Soundtoys PrimalTap -

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Retro Delay With Freeze

Soundtoys PrimalTap – a retro dual delay with “freeze” for lo-fi pitch warped loops and delays, is a top tool for music producers. It loads 80s studio vibes, and responds phenomenally, granting users mind-bending sounds. A must-have!

PrimalTap is an emulation and re-imagining of the unique sound and features of the Prime Time delay, a classic digital delay with some powerful performance and sound design capabilities. Like the original hardware, PrimalTap is a hybrid of digital and analog sound—it packs a surprising amount of grit, vibe, and character for a digital delay. In true Soundtoys fashion, we’ve also evolved and enhanced some of the unique features of the original hardware to give you even more control and creative possibilities.

Multiply

In PrimalTap, the Multiply control doubles the delay time and halves the sample rate with each turn of the rotary switch. This is an emulation of the old Prime Time units—back in the early 80s the memory needed for the delay circuit was really expensive, so the designers cleverly let you choose longer delay times at the expense of audio quality.

But this limitation turned out to be one of the effect’s greatest creative features. You can dial in gritty lo-fi echoes or, If you’re looking for something more unconventional, try turning or automating the knob while audio is playing and you’ll create some really unusual pitch jumps. Combine that with PrimalTap’s VCO modulation, and you’ve got some really wild sounds on your hands.

Modulate

Like the original hardware, PrimalTap includes a VCO (voltage-controlled oscillator) section. This lets you add variation and motion to your echoes. Use it to create lush chorused effects, tape-like flanging, and echoes that drift gently in pitch. It’s perfect for dialing up those great shimmering guitar sounds of the 80s. Or, it’s great for creating more wild and unstable modulations. Unlike the original, PrimalTap’s Rate control lets you take the VCO up into the audio frequency range. In other words, you can even create robotic ring modulation effects.

For more hands-on tweakability, grab the Adjust knob. This lets you manually sweep the VCO section for smooth, glitch-free warping of the delayed signal. Try tweaking the Rate and Adjust controls and you’ll find yourself creating warbling sci-fi sounds in no time. And, of course, you can record or draw automation in your favorite DAW to capture and fine-tune all of these weird modulation effects. PrimalTap really comes alive when you automate it!

Freeze

Ready to move into the even weirder territory? Tap the Freeze button to grab a slice of incoming audio. At its most basic, the Freeze feature lets you loop audio. You can either sync it to tempo or at a length you choose. But the real madness begins when you start to adjust the Time, Freeze and VCO settings. You can quickly warp and modulate a sliver of audio into weird and beautiful soundscapes.

Twist the time knobs to create zippering sweeps. Tweak the VCO controls for ray gun barrages. And dive bomb to a lower octave with the Multiply knob. Freeze is capable of producing some truly otherworldly sounds when you start experimenting with PrimalTap’s other controls.

History

The original Prime Time unit, initially released in 1978, was a favorite of some highly creative sonic pioneers like Daniel Lanois (who’s still rocking his Prime Time today), Brian Eno, David Byrne, Pat Metheny, and Peter Gabriel. Some creative users even started using it as an instrument, tweaking knobs and pressing buttons while processing live audio.

The unusual lo-fi and pitch-glitching effects were literally one of a kind at the time. It came stock with 128 milliseconds of delay and could be optionally upgraded to 256 (for a substantial fee). Like many classic pieces of audio gear, over time, the limitations or imperfections are often what create the character that people come to love. In the case of Prime Time, RAM was expensive. So, in an attempt to get the most from the least, the engineers came up with the multiply function. This increases delay time at the expense of sonic quality. That limitation is what was exploited to make this a highly sought-after sound. And, that sound is what drove us to create PrimalTap.

A New Direction

While PrimalTap faithfully emulates the original Prime Time, we couldn’t resist bringing this classic unit into the 21st century by adding new features and enhancements.

New Feedback Algorithms

PrimalTap’s feedback section offers four new feedback types not found in the original. These are parallel and series modes, ping-pong modes for creative stereo effects, and a special reverb mode that excels at lush washes of echo.

Host Automation

Capture the mind-altering sounds of PrimalTap knob tweaks by automating with your favorite DAW. Whether you’re recording your frenzied knob moves, or drawing directly into your host, automation really unlocks the creative potential of this effect!

Input Drive

Oh, and, it wouldn’t be Soundtoys if we didn’t give you a way to abuse it. So, we’ve also added an “IN” amount so you can get the sound of pushing that old hardware too hard. Actually, it’s unique break-up saturation. Use it to give sounds a little more or a lot more bite and attitude. Both of which we love.

Sync to Host

By locking to your DAW’s tempo, you can tame the beast. Or, if you want, just let it run wild! Both delay lines can be independently synced to a note value or set to a millisecond value for maximum flexibility.

