The Kiss of Shame
An old magnetic tape emulation plug-in brought back to life
Matthijs Hollemans, audio programming enthusiast and freelance developer, was donated the source code to The Kiss of Shame, a magnetic tape emulation plug-in from 2014, originally developed by Eros Marcello and friends. The plug-in was never finished or released, but Eros graciously allowed it to become open source.
The Kiss of Shame was one of the first analog tape degradation simulations. Quoting from a LinkedIn post by the original author:
It’s the worlds first (and to my knowledge) only tape / analog circuitry emulation plugin that realistically models the effects of magnetic particle instability, lubricant loss, substrate deformation, drift, scrape-flutter, print-through and reel expansion/contraction into a suite of FX processing tools for sound design and music production. We were also the first to leverage machine learning to account for the vast nonlinearities inherent in magnetic tape and analog circuitry.
The Kiss of Shame has the following knobs and buttons:
- Input Trim – Adds odd and even harmonics to the input signal.
- Environment – Choose between several simulated storage conditions to inflict the sonic ramifications of factors such as magnetic particle instability, oxidation, lubricant loss, tape pack expansion/contraction, „vinegar syndrome“ and more upon the source material. Currently only the Hurricane Sandy environment is implemented, modeled from tape immersed and then recovered from the storm’s flood waters.
- Age – The amount of hypothetical time the tape has been subjected to the chosen „Environment“, allowing the user to manipulate the severity of the corresponding effects.
- Shame – The Kiss of Shame recreates the full spectrum of factors like Drift, Wow, Flutter and Scrape-Flutter which the user can impart with the center knob. It can take your source signal from mildly colored to totally mangled.
- Hiss – Adds a subtle layer of noise to the sound.
- Blend – A standard dry/wet mix control. Turn this up.
- Output Trim – For gaining down the output when everything becomes a bit too loud. The Link button below the trim knobs ties together the input and output gain, so that turning one knob will move the other knob in the opposite direction.
- Bypass – Disable the effect.
- Reach out and touch tape – The Kiss of Shame features animated, interactive reels that can be manipulated with a simple click or touch. This allows users to access authentic analogue tape flange in real-time, without the need for two physical tape decks, and in a fraction of the time. All parameters, including reel movements, are fully automatable, and for screen real estate optimization, the reels are collapsible and fully customizable.
There are also some controls that are not functional:
- Choose between two distinct tape types:
- S-111: A superior reel format popular from the 50s to 70s, was the preferred reference tape for many engineers.
- A-456: This classic, high-output/low-noise format is a recording staple used in countless productions.
- Print-Through – Also known as „bleed-through“, this emulation captures the mechanical speed fluctuations present in analog recordings. While they posed challenges for engineers in the past, they became a hallmark of classic records.
https://audiodev.blog/kiss-of-shame/
