Vengeance-Sound’s VPS Tapestop is a powerful but intuitive plugin that does exactly what the name suggests, emulating the effect of a tape deck slowing down. The classic down-pitching effect is a staple of electronic music, and with Tapestop, we can recreate it with ease by simply clicking the large Stop button.
In this walkthrough, then, we'll use Tapestop to apply a turntable stop and restart.
For more Vengeance-Sound tutorials, pick up the August edition of Computer Music.
Step 1: Load Electro.wav onto an audio channel in a 124bpm session, then insert Tapestop. We’ll start by changing the speed of the pitch-down effect. It’s too fast by default, so move Power Down to about 2500ms.
Step 2: We can gradually roll off the high frequencies as the effect progresses using the filter envelope. Click the Curves button to display the effect envelopes. At the top of the window, click the Filter button to show the filter curve. Grab the yellow dot on the far right and drag it down to 100% - this will gradually increase the amount of filtering as the effect progresses.
Step 3: The Tape Slip dial adds pitch modulation as the effect runs, to simulate worn-out equipment. For this type of sound, a gentle effect is best, so move the dial to 6%. Finally, we’ll increase the rate at which the effect pitches back up to give the impression of a turntable starting back up again. To do this, head to the Power Up dial and turn it to 450ms.
