Rona Vintage Tape Echo is a tape echo in the Rona Vintage line from Rona Audio, with the unit’s own front panel as the interface. Every knob and switch you see works; the circuit behind them is modelled stage by stage so the controls interact the way the hardware’s do.
- INPUT — trim into the wet tape path (record head), -24 to +24 dB in 0.5 dB steps; the dry path is unchanged; the overload lamp watches this level
- ECHO LEVEL — the wet return mixed with unity dry: OFF (an explicit state, no wet signal at all), then -60 to 0 dB in 1 dB steps
- TIME — head 1’s delay in free mode (SYNC off), 20 to 2000 ms, continuous; heads 2 and 3 follow at 2x and 3x; small changes glide, large ones crossfade between read positions
- FEEDBACK — recirculation of the averaged head mix into the record head, 0 to 95 % in 1 % steps; the loop runs through the filters and the tape stage, so it is always bounded
- WOW — slow tape-speed drift: 0 to 8 ms of delay modulation near 0.6 Hz, in 0.1 steps; wet path only
- FLUTTER — fast tape-speed ripple: 0 to 0.5 ms of delay modulation near 7 Hz, in 0.1 steps; wet path only
- HIGH PASS — 12 dB/oct high-pass on the tape return and the feedback (inside the loop: every repeat loses more low end), 20 Hz to 1 kHz, continuous on a log taper
- LOW PASS — 12 dB/oct low-pass inside the loop: every repeat is darker than the last, 1 to 20 kHz, continuous on a log taper
- WIDTH — the wet signal’s side (L-R) level, 0 to 200 % in 5 % steps; 0 = mono echo, 100 = as recorded; the dry signal is untouched
- OUTPUT — trim on the combined dry and echo output, -24 to +12 dB in 0.5 dB steps; the VU meters read after it
- HEAD 1 — ON: the playback tap at 1x the base time. The active heads are averaged in the wet and the feedback paths, so adding a head never multiplies the loop gain; all heads off = no wet output and no feedback
- HEAD 2 — ON: the playback tap at 2x the base time (averaged with the other active heads)
- HEAD 3 — ON: the playback tap at 3x the base time (averaged with the other active heads)
- SYNC — ON: the base time is a note length (TIME DIVISION) of the host’s tempo, 120 BPM when the host gives none; OFF: TIME in milliseconds. Both settings are kept
- TIME DIVISION — the base time as beats of the host’s tempo while SYNC is on: 1/32, 1/16T, 1/16, 1/8T, 1/16D, 1/8, 1/4T, 1/8D, 1/4, 1/2T, 1/4D, 1/2, 1/2D, 1/1 (0.125 to 4 beats); shown on the TIME knob while SYNC is on
- BYPASS — ON: fades to the dry signal in 20 ms and clears the tape once the fade is over (no tail on return); the stored controls are kept and the hardware stays lit
- REDUCED MOTION — GUI only (settings panel): the power animation uses plain fades, no needle settling bounce or glow modulation. No effect on the audio
14 factory presets in 4 categories. Formats: VST3 and AAX (Windows 10/11 64-bit); VST3, AU and AAX (macOS). Stereo output. Installed, activated and updated with RONA License Manager.
