Why use it
What it doesFour-track cassette: saturation, hiss, wow and flutter, and the softening of a bounce.
Reach for it whenLoops and vocals that sound too new. One pass over a finished mix. Tracking straight through.
What makes it differentFour tracks with their own gain, record enable and bounce. LOW LATENCY mode runs at about 4 ms at 48 kHz.
September sale: 30% off until September 30 - use code SEPT30 at checkout.
A four-track cassette machine. Not one pass to tape — the 424 sound comes
from bouncing tracks onto each other, and every bounce costs you something.
GENERATIONS
Run it one to four passes deep. Each generation shaves the top, piles on
noise, and adds another layer of wobble. This is the knob the whole
plugin is built around.
THE TAPE
· BIAS / TAPE TYPE low is gritty, high is smooth but erases the top
· TAPE SPEED 7½ · 3¾ · 1⅞ ips
· WOW · FLUTTER slow drift and fast quiver
· HISS louder than reel-to-reel, because the tracks are narrow
· MODULATION NOISE the hiss swells with the signal, the way cassette does
· AZIMUTH head misalignment — shaves the top, skews L/R phase
· dbx NR real 2:1 companding, folded on record and unfolded on
play, so only what the tape added gets pushed down
· PRINT-THROUGH bleed into the neighbouring wind, heard one turn later
as a dull echo — dull because long wavelengths bleed most
· PITCH CONTROL varispeed, by hand
THE MIXER
· TRIM · INPUT (mic / line / tape)
· EQ HIGH · EQ LOW
· MIXER GRIT the console's own noise and nonlinearity
· PAN · BUS LEVEL · MASTER
· RECORD FUNCTION direct / record / safe
Watch the ghost in the tape window — it drifts side to side with the wow.
WHAT'S NEW IN 1.6
· Rebuilt, re-signed and notarized for macOS (Universal) and Windows
REGISTRATION
· The plug-in runs unrestricted for a 3-day trial from first launch.
· Your licence key is on your Gumroad receipt and on the download page.
· Paste it into the plug-in once — it needs internet that one time, then works offline.
· Message me on Gumroad if you need it reset for a new machine.
FORMATS
macOS AU + VST3 + AAX (Pro Tools), Universal (Intel + Apple Silicon)
Windows VST3 + AAX (Pro Tools), 64-bit
INSTALL — WINDOWS
1. Unzip.
2. Copy "Shane Tape 424.vst3" to:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3
3. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins.
INSTALL — macOS
1. Open the .pkg installer and follow the prompts.
2. Pick the formats you want (VST3 / AU / AAX).
3. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins.
Signed and notarized by Apple — no Terminal, no security workaround.
The installer asks for your admin password because the plug-ins go to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins (available to every user on the Mac).
Signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple — no security
warnings, no Terminal commands.
Stuck, or something sounds off? Message me — I answer every one.
More plugins coming, posted gradually.
UPDATES
Buy once, updated forever. Every future build is free to you — Gumroad emails you when there is a new one. No subscription, no upgrade fee, no re-purchase.
FOLLOW ALONG
New plugins and what goes into them:
