Tape Eater is a tape stop/start effect plugin that models tape inertia in real time. Hold the trigger and audio slows down with pitch drop; release and it ramps back to full speed. The start ramp mirrors the stop curve in reverse, so both directions feel coherent and musical.
 
Triggering is built for performance and automation. You can use the TAPE STOP / START button, host automation, or MIDI note 60 for engage/release behavior. The state machine supports rapid retriggers and interrupting a stop with a start (or vice versa) without glitchy jumps.
 
Timing is fully independent for each direction. Stop Time and Start Time are separate controls (ms), and each has its own BPM sync menu: Off, 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 bars. When sync is on, duration is calculated from host tempo.
 
Curve control is centered around a one-node editable graph. Drag the node to shape timing/feel, Alt-drag to adjust tension, and double-click to open the larger curve editor. Depth, Bias, and Smooth modifiers let you fine-tune how aggressively and where the slowdown/speed-up sits.
 
Character controls include Wow / Flutter for tape wobble and Reverse Spin, which blends the stopped target from silence (0%) to full reverse playback (100%, down to -1x while held). This makes it easy to go from subtle realism to dramatic reverse-style transitions.
 
Output section includes Mix (dry/wet) and Output Gain, plus anti-pop crossfades at engage/release boundaries. You also get input/output dBFS meters, a real-time tape-speed visualizer, selectable oversampling (1x/2x/4x), and four UI themes (C/N/A/E).
 
Ideal for EDM/pop transitions, breakdowns, cinematic ramps, game audio, and any workflow that needs reliable tape-stop/tape-start motion without rendering one-shot samples.