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BPB Dirty VHS (FREE VHS Tape Plugin)

By 79 Comments3 Mins Read
BPB Dirty VHS

Bedroom Producers Blog proudly presents BPB Dirty VHS, a freeware VHS tape simulation effect in VST3 and AU plugin formats for Windows and macOS.

My favorite way to make something sound analog and lo-fi is to record it to a VHS tape and then re-sample it into the DAW. The technique has been used by numerous artists, most notably by Boards of Canada, who pioneered the intentional lo-fi VHS sound in electronic music.

However, the technique is time-consuming and a bit fiddly, especially if you don’t have the space to keep a VCR connected to your music production setup at all times.

For those reasons, I always dreamed of having an authentic-sounding effect that would simulate all the imperfections of a piece of audio resampled from a VHS tape.

Luckily, I had the chance to team up with Toybox Audio (the developer behind Thump One), who helped me turn my VHS effect idea into a plugin.

BPB Dirty VHS includes eight different VCR and VHS combinations, each with unique pitch and volume inconsistencies, tone characteristics, and authentic VHS noise.

We deeply analyzed different video cassette recorders, including those that still run perfectly and those in desperate need of repair. We extracted the data and used it to create eight distinct models which are now available in BPB Dirty VHS.

YouTube video

The plugin has two main knobs. The Pitch knob controls the intensity of pitch and volume inconsistencies that are applied to the signal. The Tone knob controls the amount of filtering, modeled after different VCRs and tapes.

Remember that each mode sounds different and has different pitch and volume variations.

The additional controls are:

  • Noise – Controls the volume of VHS noise that is mixed with the signal (each mode generates a different type of noise)
  • Dirt – Controls the amount of tape distortion applied to the signal.
  • Chorus – Controls the tape chorus effect.
  • Spread – Controls the stereo spread of the chorus.

In the settings menu, you can choose one of the three available engine modes:

  • Grainy – The most accurate processing mode but also the hardest on the CPU. Use it if you’re able to bounce the signal.
  • Smooth – A less precise but also less demanding mode. Preserves transients better than the Grainy mode.
  • Whammy – Turns BPB Dirty VHS into a pitch shifter. Use it for extreme pitching effects.

You can also turn on the noise gate (so that the noise is only audible when there’s audio on the input) and use noise filtering to shape the noise.

Additionally, BPB Dirty VHS comes with 20 factory presets and the ability to edit and save custom presets. It features a freely resizable user interface.

BPB Dirty VHS is compatible with VST3 and AU plugin hosts on Windows and macOS. You can download it for free right now from Bedroom Producers Blog.

Download: BPB Dirty VHS

More:

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

79 Comments

  5. Zachary Bennoui

     on

    I absolutely love this! Quick question, is the plug-in using the JUCE framework? If so, could you please make sure the controls in the UI are visible to screen readers? I’m able to access the parameters in Logic’s controls view, but I would like to be able to use the native UI to have a better organized experience. Thanks.

    Reply

    • Tomislav Zlatic

       on

      Hi Zachary, thank you for your suggestion. It wasn’t made in JUCE, but I’ll check with the developer if we can do something about screen readers. Thank you again for suggesting it.

      Reply

  10. Mateo

     on

    This sounds good in the demo, but when I use the plugin, no matter what setting (grainy, smooth, or whammy) it always has a ton of static and you can’t even hear what’s playing. I’ve tried every preset and nothing sounds good. I tried copying the exact settings from the demo, and it sounds nothing like what I’m hearing. Is this an issue on my end? I really want to use this and it looks cool, but I can’t.

    Reply

      • Mateo

         on

        I use FL Studio, but my computer is a 2020 Mac with Ventura OS. It has 32 gigs of RAM and even on projects with 60 tracks, my CPU has never gone above 30.

        Reply

    • Charmy

       on

      Same with me, I use Fl Studio on Windows and it takes up to 70% CPU power; and it’s so grainy that you can’t hear the music. I think it overloads CPU because the staticy sound would happen in other plugins that had overloading issues.

