Best Drive Plugin

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Effects Discussion
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Favorite one for that job now is Klanghelm SDRR. It used to be Decapitator. So that's pretty awesome, considering the price difference, if you haven't bought one yet. Second favorite, though it's more like a channel strip for individual tracks than a master bus tool, is PreAMPed by LVC Audio. It actually has full channel strip functionality per option selected in the plugin, so it's not exactly the same thing as SDRR, and It just got a couple of very good updates, too. I guess I include it here because the degree of saturation has been increased substantially with the latest patch for PreAMPed.

Tony at Klanghelm offers the free IVGI plugin which is still everything that SDRR offers behind the scenes, but mostly pre-configured with just a few controls user exposed; handy for getting a taste of what one of its four modes sounds like if you're evaluating, but also useful as a free saturation tool.

Matt at LVC recently came out with PhreePhuzz, which is a cool freebie just aimed at saturation. It has some very mild overlap with PreAMPed but not much at all, PreAMPed is much more like having a bunch of different channel strips with variable EQs, variable saturation, variable transformer models, and noise floor (though the latter is defeatable if you don't want it on) based on what hardware type (not exact models of anything, more models of different TYPES of channel strips - an ethic that Tony at Klanghelm shares, going for making new cool digital stuff that is inspired by nifty analog character, but not directly modeling particular devices).

PhreePhuzz is all about saturation. Maybe with the recent update that increases the range of saturation (and the control you have over it) in PreAMPed, however, it might be more relevant to what PreAMPed sounds like, in addition to being a good stand-alone.

Nick Crowe's Tube Driver is another very good freeware to consider. If you can run SM plugins, then Bootsie/VOS has done a ton of work on refining his saturation implementation over the years.

As far as more expensive commercial options go, I am very partial to T-Racks CS' recently updated highly driven character plugins' saturation, on a case by case basis. I think it was a pretty massive upgrade and it hasn't been talked about much! You can kinda pick and choose based on your needs with the CS, so if you like a particular kinda thing, demo it and see if you end up digging it.

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If you don't mind Ilok I've heard great things about what KUSH audio has to offer with their UBK-1
:borg:

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Last edited by claudedefaren on Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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I use:

Voxengo Tube amp
Ableton Saturator
Sonnox Inflator
Wavearts Tube amp
u-he Satin
TB Reelbus
SDRR

Cheers

Scorb
I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored...

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I like Soundtoys, wavearts tube saturator.
Last edited by Synthetic Wav on Sat Mar 01, 2014 4:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Analog electronic drum samples (Free demo pack)
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xiphiuz wrote:Cytomic The Drop: http://www.cytomic.com/drop

Be sure to give it a testdrive. Its just amazing!
I need a list of the filters in the Drop. Does it model the Moog Ladder filter into high distortion?[/quote]

Well, can't say I've played with the moog yet, because its not in the available beta yet, but should be within a month or two.
But the current models (sallen and cascade) are amazing

Just listen:

https://soundcloud.com/cytomic/the-drop ... s-circuits

With pre/post gain and drive you probably won't ask for more :-)

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Camelphat
Magneto II (Cubase 7)
Ohmicide

Cover drive,saturation and distortion for me :)

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Culture Vulture samples for Nebula and Cytomic The Drep drive is miles ahead from the uad moog !

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Satson, Satin, Tube Saturator
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Not necessarily best, but my favorites.

Soundtoys Decapitator
FabFilter Saturn
Kush Audio UBK-1
Ohmforce Ohmicide
Klanghelm SDRR
Intel Core i7 8700K, 16gb, Windows 10 Pro, Focusrite Scarlet 6i6

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Studio devil preamp all the way. It's the most natural sounding I've tried so far. The wavearts saturator was also very good from what I remember with my demo sessions, just very heavy on cpu. And then there's Twintube by SPL, which is nice in that it offers you a good deal of control over the added harmonics. It made a huge jump quality-wise from the previous version.

And finally, thinking a bit out of the box here, Satin! For when you want that warm, fuzzy, cuddly tape saturation.

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Ableton Saturator and Overdrive.

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Maul, Ohmicide, Supercharger GT

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Klanghelm SDRR
Camel Crusher/Phat
Mault CM/SE
Voxengo Tube Amp
LVC PhreePhuzz/PreAMPed
SK Drive
Last edited by Tp3 on Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Amateur technicians are assessed by the tools they possess - and the amount of those tools, with an obvious preference to the latest hyped ones.
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Another Saturn fan here. Also, check out Oligarc. As well as doing great modulation effects it's got a really cool overdrive.
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