CHOW Tape Model is a physical model of an analog tape machine, implemented as an audio plugin. The model has parameters for tape distortion, playhead loss, wow/flutter, tape degradation, and more. Originally designed to emulate the Sony TC-260 reel-to-reel tape machine, the current version can emulate a wide range of tape machines and tape types.




CHOW Tape Model began as a class project for Music 420 at Stanford University (CCRMA), and resulted in an academic paper published at the 2019 DAFx conference. There are several supporting materials that may be interesting to users with a more technical background:
- Source code: https://github.com/jatinchowdhury18/AnalogTapeModel
- Technical Paper: https://dafx2019.bcu.ac.uk/papers/DAFx2019_paper_3.pdf




Chow Tape Model installs as an AUv3 plugin that can be used in host applications like Garageband or AUM.