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Description

Experience the nostalgic charm of the late '70s with the Soundtoys PrimalTap, a versatile delay plugin that revives the iconic features of the Prime Time delay unit. Seamlessly blending digital precision with analog warmth, PrimalTap is adored for its unique Multiply control, which doubles delay time while halving the sample rate for a gritty, lo-fi effect. Whether you're aiming for the shimmering echoes of the '80s or groundbreaking sonic manipulations, PrimalTap is your creative playground.

Dive into the depths of sound design with PrimalTap's dual delay taps, each armed with its own modulation capabilities courtesy of the VCO (voltage-controlled oscillator) section. This allows you to craft everything from lush choruses to sci-fi warbles that drift in pitch. Engage the Freeze mode to capture and loop up to 2.5 seconds of audio, perfect for creating evolving soundscapes. PrimalTap's flexibility extends with options for rhythmic sync or free-running delays, making it an essential tool for both studio productions and live performances.

Originally cherished by sonic innovators like Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel, the Prime Time's distinctive character is preserved and enhanced in PrimalTap. Now with expanded memory and modern enhancements, this plugin offers not just a taste of retro delay but a vast spectrum of auditory possibilities.

Key Features:

  • Dual-tap delay plugin with extensive modulation capabilities
  • Multiply control doubles delay time and halves sample rate for lo-fi effects
  • VCO section for creating chorus, flanger, and ring-mod effects
  • Freeze mode captures and loops up to 2.5 seconds of audio
  • Sync to host tempo or use free-running delays for creative flexibility

Product specs

Software Type Vintage Delays
Platform Mac, PC
Upgrade/Full Full
Download/Boxed Download
Bit Depth 32-bit, 64-bit
Format AAX Native, VST, AU, AudioSuite
Authorization Type iLok Account
Hardware Requirements - Mac Intel processor, 4GB RAM
Hardware Requirements - PC Intel compatible processor, 4GB RAM
OS Requirements - Mac OS X 10.10 or later
OS Requirements - PC Windows 7 or later

FAQs

What makes Soundtoys PrimalTap unique among delay plugins?

Soundtoys PrimalTap is unique for its emulation of the classic Prime Time delay, offering distinct features like adjustable delay time and modulation for creative sound design, making it ideal for producing vintage delay effects.

Is Soundtoys PrimalTap compatible with my DAW?

Soundtoys PrimalTap supports AAX Native, VST, AU, and AudioSuite formats, making it compatible with most major DAWs, including Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro.

What are the system requirements for Soundtoys PrimalTap?

For Mac, you'll need OS X 10.10 or later with an Intel processor and 4GB RAM. For PC, Windows 7 or later with an Intel compatible processor and 4GB RAM is required.

Does Soundtoys PrimalTap require an iLok account for activation?

Yes, Soundtoys PrimalTap requires an iLok account for activation, but you do not need a physical iLok USB dongle.

Can Soundtoys PrimalTap be used on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems?

Yes, Soundtoys PrimalTap is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, providing flexibility for different operating environments.

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soundtoys

Soundtoys PrimalTap - Over The Top Product Video

Video thumbnail for Soundtoys PrimalTap - Over The Top Product Video by soundtoys

Soundtoys PrimalTap - Over The Top Product Video

soundtoys

soundtoys

Video thumbnail for PrimalTap - Stutter Loop Tutorial by soundtoys

PrimalTap - Stutter Loop Tutorial

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soundtoys

Video thumbnail for PrimalTap - Vocal Stutter Effects by soundtoys

PrimalTap - Vocal Stutter Effects

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Video thumbnail for A Deep Dive to PRIMAL TAP by Soundtoys - Guide tutorial by XNB

A Deep Dive to PRIMAL TAP by Soundtoys - Guide tutorial

XNB

XNB

Video thumbnail for Soundtoys - PrimalTap and Little PrimalTap - Let's get crazy! by UDi Audio

Soundtoys - PrimalTap and Little PrimalTap - Let's get crazy!

UDi Audio

UDi Audio

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Soundtoys PrimalTap.

Features and functionality

  • Driving the input fader enhances saturation, mimicking the gritty texture of vintage rack units.

    Source
  • The plugin allows setting delay time to 0, ideal for creative routing like ping-pong delays.

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Use cases and applications

  • Combining Little PrimalTap with other delay plugins on an Aux send can enrich delay textures with vintage color.

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  • It's praised for creating lo-fi delay effects, especially appreciated in half sample rate settings.

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  • PrimalTap is particularly effective for ambient and experimental electronica, where its unique sound qualities shine.

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Software and compatibility

  • Some users report difficulties installing in Pro Tools Express on Windows 7, questioning AAX compatibility.

