Master 30

A Real Dual-Channel Tape Machine. Minus the Alignment Tape and Nervous Breakdown.

Master 30 is a dual-channel tape machine built around something most tape plugins barely acknowledge: the Record and Reproduce stages are not the same thing.

Each channel has both stages, each with its own control and its own Manual/Preset switch. Leave a stage on Preset and it stays locked to its calibrated reference. Switch it to Manual and the knob comes alive, giving you direct control over how hard you hit the Record stage or how much level returns through Reproduce.

You can keep Record perfectly calibrated while trimming Reproduce by hand. Lock Reproduce and drive Record into saturation. Run both stages manually. Leave the entire machine at reference. Nothing forces the two stages to move together, and the left and right channels remain completely independent.

Push the Tape, Not Just the Output

Turn up Record and Master 30 responds with increasing saturation, density, weight, and tape character. Reproduce lets you manage the returning level separately, so you can hear what the Record stage is actually doing without mistaking “louder” for “better.”

This makes Master 30 equally useful as a clean tape path, a subtle mastering processor, a mix-bus thickener, or a fully driven character machine. It can behave beautifully. It can also be encouraged not to.

Calibrated When You Need It

Preset mode keeps each stage tied to a reliable calibrated reference, regardless of the knob position. That means consistent recall, predictable gain staging, and no need to rebuild yesterday’s settings from memory.

When you want complete control, switch the stage to Manual. A dedicated Calibration control returns the channel to its factory reference when the experiment has run its course.

Bias and Phase on Both Channels

Bias and Phase are available independently per channel. Bias changes the response and character of the tape stage, giving you another way to shape the result before reaching for a different processor. Phase provides an immediate channel correction without adding a separate utility plugin.

Match both channels precisely, treat them differently, or introduce just enough asymmetry to make digital perfection slightly less perfect.

Dual Illuminated VU Meters

Two large analog VU meters keep the signal visible while you work. Watch the needles as you push the Record stages, compare the two channels, or ignore them completely and use your ears. They will not take it personally.

Ten Factory Presets

Master 30 includes ten factory presets covering clean transfer, gentle warmth, mastering control, broadcast weight, wider character, increased headroom, and full-drive saturation.

These are complete combinations of Record, Reproduce, Bias, and Phase; load a preset, listen, then keep turning knobs. Every important control remains available.

Master 30 Features

• Independent Record and Reproduce stages on both channels
• Separate Manual/Preset calibration lock for every stage
• Record control for tape drive, saturation, density, and character
• Independent Reproduce level control
• Per-channel Bias and Phase switches
• Dedicated Calibration control on each channel
• Fully independent left and right channel operation
• Dual illuminated analog VU meters
• Ten factory presets from clean transfer to Full Drive
• 64-bit VST3 for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• 64-bit Audio Unit for macOS