AAX/AU/VST Audio Plugins from Black Rooster Audio

Vintage Tape Echo TD-201

From tape to space

As a part of the 1950s revolution in music production, musicians, producers, and engineers were busy creating the foundation of the modern-day workflow and introducing countless technical innovations - from guitar amps to electric organs, as well as an incredible amount of studio effects. This period also marked the birth of electric reverberation & delay units.

Early-day tape delays such as the Echoplex or Copicat - the first attempts at echo generators - have a history of being technically unreliable and prone to damage when transported, yet their sound was so captivating that further attempts inevitably ensued.

It was in the late 1960s when Japanese engineer Ikutaro Kakehashi and Hammond started experimenting with multi-head tape echos. One of these featured a free-floating 1⁄4-inch tape & spring reverb housed in a rock-solid tape chamber, ready for touring

and more stable and reliable than anything on the market at the time.

The Roland Space Echo RE-201 became a best-seller for the brand. It further evolved into a range of delay effects that are still extensively used in music productions and in sound design today. The famous delay sound has stayed consistent ever since the RE-201 was born.

For many tape delay aficionados, there is nothing like the sound of a legendary vintage unit. Still, many struggle with their unpredictability, not to mention that they can be time-consuming to use and difficult to access. This is why we have created the TD-201 - a highly customizable in-the-box tape delay that offers all of the vintage character of the classics, as well as countless customization options for maximum usability.

From Psychedelic Tones To Surf Tunes

Mechanical Reverb Emulation

Inspired by a true classic - The TD-201 offers vintage character galore! It was inspired by a true studio classic, with the added reliability of our signature state-of-the-art technology to give you the most complete tape echo plug-in for your toolkit.

Complex mode selection made simple - This feature allows for a seamless transition between the playback heads so that you can dial in your perfect room setup, and effortlessly mix your reverberation and delay just as you would with the vintage originals.

Per head fine-tuning - Fine-tune your perfect echo by adjusting the depth, volume, and stereo position per playback head in the lower panel. The nine parameters allow for surgical-level precision in your workflow.

Plug-In Features

All Black Rooster Audio plug-ins are designed for high-performance and authenticity.

Multi-Head Mode Selector

We have implemented a complex mode selection that allows for seamless transitioning between the play-back heads so that you can dial in your perfect room setup. Effortlessly mix your reverberation and delay just like with the vintage original.

Per Head Fine-Tuning

Fine-tune your perfect echo by adjusting the depth, volume, and stereo position per playback head in the lower panel. The nine parameters allow for surgical-level precision in your workflow.

Tap & Sync

Quickly synchronize the tape speed to your mix/ rhythm with the sync control. By using this feature, the echo will follow the impulse given by the tap knob.

Dial in some Randomness

In order to go "full vintage", try to use our range of fine-tuning parameters to control the motor, flutter, headroom, dropouts, and noise – all of which are hardware tape machine features. Play around with these, and dial in some randomness to make your echo sound even more authentic.

Lo-Fi Cassette Effect

Here’s a little pro-tip: Set your echo to 0ms (HEAD 1 ONLY Mode Selector = 1 & HD1 Pos = 0) and solely manipulate the motor, flutter, headroom, dropouts, and noise in the mid panel. This is your perfect lo-fi cassette effect.

Adjustable Gain-Staging

The adjustable gain-staging gives you the ability to control the pre-processing input gain level, as well as the post-processing output gain level.

SSE2 & Apple Silicon optimized code

DSP operations are pipelined using SSE2 and Apple Silicon instruction sets. This ensures a high-performance operation despite its very complex computations.

HighDPI/Retina Support

The user interfaces support high pixel density on both Windows and Mac OS systems, giving you the most enjoyable user experience on high DPI displays.