Dusk Audio has released TapeMachine 2, a free tape emulation plugin for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
We featured Dusk Audio’s original Tape Machine plugin earlier this year, when it arrived alongside 4K EQ and MultiComp. TapeMachine 2 is a new version with a redesigned interface and a new tape engine.
The main point is that TapeMachine 2 is still free, but it now gives you more choices than the original version.
I like that you can customize the tape behavior quite a lot. You can choose between two tape machines, four tape speeds, four tape formulations, multiple signal paths, NAB or CCIR EQ standards, bias, head width, crosstalk, and a four-band Repro EQ.
Having this insane amount of flexibility is pretty cool in a tape plugin because I am usually looking for a particular tape vibe, which is essentially a combination of warmth, lo-fi character, saturation, and movement. With this one, you can really tweak it to your liking (somewhat similar to the now legendary Chow Tape).
TapeMachine 2 also has separate wow and flutter controls, filters, noise, and presets ranging from cleaner mix color to old-tape-style degradation.
The two machine models are Swiss, described as A800-style, and American, which is ATR-102-style. The American model also adds adjustable head width and front-panel toggles for crosstalk, wow/flutter, and transformer behavior.
I tested TapeMachine 2 on a drum bus, and my first impressions are good. The interface is much better than the old version, although some details still bug me. A few controls do not look perfectly aligned, and as a very visual person, that stuff just stands out to me.
The GitHub page lists Claude as a contributor, so at least some AI assistance may have been involved. I cannot say how much of the plugin was made by hand, so I will not call it vibe-coded. Still, those small interface details are exactly the kind of thing I hope gets refined over time in plugins built with AI help.
Sound matters most, of course, and TapeMachine 2 is already worth checking out if you want a free tape plugin with plenty of control.
TapeMachine 2 is open source under GPL-3.0 and is available for direct download from GitHub with no signup required. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux in VST3, AU, CLAP, and LV2 formats, depending on the platform.
Download: Dusk Audio TapeMachine 2 (FREE)
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Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
