01 LFO
Two LFOs, free or in time.
Seven shapes, from smooth sines to stepped random and chance, locked to the bar or free.
Same loop. A different record.
Describe it. BACKTAPE builds it.
Type what you hear in your head, in English or Spanish. Generate understands genres, places, moods, effects and exact pitch, builds a full chain with its own movement in a second, and tells you what it understood.
Tape, grain, space, pitch. And everything in between.
Three controls. A whole studio behind them.
MORPH
INTENSITY
SCREEN
ADVANCED
POWER
MORPH
Glides between two versions of the sound.
INTENSITY
Takes every pedal from a touch of colour to the full effect.
ADVANCED
Opens the pedalboard when you want to go deeper.
Surprise me
Genre chips and Randomize compose a new chain every time.
It breathes with your track. Motion wired to any knob.
Threads connect motion to any knob of any pedal, so the sound keeps changing with your music.
02 Follower
Your loop, turned into movement.
The level of the music becomes a control: loud hits push harder, quiet parts let go.
03 Events
One pedal plays another.
A hit, a cut or a note in one pedal fires a move in the next, so the chain reacts as one.
04 Chance
Never the same twice.
Each cycle plays with the probability you set. Happy accidents, always in time.
Everything it does. In detail.
01 The chain
Five pedals, any order, two scenes.
- Up to five pedals in a chain, in series or in parallel lanes.
- A return loop feeds the end of the chain back into any pedal, kept under control so it never runs away.
- Scenes A and B with MORPH gliding between them, and INTENSITY for the whole chain at once.
- POWER off is your sound, untouched.
02 Generate
A brain that speaks producer.
- Understands English and Spanish: genres, places, moods, colours, materials, eras, and effects by name.
- Exact amounts: “−2 cents”, “+3 semitones”, “transpose to C minor”, “no reverb”, “less grain”, even with typos.
- Surprise me, Full transformation, genre chips and Randomize compose new chains every time.
- Works offline: nothing you type leaves your computer.
03 Motion
Threads to any knob.
- Two LFOs with seven shapes (Sine, Triangle, Ramp, Square, Steps, Drift and Chance), free or in time.
- An envelope follower that moves with your loop.
- Events: a hit or a cut in one pedal moves a knob in another.
- Every pedal has a footswitch action, a stop, a freeze or a fill, that motion can trigger.
04 Key and chords
It hears what you play.
- Live key and chord detection from the audio, no MIDI needed, that follows the tuning of your sample.
- Or play MIDI notes, or set a fixed key.
- RING, TALK, FROST, STARDUST and FLIPPER play in the key and on the chord of your song.
05 Sound quality
Clean where it should be.
- Every saturating stage stays smooth at the top: no harsh digital edges.
- The low end is protected: the bass never goes through the distortion and stays centred.
- Constant latency, so your DAW's compensation never jumps, and smooth crossfades when you change presets.
- Tested at every sample rate from 44.1 to 192 kHz and every buffer size from 1 to 4096 samples.
06 Presets and screen
Start fast, save everything.
- 147 factory presets in categories, made by LABSICK EMPIRE.
- Save your own with a category, tags and author; import and export them as files to share.
- Resizable screen from 75 to 200 %: the face for speed, the pedalboard for depth.
Made for your session.
Formats
VST3 and CLAP, 64-bit. macOS version in development.
System
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. 44.1 to 192 kHz.
Hosts
FL Studio, Ableton Live, Studio One, Cubase, Reaper, Bitwig and any VST3 or CLAP host.
Licence
Two computers per licence. Activate once online; it works offline after that.
Manual
83 pages with every pedal, control and workflow. Open it or download the PDF.
Latency
Fixed, and reported to your DAW, so everything stays in time.
Own it once. Keep every update.
BACKTAPENo subscription
$69USD
Launch price, November 20 to January 31. Regular price $99.
- Every pedal and Generate
- Factory presets, and save your own
- Free updates for life, new versions included
- Licence for two computers
- 14-day full trial, no card needed
- KOMBINAT, our synth, free when it ships
Checkout and the free trial open on November 20 at 10:00 New York time. One e-mail that day, nothing else.
Secure checkout by Gumroad. Your licence key and the download arrive by e-mail right away.
Before you ask.
How does the free trial work?
Download BACKTAPE and install it: everything works for 14 days. After that, BACKTAPE lets your sound through untouched until you activate it, so your sessions never break.
How do I activate it?
After buying you receive a licence key by e-mail. Open BACKTAPE in your DAW, click “Trial” in the bottom right corner and paste the key. It activates in seconds and works offline from then on.
On how many computers can I use it?
Two computers that you own. If you change computers, write to us and we move your licence.
Can I get a refund?
The trial is complete and free, so please try BACKTAPE before buying. We refund a purchase when BACKTAPE does not work on your computer and we cannot fix it. See the refund policy.
Are updates free?
Yes, for life. Every future update of BACKTAPE is free once you own it, new major versions included. Your licence key keeps working with each one.
Is there a Mac version?
Not yet. BACKTAPE launches on Windows; the macOS version is in development.
Can I use what I make with it commercially?
Yes. Everything you create or process with BACKTAPE is yours to release, with no royalties or credits.
Where can I read everything it does?
In the manual (PDF, 83 pages) and on the every pedal in depth page, with every knob of every pedal explained.
How do I get help?
Write to support@labsickempire.com. Include your computer's code from the activation panel if it is about your licence.