At NAMM 2025 Plugin Alliance have announced the SPL Machine Head Plugin, an official software emulation of the hardware unit. This plug-in faithfully recreates the iconic Machine Head (reviewed back in SOS Oct 1997) hardware, used by top engineers to add warmth, depth and perceived loudness to mixes. This release marks the first and only fully accurate emulation of the original device, designed with the original chip-set and source code.
The SPL Machine Head Plugin offers two modes: Original Mode, which is a 1-to-1 replication of the hardware’s sonic characteristics and Ultimate Mode, which modernises the experience with enhanced clarity, spatiality, and frequency control. Designed in collaboration with SPL and SoundArt, the plug-in uses state-of-the-art hardware modelling to capture the magic of the original unit.
Machine Head delivers smooth analogue warmth without the typical downsides of tape - no noise floor, motor fluctuations, or crosstalk. It’s designed for mastering, mixing, or enhancing individual instruments, offering up to 10 dB of perceived loudness gain with improved tonal richness.
The SPL Machine Head Plugin offers two modes: Original Mode, which is a 1-to-1 replication of the hardware’s sonic characteristics and Ultimate Mode, which brings new and improved features.
Ultimate Mode introduces a range of enhancements, making the plug-in well suited for modern production applications. A Low Frequency Adjust compensates for head resonance and tape speed artifacts, while a High Frequency Adjust offers ten times finer resolution than the original hardware for precise tonal shaping. The Drive Parameter now features doubled resolution for greater control over saturation, allowing for subtle harmonic warmth or extreme colouration. Dynamic tape compression and harmonic distortion emulate the non-linear behaviour of analogue tape, said to deliver a characteristic musicality and punch.
Users can also select between 15ips and 30ips tape speeds allow users to simulate the tonal effects of high-speed tape recording, boosting high-frequency detail and resolution.
Price & Availability
The SPL Machine Head plugin is available now at Plugin Alliance, priced at an introductory price of $69.