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FerricTDS mkII Released – The Best FREE Tape Plugin Is Now 64-Bit!

By 35 Comments3 Mins Read
FerricTDS by Variety Of Sound

Variety Of Sound releases FerricTDS mkII, the updated 64-bit edition of the tape saturation effect in VST2 plugin format for Windows.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. FerricTDS is the best tape saturation plugin out there, freeware or not. Its only caveat was the fact that it only used to work in 32-bit DAWs, much like the rest of Variety Of Sound’s plugins.

The first sign that this was about to change came several months ago when Variety Of Sound announced that a 64-bit update of their plugins was coming soon.

A few weeks later, Variety Of Sound released a public beta of their 64-bit plugins. Sadly, the long-awaited FerricTDS 64-bit wasn’t included in this public beta test.

But, good things come to those who wait. Oh, and I have another one! The best things in life are free. Ha!

Anyway, FerricTDS mkII is officially here! It not only introduces a 64-bit edition of the plugin but brings a myriad of other improvements under the hood. And better yet, it’s still freeware.

As for the improvements, the plugin now features an updated limiter algorithm, a new analog signal path emulation, improved tape compression algorithms, and revised metering ballistics.

On the surface, FerricTDS mkII looks exactly the same as its predecessor. The GUI hasn’t changed, apart from the tweaked label in the upper-right corner (it now says FerricTDS mkII). It’s still a wonderful design, though, and there really isn’t any need to change it.

If you’re already a fan of FerricTDS, hurry up and add it to your 64-bit DAW. And if you’ve never used FerricTDS before, this is your lucky day. Get ready to warm up, saturate, and tape-ify your tracks like never before.

Before you go, you may be wondering why I enjoy using FerricTDS so much.

I’ve tried dozens of tape saturation effects, ranging from freeware plugins to super expensive ones. None of them came even close to the results I was getting with FerricTDS. Its saturation algorithm is on another level, and its dynamics processing is equally good, if not even better.

It is my go-to tool for saturating and compressing drums, vocals, bass tracks, and busses. I even use it on clean guitars to give them some edge without going into distortion territory.

FerricTDS is my “secret spice” and easily my favorite free VST plugin ever. A big THANK YOU to Variety Of Sound for developing it, maintaining it, and updating it.

Download: FerricTDS mkII (22.2 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VST2 plugin format for Windows)

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Tomislav is a music producer and sound designer from Belgrade, Serbia. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief at Bedroom Producers Blog.

35 Comments

  3. JLance

     on

    I was so excited for this and began using it again yesterday. It was so frustrating to lose access to this a few years ago. The new version sounds as great as ever and I am SO glad to have it again!

    I immediately compared it to the expensive ones I have been forced to use over the past few years and loved it better than those. Thankful it’s back!

    Reply

    • Jamie M.

       on

      i’m on mac – vos is still a great developer with great plugins despite the fact i have to go to extra lengths to use them

      Reply

    • Bthelick

       on

      I’ve had a 15 year career making music on windows, which I’ve been chasing since I was 11 years old. does that make me a “not serious artist”?

      what a ridiculous thing to say just because you’re sore you got stuck in the apple eco system.

      Of the 2 OS’s windows has had far more options to make music in the last 2 decades, especially for free. This is the same as those areguments 10+ years ago when people said if you don’t use pro tools you can’t be professional lol.

      I would argue the opposite: You’re short sightedness led you to believe apple was the only ‘serious’ platform and through that you’ve limited your options, which makes you the not serious one, as you didn’t do your research. (unless you actually adopted Apple back in the IBM days pre-2008 in which case they did indeed have an advantage back then)

      Reply

  7. The Ted Mountainé Orchestra

     on

    Thanks for the heads up, Tomislav! And for your excellent work keeping us up to date on these things – it’s much appreciated.

    Great news, indeed – it was hard to let this one go when I finally decided to leave 32-bit behind a few years ago.

    Reply

  9. Dee.P.Tree

     on

    Thanks, Tomislav, VoS!

    We had another batch of updated ones too some days back… worth mentioning here:

    BaxterEQ, preFIX, NastyDLA mkII, NastyVCS, epicVerb, Density mkIII – all 64bit and other updates.

    Don’t forget to try them out.. they are also good plugins and are loved by many of us around here.

    Reply

  14. mauro

     on

    I was waiting for this since 2016!

    Downloaded ferric and density.

    Ferric is so good i will now have to give a slight review to all my recent mixes.

    Thanks VoS!!!

    Reply

  15. Alex Blake

     on

    I haven’t been able to use FerricTDS for I think like six years. I used a 64bit bridge at one point, but lost the files. Anyway, I couldn’t be more excited to see that he not only updated it to 64bit, but made a version 2! This was my all-time favorite plugin, and I can’t wait to use it again!

    Reply

  17. Shally

     on

    Did anyone have issues puling up the new version of Ferric TDS-64 bit, in FL studio. I use FL Studio 20 and it is all updated.

    It is unfortunately not working for me,

    Reply
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