Spectral Plugins OCS-45
The best value for money cassette simulation?
Plugins that will get your mix sound like it’s been played through a cassette deck or 4-track have been extremely popular in the past few years. The actual Tascam 4-tracks (and others) have also made a huge comeback since producers are desperately trying to make music that sounds like it’s coming from the 80s or 90s. We’ve even made a list of our favorite LoFi plugins here.
On the hunt for the best Cassette simulation, we came across Spectral Plugins OCS-45 and we got to test it out.
OCS-45 provides all the features a cassette plugin should have. Wow and Flutter, Noise, Distortion, and Dropouts are things that you typically find on these types of plugins and OCS-45 has all of them in a clear and clean layout. Plus, you can choose from 4 different types of cassettes just like in the real world!
Wow and Flutter is the most common thing you’ll notice on a cassette recording. For those that don’t know what it is, it’s the Pitch and Tonal fluctuations of your signal when it’s played on a tape. The physical movement of the tape makes your output just a bit inconsistent but also very much alive and interesting.
Noise is another typical aspect of tape. These old units were noisy as hell and that ended up being a part of their charm. On OCS-45, you have 4 different types of Noise to choose from with a few neat details. Firstly, it comes with an envelope follower so the noise only plays when you run sound through the plugin. That’s very helpful because on other plugins the noise is consistent and you have to turn the plugin on and off to get rid of it when you don’t want to hear it. Another cool thing is that they added a D/O switch that introduces random dropouts to the noise signal and that adds some character to it.
Dropout is when the sound cuts off for a very brief moment. On an actual cassette, that happens when the tape is damaged (which happens very easily) and on OCS-45 you have control of the frequency and amount with a single knob.
The best thing about the OCS-45 is its Distortion Module. 4-Tracks tend to distort the signal if it gets too hot in a very pleasant way and on their plugin, Spectral Plugins added a great distortion that can be very handy even on its own. You get to choose from 5 distortion types and control the mix, the tone, and of course the Drive! Here are the 5 different types:
Tube – A semi-aggressive form of distortion that simulates Tube amplifiers.
Diode - A specific way of clipping that produces an aggressive, distorted sound.
Soft Clip - Rounds up the endings of the waveform resulting in a pleasant, warm sound.
Saturation - A subtle form of distortion that adds pleasant-sounding harmonics.
Downsample - Reduces the sample rate of the signal creating a bright ringing tone.
Lastly, the 4 cassette types play a huge role in the overall sound of the plugin. Type I is the cheapest one that has the most degraded sound, while Type IV cassettes are the most high quality you can get. And on the OCS-45 you can just switch to any type you want and hear the difference immediately.
Conclusion
OCS-45 is another great cassette simulation plugin. It has all the features you’d expect with a few nice twists and its overall sound is great. But the best thing that’s a real advantage it’s its price. It comes only at 15$ which is a lot cheaper than its competitors so if you are looking for a cassette plugin it’s the best value for money option out there!
Demo
