Sinevibes’ Artemiy Pavlov keeps working away in Ukraine. Stator is a tape wobble simulator, yes, but in typical Sinevibes fashion, the sound and interface take something familiar into a place that’s personal and unique.
One of the things Artemiy and I have talked about a bit is that his approach to DSP is intuitive and particular. It’s an expression of personality as much as science. Really, that is what makes the software plug-in scene so much fun – even when you’ve seen it before, you haven’t always heard it before.
So, sure, Stator is glad to be a tape simulator that you can crank up for some vintage effect – maybe a shoegaze tune about Lviv lunch breaks. (Sorry, that one’s for Artemiy but yes, let’s write it, though I’ll need to work out how to rhyme the words Lviv and shawarma).
It’s more than that, though, in that you have 13 DSP algorithms, and some unique stereo widening and crosstalk phasing. That’s what has me interested in this one. Whether in hardware or software, Artemiy’s multi-algorithm approach and clean UIs (no fake tape machine here) really help dial in unique sounds.
So you don’t have to even think of this as a retro plug-in, even if that’s the main draw. The phasing and widening and flutter effects can be used in a variety of ways. It’s a VHS deck if you want it – or a futuristic creative modulation effect if you want that.
You get:
13 tuned algorithms for simulating speed wobble on tape machines (which you can crank up to “VHS tape copied ten times over also there’s a magnetic storm happening” extremes)
Pitch wow, flutter, and scrape flutter each have separate modulation depth adjustments (whereas typically those get dumbed down into one knob)
Variable stereo phase offset with per-modulation controls
Variable stereo crosstalk (there’s your chorusing and phasing, as in Artemiy’s nice demo video)
Adjustable feedback loop
Feedback plus separate modulation controls = more unique sounds.
US$29. macOS 10.9+ / Windows 8.1+, 64-bit, AAX, AU, VST3. Yeah, M1 / Apple Silicon obviously, too.
Sinevibes’ Hollow reverb has wound up finding its way onto a ton of ambient tracks for me for the same reason; there are just some unique characters both to the sound and the way you dial in parameters on the UI that set some of these tools apart from other plug-ins.
So yep, I am glad to add this one to my collection.
http://www.sinevibes.com/stator/
It’s like tahini sauce and harisa. You want a particular recipe, and then you want it on everything.