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Best Tape Effect Plugin to Mimick BoC's sound?

jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic
in General App Discussion

Okay mates. I think I have most if not all the specific plugins to make something sound like it was recorded on tape, from ToneBoosters' Reelbus to Tapescam and Chowtape, Lo-Fi-Af, etc. However, I want to narrow down which tape plugin mimicks that "crunchy" warm sound Boards of Canada are known for.

Sure I could buy a reel-to-reel machine and mixing desk and all that and file for bankruptcy in the process. 😂 However, I want to instead focus on how best to get "the sound" without selling a kidney. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Comments

  • Meek3Meek3

    Also the free pitchdrifter from baby audio helps with the boc sound.

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @Meek3 said:
    Also the free pitchdrifter from baby audio helps with the boc sound.

    True that. I love Pitch Drift. ❤️

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    Taip is also a good option I just remembered. But not sure if that can get me "the sound".

  • colonel_mustardcolonel_mustard

    reelbus has you covered imo.

    use many instances! subtle glue on every channel (with slight variations) then add a master reelbus on the master chain.

    this makes everything digital sound better imo. not too heavy-handed, but many little bits of subtle spice, all adding up.

    i understand they used vhs machines a lot, so be aware of that - it runs slower than a standard 15ips tape machine, for one thing. reelbus can do those low speeds too and it offers a fair amount of control. use your ears!

    also, bear in mind that they weren't trying to emulate boards of canada when they recorded their stuff. i get the impression they wanted things to sound like they were from another place and got a bit weird and hypnagogic with that, so degrading redubs could have a role? (i.e. clean stems -> dirty stems -> dirtier stems).

    i'd say use your ears and don't agonise over boc exactitude, so much as why tape is interesting to listen to and why it fixates so many people, including men of scotland.

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @colonel_mustard said:
    reelbus has you covered imo.

    use many instances! subtle glue on every channel (with slight variations) then add a master reelbus on the master chain.

    this makes everything digital sound better imo. not too heavy-handed, but many little bits of subtle spice, all adding up.

    i understand they used vhs machines a lot, so be aware of that - it runs slower than a standard 15ips tape machine, for one thing. reelbus can do those low speeds too and it offers a fair amount of control. use your ears!

    also, bear in mind that they weren't trying to emulate boards of canada when they recorded their stuff. i get the impression they wanted things to sound like they were from another place and got a bit weird and hypnagogic with that, so degrading redubs could have a role? (i.e. clean stems -> dirty stems -> dirtier stems).

    i'd say use your ears and don't agonise over boc exactitude, so much as why tape is interesting to listen to and why it fixates so many people, including men of scotland.

    That's some really solid advice. Thank you so much, mate. :) Hopefully this helps others too besides me.

  • colonel_mustardcolonel_mustard

    all good man, happy exploring :) reelbus is def one of my favourites on ios.

  • Meek3Meek3

    BOC also reminds me of 70’s library music
    (Music for tv, documentaries and films).
    Great source is library music themes forum.

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @Meek3 said:
    BOC also reminds me of 70’s library music
    (Music for tv, documentaries and films).
    Great source is library music themes forum.

    Sounds like an interesting place to interact with folks. ❤️

  • Fear2StopFear2Stop
    edited April 17

    @colonel_mustard said:
    reelbus has you covered imo.

    use many instances! subtle glue on every channel (with slight variations) then add a master reelbus on the master chain.

    this makes everything digital sound better imo. not too heavy-handed, but many little bits of subtle spice, all adding up.

    i understand they used vhs machines a lot, so be aware of that - it runs slower than a standard 15ips tape machine, for one thing. reelbus can do those low speeds too and it offers a fair amount of control. use your ears!

    also, bear in mind that they weren't trying to emulate boards of canada when they recorded their stuff. i get the impression they wanted things to sound like they were from another place and got a bit weird and hypnagogic with that, so degrading redubs could have a role? (i.e. clean stems -> dirty stems -> dirtier stems).

    i'd say use your ears and don't agonise over boc exactitude, so much as why tape is interesting to listen to and why it fixates so many people, including men of scotland.

    Yup!

    And there’s also a BoC preset in ReelBus called “Canadian Boards” 😎

  • FPCFPC

    New BoC track!

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @Fear2Stop said:

    @colonel_mustard said:
    reelbus has you covered imo.

    use many instances! subtle glue on every channel (with slight variations) then add a master reelbus on the master chain.

    this makes everything digital sound better imo. not too heavy-handed, but many little bits of subtle spice, all adding up.

    i understand they used vhs machines a lot, so be aware of that - it runs slower than a standard 15ips tape machine, for one thing. reelbus can do those low speeds too and it offers a fair amount of control. use your ears!

    also, bear in mind that they weren't trying to emulate boards of canada when they recorded their stuff. i get the impression they wanted things to sound like they were from another place and got a bit weird and hypnagogic with that, so degrading redubs could have a role? (i.e. clean stems -> dirty stems -> dirtier stems).

    i'd say use your ears and don't agonise over boc exactitude, so much as why tape is interesting to listen to and why it fixates so many people, including men of scotland.

    Yup!

    And there’s also a BoC preset in ReelBus called “Canadian Boards” 😎

    No shit?! I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the heads-up, mate.

