Best Tape Saturator Plugins

Last updated on September 2nd, 2021

Whenever you hear your old tracks they feel a little lackluster. It feels like they have no body or edge to them. The one missing piece you’re looking for is a saturator.

With a tape saturator specifically, you can get so many different additions to your tracks from saturation, delay, warmth, and even more.

For a cool idea of what all real analog gear and tape machines can do, look at this video from Rob Scallon at Uptown Recording Studios in Chicago. They took an old tape machine and tried creating various effects the same ways that they used to. 

What To Look For When Choosing a Tape Saturator Plugin

There are a lot of factors that you will want to consider when you are looking for the best tape saturator plugin for you. Always remember that the quality of your mix starts at the beginning with proper gain staging. Here are the basic ideas that we always keep in mind when we look for the best plugins out there. 

Pricing

These will be somewhat expensive plugins due to their nature. The whole idea is to emulate extremely expensive equipment and to do so takes so much work just to get the fine details. 

Compatibility – System Requirements

Most of the plugins we have listed today can require a bit of cpu power, meaning you will want to check your computer for updates as well as the processing power you have. 

DAW Compatibility

Almost every one of these plugins is compatible with all major DAWs. The only one to watch for is any Avid plugins, which by their choice are generally only compatible within Pro Tools. If you are looking for one that would specifically match your workflow, check out our comparisons and alternatives.

Frequency of Use

Once you find a tape plugin you love, I can imagine that you will want to throw it on every track you record. It can bump the quality of tracks to a 10 easily. 

Skill Level

Tape plugins are a great thing to learn, however, if you are a beginner and expecting to be fluent with one on your first experience, it will not end well. But experimentation and curiosity can be some of the best teachers. 

6 Best Tape Saturator Plugins

Here is a compilation of the best tape saturator plugins that you can find. 

1. Kramer Master Tapes – Waves

Waves worked in collaboration with Eddie Kramer, who is known for producing for many heavy metal acts such as Anthrax and Whitesnake and even rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. His work with analog and tape machines has definitely set Waves up for success with the Kramer Master Tapes.

• Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
• Price: $249
• DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, good for Logic

System Requirements: 

	Mac	Windows
Memory	8 GB RAM8 GB free disk space on the system drive	8 GB RAM8 GB free disk space on the system drive
Operating System	10.12.6-10.15	Windows 10 64 bit

2. Decapitator – Soundtoys

Although this isn’t strictly a “Tape Saturator” I believe it carries many qualities that would put it in the same category. Since the whole idea is tape saturation, it is geared towards the true analog sound which is what the Decapitator is producing. That being said, it carries multiple sound styles from which to choose from just like any other tape saturator.

• Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
• Price: $199
• DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, good for FL Studio

System Requirements: 

	Mac	Windows
Memory	8 GB RAM	8 GB RAM
Operating System	10.10 or later	Windows 7 or later

3. Virtual Tape Machine – Slate Digital 

Slate spares no expense when it comes to their digital versions of true analog classics. The CEO of Slate Audio, Steven Slate, has even said that if they don’t have an accurate version of it digitally, they won’t release it. I believe that can be said about every single one of their plugins not just the Virtual Tape Machine.

• Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
• Price: $149
• DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, good for Reaper

System Requirements: 

	Mac	Windows
Memory	4 GB RAM	4 GB RAM
Operating System	10.12 or later	Windows 8 or 10

4. Reel Tape Saturator – Avid

Since this is an Avid product, it will only work on Pro Tools itself. With that in mind, I think this would be the best option for those of you working in Pro Tools itself and want to keep the compatibility as smooth as possible. Avid has a fantastic catalog of plugins built specifically to use in Pro Tools that you can read about here.

• Who’s it for? Intermediate and above on Pro Tools
• Price: $99
• DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, good for Pro Tools

System Requirements: 

	Mac	Windows
Memory	4 GB RAM	4 GB RAM
Operating System	10.7 and later	Windows 7and Later

5. J37 Tape – Waves

The J37 is yet another addition to the long list of Abbey Road plugins that Waves has produced in combination with the studio. They have accurately model Abbey Road’s own tape machine and have brought the ability to add the warmth of classic 60’s hits to your own tracks.

• Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
• Price: $299
• DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, good for Cubase

System Requirements: 

	Mac	Windows
Memory	8 GB RAM8 GB free disk space on the system drive	8 GB RAM8 GB free disk space on the system drive
Operating System	10.12.6-10.15	Windows 10 64 bit

6. Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder – Universal Audio

Universal Audio has taken their expertise in true analog gear and provided an accurate depiction of a classic analog tape machine. With the Studor A800, you can always use it on a mix bus or final master bus, but its initial intended purpose it to be run on each track and instrument individually to give them their own unique settings.

• Who’s it for? Intermediate and above
• Price: $349
• DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, good for Studio One

System Requirements: 

	Mac	Windows
Memory	8 GB RAM8 GB free disk space on the system drive	8 GB RAM8 GB free disk space on the system drive
Operating System	10.15	Windows 10

Driving it home

When I finally started using saturators myself, I realized I had been missing a whole world of possibilities beforehand. They improved the sound of my snares, vocals, guitars, literally everything, and I know that you can do the same with your tracks. No matter which type of tape saturator you choose, you are going to get some amazing results that you will not regret. 

If you are looking to learn more about other analog emulators or specific plugins, click here for our full catalog of plugin reviews and information.