Tape stop
White key 11. Winds the tape down to a standstill while you hold the key, and spins it back up when you let go.
| Knob | Page 1 | Page 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stop time: 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 bar, 2 bars (default 1/2) | Mix |
| 2 | Spin-up time on release: off, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 bar (default 1/4) | Darken: the highs fall away as the tape slows (default off) |
| 3 | Curve: linear to a brake, fast at first then dragging (default linear) | Band |
| 4 | Depth: how far it slows, from a full stop at the top (default) down to half speed (the SP-404MK2 Stopper’s DEPTH) | Level |
- Press: the tape slows to a standstill over the stop time and the pitch falls with it. Below 5% of speed the level fades too, as on a real machine, and while you hold the key it stays stopped and silent.
- Release: the tape spins back up from the incoming signal over the spin-up time, then crossfades (15 ms) back to the incoming signal once it’s at speed. A spin-up has to start from the incoming signal: a tape slower than real time falls behind, so it can’t catch up by itself. With the spin-up off, it goes straight back.
- Release halfway down spins up from that speed. Press while it spins up and it slows again from there.
- Curve: linear slows the tape evenly. Turned up, it brakes: fast at first, then a long drag at the bottom. The spin-up mirrors it, a motor’s quick start and slow settle.
- The times follow the tempo, taken when the stop or spin-up starts, so a stop pressed on a beat lands on a beat.
- It comes before the delay and reverb, so their tails ring on while the tape stops. A latched tape stop, or a scene that latches one, keeps the input/loop mix silent, and the sends get nothing new, until it’s unlatched. Page 2’s Mix and Level stay on while it spins up after you let go.
- LEDs: the key is amber; the knobs go amber to red.