    @FPC said:
    New BoC track!

    https://forum.loopypro.com/discussion/68179/tape-05-boards-of-canada-this-is-not-a-drill-a-boc-appreciation-thread#latest

    Already a step ahead. ;)

  • EdhombreEdhombre

    I've been getting some lovely woozy sounds with Dynasinth into Rymdigare into Audiothing Lines. Dunno how truly BoC it is but it sounds gorgeous to me... Lines when used very gently with slow rates is rather beautiful as a lofi finisher.

  • FPCFPC

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @Fear2Stop said:

    @colonel_mustard said:
    reelbus has you covered imo.

    use many instances! subtle glue on every channel (with slight variations) then add a master reelbus on the master chain.

    this makes everything digital sound better imo. not too heavy-handed, but many little bits of subtle spice, all adding up.

    i understand they used vhs machines a lot, so be aware of that - it runs slower than a standard 15ips tape machine, for one thing. reelbus can do those low speeds too and it offers a fair amount of control. use your ears!

    also, bear in mind that they weren't trying to emulate boards of canada when they recorded their stuff. i get the impression they wanted things to sound like they were from another place and got a bit weird and hypnagogic with that, so degrading redubs could have a role? (i.e. clean stems -> dirty stems -> dirtier stems).

    i'd say use your ears and don't agonise over boc exactitude, so much as why tape is interesting to listen to and why it fixates so many people, including men of scotland.

    Yup!

    And there’s also a BoC preset in ReelBus called “Canadian Boards” 😎

    No shit?! I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the heads-up, mate.

    @FPC said:
    New BoC track!

    https://forum.loopypro.com/discussion/68179/tape-05-boards-of-canada-this-is-not-a-drill-a-boc-appreciation-thread#latest

    Already a step ahead. ;)

    Gah this forum :D gonna have to check it 15 times a day, not just 4 or 5...

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @FPC said:

    @jwmmakerofmusic said:

    @Fear2Stop said:

    @colonel_mustard said:
    reelbus has you covered imo.

    use many instances! subtle glue on every channel (with slight variations) then add a master reelbus on the master chain.

    this makes everything digital sound better imo. not too heavy-handed, but many little bits of subtle spice, all adding up.

    i understand they used vhs machines a lot, so be aware of that - it runs slower than a standard 15ips tape machine, for one thing. reelbus can do those low speeds too and it offers a fair amount of control. use your ears!

    also, bear in mind that they weren't trying to emulate boards of canada when they recorded their stuff. i get the impression they wanted things to sound like they were from another place and got a bit weird and hypnagogic with that, so degrading redubs could have a role? (i.e. clean stems -> dirty stems -> dirtier stems).

    i'd say use your ears and don't agonise over boc exactitude, so much as why tape is interesting to listen to and why it fixates so many people, including men of scotland.

    Yup!

    And there’s also a BoC preset in ReelBus called “Canadian Boards” 😎

    No shit?! I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the heads-up, mate.

    @FPC said:
    New BoC track!

    https://forum.loopypro.com/discussion/68179/tape-05-boards-of-canada-this-is-not-a-drill-a-boc-appreciation-thread#latest

    Already a step ahead. ;)

    Gah this forum :D gonna have to check it 15 times a day, not just 4 or 5...

    Ahaha. 😂 But thanks for it anyways, mate. I'm just enthralled by the new music, and just love BoC in general.

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    https://forum.loopypro.com/discussion/68194/tape-test-a-boc-inspired-ambient-piece-in-korg-gadget#latest

    I tested out that "Canadian Boards" preset in Reelbus, and it works beautifully. I'm not sure how close I got to their vibe (not trying to copy them), but I hope it sounds good. :)

  • Meek3Meek3

    In DRC synth there is a preset
    “ pad is a balloon”

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @Meek3 said:
    In DRC synth there is a preset
    “ pad is a balloon”

    Cool. I might have to give it a try, mate. That is if I can pull myself away from Gadget. 😅

  • suboptimalsuboptimal

    Creating loops in Gauss is fun.

    Pitch down your samples.

    AudioThing apps are great for degrading audio in musically useful ways. Wires>Reels>Wires>Lines because why not? But I don't think "toss a tape sim on it" has ever been the answer, whether you're after BoC or Basic Channel.

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @suboptimal said:
    Creating loops in Gauss is fun.

    Pitch down your samples.

    AudioThing apps are great for degrading audio in musically useful ways. Wires>Reels>Wires>Lines because why not? But I don't think "toss a tape sim on it" has ever been the answer, whether you're after BoC or Basic Channel.

    Gauss! Oh man it's been since 2022 I played with Gauss last. I should have a go with that again. And AudioThing are amazing! Their apps are slick.

  • suboptimalsuboptimal

    Yeah, I've rediscovered Gauss lately. "Working with tape" in this way is liberating. The speed control leads to beautiful sounds.

  • jwmmakerofmusicjwmmakerofmusic

    @suboptimal said:
    Yeah, I've rediscovered Gauss lately. "Working with tape" in this way is liberating. The speed control leads to beautiful sounds.

    For sure. Then again, I can pitch shit down in Koala Sampler as well. 😉 I've done that for many pieces done for Jamuary 2026. I'm definitely gearing up for Drone Day 2026 in late May.

    https://droneday.org/

    Can't f-cking wait! 🤩

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