Lunacy Audio, a Los Angeles-based plugin developer, has launched Taps & Portals, a pair of creative delay and feedback effects designed in collaboration with musician, producer, and YouTube creator Benn Jordan. The release brings multi-tap delay and custom feedback network design to producers looking for tools that transform time-based effects into compositional elements rather than simple embellishments.
The collaboration makes sense when you consider Jordan’s track record. Known for his experimental approach to electronic music under the moniker The Flashbulb and his popular YouTube channel covering music technology, Jordan has built a reputation for pushing synthesis and sound design into unexplored territory. That philosophy runs through every aspect of Taps & Portals.
Taps: Multi-Tap Delay Reimagined
Taps positions itself as a multi-tap delay engine capable of everything from pristine digital echoes to kaleidoscopic soundscapes. The plugin offers up to eight individual delay taps, each with independent pitch control, giving you granular control over the timing and harmonic content of your delays.
The interface divides functionality into clear sections. Free or tempo-synced operation lets you align delays to your project or create more fluid, organic rhythms. Spacing controls allow you to skew, swing, or ping-pong the tap arrangement, while five distinct pitch modes provide harmonic and melodic variation that goes well beyond standard delay offerings.
What sets Taps apart is its tape emulation section. Analog delay systems brought warmth and character through their imperfections, wow, flutter, dropouts, and tape dust that added texture to the signal. Taps recreates these characteristics without requiring you to maintain actual tape machines. Combined with feedback controls and a freeze function, you can capture evolving textures and hold them in place for layering or further manipulation.
Multi-tap delays excel at creating rhythmic patterns and dense textures (on the subject, here at ANR we’re big fans of Eventide’s UltraTap, also in its pedal form). By setting different delay times across multiple taps, you can craft intricate rhythmic structures that add movement to electronic productions, transform simple drum patterns into complex grooves, or turn a single vocal phrase into a choir of overlapping voices. With pitch control on each tap, Taps takes this further, letting you build harmonic sequences from a single input source.
Portals: Custom Feedback Architecture
While Taps works as a standalone plugin, Portals requires Lunacy’s BEAM multi-effects engine. This isn’t a limitation, it’s the entire point. Portals brings arbitrary feedback routing directly into BEAM’s modular environment.
The concept is straightforward but powerful. Add a Portals node to your BEAM signal chain, and whatever effects sit between the input and output nodes feed back into themselves. This opens up creative possibilities that traditional linear effects chains can’t touch. Split feedback across multiple parallel paths, nest Portals within other Portals for complex recursive systems, or combine feedback with BEAM’s granular processing, convolution reverb, filters, and modulation for entirely new sonic territories.
Gate, delay, and feedback controls keep things manageable. Lunacy’s smart feedback compensation system prevents runaway feedback even at 100% settings, letting you explore extreme processing without destroying your monitoring setup or your ears. BEAM owners can use up to three Portals nodes simultaneously in serial or parallel configurations.
The BEAM Ecosystem
For those unfamiliar with BEAM, it’s Lunacy’s modular multi-effects platform built around a dynamic audio graph interface. Think of it as a creative effects playground where you can route up to six parallel processing paths with drag-and-drop modulation from LFOs, envelope followers, and macro controls.
BEAM launched in March 2024 with real-time granular processing (Grains), textural convolution reverb (Space), creative filters, and chorus/phase effects with algorithmic reverb (Haze). The platform’s designed as an expandable ecosystem, any Lunacy effect can load as a node within BEAM or run as a standalone plugin.
The approach mirrors Eurorack modular synthesis, where individual modules combine to create complex signal paths. Instead of patching cables, you’re dragging nodes onto a visual canvas and connecting them digitally. Each effect in BEAM comes with its own preset library, and the platform includes an intelligent preset maker that uses probability algorithms to generate new patches automatically.
Since its release, BEAM has grown to include additional effects like Time (creative time stretcher and buffer shuffler) and Volt (distortion and saturation). Taps & Portals extends this ecosystem with delay-focused tools that integrate seamlessly with everything else in the platform.
Presets and Workflow
Taps & Portals ships with 50 Taps presets crafted by leading sound designers, including Jordan himself. These provide starting points for different production contexts, from subtle enhancement to full-on experimental sound design. For BEAM users, the Parallax preset pack adds 50 additional presets combining Taps, Portals, and the full BEAM effects library.
The preset system in Lunacy’s plugins includes sub-preset browsing, letting you swap individual components (like LFO shapes or grain settings) without changing your entire patch. It’s a workflow enhancement that speeds up sound design when you’re after specific characteristics but want to preserve your overall effect chain.
Use Cases Across Genres
Electronic and experimental producers will find obvious applications, Jordan’s involvement guarantees the tools cater to that audience. But the versatility extends further. Ambient and post-rock producers can use Taps to create evolving delay washes with the pitch and feedback controls, building atmospheric layers from minimal source material.
Hip-hop and R&B producers can apply Taps’ rhythmic capabilities to vocal production, creating ghost notes and harmonic variations that sit in the mix without cluttering it. The tape emulation adds vintage character to digital productions, bridging the gap between clean modern workflows and analog warmth.
Film composers and sound designers get mileage from Portals’ feedback networks for creating unique transitions, impacts, and textures that don’t sound like typical plugin processing. Nested feedback systems can generate organic-sounding evolution that’s difficult to achieve with standard delay chains.
Pop and indie producers can use Taps for creative vocal doubles and rhythmic effects that complement rather than overpower the main vocal line. The freeze function captures moments for dramatic effect or loop-based composition.
Here’s a video overview:
Pricing and Availability
Taps & Portals launched at an introductory price of $29, down from the regular $59. The package includes Taps as a standalone plugin in VST, AU, and AAX formats, plus access to both Taps and Portals nodes within BEAM (for BEAM owners), along with the 50-preset Taps library and 50-preset Parallax pack.
For producers new to the Lunacy ecosystem, the Benn Bundle offers better value at $69 (regular $158). This bundle includes the complete BEAM engine, Taps & Portals, and all previous Lunacy collaborations with Jordan, Grains, Space, Filter, Haze effects as both standalone plugins and BEAM nodes, CUBE Mini Engine (Lunacy’s wavetable synthesizer), the Canopies expansion pack, over 300 global presets, 200+ node presets, and 200+ impulse responses.
System requirements are reasonable: macOS 10.15+ or Windows 10+, supporting AU, VST3, and AAX formats in all major DAWs. You’ll need at least 250MB of hard drive space and an internet connection for activation. BEAM itself recommends 16GB RAM for optimal performance with multiple parallel processing paths, though it will run on 8GB.
Lunacy offers a 14-day return policy on software purchases, no questions asked, giving you time to test the plugins in your own production environment.
Final Thoughts
Taps & Portals represents a different approach to delay design. Rather than recreating vintage hardware units or offering incremental improvements on existing delay plugins, Lunacy and Benn Jordan built tools specifically for producers who view time-based effects as compositional elements. The multi-tap architecture with per-tap pitch control, combined with Portals’ arbitrary feedback routing within BEAM’s modular environment, creates possibilities that traditional delay chains simply can’t match.
The collaboration brings Jordan’s experimental mindset into a production tool that’s equally suited for subtle enhancement or complete sound destruction. Whether you’re working in electronic music, film scoring, or traditional songwriting, there’s creative potential here worth exploring.
For producers already invested in the BEAM ecosystem, Taps & Portals is a logical expansion. For those new to Lunacy’s platform, the Benn Bundle provides comprehensive entry into a growing effects environment that prioritizes creative flexibility over conventional processing.
