[Ty Ford]

Yes, I saw a hardware based analog tape emulator at AES in NYC, The Anamod.
$3k. From my review of the AES show....

ANA MOD
If your world is too digital, perhaps you need to return to your analog roots. AnaMod's ATS-1 analog tape simulator is a two channel box. You can see it here in the top slot of the rack with the light faceplate and dual analog meters. You can choose 7.5, 15 and 30 i.p.s.. The modes have the corresponding head bumps built in. There are four types of tape machine and four different tape formulations. You can add hiss in stereo. (how quaint.) There is also bias control and hi and low EQ. There is nothing digital in this unit.

The ATS-1 models up to four types of tape machine and up to four types of analog recording tape. Machine and tape formula changes are done by SIMM cards. The unit ships with Quantegy GP9 and Ampex 456.

Applications include tracking in front of A/D converters and mastering to achieve a more analog sound.

Pendulum Audio
Not far away was Greg Gualtieri's Pendulum Audio with racks of analog and tube-based gear. Shown here from top to bottom are:

The Class A OCL-2, Electro-Optical, Vacuum Tube Compressor Limiter.

The Class A ES-8 Remote Cutoff Tube Limiter.

The Class A 6386 Remote Cutoff Tube Limiter.

The PL-2 JFET/MOSFET Two-Channel Brickwall Peak limiter.

I'm 68 years old. I grew up working with vinyl and analog tape. I get nothing out of it now and haven't for some time. Sorry, I'm not after an old-fashioned sound with tape hiss, flutter, wow and other non-linearities. I just don't get the point.

courses and horses,

Ty Ford