Used mix:analog?
Start here.
Real analog gear over the internet, including a real tape machine. Same idea. Different mechanics. This page walks you through both.
You will find the tape answer first, then a side-by-side of how the two services work and a crosswalk for the gear you used there.
mix:analog pioneered real-time analog over the internet and served 25,000 people. Many of you have found us since it closed in January 2025. This page is for you: what is the same, what is different, and what to do with the gear list in your head.
The tape machine: Telefunken M15
A fully discrete, 1971 mastering-grade quarter-inch machine on what may be the finest tape transport ever built. Real magnetic saturation, real analog glue, pure tape.
If tape was the reason you used mix:analog, this is the reason to try us. The M15 lives in our rack, is calibrated daily, and you reach it the same way you reach every other unit here: as a plugin insert in your DAW. Audio streams out to the machine and back into your session. No file upload, no booking a slot, no waiting for a bounce to come back. Set your input level, engage Record and Play, and print.
- Machine
- Telefunken M15, 1971, fully discrete transistor audio path (not the later IC-based M15A)
- Format
- Quarter-inch stereo, 24-bit / 96 kHz conversion in and out
- Recall
- Every setting recalls with your DAW session. Save presets, automate from the timeline.
- Real time through the plugin, or upload and bounce offline for a clean render regardless of your connection
- Rewind
- Tape length is finite. The machine auto-rewinds when it runs low, like the one you remember.
Insert the plugin
Open the Analog Matrix on a track or your master bus. Pick the M15 from the list. AU, AAX, VST, VST3, Mac and Windows.
Through real tape
Your audio runs to the machine and back. Robotics set the levels you dial in. Tape speed and gain live in the plugin.
Back in your mix
Hear it in context with the rest of your session. Tweak, then print in real time or bounce offline.
How the two services work
Both put your audio through real hardware in a real room. The route it takes is where they differ.
| mix:analog | Access Analog | |
|---|---|---|
| How audio reaches the hardware | Upload WAV files to their cloud, then stream the processed audio back in a browser. Book a session from the calendar or start right away. | Plugin insert in your DAW. Audio streams from your session through the unit and back, in real time. No upload step unless you want one. |
| Controlling the gear | On-screen controls in the web app, up to 192 kHz / 24-bit streaming while you tweak. | Robotics move the physical knobs and switches. Every control on the unit is a control in the plugin. 24-bit / 96 kHz conversion. |
| Recall and automation | Settings lived in the session. | Full recall. Settings save with your DAW project, presets per device, and DAW automation drives the hardware. |
| Running the bounce | Real-time bounce on their end, then download the file. A bounce queue let you line up several. | Print in real time from the plugin, or upload sources and bounce offline at lossless 24-bit, immune to connection dropouts. |
| Pricing model | Last pricing model: Tokens (MAT). Pay as you go, or Starter $15 / 60 min, Producer $30 / 135 min, Pro $60 / 300 min per month. | Credits, about $1 each (less in bundles, never expire). Subscriptions from $9.98 / month. Reserve ahead in credits or cash, or use on demand. |
| Free to try | 300 MAT on signup, plus one free-tier unit for 30 minutes a day. | 12 free credits on signup (about an hour on an average unit), plus two units that are always free. |
| Where the rack is | Slovenia | Longmont, Colorado, with an AWS routing option that usually performs better from Europe. |
| Tape | Telefunken M15 and Studer A812 | Telefunken M15, from $11.44 per session. |
| Gear count | A curated rack, one unit at a time per session. | Over 70 units, and you can insert several at once across tracks. |
The mix:analog column describes the service as it ran before it closed on 31 January 2025, from its public pages and FAQ. If we have something wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
You used it there. Try this here.
Our rack has more than 70 units, so most of your list has an answer. Where we do not have an equivalent, we say so.
Telefunken M15
The same machine, quarter-inch stereo, fully discrete. Reach it from the plugin instead of the browser.
Telefunken M15
No Studer in the rack. The M15 is the machine the A812 answered to: quarter-inch, mastering-grade, fully discrete. Print masters through it the same way.
Universal Audio 1176, two units
Two 1176s in the rack, so stereo material gets a matched pair rather than left-channel only.
Universal Audio LA-2A, two units
Two LA-2As, robotically controlled. Vocals and bass, same as you remember.
Nearest: SSL, API or Neve bus comps
No Bettermaker bus compressor in the rack. For bus duty, reach for the SSL 4000 G-Bus, API 2500+, AMS Neve 33609N or WesAudio ngBusComp.
Nearest: Neve 33609N or SSL G-Bus
No Tierra in the rack. For that mix-bus glue, start with the 33609N or the SSL 4000 bus compressor.
Ask us
Send us the unit you miss and we will tell you the nearest thing in the rack, honestly, including when the answer is "we don't have one."
Quick answers
Is Access Analog the "new service" mix:analog said its tape machines would move to?
Do I have to upload files, or can I use it live in my DAW?
What is the latency?
I am in Europe. Will this work from here?
Does the tape machine need booking?
Which DAWs and formats?
What do I get for free?
Glad You Found Us
mix:analog built something a lot of people loved, and moving to a new service means learning a new workflow. We hope you give Access Analog a try, and that the M15 and the rest of the rack earn a place in your sessions.
Questions along the way, from setup to which unit to reach for? Open the chat on any page of our site and you will reach our small team, the people who built the system and know it inside out.
Start here
Create a free account, install the plugin, put the M15 on a mix. Your first hour is on us.