Tape Hiss

How it's made

Source

random magnetic-domain noise and playback electronics, modelled by independent white and pink noise streams per channel. No tonal programme, discrete dust clicks or mains hum is included.

Body

the main white-noise layer rises above 0.8–1.8 kHz and rolls off through two low-pass stages at 4.2–8.2 kHz. A quiet 180 Hz–2.2 kHz pink layer gives the electronics a warm, diffuse floor.

Modulation

slow random head-contact drift at 0.16 Hz moves the upper cutoff by about 4 percent; 0.375 Hz wow and 6.125 Hz flutter alter noise level by at most 7 and 2 percent respectively.

Envelope

continuous at -36 LUFS, with no attack events. The default 8 s holds whole modulation cycles; the engine crossfades the stochastic seam. All filter Q values are 0.65 or lower, avoiding whistles.

Variation

seeded independent channels and drift paths; brightness sets bandwidth, warmth sets the electronics layer, wear sets modulation depth, and width ranges from mono to stereo tape tracks.

Presets

clean reel is airy and stable; cassette is narrow and warm; worn archive breathes gently; mono dub is dark and centred. These remain quiet production beds rather than foreground effects.

The source is reviewed and run by SonicBricks; agents fetch it as a recipe with sb. It is not published on this page.