Audio Damage Traverse is a new dual FX plugin for macOS, Linux, Windows, and iOS that combines a Lo-Fi tape and a stereo delay.
Audio Damage has recently released two very easy-to-use, inspiring FX processors that are part of its Motion Effects lineup. Ascent is a shimmer reverb, and Decent is a granular delay and reverb.
Both were instant buys for iOS (also due to the $2,99 intro price) and are now staples in my arsenal. With Traverse, Audio Damage has now released a third plugin in the Motion Effects series. This time without any granular processing.
Audio Damage Traverse
Traverse is a new dual FX processor for macOS, Linux, Windows, and iOS that combines a Lo-Fi tape effect and a stereo delay into a single processor.
Like the other two plugins, Audio Damage Traverse is very simple and straightforward in its design. No menus or a trillion extra subpages. Two components: the delay and the Lo-Fi FX.
The built-in stereo delay is fully tweakable with classic controls: time, feedback, width, sync, and ping-pong. It’s neat that you can place the tape pre- or post the delay FX processor.
In the pre configuration, you have a Space Echo-like delay with the cassette first and the delay second, with feedback returning through the full cassette chain.
Flip the order so the cassette processes only the delay tail. This gives you a tape-flavored delay with a clean input path. One thing is certain: in both configurations, you get heavy, saturated, characterful delay effects.
Tape Engine
The Lo-Fi tape part of the Traverse plugin is more extensive. It’s based on a cassette engine with a magnetic-hysteresis tape model. It emulates the sound of a cassette deck and features internal gain compensation to keep the output level consistent across the full drive sweep.
Drive, Wow, Flutter, and a tilt-EQ tone control let you fine-tune the tape FX in detail. On top of that, you can layer a four-control procedural tape splice simulator system for procedural dropouts and noise.
With time and depth controls and toggles for pitch and amp, you can create various dropout behaviors. You can dial in anything from a clean spool to a worn-out shoebox tape.
The other part of this section consists of a curated noise generator with nine distinct types: Hiss, Crackle, Dust, Fan Rumble, 60Hz Hum, 50Hz Hum, White, Pink, and the Califone Card Reader. A gate for the noise is also available.
Instead of simply layering, the engine routes the noise into the cassette path.
First Impression
Audio Damage’s Motion Effects series has really caught my attention. I’ll definitely be adding this one to my setup as well. What I’ve heard in the first demos sounds lovely.
Nice, crunchy, saturated, as you’d expect from a tape effect. I love the simplicity of these processors. Time for vintage sonic trip!
Audio Damage Traverse is available now for 25,95€. It runs as a VST3, AU, CLAP, and AAX plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux, and Windows.
The iOS version with AUv3 plugin support is now available at the Apple App Store for an introductory price of $2,99. The plugin has no DRM and doesn’t require a dongle or a subscription. It’s a one-time purchase.
More information here: Audio Damage / Apple AppStore
I still find it bizarre we’ve all just accepted we’re happy to pay 10x the price for a plugin to use on Windows machine vs iOS.
They are different reasons:
Beta tests are more extensive and longer for plugins for macOS, Linux and Windows because of the different formats (VST3, AU, AAX…). On iOS you have one single format AUv3 and some different iOS/iPadOS versions.
iOS is also a different market than classic plugins. An app has a much larger presence in the App Store and can be purchased by everyone out of curiosity even who aren’t neccssarily musicians. Launch the app store, buy an app and you off to go.
With a VST, you need to know what a VST is and have a DAW. Only music production focused people know what a VST plugin is and so the pontential buyer circle are these people and way smaller.
Even at the beginning of the iOS era, Apple recommended to developers to keep the price low to lower the barrier to entry and thus sell more apps.
I have 10+ tape effects, but i would consider buying this for the design alone