing of analog tape delay heads, the Number of Taps knob glides effortlessly between one, two, or three taps. The feedback dials in and emphasizes the taps for a natural, analog effect.

Sea of versatility

Tape Echoes features hyper-realistic analog delay and spring reverb that perform just like authentic hardware. Use the delay time fader to set the timing of the first tap and the other two go with the flow. Place the reverb in parallel or before the delay line to slide seamlessly from authentic, clean analog to soaked with distortion. Alternatively, turn down Delay Time and Reverb for a straight-up tape effect with just as much grit and dirt as you want.

Reflections: Tape Echoes for Amp Room and Modular

Asked and answered! This is the Amp Room module you’ve been waiting for. Tape Echoes comes with modules for both Amp Room—our pro audio guitar and bass platform—as well as our Eurorack platform, Modular.

This product supports Extended Features

We love VU meters, Bakelite knobs, and analog quirks. But we want modern precision and workflow. The answer? Softube Extended Features. Easy-access panels with the innovations you need close at hand.

What's Included

Tape Echoes

Tape Echoes delivers all the dirt you’ve ever wanted from a tape delay in one superbly modeled native plug-in. A flood of features—like Drive, Dirt, and Just Dirt—help you achieve everything from realistic tape sounds to distorted delay and old-school lo-fi vibes. Modern innovations and programable parameters make it a DAW-based dream to use. Tape Echoes sets the high-water mark for dirt in tape delay.

Tape Echoes for Amp Room

Asked and answered. Tape Echoes is available for use in Softube Amp Room, the pro audio guitar and bass platform. Combine it with other studio effects, classic amps, cabs, and pedals to create studio-quality, record-ready tones.

Tape Echoes for Modular

Use Tape Echoes in Softube Modular, our infinitely expandable, modular synthesizer platform. Virtually patch it to any of the modules from Doepfer, Buchla, Intellijel, and more and sail away to distant sonic shores.

Deep dive: Drive & Dirt

A bottomless well of color, character, and creativity, the Drive & Dirt features of Tape Echoes make it wholly distinct from the available pool of tape delays. Drive is the distortion that mirrors preamp and tape saturation, from realistic sounds to sopping-wet reverberations. Dirt is the character of the effect. It affects tonality, flutter, dropouts, crosstalk, pitch, and the randomness of those parameters—from mild to exaggerated.

Used as a distinct effect when delay and reverb are off, Drive & Dirt produce a vibrant lo-fi vibe. In combination with the Tape Glitch features, Drive & Dirt offer space for experimentation and can perform creative feats that analog tape echoes—and software reproductions—just can’t replicate. If you’re thirsty for a tape delay that sounds as dirty as you expect it to, you’ll drink up Tape Echoes and its signature features, Drive & Dirt.

Smooth sailing: convenient modern features

Tape Echoes has everything you need to create the tape echo tones of your wildest dreams, plus the contemporary features that make it easy to use in the DAW-based studio. Use Tape Echoes in free mode or synchronize to the DAW with Tempo Sync and mapped out rhythm times. Tap Tempo makes it easier to dial in certain tap times and Tape Echoes also includes stereo- and dual-mono modes, as well as a wet/dry control. All of Tape Echoes' parameters are programmable in the DAW, ensuring that your digital workflow runs smoothly. It bears repeating, Tape Echoes is a bona fide vintage mojo machine for the modern studio.

In short

• A tape echo plug-in with the tape delay sounds you hear in your mind
• Softube-quality modeling of a classic vintage tape delay hardware
• Drive & Dirt features let you go clean or extremely distorted—and everything in between
• A Just Dirt setting for gritty, old-school tape sounds
• Get old-school dub sounds with lots of distortion, tape wobble, and crushing feedback
• Easily dial in great sounding effects with amazing quality
• Three versions included: Tape Echoes as a native plug-in, Tape Echoes for Amp Room, and Tape Echoes for Modular