I personally think these tape sims and "lo-fi'ers" are created because there will always be toobe snobs and purists, even if audio in the year 2525 sounds incredibly like the sound source and is typically mistaken for such.  Therefore, this kinda bridges the gap and might even win a couple of dinosaur engineers/musicians over to the dark side of non-analog.  Since they "have to" use "ProTools" in their studio recordings now...since that's all that there is on Music Row for the most part, the "[Studer]" tape emulation eases things back a few notches.
 
Talk to Joe Walsh about digital and drum machines and relentless overdubbing and mixing.

I love Joe Walsh's analogy of the digital recording environment. And I can't express how much I agree about minimal overdubbing. But it seems funny when you go see him live his keyboard player has several top of the line keyboards onstage. Not counting the rack mount synths behind him. Even the piano is digital! It is a fine line we all walk. I remember walking into a local music store and being in awe that there was this thing called a Moog that could do all kinds of weird stuff. And how about that mellotron. An orchestra in a box. WOW!

The imagination of marketing departments is unlimited, that of the buyers also !
 
http://www.waves.com/plugins/redd
(In any case, it is very well drawn!)
 
 

i hope I am not creating the idea either that I don't think any of these analog simulation processes are useful and everything should pass through the digital chain only. Far from it! We had to have all the great analog gear of the past in order for them to devise these wonderful VST's now that can emulate these things so well and they do.
 
Those who think the only way to get that analog sound is by using analog gear are simply wrong and deluding themselves. I have read so many reviews now where they A/B blind test the VST against the real deal with a room full of great ears and switch 20 times and like no one picks it. What does that mean? It means we are emulating analog gear very well and I mean well.
 
I am an old analog synth man from way back, owned several Oberheim beasts. Don't have any now. Got the OPX Oberheim VST and to be honest it sounds so good it is rude! If they can do that they can do anything. That is a tough instrument to copy. It has a very unique sound.
 
Just mastered a really nice album and used the Pultec EQ on it. Just sounds stellar. Everything that comes out the end of that just sounds cool. Period!
 
I think it's great that we have total control now. In the old days everything was recorded onto tape, everything was mixed on the same mixer channels, everything was sent to the same outboard gear. Now we can have a blend of total transparent digital sound on some things, others going through a Harrison mixer, others getting some Neve action some things getting a little tape sim and so on. An all analog system simply cannot do this and for that reason alone it is inferior.
 
All I am saying is think carefully about what things you are going to send where and what processing you really need here or there. That is all. And the great thing is if it is all going pear shaped, strip it all off and start digitally again and work from there. I still find though that I don't use that much analog processing compared to the number of tracks that are only receiving digital attention these days. ie straight through to the stereo master through maybe a simple (bundled) EQ and some dynamics at best.

Just take the "trying to sound like old analog stuff" out of the dialogue for a moment. It's pretty obvious when you put the tap sim on a track or bus it changes the sound tonally.

It thickens the sound, or warms it (if a sound can be warm), or roughens it up.

It adds character, which you can adjust to your musical taste.

In short, the tape sim can be another accent, another tool to make your sound fit the personality of your song.

Thanks Cake for providing it in Sonar X3 Producer!

TS
The imagination of marketing departments is unlimited, that of the buyers also !
 
http://www.waves.com/plugins/redd
(In any case, it is very well drawn!) 

Peter Cobbin    Senior Engineer and Creative Director of Abbey Road Studios 
“I simply cannot get enough of the REDD sound over our tracks. It is an instant success, transforming all the music, with a dimension that is so wonderfully analog in character.”

Tony Maserati    Producer / Mixing Engineer
“Adding the REDD to anything I work on is like my mix - but better.”

Mark "Spike" Stent    Producer / Mixing Engineer 
“Love this plugin. I love the colorization, punch and character it gives sound. Brilliant!”

Alan Branch    Producer / Engineer / Writer / Musician 
“The REDD is really useful for saturation, fatness and coloring certain sounds with lovely sounding harmonics. It has an amazing effect on the low end.”

Matt Knobel
"Really great job on these! Very effective, just like the original console.”
 
Alex Shirley
WTF $200 - why not take a piss on my leg as well!!!

Hola, restons calmes et polis, entre gens de bonne compagnie !
I have just expressed my opinion, I offended nobody.
 
If somebody thinks he gets a Redd console with a 200$ plug, it is free to him.
I am sure that the plug works very well, with a astounding character, warmth, etc ; but it is NOT a Redd console, voyons (even with the attractive drawing)...
 
NB :
I had already read the advertising sentences of all the "comparses"
 

Just chiming in to say that yes, OP-X (I have Pro II) is amazing!
And definitely I don't think anyone really wants to sound like actual tape productions anymore - but it is a useful color to add to a part of the mix. Like parallel compression and overdrive, it can for instance fatten a bass and stabilize it in the mix. Whether it sounds like an actual tape is almost irrelevant. I use Klanghelm SDRR and DC8B for a similar effect.
Sometimes I like Kramer Master Tape better. Haven't really enjoyed pushing the PC tape too hard, but it's pretty decent at low distortion levels.

It would be interesting to do a blind test of masters that were done with plugins against the same masters thru the real hardware units of the plugs. How many of us could pick out the real gear opposed to the plugs? Your guess is as good as mine. I agree with the earlier post. These plugins may not be dead simulations. They are just different sounding to the ear. It would also be interesting to know the number of people who say, " WOW! That plugin sounds EXACTLY like a Neve!" when they have never even been in a room with one!
This comment is not meant to attack anyone. The analogy I am trying to express is we tend to listen to music by an artist that we know was recorded on an IT'STHEREALDEAL mixer. Then we play that recording thru a 1" speaker and profess to the world this is the ultimate sound! Never mind taking that recording that the artist spent months meticulously working on every aspect of it only to have it CRUSHED to a 128K mp3! Holy Crap!

TS
Hola, restons calmes et polis, entre gens de bonne compagnie !
I have just expressed my opinion, I offended nobody.
 
If somebody thinks he gets a Redd console with a 200$ plug, it is free to him.
I am sure that the plug works very well, with a astounding character, warmth, etc ; but it is NOT a Redd console, voyons (even with the attractive drawing)...
 
NB :
I had already read the advertising sentences of all the "comparses"
 

You don't understand - I'm agreeing with you!