The MPX Master Tape plug-in is modelled on a rare machine comprising an Ampex 350 transport fitted with 351 electronics. With adjustable tape speed, bias, flux, wow and flutter, along with noise parameters, the MPX provides comprehensive control over the contours of any sound. To top it off, Waves has added a flexible slap and feedback delay.
When Waves undertook it hardware modeling project with Eddie Kramer, the aim was to create a model of the original recording chain from Olympic Studios in London that Kramer used on his recordings of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. The first two plug-ins resulting from this project were the HLS Channel and PIE Compressor. The last link in this chain is the MPX Master Tape plug-in.
The Ampex 350 and 351 valve tape machines were mainstays of the recording industry, and were used on thousands of hit albums and singles over more than two decades of recording. Waves tracked down a perfectly maintained machine (owned by veteran mixer/engineer Eric Schilling), and began the long, complex modeling process. Assisting Waves were Bob Olhsson (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross) and co-developer John Haeny (Jim Morrison and the Doors, John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne). Waves used 3M Scotch 206/207 tape for the modeling, as it was considered an almost ideal match for this machine.
Features
• Modeled on the Ampex 350/351 quarter-inch reel-to-reel
• Adjustable tape speed, bias, flux, wow and flutter
• Slap and feedback delay
• Up to 96kHz, 24-bit resolution
• Mono and Stereo components
• Supports TDM, RTAS, Audio Suite, VST, AU
• PC- and Mac-compatible
Controls
• SPEED selects the simulated tape speed
• MONITOR selects the monitoring mode
• BIAS controls the level of the ultrasonic bias signal
• VU METER displays input or output level
• VU CALIBRATION controls the vu meter headroom calibration
• DELAY TIME controls the time of the tape delay effect, with settings for 7.5ips (266ms) and15ips(133ms)
• DELAY TYPE toggles between delay modes
• FEEDBACK controls the amount of the delayed output signal
• LOWPASS controls the LP cut-off frequency on the delay path
• RECORD LEVEL controls the input level
• LINK I/O links Record and Playback Levels controls
• PLAYBACK LEVEL controls the total signal output level
• FLUX controls the level of simulated magnetic radiation emitted from the record head
• WOW & FLUTTER controls the speed and gain modulations and fluctuations
• NOISE controls the level of added modeled noise but not noise modulations and signal additive noise
‘Do you want to impart warmth, sweetness and clarity without any muddiness to your entire mix or just an element or two in your mix?, asks MPX co-developer John Haeny. ‘Would you like to offset the harshness and clinical quality of digital? Would you like a good and easy way to ‘glue’ your mix together? The MPX is the answer to all of these questions.
‘I take great pride in having been a part of the development team for this particular product – it’s a plug-in I’ve been dreaming of for decades, and I think Waves has finally accomplished what so many have tried to do and failed. I am confident that many will find uses for MPX in mixes, sub-mixes, mastering or across the final bus of their mixes. This is the real, original Ampex sound I remember, and this is a real game changer.’
The MPX Master Tape plug-in is now available for purchase (US MSRP $200 Native/$300 TDM, with special introductory prices of $99 Native/$149 TDM for a limited time) and at no additional charge to owners of Waves Mercury with current Waves Update Plan cover.
More: www.waves.com
