Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
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It's not a record until it's mastered on an Ampex® tape machine.
The UAD Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder plug-in and LUNA Extension provides the final “analog polish” to your music, turning your recordings into records. Fully authenticated by the Ampex Corporation and trusted by Platinum‑selling professionals the world over, the ATR‑102 plug‑in faithfully captures the unique dynamics, colorful frequency response, and tape saturation of this industry‑standard Ampex machine.
Add analog polish to your mixes with the most popular professional 2‑track tape machine ever made
Harness classic Ampex tape saturation, selectable tape types, and color to "glue" your mix together
Process your audio through the entire ATR‑102 circuit, including its transformers, amplifiers, Repro, Sync, and Input paths
Use the ATR‑102 LUNA Extension to produce rich, analog tape‑infused master recordings
Learn to Add Slapback Delay to Drums
Grammy-winning engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton) and the Ampex ATR‑102 Mastering Tape Recorder plug‑in.
The Most Popular Professional 2‑Track Ever Made
With its cohesive sound, punch, and ability to provide subtle‑to‑deep tape saturation and color, the ATR‑102 has remained a fixture in major recording and mastering studios worldwide since 1976.
The ATR‑102 Mastering Tape Recorder plug‑in and LUNA Extension faithfully replicates the unique dynamics, frequency response, and saturation characteristics of the original hardware. Scrutinized and fully authenticated by the Ampex Corporation, the sound of the UAD ATR‑102 plug-in is virtually indistinguishable from its analog ancestor.
Now Fully Integrated into LUNA Recording System
With LUNA Recording System, you can now use the Ampex ATR‑102 as a LUNA Extension, where it's built into the fabric of the mixer without the need to manage separate plug-in windows. This gives you rich, album‑ready Ampex tape tones on LUNA's master fader and buses — with all the authentic dynamics, frequency response, and saturation characteristics of the original machine.
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Authentic Calibration Controls and Tape Types
Like the ATR‑102 hardware, the plug-in allows you to choose between various Signal Paths (Input, Sync, Repro), different Tape Speeds / Emphasis EQs (NAB, CCIR, AES) and Tape Formula (GP9, 456, 900, 250) combinations — even including home/consumer tape. You can also use the adjustable Tape Delay feature for Automatic Double Tracking effects on vocals, guitars, and more.
Grammy-winning Presets
Get inspired with presets from longtime ATR‑102 users Chuck Ainlay (Chris Botti, Mark Knopfler) Richard Dodd (Wilco, Robert Plant), Buddy Miller (Martina McBride, Emmylou Harris), Mike Poole (Keith Urban, Dolly Parton) and more. Use these presets as a starting point and season to taste on your mixes — you'll marvel at the cohesive, rich sound that can only come from an Ampex tape machine.
“I set the UAD ATR-102 exactly the way my old Ampex machine is set up, dialed in the gains, switched back and forth… and the sound is nearly identical.”
– Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Cold War Kids)
“The UAD Ampex ATR-102 is my new secret weapon in my master buss chain, giving me the secret ingredient for that extra touch of flavor.”
– Ivan Barias (Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, Estelle)
“The Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder and Studer® A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder emulations give a nice edge to bass tracks.”
– Armin Van Buuren
“The UAD Ampex ATR-102 tape emulation really captures the hardware’s punchy saturation and chunky warmth.”
– Mike Poole (Robert Plant, Martina McBride, Buddy Miller)
“I've always used limiters and compressors on the mix bus to ‘glue’ the sound together, but I've never been able to achieve the kind of musical cohesiveness like I can with the UAD ATR-102.”
– Ryan West (Eminem, Kanye West, Kid Cudi)
“All of the songs on the Garbage record, Not Your Kind of People were mixed with the Studer A800 plug‑in on all the drum channels. We also used the Ampex ATR-102 plug-in on the final mix.”
– Billy Bush (Garbage)
“The UAD ATR‑102 brings mixes to life with a 3D sound that no other plug-in has ever been able to achieve.”
– Adam Hawkins (Twenty One Pilots, Switchfoot, Keith Urban)Watch The Reviews
5-Minute UAD Tips
Featuring the Magnetic Tape Bundle
Customer Reviews
A. Portillo
June 21, 2022
This tape is my most have in my master bus
I love what it does to my master. It adds warmth and width to my master in a subtle, yet powerful and noticeable way. You can’t...
Read MoreR. Visbal
June 15, 2022
Never Mix without it!!!
I was waiting for a long time to purchase this plugin and the Lord of Music finally answered my prayers… AMEN! It gives me that warm tape sound on my mixes and the tape delay is just...
