TB Reelbus Tape Saturation Plugin

ibzrgtoffire

ibzrgtoffire

Member
Sep 16, 2008
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Qc, Canada
Hi folks!

I'm wondering if any of you guys have tried this new plugin yet? Seems pretty good but i'm no expert when it comes to tape saturation. Could be a nice alternative to Slate VTM without the need of an iLok and ridiculously cheap (15$ or something).

Anyway, i'm curious to see what some of you guys think of it as there seems to be a hype around tape & console emulation these days. You can download the demo at Tonbooster's site : http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-reelbus/
Be sure to check out the manual to get the hang of it.

Let me know what you think!
 
Toneboosters is a dutch company, I got the free tape sim (Ferox) way back, when they weren't called Toneboosters even. For a freebee it was pretty good, but when not carefull, it would get quite noisy. I have no idea about this version though...
 
Loki Laufeyiarson said:
Toneboosters is a dutch company, I got the free tape sim (Ferox) way back, when they weren't called Toneboosters even. For a freebee it was pretty good, but when not carefull, it would get quite noisy. I have no idea about this version though...
Click to expand...

yeh i remember Ferox, it was pretty good iirc, dev was jason briebart or sumthin???
sknote roundtone is a good little tape emu vst if your checking a few out..
 
TB Reelbus is my new secret weapon. It is FREAKIN AWESOME!!! It is just that magic plugin that you can put on the master bus (mix through it though) and everything sounds more 3d, clearer and punchier. Improved my mixes a few % without me doing anything :)
 
crillemannen said:
TB Reelbus is my new secret weapon. It is FREAKIN AWESOME!!! It is just that magic plugin that you can put on the master bus (mix through it though) and everything sounds more 3d, clearer and punchier. Improved my mixes a few % without me doing anything :)
Click to expand...

Cool stuff, tried using it on separate buses or tracks with good results? 15$ sounds like a steal.
 
Toneboosters is a dutch company, I got the free tape sim (Ferox) way back, when they weren't called Toneboosters even. For a freebee it was pretty good, but when not carefull, it would get quite noisy. I have no idea about this version though...
Click to expand...

Yeah Ferox is pretty impressive on distorted guitars! It smoothes out those abrasive high frequencies in a very pleasant way.

TB Reelbus is my new secret weapon. It is FREAKIN AWESOME!!! It is just that magic plugin that you can put on the master bus (mix through it though) and everything sounds more 3d, clearer and punchier. Improved my mixes a few % without me doing anything
Click to expand...

Which settings are you using? I find it a little bit too drastic on the master bus but then again, I haven't had the time to tweak it very much.


Is someone owning both Reelbus and Slate VTM/Nebula and is willing to share his thoughts?
Oh and thanks to whoever move the thread where it belongs :)
 
Sorry to derail, but I considered TB Reelbus and SKNote's Roundtone and ended up with Roundtone. I picked Roundtone because it seems to have more features and from the demo's I heard had a more pleasing sound.

On that note however, I have never tried Reelbus. Is there anybody who has used both and has a preference?
 
I've bought that plugin when it was released, and haven't regretted it for a second. I use it on every mix, especially on busses. Really like what it does on the masterbus too. Usually gives some nice depth and punch to the drums and glues stuff together pretty well. I personally like the plugin best when it's not driven too hard. Usually end up with the needle hovering around -5 on the top VU scale.

The basic styles of tape it offers seem to cover my needs. They go from subtle mastering to warbly old casette player (love the wow&flutter knob on that one!).

The controls in general are pretty decent to get a tone you want, once you play around with them and get to know them a little. The only control that I would really like to see added is an output volume knob. The plugin has an automatic level makeup option, which works fine relatively to its own settings, but the default output of the plugin is always about 1.5db louder than when I bypass it, making it a bit of a hassle to A/B check. Nothing a simple volume plugin can't solve though. I've mailed this suggestion to the programmer, and he replied he considered it for future updates, but didn't make any promisses.

Bottomline, that plugin is lovely and imo worth way more than what the guy asks for it. He has my support for that.
 
