Plugin Boutique is offering 80% off Universal Audio’s Studer A800 Tape Recorder plugin, bringing the price down to $39 until June 30th, 2026.

Studer A800 Tape Recorder is Universal Audio’s software emulation of the Studer A800 multichannel tape machine. The original 2-inch tape recorder has been used on many well-known recordings, and UA modeled a unit after one from Allen Sides’ collection at Ocean Way Studios.

The plugin lets you add tape color to individual tracks, buses, or the full mix. It gives you a little warmth and cohesion, more low-end weight, or more obvious saturation when you push the input.

The main controls mimic the hardware. Input sets how hard you hit the virtual tape circuitry, and Output lets you compensate for level afterward. Obviously, lower input levels keep things cleaner, while higher levels add more harmonic saturation and tape-style compression.

You can choose between three tape speeds: 7.5, 15, and 30 IPS. Each speed changes the frequency response, head bump, noise behavior, and distortion character.

Translated to how we typically use tape, 15 IPS is often the warmer low-end option, 30 IPS is cleaner and more extended, and 7.5 IPS is the more colored setting.

The Tape Type control includes four tape formulas: 250, 456, 900, and GP9. Each one has its own saturation onset and compression behavior, and the Cal control lets you choose different calibration levels for more headroom or more coloration.

There is also a secondary panel with deeper tape machine controls. You can adjust the emphasis EQ (NAB/CCIR where available), HF Bias, HF Record EQ, Sync/Repro playback EQ, plus hum and hiss levels. Auto Cal can handle the recommended calibration settings if you do not want to dig into the maintenance side of tape.

One thing I really like about this plugin is that it includes several signal paths. Input mode gives you the electronics without the tape sound, while Sync and Repro model the recording and playback paths through the heads and related circuitry.

This is the native UAD version, so it runs on Mac and PC without Apollo or UAD-2 hardware. The purchase also includes the Apollo Realtime and UAD-2 versions if you use UA hardware.

Plugin Boutique is also including a free gift with every purchase, with options like Melodyne 5 Essential, Arturia Analog Lab Intro, D16 Group Redoptor 2, and others available at checkout (depending on how much you spend).

Studer A800 Tape Recorder runs in VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats on macOS Big Sur or later and Windows 10/11. A free iLok account and the UA Connect application are required for authorization and installation, but an iLok USB dongle is optional.

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Download: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder ($39 until June 30th)

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Last Updated on May 27, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.