Spoolhaus
2-inch tape, inspired by 2-inch multitrack tape.
Spoolhaus is the sound of tape: saturation that rounds peaks, a head bump that fattens the low end, and that glue. Speed and Bias are continuous, Bump and Saturation have their own controls, and there's no wow or flutter, so it stays in time (add Waver if you want movement).
The controls
- Speed
- 7.5 to 30 ips: slower is warmer with a lower, bigger bump; faster is cleaner and brighter.
- Input
- How hard you hit the tape.
- Bias
- Under-biased is brighter and grittier; over-biased is softer and warmer.
- Bump
- The low-end head bump, 0 to 10.
- Saturation
- How much the tape compresses and colours.
Best for
- Drums: glue and rounded transients
- The mix bus: cohesion
- Bass: warmth and weight
- Anything too clean and digital
Starting points
Load Spoolhaus, set these, then adjust by ear. In the plugin, Level match helps you judge the sound, not the loudness.
Drum glue
Speed 15, Input +4, Bias 0, Bump 5, Saturation 6
Bus tape
Speed 30, Input +2, Bias 0.2, Bump 3, Saturation 4
Lo-fi warmth
Speed 7.5, Input +8, Bias -0.4, Bump 7, Saturation 8
Hints and tips
- Hit it harder rather than turning Saturation right up: Input changes how the tape responds.
- 15 ips is the sweet spot for most sources.
- Add Waver after Spoolhaus if you want the wobble of an old machine.
Chains it works best in
Every Original works in a chain with the others and with members' hardware. These are good places to start.
- Fettle then Spoolhaus: punchy, glued drums
- Mortar then Spoolhaus: glue and tape on the mix bus
- Spoolhaus then Waver: a worn tape machine, complete with wobble
Watch out for
- Spoolhaus on every track at high Input: the low end builds up. Use Bump sparingly on busy mixes.
Spoolhaus is free
Like every DigMusiK plugin, Spoolhaus is free for registered members: it's part of the platform, so the chains you hand on and send for approval play the same for everyone. Try it in your studio, on your own mix.