I compare my recordings to music I like of the last 40-50 years and my stuff is soooo clean and thin sounding. I want more meat in my sounds. I listen to alot of 70's jamaican reggae and the drums and everything just sound way fuller. I bought an 'SPL Charisma 2' tube processor. I haven't used it alot yet. I think tape is a way better distortion but I will use this tube thing fairly sublty because I really want anything that will bring me closer to an thick analogue sound. I have the UAD-1 plug ins and I am sure they help. But not enough. I am just wondering what the experts are using at the moment. I remember alot of praise for certain expensive boxes like 'fatso' and 'distressor' and crane song or something. I wish the UAD-1 had a really good tape emulation. I am going to buy a quality 2 track tape machine and bounce the finished mixes to that as well. I think being able to individually process sounds as if they were all going to there own track on a 24 track tape machine would be ideal. Maybe people run sounds through stuff to get closer to the tape sound. Damn my recordings sound clean. Especially when it's all instruments miced and drum machines and keyboards. Way too clean and thin. I realise the common answers to this question are tube compressors and maybe analogue mixers with warmth etc. I guess I am really inquiring what the current favourites are. This will be an area I want to research and progress with. I want a thicker sound. Right now my thinking is to: Run sounds through and old analogue mixer. I am currently using a Mackie 1604VLZ. Process through my tube processor or something else. Try to mix with plug ins to add thickness. Bounce to tape with some tape compression. Roman.