I'M TRYING TO STAY POSITIVE... - Acustica Audio Taupe

Why is your mic distorting?

I don't understand how a plugin can be reviewed properly when the music demo isn't dynamic whatsoever? Just my 2 cents

This guy doesn’t know what “snake oil” even means 😂

so selbstverliebt this guy

UI's are definetly user preference. I like UA's plugs because they look like the old hardware that I used for so many years. I personally owned most of the UREI and Teletronix hardware devices so the UI may be snake oil but I like it. The cool thing about plugins is you can use so many instances on different tracks and the hardware is one device per track. Wonderful world audio engineers live in today.

Btw - I don't think it's an either/or thing with modeling or profiling. They can be combined for the best of both worlds...

Acoustica Audio DEFINITELY has issues. Both the product AND the owner... Who argues with the people cracking their products? HUGE MORONS.... that's who. Their products are garbage and people who can't tell that have garbage for ears.

let me tell you that I tested Acustica plugins now they have been cracked, and they really delivered. It provides a proper way for mastering ITB for once.

I confess I've bought quite a lot of Acustica software, but I remain puzzled by the brand. I think the interfaces are impressive but very difficult to use unless you have broad experience with the related analog gear, which I don't. About three quarters of the time when I try to dial in something with one of their plugins I just can't hear any difference at all in the sound. I started a thread in the Reaper forum about Acustica software, and got a very wide mix of replies. Some people have come to the same conclusion as White Sea, and others tell me that Acustica is all they ever use. I find myself doing things like null experiments with some of their products to see if anything is happening at all. And I have to ask myself, "If I have to do that, is this really the product I want to use." I'm sort of hoping that some day the scales will dramatically fall from my eyes, and I will just love all the Acustica stuff. But not yet.

Junkcarlo is a bull shiter.

Almost all acustica audio plug-ins sound like nothing at all or something like whooshhhhh.... to me. And you like okey maybe next time when it's will be better.) But one tape machine it's called Denon if i'm not mistaken through Nebula 4.5 sound really good on vocals. If you need rock vocals with slightly driven sound of course. And that's practically all.) Famous El Rey 2 or 1 sound like eh... hmm .. something. Really nothing special. CLA 1176 tears it apart like without breaking a sweat. Though i hate stupid FabFilter plugins, they sound so sandy too me. So... Waves and Ik Multimedia and DMG Audio Equality still kick ass for me.) IMHO of course.

I'm working with magnetic tape since the 70s... The perfect "01100101000" digital world can't reproduce the unique 3-dimensional space with all it's unique imperfections, the saturation and the warmth. Anyone who's saying "tape plugins sound GREAT!" they never heard the real sound of magnetic tape. End of Story.

I tested Taupe on a drum bus a couple of nights ago and was blown away by how easy it was to get the exact warmth and punch I was looking for. I also love the lofi effects. The preset management is kind of terrible and I completely agree with what you said about the interface. It is too clunky and non intuitive. The tape sounds overall are amazing and I will use it just for that.

lol the guy that is hatin big time on like every decent plug in that comes out, is mad that some people give him some hate back. just get a life please. freaking talking about screws on ui's. your expertise is like asking a vegan how meat tastets.

so they remake plugin interface just for you to bought it?? who are you ? there a lot of engineer experienced better than you I they very Humbel ,we knew that you hate plugins also you hate the fact that people can mix they Owen music right now .

you are right, the preset switch politic from Acustica is not practical and nerve very much. it`s kills the flow

It sounds good but too perfect and predictable versus the real thing. I'm just going to pay to have my digital mixes bounced to tape. Nonlinearity in the analog domain has an edge.

