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Can the Walters T805 Compete with Analog Tape?

David Peters

9,980 views

What gives analog tape its sound? How do the Walters T805 Tape Emulators compare with real Ampex and Studer Tape Machines?

Efficient deep dive into tape compression, saturation, frequency response, tape head bump, hysteresis, phase shift, tape hiss and more.

David Peters is a music producer/engineer/songwriter and compares classic analog tape machines such as the Ampex 440B-8 and Studer A820 to the new Walters T-805.

Website: http://www.oakhouserecording.com
IG & FB: @oakhouserecording

00:00 Timeless Challenge
01:17 Introduction
02:19 Its Own Thing
03:25 Tape Compression and Saturation
05:34 Tape Head Bump
06:44 Phase Shift
07:17 Tape Hiss
08:24 Hysteresis and Bias
10:05 High Frequency Loss
11:06 Dynamic Frequency Response
12:50 Walters T805 First Look
14:43 Sound Examples
17:40 Tape Is Subtle
18:20 Strings Example
19:52 Folk Mix Sample
20:29 Comparisons with Tape
23:45 Lots of Thoughts

20 Comments

@jaimegylanpga8753 9 hours ago

Dude I don’t know how you don’t have millions of followers. This is probably the best audio nerd channel on the internet. Thank you 🙏🏻 brother

@swiftalgotrader 7 hours ago (edited)

Literally the best channel on YouTube in the audio engineering niche. Keep going.

@Rhuggins 9 hours ago

I see you post, I click. One of my favorite channels. Excited to dive in!!

@AndrewChapmanCreative 10 hours ago

Fantastic deep dive! Everything was so well said. As a fan of your channel, I could not be more excited you got your hands on a pair of these. Using the bias (especially on the negative side) is a personal favorite for drums, it's got such an awesome character.

@HerrHampeluntermSofa 2 hours ago

Finally a non-biased, honest review by someone who really knows his stuff. Apart from the HQ as always. Huge fan! Thanks for doing this.

@HerrHampeluntermSofa 2 hours ago

Damn the Studer sound so nice to my ears. Just exactly the right amount of HF attenuation without losing anything. Round things up nicely.

@winstonmarsellus9898 9 hours ago

Well done David. Great overview. Glad you're back.

@shaunlynchmusic 2 hours ago

I really appreciated the deep dive on tape tech. I like the novel approach they took to emulate tape. I will keep that product on my radar. Fun and instructive video, as usual. Your music sounds great too!

@ArguZ72 2 hours ago

".. it is so subtle it does not sound like anything has been done "
That is the expensive part :)

@walttrammell1494 11 hours ago

i saw the chicken!! i love the bass tone on the first track as well.

@LeeronCarbuncle 5 hours ago (edited)

Whenever you switched to the tape machines I started smiling

@aleksamrkela831 1 hour ago

I'd pick the two Walters T805s over tape any day in a week! No excessive noise, no having to own tape, no worrying about the tape degrading over time, no needing to record as hot as possible, and no worrying about whether your tape will smear all over your record heads, forcing you to clean. :D

@XandyBarry 6 hours ago

Fantastic video. Dripping with authenticity and expertise! Great sound examples too! Thank you, David!

@TheRecordist 2 hours ago

I saw the chicken. Where'd you come from! I loved this video! Well done!

@buddythecat4675 8 hours ago

Yay, another video! The Walters sounds great, I like it alot. I did see the chicken. In the comparison, all were very similar; I thought the Walters had a bit more crunch, the Ampex had a bit more top end in the 15-20kHz, and that the Studer had a small bit more of center image, or that it seemed to have more center image. Nice song, too.