TEAC A-3340S

TEAC A-3340S

How 4 tracks became art

The TEAC 3340S 4-channel Simul-Sync® tape deck was part of the second generation of their Creator series. With Permalux® heads for excellent frequency response, low distortion and resistance to wear, the 3340S was the most versatile quadraphonic tape deck at the time.

Until then, conventional 4-track recorders didn’t permit overdubbing in sync. And that's where Simul-Sync technology from TEAC admirably comes to help. Turning recording, bouncing and overdubbing into an art form, this officially certified TEAC A-3340S will offer you the same channels of creativity that inspired so many great songs.

The TASCAM 388 remains the most sought-after tape recorder ever made by TEAC or TASCAM. You can easily spend $5,000 or more for a working unit today. You'll find in this officially certified plug-in version, for a fraction of the cost, the original's tone-tweaking controls and exactly the right sonic flavor to enhance your next musical production.

Intuitive, easy-to-use controls

The T-RackS TEAC A-3340S puts all the controls from the original at your disposal, along with some additional features to help you create just the sound you're looking for. You can calibrate the record and playback heads, or choose from 2 tape speeds and 4 tape formulas for a wide variety of tape-machine effects. We've also included a number of presets and you can easily save your own.

To each its own sound

The TEAC A-3340S is the 4-track tape recorder behind some of the most famous demos and songs in history. For example, The Doobie Brothers used a A-3340S to record several of the song demos that earned them a record deal, while Brian Eno and others still use the A-3340S today for its sonic qualities.

Re-creating the magic

Analog tape audio recorders are complex systems. They impart magic to the audio material, lifting the art within the music to a higher level. They add musicality to music.

What a tape machine adds to the audio is the result of a number of interactions amongst several interdependent factors. More than just saturation, compression, or EQ alone, these factors work together, one affecting each other with the dynamics of music, adding a “movement” that goes into the soul of what we perceive.

Decades of music produced on these pieces of artful human engineering have tailored the way we think music should sound. It’s imprinted in IK's DNA. Trying to recreate this magic in the digital domain has been attempted since the early days of real-time audio plug-ins, with various degrees of success.

From TASCAM DNA to IK DSP

For the T-RackS TASCAM Tape collection, each machine was chosen specifically by TASCAM and TEAC themselves, recommending particularly sought-after models from their history and helping IK source the best-sounding units. Each machine then went through a complete restoration to bring them perfectly back “to spec” before the scientific modelling process started.

IK’s DSP engineering team then took each stage apart, analyzed them in-depth, and produced a model of the entire magnetic tape-recording process. This model works in symbiosis with a powerful dynamic convolution engine to capture the essence of the real machines, faithfully bringing the complete picture of these complex analog engineering marvels to the digital realm.

The program coming out of these units is very similar to the one coming in, just better. It's subtle, but the impact is anything but.

And the T-RackS TASCAM Tape collection faithfully brings all this magic right to your DAW.

4 magic formulas

Choose from 4 different tape formulations, each with its own unique tone:

• 911: Modelled after the BASF SM911, this is the formula TASCAM recommends for an optimal balance between warmth and precision on the A-3340S.
• 456: Modelled after the Ampex 456 formula, this model went into production around 1974. Perhaps the most widely used tape, it contributed the most to what is considered “the” tape sound. It offers a warm, round tone with a slight touch of saturation that greatly responds to the recording level.
• GP9: Modelled after the Quantegy GP9 formula, this tape accepts higher levels of signal with minimal distortion and compression. It’s very punchy and perfect for modern, high quality analog recordings.
• 499: Modelled after the Ampex 499 formula, this tape is designed to handle a great amount of level with minimal distortion and compression. It also exhibits added high frequency definition that makes it perfect for printing “digital-like” recordings, while still maintaining an analog sound.

Comprehensive Controls

All Tape Machine Collection plug-ins share the same set of controls to enhance the ease of use and allow for quick A-B comparisons among them. Key features include:

• Signal path selection: With “Input,” the signal only passes through the input and output electronic stages of the recorders, bypassing the tape. Depending on how the recorder is designed, the “Input” path can sound extremely transparent or just slightly more colored. “Repro” passes your signal through the entire analog recording system: input-> recording amplifier -> recording head -> tape -> playback head -> playback preamplifier -> output stage.
• True Stereo: Even a perfectly aligned tape machine will have slight level, EQ and distortion differences between the left and right channels. This is good and part of the analog recording mojo! The TASCAM Tape Collection perfectly recreates these subtle differences to deliver the real experience. If perfectly identical left and right channel processing is a must, simply disable this feature.
• Tape Speed: Select the speed of the tape transport between 7.5 and 15 or 15 and 30 inches per second (“ips”), depending on the tape machine used. The higher speed gives you more fidelity, and the lower speed delivers a warmer, rounder tone.
• Transport Modeling: Precisely models the behavior of the mechanical transport. Small irregularities in the movement of the tape creates various degrees of sonic alteration to the audio program, especially between the two channels. Keep it on for the magic to happen! In case a perfectly steady performance is needed, just disable the control.
• Record Bias: Ideal bias voltage settings provide maximum sensitivity and low distortion. Intentionally overbiasing is a common technique to produce a warmer, gently saturated sound. Underbiasing can be used to nicely boost the high frequencies in a truly unique way and add distortion and other nonlinear effects.

System Requirements

Mac® (64-bits)

• Minimal: Apple M1 or Intel® Core i5 Processor, 8 GB of RAM, macOS® 10.15 or newer (macOS 11 or newer required for Apple Silicon Processors). 9 GB of hard drive space.
• Requires an OpenGL 2 compatible graphics adapter.
• Supported Plug-in formats (64-bit): Audio Units, VST 2, VST 3, AAX.

Windows® (64-bits)

• Minimal: Intel® Core i5 Processor or equivalent, 8 GB of RAM, Windows 10 (64 bit) or newer. 9 GB of hard drive space.
• Requires an ASIO compatible sound card.
• Requires an OpenGL 2 compatible graphics adapter.
• Supported Plug-in formats (64-bit): VST 2, VST 3, AAX.

Important note: Internet connection is required as all of the Custom Shop operations are web based.