23DSP has released their tape emulation plugin called 23Tape, available in VST3 and AU plugin formats for Windows and macOS.
23Tape is a tape simulator designed for anything between gentle tape saturation, adding lo-fi character, and flat-out audio destruction.
The plugin has controls for tape characteristics (tape material, speed), noise (hiss, hiss frequency, and “crinkle”), tonality (azimuth, rolloff, and head bump), as well as mechanical characteristics that infuse your sound with some good old wear and tear.
23Tape lets you choose between three different tape speeds: 30 IPS, 15 IPS, and 7,5 IPS. You can also select one of three tape types: Ferric, Chrome, or Ferrichrome, and apply your desired amount of bias and drive.
The sound gets very gnarly and harsh at extreme settings, but adds a subtle sheen if you keep it moderate. Follow the handy tooltips at the bottom of the UI to choose the right combination of processing.
You could use 23Tape as a saturator or as a nostalgic lofi processor to breathe some movement and character into an instrument or a bus for that sake. Try smoothing out some harsh digital edges off your recordings or clipping your drums with the tape engine.
Or why not add some mechanical grit and dust to those pristine piano takes for an added atmospheric effect?
Most of us love tape plugins, and there are already a lot of powerful free alternatives on the market. CHOW Tape Model by Chowdury DSP is an obvious mention, as are the great offerings by Variety of Sound.
I recently wrote about the FeenstaubTC tube and tape-inspired compression and saturation unit. We’ve also covered the FeenstaubTX, which can provide a gentle, tape-like transient massage with added hysteresis.
The FerricTDS plugin has been a classic for over a decade and is on our list of best saturators for good reason! Check it out if you haven’t already.
Back to 23Tape, the plugin is still in open beta. Unfortunately, I had huge problems using it with Reaper.
Choosing different tape speeds would create extreme volume spikes, triggering Reaper’s safety mute instantly. The plugin would then stop outputting sound completely, even though the track was unmuted.
As it stands, the plugin is therefore currently unusable for my purposes. Perhaps some BPB readers will be luckier – give it a shot and comment. And this might be a DAW-specific issue, which are often easily fixable by the dev, so I might return after a future update.
To get the plugin, go to Gumroad and input “0” to download for free, or enter any other amount to support the developer with a donation. You just need to provide an email; no other signups are required, which is always great.
UPDATE: The developer has issued an update that fixes the issues described above.
Download: 23Tape (FREE / Name-your-price – email required)
More:
- Softube Tape Echoes is $29 at Plugin Boutique until June 15th
- Sinuslabs Releases FREE Bandbreite Tape Saturation Plugin
Last Updated on June 4, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
