HA 1200 Tape Saturator
by Heritage Audio · Saturation · Multitrack tape saturation
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HA 1200 Tape Saturator models a vintage 2-inch multitrack tape recorder (serial #0232) owned by Heritage Audio's CEO.
Five knobs and five vintage tape emulations add saturation, glue and low-end punch, for $99.
Best for: Vocals, Drums, Bass, Guitars, Keys & Synths, Mix Bus. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: tape, glue, drums, punchy, hardware emulation, vintage, vocals, electric guitar, minimal controls, synths, bass, bus processing, enhancement, full mix, mix bus, mixing, perpetual licence, single-band, warm.
What it does
HA 1200 Tape Saturator models one specific machine: the 2-inch analog multitrack recorder (serial #0232) owned by Heritage Audio's CEO, Peter Rodriguez. It aims to give tracks the presence, glue and low-end punch of real tape with very few controls.
- Five tape choices: emulations based on vintage new-old-stock (NOS) tape formulations, each with its own colour.
- Five knobs: a deliberately small set of controls for drive and tone, so it is quick to set on many tracks.
- Tape character: saturation that adds presence and glue and firms up the low end.
- Uses: smoothing and colour on vocals, synths and guitars, and glue on drums and buses.
- Documentation: a PDF user manual covers the controls in detail.
A 14-day demo is available, and i73 PRO owners can use it on that platform with a perpetual licence.
Source: Heritage Audio product page
When to use it
HA 1200 Tape Saturator is the quick multitrack-tape option: pick a tape, set a few knobs and move on. Compared with UA's Ampex ATR-102, which models a mastering deck with many machine settings, it is simpler and aimed at individual tracks and buses. It is more focused than Decapitator, offering one tape sound in five flavours rather than several distortion styles. Unlike RC-20 Retro Color, it adds no wobble, noise or lo-fi effects, so it suits tracks that need clean tape colour. Its main draw is that it captures one real, named machine.
- Best for: tape warmth, glue and low-end punch on tracks, drums and buses.
- Genres: any.
- Look elsewhere if: you want wow, flutter and hiss effects (RC-20 Retro Color) or detailed deck and calibration settings (Ampex ATR-102).
Where to buy
- Heritage Audio: $99
Tutorials and reviews
- Heritage Audio HA1200 Tape Saturator - A tape machine plugin built for saturation
- Heritage Audios new HA1200 TapeSat plugin
- Heritage Audio HA 1200 TapeSat-Revisión en Español-
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