Portatron Tape Synthesizer

Introduce the unique sound of a 4-track tape recorder to your music production with Portatron Tape Synthesizer, a tape loop VST (and AU, and AAX) that offers a wide range of lofi effects and functionalities.

Use the instant lofi sound to breathe new life into your samples. Portatron is the ultimate tool for capturing the vibe and character of a classic cassette recorder.

A Tape Loop Instrument

Play tape loops that endlessly follow your DAW’s transport, or play them like a monophonic Mellotron from your keyboard. Build a complete soundscape by mixing four tracks with the built-in EQ, delay and reverb.

Full Lofi Control

With Portatron, you have complete control over the cassette sound, including tape speed, noise, dropouts, wobble, and start/stop lag. Switch between Normal or Chrome tape for different noise types and frequency response, and push the Drive on a track to recreate the saturation and compression of recording a signal hot to tape.

Build Tape Loops

Combine your favorite samples in new ways, or use the hundreds of samples included in the sound library as a starting point.

We’ve recorded a variety of instruments like piano, vibraphone, vocals, and synths, as well as unconventional sounds like hydrophones and shortwave radio. With the same wobble and other tape effects across all tracks, the samples gel together to create a unique sound.

Flexible Playback

Portatron can be played in many ways. It can play along with your DAW transport, instantly creating a drone effect. Or restarted on each, second, or fourth bar for a semi-synced loop, great for ambient samples. Play it like a 4-track monophonic Mellotron from your MIDI keyboard for quirky leads with vocal samples.

Expand your sound with Portapacks

Each Portapack sound bank includes unique tape loops and samples, ready to use in your own cassettes. From lo-fi synths to experimental atmospheres, Portapacks give you endless creative possibilities to explore and build your signature sound.

Specification

• Four tracks of sample playback
• Library Sound Bank with patches and samples included
• Realistic lofi tape sound with
  • Noise
  • Dropouts
  • Wobble
  • Normal/Chrome setting
• Tape Speed from 0-200%
• Delay and Reverb Send Effects
• Drive, EQ, Level and Pan on each track
• Tape Editor with resize, move, repeat and reverse of samples
• 3 Locators
• Return To Zero (RTZ)
• Auto-RTZ on Key
• Auto-RTZ every 1, 2, or 4 bars
• Multiple outputs for each track and FX
• VST3, AU and AAX formats

Resources