      Reply

      • Alexxxxxx

         on

        solved with the detailed settings inside the vst. going to troubleshooting tab then ‘use fixed size buffers activated and finally click on more and activate ‘Use maximum size buffer size from host’

        Reply

        • Arty

           on

          I can confirm that FL Studio hates this plugin by default. CPU use is close to 100% on my Windows PC so I get that awful crackling sound. The fix that Alexxxxxx supplied (“Use fixed sized buffers” in the troubleshooting tab found by clicking the green cog above the plugin’s GUI in FLS) makes the plugin sound how it’s supposed to, but the CPU use is still very high. With a very minimal project template, with a simple drum pattern and one instance of Diva playing some chords, FLS reported 18% CPU use on my PC, but switching Dirty VHS on made it jump to 40%, even with the “smooth” setting. I think this will make it pretty much unusable for me in most projects, which is a shame, as I love the sound.

          Reply

  16. Carlo

     on

    Holy crap, that sounds awesome. I can’t wait to try it out! Thanks Tomislav and the other guys for delivering such great plugins, and make it accessible for everyone (aside all the hard work in this blog) BPB is pure awesomeness!

    Reply

  20. Max

     on

    Very nice… Looking forward to digging into this one…. a real treat 😍

    Is this one Apple silicon Native ?

    Many thanks 💚

    Reply

  22. Mariusz

     on

    Why does this plugin have configuration options – there are only 3 options, which are not global, but affect individual presets??. Wouldn’t it be better to put this on the main screen???

    Reply

    • Tomislav Zlatic

       on

      Hey Mariusz, we wanted to keep the UI simple. The controls that are used less frequently are in the options menu.

      Reply

  25. GUSTAV MCPHERSON

     on

    Another report here from an FL Studio user (on windows 10).

    Same problem and same solution as the others; terrible crackling and CPU spikes, switching on ‘use fixed buffer size’ inside FL’s plugin wrapper troubleshooting page makes it function properly.

    Reply

    • Tomislav Zlatic

       on

      Hi Gustav, we just updated the plugin to v1.07. The update dramatically reduces the CPU hit in FL Studio and reduces the CPU hit in all other hosts. Please update to the latest version (download the installer again and copy it to your plugins folder).

      Reply

  26. MRG

     on

    Wow! So cute! Much dirty! Input and output gain is very much appreciated, helps a lot.
    Maybe the settings page options could be added to the main panel, but I understand not wanting to overcrowd it. Decisions, decisions…
    Another banger freebie from BPB!

    Reply

    • Tomislav Zlatic

       on

      Thanks, MRG! Btw we just released an update to fix the performance issues that were reported by FL Studio users. The update also reduces the CPU load in all other hosts.

      Reply

  29. Danilyaster

     on

    I love BPB plugins. I use some in each of my projects.
    I would be glad to add to the collection, but the plugin is not suitable for FL STUDIO.
    Although I fixed the problem as described in one of the messages, I cannot use it due to the load on the CPU.
    I hope for a correction in the future.

    Reply

    • Tomislav Zlatic

       on

      Hi Danilyaster, we just updated the plugin to v1.07. The update dramatically reduces the CPU hit in FL Studio and reduces the CPU hit in all other hosts.

      Reply

  31. vhs to digital

     on

    The BPB Dirty VHS plugin seems like a game-changer for adding that vintage touch to music production. The review perfectly captures its unique features and potential applications. Can’t wait to try it out and experiment with some nostalgic vibes in my own tracks. Kudos to the author for the detailed insights! lifetimeheritagefilms.com will be a valuable source for you.

    Reply

  35. Continuum Theorem

     on

    Cool free plugin. May I request a mix knob? I’d like to automate from clean into the effect. Unless I’m missing something, I don’t see a mix knob. Otherwise, very cool!

    Reply
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