Thanks for saving us money ! Also I think that when a company that is well-established takes the time to send hate to one person giving a negative opinion it means that person is onto something. As much as I love plugin companies I think we are getting bombarded with bold marketing claims and this industry is way too focused on hype. I understand that each company tries to get our attention and that the competition is fierce but at the same time I think that to survive on the long run plugin developers need to focus on making products that simplify our job. I prefer having simple, to-the-point, single-purpose plugins over do-everything products with over-complicated interfaces that require a PhD to operate. The focus should be on SOUND and SIMPLICITY.

Anyways thanks for your videos man, they are always entertaining and useful. And they are different from other reviews.

A bit late to the party, but I love it. The problem is that they can't use the names of the machines they emulated, but online you can find the list. Studers, Ampex etc..

I'm still on the fence about getting into Acustica stuff. I mostly do performance / recording. I dread having issues with latency, especially if my DAW doesn't do a good job compensating with other plugins. The other day I was writing support and the company acknowledged that their latency info provided to the DAW isn't working right. Arghhh! Anyway, I also can't figure out, if you get a N4 3rd party plugin used, is there a license transfer fee?

You should make Acustica Audio Jam video

El Rey is the only AA I currently incorporate. I suppose their association with Greg Wells beautiful piece of gear makes it work for me. Wells ear is quite remarkable.

sound toys and softube are a55holes

Haha. Nice intro

the taupe compressor is crazy

As far as plugins go .... cpu efficiency and naming conventions aside ... Acustica overall makes the best plugins available.

If Acustica made quick user interfaces I think the plugin would break. They're basically loading a ton of convolutions as far as I understand, and if you were to really quickly toggle between settings I think it would just collapse.

Hey.. good to get confirmation about the sound.
Assuming it is possible to switch off the moody sunset photos (wtf - only the Italians could dream this up!!).. then I'd buy into it aswell.

I wish Acustica used that gain compensation in every product they make.

I use Taupe as a clipper : you can easily cut 5 or 6 db in a very musical way and without artifact by pushing that input knob and obtain a kind of fatter crushed transient. My preference goes to A0 + A1 or D0 for the job. One of the best solution for clipping, I was surprised beacause this is finaly a go-to clipper especialy for snare, or vocal peaks. For a more "tape feel" I vastely prefer IK Tapes, it generate some movements and breath I would say. Taupe is totally "static" in comparaison, and don't really sounds like a tape machine.

Haha, wondering what you'll think of their latest product: Sounda. :)

Whats the track ? Great groove !

Group A
0 - Ampex 1200, 15 IPS Multitrack
1 - Ampex 1200, 30 IPS Multitrack
2 - Ampex 351, 15 IPS Stereo (tube pre, no tape)
3 - Ampex 351, 30 IPS Stereo (tube pre, no tape)
4 - EMI TR-50, Stereo 15 IPS
5 - EMI TR-50, Dual Mono 15 IPS
6 - EMI TR-50, Stereo 30 IPS
7 - EMI TR-50, dual mono 30 IPS
8 - MCI JH-110, Stereo 15 IPS
9 - MCI JH-110, Stereo 30 IPS

Group B
0 - MCI JH-110, Dual Mono at 15 IPS
1 - MCI JH-110, Dual Mono at 30 IPS
2 - MCI JH-24, mono at 15 IPS
3 - MCI JH-24, mono at 30 IPS
4 - MCI JH-110 (8 track), mono at 15 IPS (NAB)
5 - MCI JH-110 (8 track), mono at 15 IPS (IEC)
6 - MCI JH-110 (8 track), mono at 30 IPS (IEC)
7 - Otari MTR-90, mono at 15 IPS
8 - Otari MTR-90, mono at 30 IPS
9 - Otari MTR-100, mono at 15 IPS

Group C
0 - Otari MTR-100, mono at 30 IPS
1 - Studer A820, stereo at 15 IPS
2 - Studer A820, stereo at 30 IPS
3 - Studer A820, dual mono at 15 IPS
4 - Studer A820, dual mono at 30 IPS
5 - Soundcraft Saturn 824, mono at 15 IPS
6 - Soundcraft Saturn 824, mono at 30 IPS
7 - ReVox A77, stereo at 7.5 IPS (IEC)
8 - ReVox A77, dual mono at 7.5 IPS (IEC)
9 - ReVox A77, dual mono at 7.5 IPS (NAB)