Read MoreB. Sanchez
June 13, 2022
Master goodness
Need some analog warmth? Well here it is with this plugin you'll feel your master come to life and it has a great range of control options unlike Oxide tape. Paralleling oxide,j37,Kramer...
Read MoreA. Spencer
June 10, 2022
Mojo
It's hard to describe the effect this has on the final sound, it can range from subtle enhancement to overt effecting of the final sound .Either way it's a great quality plugin...
Read MoreK. Wang
June 5, 2022
A different kind of glue for the master bus
This plugin provides compression and harmonics in a way that other compressors do not. It’s versatile enough to work as the only “glue” processor on the master fader and also in...
Read More -
Features
Ampex-authenticated plug-in gives you the rich, cohesive tape sound of the the most popular professional 2-track machine ever made
Emulates the entire ATR-102 electronic path, including transformers, amplifiers, Repro, Sync, and Input paths
Multiple tape formulas, head configurations, and calibration levels for a variety of tones
Adjustable Wow, Flutter, Hiss, Hum, Crosstalk, and (L/R) Tape Delay controls, and more
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Customer Reviews
Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder
A. Portillo
This tape is my most have in my master bus
I love what it does to my master. It adds warmth and width to my master in a subtle, yet powerful and noticeable way. You can’t go wrong with it or most of UAD simulations. This in particular I cannot live without. Though I wish they were cheaper. I bought this on sale.
R. Visbal
Never Mix without it!!!
I was waiting for a long time to purchase this plugin and the Lord of Music finally answered my prayers… AMEN! It gives me that warm tape sound on my mixes and the tape delay is just incredible! A MUST HAVE!
B. Sanchez
Master goodness
Need some analog warmth? Well here it is with this plugin you'll feel your master come to life and it has a great range of control options unlike Oxide tape. Paralleling oxide,j37,Kramer tape for individual tracks and using the ampex on master and getting excellent results.
A. Gray
Analogue warmth
Great on master out as part of your final chain
A. Spencer
Mojo
It's hard to describe the effect this has on the final sound, it can range from subtle enhancement to overt effecting of the final sound .Either way it's a great quality plugin
K. Wang
A different kind of glue for the master bus
This plugin provides compression and harmonics in a way that other compressors do not. It’s versatile enough to work as the only “glue” processor on the master fader and also in conjunction with other dynamics processors as well. Presets are a great way to start learning how this processor works.
H. Ismail
sATuRation-102
Studer on the tracks and Ampex on the master buss is the configuration you need.
B. Bachhuber
Must have
Quickly becomes a Go-to-Tool on several stages. Not only on the Master Bus. Even without any big adjustments the sound immediately changes into something greeat.
Love it.P. Healy
Amazing!
Such a joy on a master. Can be used as a subtle tone shaper - great versatility.
P. Abbott
Ampex ATR 102
Nice bit of kit, shame it's not UADx
J. Han
I have tried once
Looks great,
M. Tiken
Sounds great
Definitely a must have mastering tape saturation to finalise the stems / Busses and master Bus.
m. boddi
A touch of magic
Great for different uses... highly recommended !!
A. BUSWELL
Great on any channel
Been using this for the last few weeks and love the analogue warmth it brings to individual channels or the main mix buss. It manages this while still maintaining a transparency, the eq and filter sections are also totally usable. I've found a sound that suits what I do but the presets included will suit many genres without too much tweaking.
T. Tulkki
Glue and warmth to everything
Works Marvels With LUNA's bus master tape section. I use it on almost every bus and it glues and warms everything up in a very organic way.
I. Bandera
Unico
Qualcosa di magico! Incredibile.
M. Vaughan
Instant analogue feel, best tape for mastering!
The Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder provides an instant analogue vibe to your music. With the vast array of features, you can make your music very 'lo-fi' or 'hi-fi' - or simply add subtle unique artefacts only found when processing with tape such as hiss, hum and total harmonic distortion. The delay functionality is a huge bonus and enables this plugin to double up as a delay plugin. Bravo Universal Audio!!
J. Barkan
Ampex ATR - amazing sound, for sure.
If you're thinking of grabbing this- don't think- unless you have another plug in that can take any or all of your tracks and make them sound like 1000% punchier and thicker and more colorful. It's like the Oxide plugin turned up to 11.
N. Cote
ATR-102
Amazing!!!
K. Garry
So good on master buss!
Been getting into UAD stuff the past 6 months or so. I didn’t really believe that top engineers used this tape emulation, thinking the whole premise was a gimmick, because I’ve used competitors versions and never was impressed. But thing is the glue and warmth I’ve been waiting for to take my home recordings to the next level. It’s very versatile and I appreciate the presets to get me started as I learn more about the nuts and bolts of the plugin.
