Metric Halo MB MixHead (Digital product)

Tape Saturation Plugin for Glue and Warmth on Any Mix

The MB MixHead is a tape saturation plugin from Make Believe Studios and Metric Halo that recreates the Machine Head, the hardware processor its makers call a secret weapon and a key component of Serban Ghenea's stereo mix bus. Like the original digital box, it adds the warmth and glue of tape saturation without the wow and flutter, noise and maintenance of real tape machines. It can be used at any stage of the recording process, and its efficient code allows multiple instances.

What Makes This Plugin Stand Out

Three processing modes — 30 IPS, 15 IPS, and a new 3.75 IPS lo-fi mode — give users a wide range of saturation flavors. The unique HF-Adjust shelf works in tenth-of-a-decibel steps and shapes the top end independently of the Drive setting. Oversampling up to 16x keeps processing clean.

Who This Plugin Is For

This plugin is the right choice for producers who want classic tape-style glue without hunting for vintage hardware. Beginners will appreciate the simple layout with input gain, drive, HF adjust, output gain, and tape speed controls. Serban Ghenea contributed a preset with the settings he most often used with the original device. It runs as a 64-bit AU, VST2, VST3 or AAX plug-in on Mac OS X 10.10 or newer (Intel or Apple Silicon) and as VST or AAX on Windows 7 or newer; licensing uses an iLok.com account with two activations, and an iLok dongle is optional.