Upgraded Memory

While the original was limited to 128 milliseconds of delay time (or 256 with a very pricey upgrade!) PrimalTap maxes out at a comparatively massive 2500 milliseconds. Create extra long echos, or samples and loop up to 2.5 seconds of audio with the Freeze feature.

Expanded VCO

The original just had one modulation VCO shape; PrimalTap gives you four different options. We also let you push the VCO rate far beyond the original. Move it way up into the audio range for ring modulation effects. You can even independently control the VCO depth for each of the two delay taps. Also, flip the phase of each to have modulation moving in two different directions.

Ken’s Spin

Ken Bogdanowicz, CEO and lead designer of Soundtoys

I’m always looking for quirky gear with unique character and vibe. I had recently been watching YouTube videos of Daniel Lanois live mixing with Black Dub. It was so interesting and inspiring to see the way that he used both the H3000 and the Prime Time in real-time while he was mixing – using the Prime Time’s hold button to capture ambient loops, and the Multiply knob to create octave shifts. That got me going, and I immediately fired up a Prime Time delay from our collection. It instantly put a smile on my face. It was so weird, cool, and musical, that I knew this was the next thing for me to work on. It took months of work to bring that same level of grit, character, and musicality into this plug-in, but I think that it definitely paid off. It’s my favorite Soundtoys plug-in right now.
Ken Bogdanowicz, CEO and lead designer of Soundtoys

PrimalTap also includes Little PrimalTap, a simpler, single-delay-line model. Don’t be fooled, it’s no slouch and can get used to echo, loop, warp, distort and mangle in endless ways.

Soundtoys PrimalTap Highlights

Get vintage digital delay sounds inspired by the quirky Prime Time echo
Create complex delay effects and modulations with 2 independent delay taps
Create insane pitch jumps with the Multiply knob
Create everything from lush chorus to sci-fi warbles with the VCO section
Sample, loop, and warp incoming audio using the unique Freeze control
Go beyond the original hardware with expanded memory and create new features

The full version of PrimalTap is an absolute beast of a plug-in! PrimalTap has an attitude that I just love and haven’t heard before from a plug-in.
Michael Costa, Chief Engineer at StreamAV and Soundtoys Beta Tester

Download Manual

Apple Silicon and VST 3 Compatible

Plug-in Formats (64-bit only):

AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST 2, VST 3, and Audio Units (AU)

Supported Sample Rates:

Minimum: 44.1 kHz, Maximum: 192 kHz

System Requirements:

Operating systems: Mac OS X 10.12 or later; Windows 7 or later.
An internet connection is required at the time of activation.

Supported Hosts:

Pro Tools, Live, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig

Soundtoys 5 Compatibility

All version 5 Soundtoys products come in 64-bit VST, AU and AAX Native plug-in formats. Here is a list of our officially supported host applications.

Pro Tools 12 - 2022.6	Mac & PC: AAX Native and AudioSuite
Logic Pro X - 10.7*	Logic Pro X - 10.7*
Ableton Live 9.2.2 - 11	Mac: AudioUnits & VST; Windows: VST
Studio One 4.5+	Mac: AudioUnits & VST; Windows: VST
Cubase 9.5 - 12*	Mac & PC: VST
Nuendo 8 - 11	Mac & PC: VST
Reaper 6	Mac: AudioUnits & VST; Windows: VST
Bitwig 4	Mac & PC: VST

Note about DAW / Computer Support

We cannot guarantee support if you are using a supported host platform listed above on an operating system or computer that is not supported by the host platform itself. Please visit your DAW’s website or manual to ensure you are using a compatible system.

If your DAW is not on the list above, it doesn’t necessarily mean that our plug-ins won’t work. It just means that it has not been tested. If something goes wrong with an unsupported DAW, you are welcome to write to support, but we cannot guarantee a solution. We currently recommend using our free trial with the hosts listed below to confirm compatibility on your computer.

MainStage
FL Studio

32-Bit Plug-in Support

With the release of 5.3.2, we have officially discontinued support for 32-bit plug-ins. With macOS Catalina requiring all applications to be 64-bit, and with the vast majority of our PC customers using 64-bit plug-ins, we decided it was the right time to end 32-bit support. Our most recent 32-bit installers are available to download below.

