Audio Hertz has released a creative plugin that aims to capture the sound of forgotten home movies. Faithfully recreating the sound of consumer-grade videotape playback, VHS Home Video Flavor Box models the character and quirks of two distinct VCRs.
Offering producers a deeply nostalgic and highly tweakable tone-shaping tool, VHS combines gritty analog saturation, mechanical imperfections, and an unmistakably era-specific character to bring the magic of home video into the modern DAW. From dusty sci-fi pads to crushed vocals and blown-out beats, it delivers a wide range of tones, from authentic VHS replication to experimental saturation and sound design.
“VHS isn’t just a lo-fi effect,” says Audio Hertz founder David Silverstein. “It’s a full-on tribute to the sound of real VCRs, capturing the weird, warbly, nostalgic tone we all associate with old home movies. But we also pushed these machines beyond their limits to unlock new textures you wouldn’t expect from a VHS deck.”
Modeled from two actual consumer VCRs, a 1979 JVC Vidstar and a 2001 Panasonic deck, VHS delivers both authentic flavor and creative flexibility. Whether you’re dialing in subtle tape wear or pushing the distortion into chaotic overdrive, VHS provides a ast, fun, and intuitive interface designed to inspire.
Developed in collaboration with audiosingularity, VHS combines Audio Hertz’s creative vision and sound design sensibility with audiosingularity’s deep expertise in DSP and plugin development.
VHS Home Video Flavor Box features
- Two VCR Models: Choose between the smooth, bassy character of the 1979 JVC or the crunchy, overdriven tones of the 2001 Panasonic.
- Authentic VCR Saturation: Modeled from overdriven inputs of real tape decks.
- Built-In Limiter: True to how VCRs controlled dynamics.
- 8-Band Graphic EQ: Shape the tone, clean the grit, or enhance the flavor.
- Wow & Flutter: Time instability modeled from real tape transport.
- Tape Noise & Mechanical Artifacts: Adjustable layers of hiss and hum.
VHS Home Video Flavor Box for Windows and Mac (VST3, AU and AAX) is on sale for an intro price of $39 USD for a limited time (regular $59 USD). A free trial is available to try the plugin.
More information: Audio Hertz
