AudioThing Type A Vintage Enhancer

Vintage Tape Encoding - Add pristine presence to any sound with this encoding modeler. 

What it is:
An immaculate recreation of the Type A tape encoder.

How we use it:
Bring vintage sonic enhancement to a track.

Why it’s cool:
A one-of-a-kind effect to recreate a vintage encoding sound that gives any sound a nostalgic touch. Type A - Vintage Enhancer

Type A is a plugin inspired by a famous vintage tape encoder. 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 It Works 
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 direct 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.

Specifications:

• Vintage Enhancer
  
• Multi-band Compressor with 4 Bands
  
• Volume for each band
  
• Compressor Attack and Release
  
• Noise volume
  
• VU-Meter source selector
  
• Adjustable Unit Noise
  
• Oversample up to 16x
  
• Resizable Window
  
• Preset system with randomizer
  

Compatibility
Requirements:    

• Windows XP SP2 / OSX 10.7
  
• Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz or equivalent
  
• 2 GB RAM / 500 MB HD
  
• Screen resolution: 1024×768
  
• VST, VST3, AU, or AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host
  

Installation Instructions
Instructions:
- Register your account here: https://www.audiothing.net/account/signup/ 
- Confirm your email address and log in here: https://www.audiothing.net/account/
- Click on the "Redeem code" page to get the installers and license
How to use installed plugins in Ableton Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2VjFjUhlR4

1. If Ableton Live is closed, open it and skip to #5.
2. If Ableton Live is already open, go to Preferences.
3. Go to Files & Folder.
4. Click "Rescan plugins".
5. Find the plugin in the Ableton plugins folder in the sidebar.
6. Drag-and-drop the plugin onto your track at the bottom of the screen.

How to use installed plugins in Logic Pro X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_dhy1wSIdI

1. Open Logic Pro X. Newly installed plugins should be detected automatically every time Logic is opened.
2. If you've downloaded an effect or utility plugin, these can be used on an insert for any track in the mixer.
3. Create a software instrument track if you downloaded a virtual instrument plugin.
4. Under Default Patch, go to AU Instruments and choose the plugin you just installed.

How to use installed plugins in Avid Pro Tools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm5QZ48MtuA

1. Open Pro Tools. Newly installed plugins should be detected automatically every time Pro Tools is opened.
2. If you've downloaded an effect or utility plugin, these can be used on an insert for many types of tracks (Audio, Aux, Instrument, Master Fader...)
3. If you’ve downloaded a software instrument, create a new Instrument track.
4. Navigate to the Mixer and locate the newly created Instrument track.
5. Select the desired instrument plugin by clicking on any of the Inserts on the Instrument track.

How to Install plugins to Garage Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_NmmTYMNhQ

1. Go to the Reverb SYNC Software and plugin Collection.
2. Choose your desired plugin.
3. Reverb will auto-detect your platform, so simply click the download button.
4. Continue the installation process by following the prompt.
5. Hover your mouse over the smart control button.
6. Click Show Inspector icon.
7. Click on plugins and choose your desired plugin.

Audio Thing Registration:

• To register your plug-in, you should have a valid license file (*.atl).
  
• Go to https://www.audiothing.net/account/signup/ to register your license.
  
• Inside the plug-in window, click on the More button and then choose Registration.
  
• A popup window will open, click on “Load License File…” and locate your license file.