I've bought that plugin when it was released, and haven't regretted it for a second. I use it on every mix, especially on busses. Really like what it does on the masterbus too. Usually gives some nice depth and punch to the drums and glues stuff together pretty well. I personally like the plugin best when it's not driven too hard. Usually end up with the needle hovering around -5 on the top VU scale.

The basic styles of tape it offers seem to cover my needs. They go from subtle mastering to warbly old casette player (love the wow&flutter knob on that one!).

The controls in general are pretty decent to get a tone you want, once you play around with them and get to know them a little. The only control that I would really like to see added is an output volume knob. The plugin has an automatic level makeup option, which works fine relatively to its own settings, but the default output of the plugin is always about 1.5db louder than when I bypass it, making it a bit of a hassle to A/B check. Nothing a simple volume plugin can't solve though. I've mailed this suggestion to the programmer, and he replied he considered it for future updates, but didn't make any promisses.

Bottomline, that plugin is lovely and imo worth way more than what the guy asks for it. He has my support for that.
Click to expand...

Really interesting. Which device model are you preferring the most on the masterbus? (Japanese, Professional 30ips...). This plug is definately a bang for the buck.

Small comparison.

Without-
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/42168306/mu...ut_reelbus.mp3
With-
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/42168306/mu...th_reelbus.mp3

It was on the guitar/bass/drum buss, then on the master.
Click to expand...

Ahahah nice man! The mix sounds so much more alive with it. nice mix btw. Really happy I have made you discover this relatively new plug. Would you mind sharing your settings?? :p
 
This is probably the best 15$ I've ever spent on a VST. It's dirt cheap for what it does. I liked it so much I instantly put it on all my past projects and was blown away by the result.

I can't really describe in words how awesome it is.

Perhaps there are better sounding plugins, but they are on a whole different price range, and I'm not sure that margin would justify paying something else as long as it's around.

My favorite setting is the Japanese 7.5, but the Professional is also great. I'm doing this eighties synthpop project now (not very metal, I know) and I like the settings dialed pretty hard.

The only "complaint" i have, which is pretty logical due to the amount of processing going on, that this plugin is pretty tough on the CPU. Two instances (one on the drum-buss or bass) could send the CPU instantly into the red after about 40% increase in required computing power.

Bottom line, magic for 15 damn bucks. Just incredible.
 
ibzrgtoffire said:
Really interesting. Which device model are you preferring the most on the masterbus? (Japanese, Professional 30ips...). This plug is definately a bang for the buck.



Ahahah nice man! The mix sounds so much more alive with it. nice mix btw. Really happy I have made you discover this relatively new plug. Would you mind sharing your settings?? :p
Click to expand...

Professional on the guitar/drums, warm and round preset on the bass and reel master or something on the master. Did it in 3 mins!
 
IDK about it on guitars, I need to find a good setting for it. But I love what this plugin does on the bass and the master. Rounds it out and makes it sound wider.
 
ibzrgtoffire said:
Really interesting. Which device model are you preferring the most on the masterbus? (Japanese, Professional 30ips...).
Click to expand...
Just checked my previous mix to see what I ended up with there. Interestingly enough, I used two layers of the plugin on the masterbus there. First one was the Professional tape, with subtle as possible settings (every form of noise set to minimum, and spectrum/saturation to center). The needle was hovering around -6dbVU on the top scale. I set the Overbias at 8 oclock, to set the smoothness of the highs to my desired result. Goal of this instance wasn't to really hear the tape, but to add some depth. Eventough I'm NOT a preset-guy, I have found that this setting works pretty well on most things. It's subtle, yet effective.

I added a second instance because I wanted a tiny bit of extra grit on this specific project. I ended up with the Hybrid tape. I used the gain/saturation knobs to achieve what I wanted, without going too far. Needle was bouncing around -5dbVU on top.

Settings were like this in the end:
Reelbus%20Master.png


schwinginbatman said:
IDK about it on guitars, I need to find a good setting for it. But I love what this plugin does on the bass and the master. Rounds it out and makes it sound wider.
Click to expand...
I've noticed that on guitars, the asperity noise can sound quite unpleasant and weird. Maybe try turning that all the way down and see if you like that better :)
 
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