McDSP - Analog Channel HD

McDSP Analog Channel models the parts of an analogue signal path that people miss in a DAW: the amplifier stage of a console channel and the tape machine at the end of it. It's for anyone who wants warmth, glue and soft saturation on tracks or buses without reaching for real tape.

Two plug-ins

• AC101: a fully adjustable analogue amplifier, for console-style drive and colour
• AC202: an analogue tape and tape machine model with bias, tape speed and IEC1/IEC2 settings, plus playback head emulation based on measurements of popular tape reproducers

The sound

Analog Channel is one of McDSP's oldest designs and it still earns its place. A little AC202 on a drum bus rounds transients and fattens the low end in the way tape does, and pushing the AC101 harder adds grit to bass and synths. It won't replace a dedicated tape emulation with wow and flutter, but as a quick colour stage it's very effective.

HD or Native?

HD adds AAX DSP, so it runs on Pro Tools HDX cards and Avid VENUE S6L live consoles as well as natively on your computer. If you don't have HDX hardware, Analog Channel Native does the same job for less.

Features

• AC101 analogue channel amplifier model
• AC202 tape and tape machine model
• Bias, tape speed and IEC1/IEC2 controls
• Playback head emulation
• Analogue saturation modelling
• Double precision processing, ultra low latency
• Mono and stereo versions

System requirements

• Version: 7.3
• Mac: macOS 10.13 High Sierra to macOS 26 Tahoe. AAX DSP, AAX Native, AU and VST3. Native on Apple Silicon and Intel
• Windows: Windows 10 and 11. AAX DSP, AAX Native and VST3
• RAM: not specified by McDSP
• Licence: iLok, on an iLok2 or iLok3 USB key, your computer or iLok Cloud (a free iLok account is needed). Two activations per licence

SOUND7 is an authorised McDSP reseller. Digital delivery: licence activation code sent by email.

Demo