Tape strip plugin Free

RSL-ST562

A 500-series tape strip, as a plugin for your DAW.

Trim, tape at 30 or 15 ips, and Fabric harmonics in blue or red, laid out like a 500-series card you read top to bottom. It runs in your session at its own rate, with zero latency.

Get it free in RSL Hub Hear it

Free. Version 0.2.0 is in RSL Hub now.

macOS: Audio Unit, VST3, AAX (Pro Tools) and Standalone. Windows: VST3 and Standalone.

An imagined RSL-ST562 500-series card floating: the faceplate with its lamps lit and the black circuit board behind it

Every lamp, every curve and every one of the 54 presets was built to the same standard as the plugins we charge for. It costs you nothing.

Hear it before and after

Each clip runs dry, then through one factory preset. Both sides are matched in loudness, so what you hear change is the colour, not the volume. Flip the switch while it plays.

Preset DRUMS - Hot Kit 30

0:000:15

Drums DRUMS - Hot Kit 30

Before

After

808 808 - 808 Tape Weight

Before

After

Bass BASS - Bass Grit

Before

After

Vocals VOCALS - Vocal Silk

Before

After

Mix bus MASTERING - Master Tape 30

Before

After

Lit by its own lamps.

Every light on the faceplate tells you something. The ring around TRIM is a meter. The DRIVE lamps read what goes into the tape and the LEVEL lamps what comes out. The DRV knob glows hotter as you push it.

The tape curve only bends what sits below 2 kHz. The top end is compressed rather than bent, so it stays clean without oversampling, and the strip adds no latency.

Close up of the RSL-ST562 faceplate: the DRV knob glowing amber beside the lit DRIVE lamps, the circuit board soft behind

54Factory presets, voiced on real audio

0Samples of latency

6Stages, read top to bottom

30/15Tape speeds, in ips

Six stages, in the order the faceplate reads

The signal goes in at the top and comes out at the bottom. Scroll down the strip and each stage lights up in turn.

Stage 1
Trim

Sets the level going in, by 12 dB either way. The ring of 21 LEDs around it is a meter: it shows the output by default, and the small OUT / IN switch beside it flips it to the input after trim, so you can see how hard you are about to hit the tape.
Stage 2
Tape and Drive

TAPE puts the tape path in and DRV sets how hard it is driven. The acrylic knob glows hotter as you turn it up. The five DRIVE lamps read the signal going into the tape curve, from 20 dB under the point where it starts to bend to 3 dB past it.
Stage 3
30 / 15

Tape speed. 30 ips keeps the low end tight and the top open. 15 ips adds the head bump, a resonant lift under the low notes, and rounds the top off.
Stage 4
Mix Tape

MIXT blends the tape against the dry signal, so the tape can run in parallel: density from a hard drive without losing the hits.
Stage 5
Fabric, Blue and Red

FABRIC adds second and third harmonics. BLUE / RED picks their color: Blue is transformer-like, with smoother lows and a little air; Red stays flat and puts the focus in the mids. MIXF blends them in on their own.
Stage 6
Output and Level

An output transformer stage is always in the path, as it is on a real strip. The five LEVEL lamps show the output, from -15 to -1 dBFS.

54 presets, voiced on real audio

Nine in each of six categories, level-matched to the audio they were voiced on, so switching changes the color and not the volume.

The plugin itself, rendered with a beat running through six presets.

They load from the preset bar across the top of the window: step through them with the arrows, or save your own.

Category	For example	What it does
Drums	Hot Kit 30	30 ips pushed: tight low end, the hits squashed like a hot tape machine.
Bass	Bass Grit	Pushed 30 ips with Red: the growl that reads on small speakers.
808	808 Tape Weight	15 ips head bump: the sub sits heavier and steadier.
Vocals	Vocal Silk	30 ips and Red: present, focused, still clean.
Mastering	Master Tape 30	A light 30 ips print: tighter lows, open top.
Experimental	Fabric Only Blue	Tape out, Blue Fabric full: just the transformer harmonics.

Specifications

macOS: Audio Unit, VST3, AAX (Pro Tools) and Standalone
Windows: VST3 and Standalone
System: macOS 11 or later; Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
Latency: Zero. Nothing to compensate, so it stays in time anywhere in a session
Sample rates: Runs at the session rate, with no oversampling
Presets: 54, nine each in Drums, Bass, 808, Vocals, Mastering and Experimental
Interface: Resizable, from 360 to 1440 points tall
Availability: Free. Version 0.2.0, installed through RSL Hub