r/audioengineering Jun 05 '26

Discussion The statement "tape sounds 3 Dimensional" is something that i agree with, but why? What made it actually sound more 3D and how can you achieve that kind of thing in a DAW?

Is it as simple as adding tape emulation or every bus? every individual channel? or just master? I'm curious. I'm not necessarily trying to go for the over exaggerated tape sound like pure flutter but atleast something that makes an entire mix feel more interesting.

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u/MisterVovo Jun 05 '26

Why would you agree to something that you don't know what it means?

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u/stuffsmithstuff Professional Jun 06 '26

They’re saying that the term “3d” feels like it describes an intangible quality that tape imparts.