Questions
What does “slowed and reverb” actually mean?
It's a remix style that slows a track down, usually to somewhere between 75% and 90% of its original speed, and adds reverb so the sound feels like it's playing in a large, empty room. Slowing the playback lowers the pitch at the same time, which is what gives these edits their heavier, dreamier character. The style grew out of chopped and screwed hip-hop in Houston and became its own genre on YouTube and TikTok.
What's the difference between lo-fi and slowed and reverb?
Slowed and reverb changes the speed and space of a track but leaves it otherwise clean. Lo-fi deliberately degrades the sound instead: tape hiss, a rolled-off top end, saturation, and pitch instability. They're often combined, which is why Tape gives you both sets of controls on the same track, but they're separate ideas. You can slow a song without making it lo-fi, and make it lo-fi at normal speed.
What are wow and flutter?
They're the two speed errors of a real tape machine, named for how they sound. Wow is slow drift, under about 4 Hz, caused by an off-centre reel or an uneven capstan, and it makes sustained notes sag and swell. Flutter is faster, roughly 4 to 20 Hz, and adds a shimmer or grittiness to the sound. Together they're the main reason tape never sounds perfectly stable, and why a digital file sounds “too clean” by comparison.
Why does tape hiss exist?
Magnetic tape stores sound in randomly distributed magnetic particles. That randomness has its own noise floor, which you hear as a constant, broadband hiss behind the music. Cheaper tape and slower recording speeds make it louder, which is why a home-dubbed cassette hisses more than a studio master. Noise-reduction systems like Dolby B were built specifically to fight it.
Does slowing a song down change its key?
Yes, if you slow it the way a tape machine does. Playing back at a lower speed lowers every frequency by the same ratio, so the pitch drops along with the tempo. Slowing to about 89% drops the track roughly a semitone; around 79% drops it about two. Modern software can separate the two and change tempo without touching pitch, but that isn't how tape works, and the linked pitch drop is a large part of why these edits sound the way they do.
Is it legal to slow down a song I didn't make?
Editing a track for your own listening is generally fine. Publishing it is a different question: the recording and the composition both stay under copyright, and a slowed or lo-fi version is a derivative work, so platforms may still flag or mute it. Tape doesn't upload or host anything, so what you do with the file is entirely up to you, but this isn't legal advice, and if you plan to release something commercially, check the rights first.
Is Tape actually free?
Yes. There's no tier, no watermark, and no limit on how many songs you process.
What audio files does it accept?
MP3, WAV, and M4A all work, including songs straight from your phone or laptop.
Can I trim just part of a song?
Yes, drag the waveform handles or tap a quick preset (10s, 15s, 20s, 30s) to select just the clip you want, then download only that part.
Can I get a different wobble pattern without changing the settings?
Yes, the "New wobble" button reshuffles the wow, flutter, and hiss pattern while keeping every slider where you left it.
