Bro. Hats off to you.
My desire for the Zulu has not depreciated in any manner; Iām still excited it exists. What I prioritize for my sound may not align with everyone elseās priorities, but I think thatās ok.
The computer isnāt too involved in my music making process truth be told
Yes, thatās what Iām using.
Just measure the delay time and compensate ITB.
Run different tape speeds for more different saturation.
Iām using this for ages.
You could even make a tape loop like in the old days, endless fun.
Donāt think I said anything bad about the Zulu? You and I were just discussing the current state of digital modelling and what was possible these days? Difference
Yeah I was using an akai gx-77 for the same thing til recently. Workflow didnāt really balance out for sound benefits vs plugins tho. Especially in daw sessions with a ton of internal tracks to send out and back. Sold the Akai. Kinda miss it but not enough to go back. Might grab a cheap, semi-broken 3-head cassette deck at some point tho. Thatās the tape sound thatās still hardest to mimic well in pluginsā¦ Doable but a hassle/cpu eater, needs chainsā¦
As promised here is a Soundcloud demonstration of Zulu on a TB3X3 loop, along with some sampled drums to offer some punch and tempo related impact.
Iāll be glad to make cleaner examples or to process any clips people want to provide for processing. I know this is a really long demo but its very good at demonstrating the LoFi Deck setting along with the other controls that can make cool impacts on it, when you really want the dirt.
Thanks
-L.
Iām digging the lo-fi setting with the enhancement
Make sure you listen to the low end and how it changes between the different headroom settings as well as the Enhance settings but on some speakers that offer some good bass response or headphones with good bass.
That dry loop lacks the growl that the post Zulu clips offer. Pretty wicked. Even though these are really driven examples, they would be great per se as patches you could use on a synth or a drum loop youād have for texture. As I mentioned they are more akin to special effect settings but they were designed to be distortion and compression that youād want versus something youād stumble into and then summarily avoid.
Be glad to process a loop or clip for somebody
Thanks
-L.
My SSL X Desk is waiting for this effect so bad.
If you havenāt already, please make sure you pre-order! There are limited spots left.
Thanks
-L.
Sounds good, nice job for shows or OTB it could turn out to be another no brainer like AHā¦
Think in a loud show no one would realistically feel the difference between this and other options tho? And for production/mixing Iāve just gotten too used to having the convenience/cheapness of adding/removing tape vibe during the mix nowā¦ A lot more flexible etc. Possibly slightly less accurate sound I guess but just ādifferentā to my ear. Same as using different hardware tape decks.
For example check this demo of Kaya. The demo sucks but gives you an idea. Digital has come a long way. Such a tiny audible difference between something like this and AH etc that it just comes down to personal preference and/or budget. I donāt really feel like any of the options blow the others away. Pretty even playing field IMHOā¦Obvs YMMV tho and always hard to tell without being hands onā¦
I was feeding Zulu signal that was at +10db over 0 in this test. When you start using hot signals those slight differences disappear and analog stands out as a better platform for those purposes.
I am glad what you have works for you. But for me and many engineers it comes down to accurately emulating a deck, not just its tone which is simple, but its behavior. I will upload the wavs tonight so you can look at the waveforms. They are very telling.
Thanks
-L.
Additionally, at a loud show, thereās stuff thatās loud and clipped and then thereās loud and punchy. Zulu on the output of your buss, can give you energy without a compromise to the original punch of your signal. Plus it generates more analog bass content due to the head bump simulation. Who doesnt need more real concentrated bass? The Enhance control generates some amazing results on mixes, without sacrificing impact. The HiFi deck is insane at doing this. I have some great experiences parking Zulu on an X32/M32 during live shows. Big improvement.
Thanks
-L.
Obvs you wanna fight your corner on this but thatās a little offensive/condescendingā¦ With chains of 2 or 3 plugins I can get stupid close to the behavior as well as the tone. Believe me, Iāve been keeping an eye on this area of ITB for a long time Had a Tascam 388, 32, 38, 488mkii, 688 + Akai GX77 and only sold them/stopped repairing very recently after I felt plugins/digital had finally become a legit option for tape. After willing digital to be useable for a long time but always being really disappointed. Never looked at graphs etc, just trusting my ears.
Iām not saying the Zulu isnt as good or possibly better. I genuinely hope it is and that youāve nailed it Like I said, for shows or OTB its prob a no-brainer. Itās just unnecessary luxury item for me right now, although I am interested enough to keep an eye on it and wait for user reviews etc with a view to poss grabbing one to replace/free-up my deco when I start playing shows againā¦
Wishing you luck with it
Maybe youāre being a little too sensitive. I think youāve made your point quite clear. Youāre happy with digital emulations. Did you know itās possible to turn any conversation about an analog FX processor into a digital vs analog argument?
Dude, if you hadnāt said it was impossible for digital to do what zulu does, without you having even used the best of current digital there probably wouldnāt have been so much ranting But yeah, fair enough, Iāve said enough
But think you need to remember that the Zulu altho being analog, is still an emulation of something that it isnāt in itself. So the comparison to other emulations is more relevant/of interest than the normal Analog vs Digital comparisions/argumentsā¦
Does Kaya emulate the tape compression? I couldnāt see anything about that in the description on the site.
Deco does a saturation type thing, but I donāt think it sounds like real tape compression, which is pretty unique.
I treat plugins differently to hardware. They donāt āreallyā do anything. Just code and the designers interpretation. Always go by ear and just test em out. The top left āmovementā knob seems to have some kind of comp/squash effect tho. That particular plugin isnāt even meant to be a real tape sim, just the electronics stages, but it sounds more like cassette (followed by satin/slate for wow/flutter/noise) than anything else Iāve ever usedā¦ Just has āthatā soundā¦