Group D
0 - ReVox A700, dual mono at 15 IPS
1 - ReVox PR900, stereo at 15 IPS
2 - Nagra IV, stereo (no speed given)
3 - Aiwa AD-F850, stereo cassette
4 - Aiwa Excelia XK-009, stereo cassette
5 - TEAC A-860, stereo cassette
6 - Wollensak (3M), stereo cassette deck. (No tape)
7 - AKAI 1710 (reel to reel, no tape)
8 - Sony PCM-7040 (digital, no tape)
9 - Alesis ADAT-XT20 (20-bit digital, no tape

Dude....you are wrong.....this is the best out there.....
Their
MCI, Studer, and ReVox......hands down the best....out there...they nailed the live analog sampling in this plugin.....at least 80% of the actucal sound from the REAL GEAR...alot easier than maintanace or paying $5000 Per Phyical Tape Machine
Group A
0 - Ampex 1200, 15 IPS Multitrack
1 - Ampex 1200, 30 IPS Multitrack
2 - Ampex 351, 15 IPS Stereo (tube pre, no tape)
3 - Ampex 351, 30 IPS Stereo (tube pre, no tape)
4 - EMI TR-50, Stereo 15 IPS
5 - EMI TR-50, Dual Mono 15 IPS
6 - EMI TR-50, Stereo 30 IPS
7 - EMI TR-50, dual mono 30 IPS
8 - MCI JH-110, Stereo 15 IPS
9 - MCI JH-110, Stereo 30 IPS

Group B
0 - MCI JH-110, Dual Mono at 15 IPS
1 - MCI JH-110, Dual Mono at 30 IPS
2 - MCI JH-24, mono at 15 IPS
3 - MCI JH-24, mono at 30 IPS
4 - MCI JH-110 (8 track), mono at 15 IPS (NAB)
5 - MCI JH-110 (8 track), mono at 15 IPS (IEC)
6 - MCI JH-110 (8 track), mono at 30 IPS (IEC)
7 - Otari MTR-90, mono at 15 IPS
8 - Otari MTR-90, mono at 30 IPS
9 - Otari MTR-100, mono at 15 IPS

Group C
0 - Otari MTR-100, mono at 30 IPS
1 - Studer A820, stereo at 15 IPS
2 - Studer A820, stereo at 30 IPS
3 - Studer A820, dual mono at 15 IPS
4 - Studer A820, dual mono at 30 IPS
5 - Soundcraft Saturn 824, mono at 15 IPS
6 - Soundcraft Saturn 824, mono at 30 IPS
7 - ReVox A77, stereo at 7.5 IPS (IEC)
8 - ReVox A77, dual mono at 7.5 IPS (IEC)
9 - ReVox A77, dual mono at 7.5 IPS (NAB)

Group D
0 - ReVox A700, dual mono at 15 IPS
1 - ReVox PR900, stereo at 15 IPS
2 - Nagra IV, stereo (no speed given)
3 - Aiwa AD-F850, stereo cassette
4 - Aiwa Excelia XK-009, stereo cassette
5 - TEAC A-860, stereo cassette
6 - Wollensak (3M), stereo cassette deck. (No tape)
7 - AKAI 1710 (reel to reel, no tape)
8 - Sony PCM-7040 (digital, no tape)
9 - Alesis ADAT-XT20 (20-bit digital, no tape

I'm gona help you out....you wont beat $200,000 worth of Analog Tape Machines for $250.00

UR now way too sensible for being someone known. You should go boxing or something, to boost your testo and use some psychelics therapeuticely. Just don't jump blindy into those stuffs, get a mentor, a coach, a tripsiter, an addictologue, friends, whatever help is needed. I bet my left nut that it will bring you more hapiness and succcess than ANY equipment you could ever buy. Priceless stuff
You will crush the life game in a way more enjoyable way for you! You already a boss at what your doing but i don't know if i'ts possible to be too geeky and really really happy at the same time. I won't bet my left nut on that one tho. You def not sad. But i think you deserve more hapiness
Trust me, i'm a professionnal for saying shit i know we should be do without doing it myself
But don't be me. Do it!

I find a majority of critiques are mainly gui related which to be honest is mainly just personal taste, to which you always seem to way heavy on, as if all plugin developers should cater to your own personal taste in guis.

Man...Im using this to master my Album...and I can tell you, your off on this one...this is hands down the best tape plugin.....just gota have 32gb of ram with i7 on an SSD......you just change from A, B,C,D and choose different numbers in between and it even has a drop down box....if you wanna search for options the other way...dude...this a very easy plugin to use.....and sound the best in the DAW as far as Tape...that even sounds better than UAD and IK Media tapes......the saturation is smoother and more stable....

Acustica Audio...hands down...best plugins out there for people who dont have $50,000 to spend on a studio....I've got analog gear...but...Acustica Audio and Nebula with my Analog Gear, as for as Hybrid Mixing and Mastering has taken me up on a whole new level.......Spend $300-$400 upgrading your computer or labtop so you can use AA...its worth it.....

Nice video... Call me a fossil, but if people are looking for saturation or something to hit real transformers, then why not purchase even an inexpensive mic pre or compressor and run a line out from their interface and bounce it back into their DAW? It appears plugins is a rabbit hole of an neverending quest. I like your approach on their being too many options creating a paralysis of productivity. Listening to some engineers who have been around a long time, they actually hated working with tape machines and are glad technology evolved, yet people want to return to it lololol. Says this guy who dreams of a SSL or API full console lololol

I really agree, I had higher hopes when I bought this. and most of there stuff when I tried it out. and I have tried almost everything. What I have concluded is that you get "the picture" very accurately, but you can't drive anything they make into even some saturation. The 50s and 660s preamps saturated a tiny bit. but otherwise I don't get why you can't drive any of their stuff harder, because they do have an accurate picture of the gear. and that is such an unbelievably important part of working with real analog gear. driving it to the point of breakup. The plugs are just very very subtle and that can be very underwhelming when you read how much they talk up their products on the website. But then again great analog gear when used at normal levels is pretty subtle until you drive it in saturation. so idk

you need two Mac Pro fully equipped to run acustic audio plugins in a mix ... I try them and in a complex mix works very well but consumes all computing capabilities making them useless in small production studios

Good Review, and good for you to not listening to us fanboys! Keep going and being honest.
here's what the settings are

Conclusion after 3 years.. Taupe?! Happy that other companies can do it better.

"Wow this song sounds amazing but man the plugins used on this had some ugly ass GUIs" said no one ever lmao. It's not hard at all to use either. Your compliants are straight silly considering this is, imo at least, the best tape emulation on the market. In fact, I had never used one that I liked until I tried Taupe.

I've been using the AAPlux since nebula 1 now, so 15 years? And from the beginning, the graphics was an issue. and the usual peculiarities of this technology (no seamless sweeping, latency when switching, etc.) but you get used to that as you get used to a tracking mouse. but sonically they play in a completely different league than many others - the Pulteq from AA is sonically no comparison to the Pulteq from Uad, for example. So yes, it takes some getting used to and you don't have to like it. but with today's earning opportunities as an audio engineer, not everyone can/wants to buy a real 1176 for one channel. in my opinion, of course.

👍🏻😀

MacBook Pro i9 1T SSD32GB RAM (the same on M1 mini) - Acustica Audio after load more than 2 plugins sounds start drops ant stops!!! Not usable even sound pretty good.

This is a really good tape emulation I’m buying it!!

That sigh in the end :D