In this era of digital recording and multiple layers of Undo, it seems that the fading art of tape splicing is no longer relevant, but new plug-in developers FourFingers have given it a fresh lease of life in the digital domain. Tape Splice Pro, supported on all the usual Mac OS and Windows formats, will work on any WAV or AIFF audio file and emulates the complete splicing process, producing an edit that sounds somewhat different from what you’d get from a typical DAW edit.
After all, splicing wasn’t simply a means of joining tape as it also affected the sound of the join depending on the angle of the cut. An angled cut creates a crossfade rather than the abrupt transition of a right angled splice. Whereas if the tape carries two or more tracks, the angled cut also creates a slight timing difference between the edit points. This is also recreated with great accuracy when the plug-in is operating in Stereo or Multi-channel modes.
A range of splice angles can be selected, in addition to a dial where users can set the probability of cutting a finger. Veteran engineers will tell you that tape splicing could be a risky business, especially in a dimly lit studio — cut fingers were not uncommon. It's even rumoured that this sort of accident inspired the classic Bob Dylan album, Blood on the Tracks.
Tape Splice Pro fully models the effects of blood if it touches the tape, with blood spots appearing randomly each time a cut to the finger is registered. Magnetic recording tape is essentially a form of iron oxide bound onto the physical tape, and blood also contains many iron compounds. So when blood meets tape, the magnetic properties change, giving the edit a slightly unpredictable sound. That process is modelled here in meticulous detail at sample rates of up to 192kHz.
Future planned updates include user-selectable brands of splicing tape, different sizes of band aid and even an ability to dial in a blood type.
Price & Availability
Tape Splice Pro is available as a free download, time-limited to today.
See website for further details.
