Type A & Type B Bundle

A Vintage Enhancer & A Vintage Exciter

Add definition, clarity and air to your productions. These Type A and Type B emulations use revered analogue recording techniques that were originally used to enhance dull recordings where the high-frequency content was missing due to tape overdubs.

Type A is a faithful emulation of one of the first multi-band compressors/expanders that appeared in recording studios. The aim of Type A is to brighten quiet sounds in your audio whilst keeping loud signals intact.

Type B generates high-frequency content that is not part of the original signal using a combination of filtering and distortion (harmonic generator) and then allows you to mix the new harmonics back in with the original signal.

Type A

Type A is a plugin inspired by the famous Dolby® A Trick technique. The original unit was designed to be a noise reduction system for tape recording (encode stage) and playback (decode stage).

Type A emulates the encode stage, which was often misused as an enhancer, dynamically increasing the top end of a signal without introducing artefacts or altering the harmonic content. The results are similar to a dynamic EQ which adds presence and air to any track in a natural way.

How Does it Work?

To limit the amount of noise generated by tape recording, early noise reduction systems used what’s called a multi-band compander (compressor/expander). The unit dynamically emphasises the high frequencies during the encoding stage (recording to tape), so that during the decoding stage (playback from tape) the signal is attenuated, along with the typical tape noise. Type A emulates the encode stage only.

The input signal is split into 4 bands (with the highest bands overlapping), dynamically compressed and then summed back with the dry signal. The amount of compression on each band is inversely proportional to the volume of the band. Quieter sounds get brighter while louder sounds remain almost unchanged.

This adds brightness and air without generating any new harmonic content or distortion, resulting in a more pleasant and natural enhancer compared to a typical exciter.

Features

• Vintage Enhancer
• Multi-band Compressor with 4 Bands
• Adjustable Unit Noise
• Oversample up to 16x
• Resizable Window
• Preset system with randomizer
• Formats: VST, VST3, AU, and AAX (64-bit only)
• Platforms: OSX, Windows

Learn more about Type A.

Type B

Type B is a plugin inspired by a famous vintage exciter effect. The original unit was designed to add presence and brightness to vocal or instrument tracks. It was often used to enhance dull recordings where the high-frequency content was missing due to tape overdubs.

Type B lets you control more aspects of the exciter circuit emulation, giving you access to the internal filter, the harmonic generator and more.

How Does It Work?

Exciters generate high-frequency content that is not part of the original signal using a combination of filtering and distortion (harmonic generator). The input signal goes into a filter (usually highpass, but you can also choose bandpass with Type B) before feeding it into the harmonic generator.

You have controls over the generated harmonics using the Color parameter. The signal is then mixed back with the dry signal. As an additional feature with Plan B you also have an option to swap the filter position with the Harmonic Generator.

Features

• Vintage Exciter
• HP/BP Filter with Emphasis
• Adjustable Unit Noise
• Oversample up to 16x
• Resizable Window
• Preset system with randomizer

Learn more about Type B.

System Requirements

Windows

• Windows 7, 8, 10
• 2GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM
• VST2, VST3, AAX, CLAP (64-bit)   

Mac

• OS X 10.9 – macOS 12 Monterey
• 2GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM
• VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, CLAP (64-bit)
• Universal 2 Binary