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Comparisons

  • PrimalTap is highlighted for its unique lo-fi character, distinct from EchoBoy and Valhalla Delay, which are better for complex ambient textures.

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Value and pricing

  • Purchasing individual Soundtoys plugins during sales can reduce the bundle upgrade price, though it stabilizes around five plugins.

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User experience

  • Users find PrimalTap more engaging when used with automation, adding dynamic changes to its delay effects.

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Critic Reviews

Producer Spotlight - Soundtoys' PrimalTap Plugin Brings Vibey 70s and 80s Delay To Your Productions

magneticmag.com

Soundtoys’ PrimalTap plugin impressively resurrects the gritty charm of late 70s digital delays with modern ease of use. It captures the distinctive vibe of the original Prime Time delay, enriched with expanded features like the unique Multiply and Freeze controls for creative pitch-shifting and looping. While it may not deliver crystal-clear delays, its characterful, lo-fi effects and intuitive interface make it a valuable tool for adding vintage flair to productions. For those seeking a delay with personality, PrimalTap is a delightful dive into sonic nostalgia.

positive

4.5 out of 5

Based on 0 Reviews and 8 Ratings

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Artist usage

Add artist
See how Mike Shinoda uses Soundtoys PrimalTap

Mike Shinoda

Singer, Guitarist

Linkin Park

...
Verified via YouTube

In a livestream titled "4.5.20 - Quick CoronaJam!" on YouTube, Mike Shinoda uses the Soundtoys PrimalTap plugin. The video is hosted on the Shinoda Livestreams channel.

See how Justin Bieber uses Soundtoys PrimalTap

Justin Bieber

Singer, Composer

Young Artists for Haiti

...
Verified via Soundonsound

Used on "Purpose", as stated by Purpose mix engineers Josh Gudwin and Andrew Wuepper in this May 2016 Sound on Sound interview about the mixing of the title track and others.

Gudwin picks out a few other interesting tracks, beginning with a vocal track named ‘vcls’. “That track contains a vocal sample that Blood made of Justin’s vocal. I’m just touching that with the LFO Tool for a bit of pumping, I take out some high frequencies with the Pro-Q 2, and then use the SoundToys Microshift for a slight pitch-shift/chorusing effect. ‘Sry1V’ below that is the vinyl sound in the track. ‘$JBU’ is the main lead vocal bus, on which I have the UAD 1176, Waves De-Esser, Manley Massive Passive, Metric Halo Channel Strip. The sends are to the generic aux tracks at the bottom of the sesion: verb, ping-pong delay, Dimension D. Below the lead vocal bus is the print track of a Bricasti outboard.”

Wuepper: “There are two tracks called ‘Bric’ around the main vocal bus; the one above is the print from the Bricasti effect that was used on the percussion, and the one below is the print of the Bricasti reverb on the vocal. Next are Josh’s vocal delays. Putting delays on audio snippets [ie. copying short vocal clips to new tracks and applying delays as inserts, rather than automating a send from the main vocal track] is a pretty interesting way of doing things. I’ve not seen anyone else do this, but it makes it easier for Josh to manipulate these delays and to go deeper into the effect. He can really fine tune the delay times and decay lengths and so on. Sometimes the feedback you get with plug-ins can act a little weird, and this approach allows him to have more control.”

Gudwin: “The five green tracks are all vocal throws and delays. I don’t like to automate delay throws via aux tracks. The top green track is the master track for the delays, ‘JB Throw All’, and it has a compressor and an SPL Vitalizer. The ‘1147’ delay track has the UAD Cooper Time Cube, with a quick ping-pong-y flutter delay that I use to widen, and the track called ‘1167’ has a basic eighth-note delay from the Echo Boy. The ‘A’ insert is Auto-Tune, but it’s not working on these tracks. When needed, our vocal tuning is normally done by Chris ‘Tek’ O’Ryan in Melodyne. I sometimes do it myself, if I have the time do it, in the stand-alone version.

“The blue vocal tracks below the vocal delay tracks are the main lead vocal comp tracks, and on many of them I have the UAD SSL Channel Strip, UAD LA-2A, and the Waves C6 multiband compressor, and sometimes also the Pro-Q 2 EQ. The ‘DLYP’ track has a delay pan effect, with the SoundToys Primal Tap delay and Panman auto-panner, SSL Channel Strip and the P&M Vinylizer. ‘White’ and ‘Master’ are printed reverbs recorded in two rooms at Henson. They are my main plug-in vocal reverbs, and the green tracks below are pitched with the Elastic Audio X-Form [in Pro Tools] and effected with the Waves H-Compressor for a pumping effect. I pitched the reverbs up an octave or two, and I mixed them in very low. The ‘PCM’ and ‘PC1’ tracks are prints from ping-pong delays from the Lexicon PCM42 outboard.

