ABOUT THE FLYWHEEL REEL-TO-REEL TAPE
Flywheel is our take on emulating the distinctive sound of reel-
to-reel audio tape recording systems. Instead of simulating a
particular machine we took all the analog imperfections such
as saturation, hysteresis, high frequency loss or the “head
bump” and cast them into a zero latency, low CPU load plugin.
A lot of thought has been put into reducing the parameter set
into something that offers plenty of sonic flexibility while offer-
ing the most straightforward user experience: simply dial in
the record gain to taste, select the tape speed and formula
and color the result using the hysteresis and EQ parameters.
On top of that, Flywheel offers additional, useful features in-
cluding adjustable motor speed variances, tape transport
stop / start, optional oversampling for improved audio quality
and a global link feature.
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THE CONTROLS
Power (Off/On)
Engages or bypasses the entire processing chain altogether.
Record Gain (-24 to 24 dB)
Sets the gain applied to the input signal before it is sent into
the virtual tape system. The record gain is fully compensated
so that you can control the amount of added tape saturation
without significantly affecting the perceived volume.
Playback Gain (-24 to 24 dB)
Sets the linear gain applied to the output signal. You can use
the playback gain to apply additional, manual loudness match-
ing.
Hysteresis (0 to 100%)
Magnetic tape recording systems exhibit a phenomenon called
"hysteresis". This is a physical effect essentially causing the
tape magnetization, due to recent signal segments, to work
against the current signal's magnetic field imposed on the re-
cording medium. It causes crossover distortion and high fre-
quency loss.
In real tape machines magnetic hysteresis is reduced by
adding an inaudible high frequency bias carrier to the audio
signal that is filtered out during the playback stage. Instead of
emulating the bias signal explicitly which would require a high
oversampling factor, Flywheel takes a different route: while us-
ing a physical model to emulate the hysteresis effect it ex-
poses a parameter that lets you adjust the amount of hyster-
esis so that you can seamlessly blend between perfectly an-
hysteresic (0%) and highly hysteresic (100%) transfer curve of
the recording system.
HF EQ (0 to 100%)
The playback head of the tape system causes a high frequency
loss that is typically counteracted using an EQ curve that's
roughly inverse to the play head response in order to obtain a
flat frequency response. Using the HF parameter you can ad-
just the amount of high frequency compensation (0% = no HF
equalization, 100% = full HF equalization).
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Tape Speed (15/30 IPS)
The tape speed switch selects the tape speed of the emulated
system between either 15 or 30 inches per second. The 30 IPS
setting yields a better HF response, but less low end, whereas
it's the other way around in the 15 IPS setting.
Tape Formula (I/II)
Use this switch to change between two different tape formu-
las. Formula I has a more pronounced "head bump" while
Formula II has a much more linear response overall.
Speed Variance (0 to 100%)
This parameter sets the amount of tape transport motor
speed fluctuations (aka “Wow and Flutter”) causing pitch vari-
ances in the output signal. Set this to 0% for a perfectly stable
playback speed.
Crosstalk (Off/On)
Use this switch to enable additional crosstalk between the left
and right channels at -60 dB. This function is only available in
stereo instances of the plugin.
Transport (Stop/Start)
Use the start/stop buttons to emulate the effect of an acceler-
ating/decelerating tape transport motor which can be heard
when starting or stopping a tape recording. The output re-
mains silent as long as the transport is set to stop.

Oversampling (Off/On)
By default the plugin operates in zero latency / low CPU mode,
but you can engage oversampling in order to attenuate ali-
asing artifacts caused by the tape system and magnetic
hysteresis emulation. The latency changes to 32 samples in
oversampled mode.

VU Meter (In/Out)
Use the VU meter switch to toggle between VU level metering
of the input (post record gain) and output (post playback gain)
signal.

VU Reference (-18/-14/-10/-6/0 dB)

Click on the VU meter to bring up the VU reference calibration
menu. The 0 VU point equals the selected dB level. This setting
is stored as a global user preference, so each time you load up
a new Flywheel instance it will recall the setting you applied
last.

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Reel Animation
Click on any of the two reels in order to stop the spinning reels
animation. This is a global setting saved across all instances.

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GLOBALLY LINKED GROUPS

Group Icon (None/Group 1..16)

The Link button (located on the lower right of the user inter-
face) is used to assign the respective plugin instance to the se-
lected group. Once assigned, the plugin will synchronize its
settings with all other instances that are assigned to the same
group. Selecting None allows the plugin instance to be con-
trolled individually again. The plugin will restore its previous
settings once it is unlinked again. You may hold down the
modifier key, i.e. Alt (AU/AAX) or CMD/Ctrl (VST2/VST3) in order
to retain the current settings from the link group.

All currently loaded plugin instances can be set to the same

group or unassigned by using Shift+Click.

Hold down the 'x' key while editing a parameter in order to

keep it from synchronizing with its current link group. This way
individual parameters can be edited freely even when a group
is assigned.

NOTE: In some hosts the Global Link feature may be unavailable

because plug-ins are hosted in a “sandbox” so the instances can't
see each other. Also, grouping is only possible between instances
of the same plug-in format, e.g. VST and VST but not VST and AU.

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SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

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KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS PLUGIN ACTIVATION

VST hosts You can test our plugins for 14 days without any restrictions.
Simply click the "Activate Trial" button in the plugin GUI after
Ctrl/CMD+Click: Reset to default
the installation to start your trial period.
Alt+Drag: Switch to circular knob mode
Shift+Drag/Mouse wheel: Fine control
To activate your full license you can purchase a product activa-
tion key on our website. The activation key will be sent to you
AU / AAX hosts
by email once the payment process has been completed, suc-
Alt+Click: Reset to default cessfully. Click "Activate plugin..." in the plugin GUI or the drop
Shift+Drag/Mouse wheel: Fine control down menu below, enter your email and product activation
key and hit the "Activate" button to proceed.
All hosts
Double Click: Reset to default / jump to value
FAQS AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
An overview of Frequently Asked Questions can be found on
• Intel compatible or Apple Silicon CPU our website under the following link
• 2GB RAM
• Mac OS 10.9 or newer (Mac users) https://fuseaudiolabs.com/faq.html
• Windows 7 or newer (PC users)
• A display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels or more Our tech support can be reached via the following link
• A VST2, VST3, AAX or AU compatible 64-bit host (Mac
users) https://fuseaudiolabs.com/support.html
• A VST2, VST3 or AAX compatible 32-bit or 64-bit host (PC
users)

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