Download Soundtoys 5.3.2 for Windows (32-bit)

Download Soundtoys 5.3.1 for Mac (32-bit)

Download Windows 32-Bit Installers for Individual Plug-ins

What’s new in v5.4

May 16, 2023

New SuperPlate plug-in, available individually, within Effect Rack, or as part of the Soundtoys 5.4 Bundle.
New Effect Rack Factory Presets
Updated high-resolution graphics and text for most plug-ins.
Fixes issue where VST3 plug-ins had the wrong window size in Studio One

What’s new in v5.3.8

VST3 support for both Windows and macOS
Native compatibility with both Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M-series) and Intel processors

Known Issues and Notes

In Digital Performer 11, discrete parameters behave incorrectly for VST3. We recommend using VST2 or AU in Digital Performer 11 until the issue can be resolved.
Some hosts will automatically replace VST2 plug-ins in sessions with matching VST3 versions, depending on the DAW and your DAW preferences. Our VST3 versions are fully interchangeable with their VST2 counterparts, but not all hosts implement this feature of VST3.

What’s new in V5.3.7

Adds native Apple silicon support for Audio Units and VST2.
Fixes issue where installers may fail to install for certain users.

Known issues and notes:

The minimum recommended version of Logic for native Apple silicon is 10.7.3
Switching presets in Logic’s built-in preset manager may cause instability with Effect Rack. Using our internal preset manager should be fine.
VST3 support is not included in this release and will come at a later time.

5.3.6 Update

October, 20, 2021

Fixed an issue where Effect Rack could crash when doing an offline render to a new sample rate with VST.
Fixed an issue where Effect Rack could produce an incorrect “out of automation slots” alert during an offline render.

5.3.5 Update

September 30, 2021

Fixed issues with offline rendering in certain hosts, where the effect might have a delayed onset or undesirable fade in.
Fixed audio artifacts that could happen when editing modulation patterns during playback.
Fixed issue where events could be edited to 0 level and then no longer modified.
Effect Rack now resets delay buffers on preset changes.
Fixed an issue with PhaseMistress sound for certain 2-stage phaser styles.
Fixed an issue where Effect Rack could crash on load in Reaper on Windows.
Pattern editor stability improvements.

5.3.4 Update

March 30, 2021

Fixed CPU Spiking in Bitwig when certain plug-ins were on an instrument channel.
Fixed incorrect license expiration warning that would appear in certain circumstances.
Fixed bug where Effect Rack could lose signal after re-ordering effects in certain circumstances.
Fixed issue where EchoBoy could crash while changing presets during audio playback.
Added new transport indicator to Rhythm Editors to convey current location within a pattern.
Stability improvements for Windows versions.

5.3.3 Update

December 10, 2020

Added support for macOS Big Sur (11).
Fixed minor graphics issues in macOS Big Sur.
Fixed issue where plug-ins would sometimes crash on instantiation in GarageBand or Maschine on macOS Catalina.
Improved handling of bad floating point values.
Fixed graphical issues with pattern editors.
Fixed tempo sync during offline render in certain plug-ins.
Fixed issue where delay of dry signal path in Little AlterBoy did not match host DAW delay compensation.
Fixed issue where Decapitator would flood undo history with AutoGain changes in Ableton.
Eliminated low level noise from MicroShift.
Adjusted levels of Decapitator’s “Dark Drive” preset.
Added numpad and arrow key support for string controls.
Improved mouse tracking behavior in preset menus.
Fixed Effect Rack crash that could happen during certain preset changes.
Fixed “Waveform and Rhythm Too Complicated” alert in certain rhythm presets.
Fixed Tremolator crashing on selection of “12 Bar Roller” rhythm preset.
Fixed Organize command disappearing from the preset menu in certain situations.
Fixed rare crash on recall with multiple Effect Rack instances in Ableton.

5.3.2 Update

December 17, 2019

Added support for macOS Catalina (10.15).
Fixed issues on Windows where knobs could snap to minimum position and stop responding to mouse movements.
Double-clicking to reset controls has been fixed on Windows.
32-bit plug-ins have been discontinued.
Installer now includes the latest version of iLok License Manager, which solves an issue where plug-ins were blacklisted in Cubase on Windows.

5.3.1 Update

October 30, 2019

Fixed a bug in Little AlterBoy that could cause left and right channels to move slightly out of sync when used on a mono track in DAWs like Ableton and Cubase that process mono tracks in stereo.**
Fixed a similar left/right sync bug that could affect PrimalTap in “Freeze” mode.**
Improved parameter mapping for Resonance parameter in FilterFreak and PhaseMistress. This may very slightly change the sound of sessions that use automation on this parameter. If no automation is used on this parameter then all sessions should recall perfectly.
Smoothed out choppy animation on certain Retina displays.
Repaired window scaling problems in Windows on high DPI monitors, especially in Ableton and Studio One
Added MIDI triggering to PhaseMistress and EffectRack AAX.
Installer icons on Mac and PC should now show up more easily on a black background.
Mac installer supports light and dark mode.
New Remove Soundtoys utility on Mac lets you uninstall individual plug-ins more easily.