“Justin’s backing vocal tracks all go to the group track called ‘JBG1’, on which I have a Waves De-esser, an SSL Channel and the C6 multiband compressor, plus there are a number of delays and reverbs via the sends. Trevon’s backing vocals all go to ‘JBTR’, which has similar effects. I wanted to fill the song up a bit more, and sometimes it’s not the most enjoyable process for an artist to sing all these background parts. Plus a different vocalist will add a different texture to the song, as long as it complements the lead vocal and the record. As I mentioned, Julia added her vocals during the final mix in New York, and her group track also has the De-esser, SSl Channel and C6. Right at the bottom are some effects tracks, with the Dimension D and group delay throws, and so on.

(...) 'Love Yourself'

(...) Next are Justin’s vocals, with I overdubbed in New York. Almost all the regular vocal tracks have the UAD SSL Channel, LA2 and the Waves C6 multiband compressor. These three plug-ins work great on his vocals, so I tend to stick with them. Each of the vocal tracks has slightly different settings from them. They all go to Justin’s lead vocal bus above them, which has the FabFilter Pro-DS de-esser and the Pro-2 EQ. Justin’s lead vocals also go through the Bricasti, and the effect is printed. My own four backing vocals went through a vocal bus on which I had the SSL Channel, and a compressor, but they didn’t do much, nor did the sends. These vocals are very much in the background, I just wanted to add some texture really quickly. Finally, at the top of the session everything went through a Master track, on which I had the UAD SSL channel, mainly for compression set to mid-attack and auto-release — without drums you don’t need the slow attack and quick release — a Massey EQ, boosting 100Hz and 16kHz, a FabFilter Pro-L for level, and the Sonnox Oxford Inflator to add some sheen.”

'What Do You Mean?'

(...) “There were a few more complicated vocal effects, like the ‘JG FX’ track, on which I used the Vitalizer doing some spatial expanding, a UAD Fatso to thicken it up, and I then cut some low mids with an EQ, and used a de-esser. This effect track gave more depth to the vocal and made him sound more like an angel! Underneath that are two ‘Radio’ tracks [which sound like they could have come straight from Peter Gabriel’s ’80s Fairlight experiments]. I used Auto-Tune to pitch the vocals up, and then put on a SoundToys AlterBoy, which changed the formant, and then I’m filtering 350Hz and below.

“Below the ‘radio’ tracks are all my vocal delay tracks, in green as usual, with the bus for all delay throws at the top. One delay track, ‘Splaater’, is a flutter delay with Auto-Tune and the Cooper Time Cube, and the other two have the Waves H-Delay and SoundToys Echo Boy. They’re both quarter-note delays, but with different feels. Below the delay tracks are some ad lib tracks, and all the actual lead vocals, pulled out over several tracks. Most of them have my regular trio of UAD SSL Channel, LA2 and Waves C6 plug-ins, and all vocals are sent to the ‘JB Buss’, on which I have the FabFilter DS de-esser, a Manley EQ doing light cuts at 330Hz, 560Hz and 3kHz, and then a whole bunch of sends to my regular aux tracks at the bottom: a hall reverb, a plate reverb, a light quarter-inch delay, a light ping-pong delay and a Dimension D.

“Further down are four Justin backing vocal tracks, which go to a bus above them, ‘JBG1’, on which I have the SSL Channel, boosting highs and cutting lows and doing some heavy compression, a UAD 33609 compressor, and then the Waves Enigma [phaser/flanger] on a Mutron setting, adding some sweeping sounds. The sends are once again hall and plate reverbs, a quarter-note and a ping-pong delay and a UAD Roland Dimension D. Once Justin had decided to go with my rough mix, I spent another half hour on it, doing some EQ adjustments, and that was it.”

See how Justin Meldal-Johnsen uses Soundtoys PrimalTap

Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Bassist, Music Producer

Nine Inch Nails

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Verified via Photo

Justin Meldal-Johnsen discusses his use of the Soundtoys PrimalTap in an Instagram post, highlighting it as a key tool in his effects rack. He praises its creative flexibility when experimenting with different orderings of effects.

See how Fox Stevenson uses Soundtoys PrimalTap

Fox Stevenson

Music Producer

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Verified via YouTube

at 15:35 you can see his list of soundtoys plugins.

See how Mont Duamel uses Soundtoys PrimalTap

Mont Duamel

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Verified via YouTube

In the live stream titled "Billboard Stream • Starting ideas, opening old sessions" on YouTube, Mont Duamel is shown using the PrimalTap plugin by Soundtoys in his effects chain at the 47:59 mark.

Album Usage

The Soundtoys PrimalTap has been featured on the following albums:

Genre Usage

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Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Soundtoys PrimalTap, it is most commonly used with the following gear.

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