Mantis
Vintage BBD Echo
Uncommon, Vintage, BBD
Mantis is a plugin that emulates a rare BBD (bucket-brigade device) delay/echo unit of the 70s, faithfully recreating its warm and analog sound.
As the original unit, Mantis features anecho section with four taps and four swell selectors. It also features the rotafaze section, a modulation that can mimic the wow/flutter of a tape echo or turn the unit into a unique chorus-delay.
The Mantis has eight TDA1022 chips, often associated with shorter and more precise delay, these chips are perfect for organic analog slap-back echo. The base delay time is fixed on the hardware, but in the plugin in “vintage” mode, the base delay can be set in the range of 1.02ms up to 102.4 (as each chip has 512 stages and each tap uses 2 chips). In a BBD circuit, the frequency response changes depending on the base delay: brighter at faster rates, and darker at slower rates. To avoid these limitations, we also included a “modern” mode, which allows a base delay of up to 1sec (free) that is also syncable to the Host/DAW tempo.
Mantis is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux (VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, CLAP).
It’s also available on the App Store for iOS and iPadOS (AUv3 and Standalone).
Listen to audio demos
Carlsbro Mantis
Built in the early 70s, the Carlsbro Mantis was probably one of the early, but less common, commercial BBD echo/delay units.
As with many BBD echo/delays, it has a warm and distinctive dark sound.
BBD-based delays were a good alternative to the bulky and fragile tape echoes, although with several limitations.
The Mantis had the delay time fixed, but it was possible to adjust it by opening and tuning each BBD trimmer. It was also quite noisy, especially when using all the taps and swells.
BBD Chips
The BBD (bucket-brigade device) technology was developed by F. Sangster and K. Teer of the Philips Research Labs in 1969.
BBDs are essentially a series of capacitors that pass an analog signal down a chain in discrete steps, like a bucket brigade passing buckets of water.
The clock rate (base delay) determines the rate at which the signal is passed down the chain of capacitors. Capacitors are not perfect and can experience some leakage. This results in a gradual loss of information as each new capacitor in the chain receives slightly less signal than the previous one. As a result, longer delay times on these devices can cause the signal to become distorted and darker with each repetition.
Also available on iOS
Mantis is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store, as a AUv3 plugin and Standalone (IAA).
Download on theApp Store
Mantis Demo
Try Mantis for free with some limitations: silence for 3 seconds every 45 seconds, saving disabled.
If you like it, you can purchase a license and then authorize the demo version.
Requires macOS 10.13 or higher
AU, VST2, VST3, AAX, CLAP (64bit only)
Requires Windows 7 or higher
VST2, VST3, AAX, CLAP (64bit only)
Requires Ubuntu 20.04 or newer
VST2, VST3, CLAP (64bit only)
macOS
Requires macOS 10.13 or higher
AU, VST2, VST3, AAX, CLAP (64bit only)
Download DemoWindows
Requires Windows 7 or higher
VST2, VST3, AAX, CLAP (64bit only)
Download DemoLinux
Requires Ubuntu 20.04 or newer
VST2, VST3, CLAP (64bit only)
Download DemoSpecifications
- Analog Modelled BBD Echo Delay
- 4 Taps, 4 Swell
- Vintage and Modern modes
- Rotafaze Modulation
- Resizable Window
- Preset system with randomizer
- Brightness and Contrast Controls
System Requirements
Windows
Windows 7 – 11
2GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM
VST2, VST3, AAX, CLAP (64-bit)
macOS
macOS 10.13 – macOS 26
2GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM
VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, CLAP (64-bit)
Universal 2 Binary
Linux
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
2GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM
VST2, VST3, CLAP (64-bit)
Changelog
v1.1 2026/06/08
- Added: macOS 26 Tahoe Support
- Improved: Sliders Drag Behavior
- Improved: CPU and memory usage
- Fixed: Online Activation on Windows
v1.0.2 2024/02/01
- Added: Graphics Controls (Brightness and Contrast)
- Improved: Tone parameter smoothness
- Fixed: Noise amount value
v1.0.1 2023/04/26
- Improved: Parameter changes are now smoother
- Improved: Tone control behaviour
- Fixed: Issue when loading as Mono or Mono->Stereo
- Fixed: Base delay label values
v1.0 2023/03/23
- Release!
Copy Protection
To activate your plugin you can choose between Online and Offline authorization.
Create an account, log in through the plugin to activate, or download your license file for offline activation.
Activation
1 license up to 3 computers
No iLok
We don’t like dongles
No Internet
No connection required to activate