SoundGhost - Drift
The lofi tape machine!
Our dear friends at SoundGhost just released a brand new plugin called Drift! Drift is a lofi tape machine that is designed to replicate the warmth and broken sound of a vintage tape recorder and it does that beautifully. SoundGhost is known for its ambient and very well-made plugins and Drift is no exception.
Controls
I love that all SoundGhost plugins have a very minimal and clean design. On Drift, you have all the controls you need for that lofi tape sound and a few extra things that you can’t find on other similar plugins.
First, you have the tape reels that move as the sound is coming through Drift. The tape is moving as you play sounds and you can tap it to make it stop giving that beautiful tape-stop sound. Below it, there is a slider that you set the time you want the tape-stop to last but also the time it takes it to start again. It’s a small but really cool detail that you can use as an unexpected effect.
On the knobs section, the first one is Saturate. The saturation can go from mild to crunchy and distorted but in all settings, it’s still very much usable. Then you have Wow & Flutter that add pitch fluctuation & variation respectively. The Fail knob is also pretty cool since it creates volume drops and glitches that you sometimes get with tape players when the tape is stuck.
The Tape knob is the most important one because it’s essentially a mode selector. For each mode, Drift has different EQ settings that replicate the sound of different tape decks. It has two Cassette modes, two VHS tape modes, a Reel to Reel Deck, two Dictaphones, and even a Boombox! Each mode has its own sound and they all are very different from each other so you can experiment with all of them to find the best one for your sound.
Width sets the stereo field from 0% to 100%, Noise adds tape noise on top of the signal, and lastly Mix is your Dry/Wet control.
Our thoughts
There are so many Tape plugins out there it’s getting really hard to choose one. All of them are quite similar in regards to their controls and their sound so the choice is even harder. Tape effects are pretty destructive and take over your original sound but that’s the whole point.
Drift’s main strength is the 8 different models. You don’t get to see a lot of similar plugins having so many different tape modes and that’s a very big plus. Another great thing about it is that it doesn’t really hold back. It’s very prominent and does a lot to your signal. It’s definitely not a mild tape effect and if you start cranking up the controls you’ll end up with a totally altered sound. That means that if you’re looking for a plugin that feels not only as a vintage tape deck but also as a broken one, Drift is the way to go.
Now regarding its price, Drift has an introductory offer of 29£ and after that it will cost 39£. You’ll see a lot of similar plugins at this price point so the choice comes to your personal taste. I have and I’ve used almost every tape plugin out there and I think that Drift’s main advantage was that it is more immediate than most lofi plugins.
So if you are looking for something that will instantly take you back to the 80s, Drift is probably one of the best and fastest ways to do it!
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