Wavesfactory Cassette €59

Turn your studio clock back to the era of the tape-based Portastudio with this evocative new saturation and modulation plugin

These days, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to tape emulation plugins, but there are only a handful that aim to capture the sonic texture of domestic cassette tape, as opposed to ‘professional’ reel-to-reel machines. The latest entrant onto this particular scene couldn’t be clearer in its naming or more straightforward in its front panel controls – but looks can be deceptive, as Cassette (VST/AU/AAX) also offers a wealth of under-the-hood parameters with which to finesse its magnetized-particulate stylings, or take them to extremes.

’Sette and match At the heart of Cassette is a selection of four tape types and three ‘decks’ – see Taping advantage – which are simply stepped through using the arrow buttons to either side of the beautifully animated tape graphic, and the Pro, Home, and Micro buttons. The (gain compensated) Input control overdrives the signal into the tape by up to +24dB, for gentle saturation or overt distortion, or attenuates it by up to -24dB to increase the relative level of hiss and noise that are a key feature of the plugin.