IK multimedia Plugin vs Tascam PortaStudio 246

Can the IK Multimedia Porta One Plugin beat a real Tascam Portastudio Multitrack? Let's shootout this vintage 1980s Tascam 246 against the Porta One cassette. Analog vs. Digital, Tape vs Plugin, Good vs Evil.

My Music Theory Cheat Sheet:

My Gear:

0:00 The cassette sound ever
0:30 Full Mix Shootout
1:23 Guitar Sounds Shootout
2:52 Guitar Tone Ethics
3:36 Drum Sounds Shootout
5:08 Bloatware
5:46 Porta and Pontifications (is it good?)

Do you think the plugin sounds as good as the real tape machine?

I did have access to a porta 07, but since I had just picked up the 246 that was the machine I chose to use. I knew it would function. And at the end of the day, the tape, the instruments, the level you hit the tape, impart a huge amount of the character. So I don't think using a 246 skewed this test too badly.

All I did was set up one sm57 microphone and record real fast. It was the first thing I came up with, and it was just to test out the machine. So then I had to go and copy that same idea using the plugin. The interface I used was a clarett 4pre.

The 246 gave a lot of compression and gave a lot more character. That combined with the fact that I was messing with the knobs, so you could hear the plugin, it made it impossible to exactly volume match. But I think you get the idea. I use several instances of the plugin, and I tried to match the tape machine as reference.

Prices on tape recorder cassette multitrackers are going crazy, but you can still find cheap ones. I found all my machines for super duper bargain prices, it just took a lot of time to hunt them down, or fix them.

Follow me build a salvage recording studio in this barn:

What do you think?

#tascam #portastudio #ikmultimedia
Studio Guitarist & Virtual Guitar Teacher

[wehappyfewmusic]

Great comparison! The IK multimedia may be way cheaper and look nice on screen, but it lacks depth and that real tape tone. That digital di tone 😳

[maxgomart]

Couldn't agree more !!! These plugins just lack the warmth, the noise, the hiss, the soul, everything... I really think IK multimedia put more budget on the graphical interface than the actual sound... Reminds me of arturia...

[kassemir]

The point about the bloat-ware is spot on. I bought something from them once, and having to go through all that, rather than just getting an installer for the plug-in itself was so annoying.
I know it might be for copyright reasons or whatever. But, when freeware is less hassle, something's seriously wrong.

[Barncore]

Why did you boost the HF EQ so high on the plugin? It made it sound way too bright relative to the tape machine, so it was hard to truly compare

[cleuenberg]

Thanks for the comparison! The software does some random stuff but it's not sounding like the real thing. Go for an actual 246!

[Augenatic]

great videos man! the portastudio sounded so much better than the plugin to me, seems to me like digital saturation, whether it´s in these plugins or guitar amp simulators just isn´t there yet.. especially cranked.. however the 388 plugin did somehow sound way closer to the cassette deck to me. made me think, maybe in 30 years time, hipsters will be hunting for these plugins on obscure p2p sites in search of those crunchy digital 2020s tones, and we´ll be the oldtimers shaking our heads

[FrankZen]

Ok so I didn't realize this is just a single track that emulates the sound of the cassette kind of like their other tape models. I got it free with my portable recorder. I actually still have my Tascam 424 and recorded a demo with it last year and it felt great! Physical tracking will always rule.

[samchoate]

here from that other video we just talked on... The distortion on the real 246 sounds much better for sure. The plugin is kinda brittle and harsh. However, does it offer oversampling? Or will it benefit from running your session at a higher sample rate? I always make sure to turn oversampling on when using any saturation plugin.

[alexandernathan]

I have a 246 and love using it. It just sounds natural with some saturation and some “wawa” on the high end. I’ve used some cheap tape plugins and while I always think it sounds cool at first after some A/B testing I usually decide not to use it

[Mute]

I think the 246 has more bottom end and 'roundness' to the sound. The IK sounds more clear high end and flat. The two tape variations on IK is more like lowering the frequency on tape type 1 compared to type 2. As for recording instruments I agree with you that you should use an amplifier to let the sound of the instrument come out and play in the open air. Especially synthesizers benefits from that.

[kites]

No offense, but you can get much better results with different settings in the plugin. Your tape machine has a much more noticeable HF roll off than the plugin. If you turn the bias knob towards the hot side, the plugin will compress a lot more. Try putting the bias around 0.7, then crank the input until you hear distortion and dial the input back a bit until it is more subtle subtle. Type 1 mode has a significant HF rolloff then type 2 mode. Set mode (type1/type2) and HF knob to taste, using less HF if you want a more lofi sound.

[oinkooink]

I didn't see whether the bass was cranked up on the plugin. Might have helped give it more weight. Coz it sounded thin. Edit: Ooh you had the bass cranked all the way and it was still way thinner than the unit. How could IK get it so wrong?

[FLHofficial]

In my opinion it's almost impossible to compare a plugin with its harware aged version, even 2 real 246s will not sound the same with the same cassette type and brand inside.
And the same applies to virtual vintage synths or tape delays and so on.
In a perfect world we should have both, the real thing and the often more convenient and easy to patch plugin version 😉
(I'm personnaly guilty of lazyness, I have some vintages synths, old tape decks, RtR or cassette, and I often use plugins...)

[jonesvox]

I have a feeling these plug-in developers lol when they price this stuff. Once you put the cute GUI of the retro cassette spinning around the hipsters hit Buy Now. Lol
You can’t get a calculator to sound like analog circuitry. You can only convince people something is worth the price/cool factor ratio. Cool vid as always!

[jairobarsallo]

Did you mix the drums with one over head 57?

Thanks,
J

[MadeOnTape]

I almost wonder if these companies find themselves trying to please a modern ear in a DAW because these cassette plugins ALWAYS sound too hi-fi. What i mean is, the high end still sounds digital.

Still, I'm all about accessibility and you can do awesome things with the plugin, but I can assure anyone reading this that there are truly inexpensive analog machines out there to mess around with if you're curious about what Travis talked about here: "you plug in and it sounds good"

love your vlog-style edits, Travis!

[SPOD_ZONE]

totally lacks any of the body of the actual tape unit & just sounds like a generic DAW saturation. Bit of a bummer. Also, for sick direct guitar tones that you might absolutely hate, check out Ween - Pure Guava. All recorded direct onto tascam 4 tracks.

[SkylerLocati-qv]

Hey man, what do you use to bounce Out of the task, cam into logic?

[jonl.b]

So true about the free vsts. Why don't the hardware companies also do free? Would be really good to get more free synths and stuff in hardware form.

[Nocturnal_Dysphoria]

can you make a video using the Porta 07? I am now obsessed with analog tape machines because of your channel lol keep up the great work bro !