Recording - February 2014 - 63

Satin offers three modes of use: Studio,
Delay and Flange. Studio is the tape machine
mode, Delay simulates tape echo and tape
delay tricks of old, and Flange turns Satin into
a dual tape deck flanging unit.
Satin style
Satin's interface does away with animated spinning tape reels, and makes no
attempt to look like a 3D model of a faux
tape machine. Instead, you get a plethora of vintage-flavored buttons and knobs,
a digital LED peak meter, and even a
large old-school VU meter.
Some tape plug-ins, like Slate Digital's VTM
(reviewed October 2012) are a minimal setit-and-forget-it affair, while others offer deeply
modeled service adjustments like Universal
Audio's Ampex ATR-102 and Studer A800.
Satin is a bit of both; using it can be as
simple as choosing a modern or vintage
tape sound, pushing signal into the unit,
saturating the tape and then adjusting the
output volume appropriately, or it can be
deep and tweaky if that's your preference.
Satin's interface is fully sizable, and
regardless of your DAW you choose how
much screen real estate it takes up. This is
one of those little features that I wish more
plug-in companies would incorporate.
The top of the screen
The interface screen is made up, top to
bottom, of three portions. Across the top
portion (that stays the same no matter which
of the three modes is active) you have the
large Input and Output knobs flanking the
centered metering window, plus, along the
very top, small controls or indicators for
Bypass, Save, Presets, Makeup, Tape Type
(Vintage or Modern), Metering In/Out,
RMS 0VU Ref., and Clipping.
The VU meter can not only display input
or output levels, it can also be set to Peak
or RMS, and it can be user-calibrated from
0 down to -24 dB. I tend to record and
mix with my levels around -12 dB to -18
dB, so I appreciated being able to adjust
Satin's metering accordingly.
The center of the screen
This is where you choose and tweak the
above-mentioned modes. A knob on the left
offers a choice of tape speeds from 7.5 to 30
ips. As with real tape, changing the speed
affects the character of the highs and lows, as
well as the overall fidelity. It ranges from thin,
scooped, and squonky at 7.5 ips to full hi-fi
at 30 ips. Version 1.1, released just before
press time, lets you dial speed all the way
down to 1.87 ips (remember cassettes?).
~ Studio Mode: In this mode, there is a
knob labeled Pre-Emphasis (below the
tape-speed knob on the left) that, as per

U-He, "allows for precise control over
transients, tone and fidelity". For more
detail you can download the manual
from www.u-he.com. In sonic terms PreEmphasis filters out the high end at low
settings and induces a loudness-style smiley EQ curve at high settings.
Like most tape plug-ins, multiple
instances of Satin can be grouped or
ganged so that changing a setting on one
instance effects all the others in that
group. In Satin you can create and name
up to eight different groups. This is handy

for operating Satin like a true multi-track
tape machine with instances on multiple
channels.
Possibly the most unique set of controls
in Studio mode is the Compander section
that has an Encoder, a Decoder and a
Mix knob. The Compander is a collection
of accurate models of the popular noise
reduction processes from tape machines
past, developed by Dolby and dbx. In
Satin they are called Type A, Type A
Modified, Type B, UHX Type I and UHX
Type II.

http://www.u-he.com http://www.musicunited.com

Recording - February 2014

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