** These changes will affect the sound of audio in some sessions. You may want to bounce or freeze tracks if you want to keep the out-of-sync or phasey sound that may have occurred in previous versions.

What’s new in v5.3

macOS and PC:

Plug-in activation window now includes support for Activation Codes, which will be distributed to customers who purchase a new product (not an upgrade) from our web store, and will allow those licenses to be activated without an iLok account (optional).
Little Plate is now included in the 5.3 license group for new Soundtoys 5 customers.

macOS-only:

macOS Mojave is now officially supported.
Graphics issue that was causing several components of the Soundtoys graphical user interfaces to display incorrectly on macOS Mojave has been resolved.

What’s New in v5.2.3

All Soundtoys Plugins updated June 4, 2018 (Maintenance Update 5.2.3.13619 (Mac) and 5.2.3.13636 (PC))

Little Plate now included in the Soundtoys 5 installer
Fixed rare audio dropout/glitches under certain circumstances
Fixed crash that could happen sometimes on session recall
Fixed sluggish animation of tweak drawers on high DPI monitors on Mac
Fixed rhythm editor to allow for creation of multi-bar rhythms
Fixed “update nesting too deep” alert
Added support for MIDI triggering to AAX versions of FilterFreak and PrimalTap
Fixed CPU spiking in certain instances
Fixed AudioSuite support for different stem formats (mono-mono, mono-stereo, stereo-stereo) for Tremolator, Decapitator, Devil-Loc Deluxe, FilterFreak 1 & 2, Little Radiator, Radiator, and Sie-Q
Fixed occasional crash when rendering in Reaper on Windows
Fixed preset sorting in macOS High Sierra
Audio Units plug-ins will now scan correctly without requiring a restart in macOS High Sierra
Locked knob titles will remain red when GUI is closed and reopened
Fixed Pro Tools automation hotkey support for Effect Rack, as well as compound parameters like Delay Notes/Time in EchoBoy
Fixed Pro Tools automation hotkey support for all plug-ins on Windows
Fixed session recall in AU Lab
Fixed balance offset in in PanMan Random & Triggered modes
Updated VST plug-in names to make them consistent with AU and AAX versions when displayed in DAWs. *This included Little Plate, Little AlterBoy, Little Radiator, Little PrimalTap, Little MicroShift, EchoBoy Jr., and Sie-Q.

What’s new in 5.2:

EchoBoy Jr. is now available in Soundtoys 5 and Effect Rack
EchoBoy Jr. is now included with individual EchoBoy 5 licenses and installers
Some Effect Rack presets now include EchoBoy Jr.
Fixed an issue where certain AAX plug-ins did not support multi-mono operation
The LFO rate parameter can now be automated in PhaseMistress and FilterFreak 1 & 2

What’s new in 5.1

Sie-Q was added to the lineup.

What’s new in 5.02

Features:

Plug-ins with the Analog Mode option now have a new “Op Amp” style to replace the Version 4 “Digital” style that was removed. In the previous version 5 release sessions using “Digital” defaulted to “Clean”. They now default to “Op Amp”. This will address the sound differences that some customers heard when recalling old sessions.
PrimalTap has a new Auto Gain switch added to the Tweak menu. When enabled, the output will automatically be lowered proportionally as the input gain is raised. This is the new default behavior for PrimalTap. Old sessions and user presets will open with Auto Gain set to “Off.”
Preset names, when edited, now display in italics to indicate an edited state

Fixes:

Preset names are now displayed correctly when sessions that were last saved with V4 are recalled (instead of reading “Default”).
Fixed an issue in PrimalTap where the Rolloff feature was not filtering the feedback loop as intended. (Note: this update will change the sound of some presets and sessions but is the correct and intended sound and behavior of PrimalTap).
Fixed an issue where Devil-Loc and Devil-Loc Deluxe knobs could jump to minimum or maximum when clicked in a certain area.
Fixed a problem where the delayed signal in EchoBoy might drop out under certain conditions.
PhaseMistress default settings will now sound identical to the default preset.
Preset names are now pre-populated when using the Save As… option.
Resolved a Windows problem where alerts could be hidden behind other windows.
Fixed issues that would cause the compare light to come on unnecessarily with certain plugins and presets.

New in Soundtoys 5:

Effect Rack, PrimalTap, and Little AlterBoy plug-ins
New authorization options
Workflow enhancements

Getting Rhythmic with SoundToys Plug-ins

SoundToys guru Mitch Thomas demonstrates the basics of using SoundToys plug-ins to create rhythmic effects, and then dives deeper with the powerful Rhythm Editor in part 2.

More...

v5 Soundtoys PrimalTap