XMTape&Clip is the latest addition to Xilentch’s XM plugin series, which includes the promising XMLimiter that we checked out back in August.
I missed XMLimiter the first time around, and as Tomislav pointed out in his article, the plugin was rough around the edges, which isn’t uncommon for a new developer (especially with freeware/donationware).
However, the developer seems appreciative of community feedback, and I’ll be checking out XMLimiter shortly to see how it performs and how Xilentch implemented user feedback.
Now, back to the latest offering from Xilentch, which is available in AU, VST3, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows.
XMTape&Clip follows the same principles as the previous releases, aiming to recreate the behavior of real hardware and produce authentic results.
In this case, Xilentch has tried to capture the perfect blend of tape saturation and clipping, and in my short experience so far, it sounds rather lovely.
I love the developer’s dedication to minimal GUIs, but that, of course, comes with various pros and cons, and time will tell how flexible XMTape&Clip can be.
As of right now, I’m enjoying the instant character that the plugin delivers. It’s warm and punchy, as you’d expect, and it’s obvious without becoming a caricature of tape magic.
You can drive the input pretty hard and maintain a pleasant and musical effect that’s reminiscent of many early to mid-70s classics. Eventually, you can go too far and run into too much distortion, but at sensible levels and beyond, it brings that warmth with impressive clarity.
The cool thing about having this tape/clip blend in a simple plugin is that it’s an effect that spans multiple decades and genres. It’s equally at home on some old-school hip hop as it is on classic rock.
The limited controls indicate there’s a lot more going on under the hood, and with that in mind, some users might consider XMTape&Clip a little CPU-heavy.
Considering XMTape&Clip is free (or donationware), it’s a promising addition to a promising collection from Xilentch, and one that I’ll spend more time with.
While the download is free, it comes from Google Drive, which makes the process painless, but also could feel less secure than some users might hope for.
Xilentch is a relatively new developer with several interesting projects underway, including work as a video game composer.
I decided to check out some Xilentch compositions, and one in particular, Fat Temp, from a game called KETZ: Galactic Overlords, took me right back to a misspent youth in arcades, when 2D sandbox games were cutting-edge.
Download: XMTape&Clip (FREE)
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Last Updated on October 14, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
