Saturation Tools for 2021

[crickey13]

Voxengo Tube Amp - very underrated gem

I have the premium bundle and still use this one as well.

[kobal]

radiator still better than many and it s tweaked in 1 minute, for that sound it s great.. the problem is that many saturator don t have depth and mojo ,beeing hardwware or software for example i had a api chanel strip it s amazing , it s quitee fast and sound great but if you drive it hard it just break with a horrible sound, kinda like a waveshaper or softclipper, many plugins break in a simlar way . .Decapitator could be great if it was cleaner , it has the depth and mojo of hardware but the transients are not musical and the sound not organic and the high tend to sound quiete fast digital on some source , radiator is a bit better emulation i think.

[gaggle of hermits]

it s quitee fast and sound great but if you drive it hard it just break with a horrible sound, kinda like a waveshaper or softclipper.

both those things are forms of saturation (assuming the waveshaping is flat-topping rather than folding).

[Halonmusic]

SlickEQ GE
GSat+
Head Crusher v2
Trash 2
RX950
Molotok

there is no input (drive) on slick eg though

In SlickEQ (free version) and SlickEQ GE you can drive the various saturation types with the "calibrate" setting.

yes that is indeed true

[briefcasemanx]

Usually when I reach for a saturation/distortion plug-in my first consideration is how "soft" or "hard" it sounds. What I consider soft or hard has a lot to do with how mellow and euphonic the high end and high mids are. If it starts getting abrasive in this area I consider it hard. Abrasive doesn't necessarily mean bad, it's context dependent. I suspect, but have not verified, that things I consider "soft" tend to round off transients more, making things seem less harsh.

IKM tapes - Soft. Very, very mellow saturation, just like analog 16 track tape I've used. Like sponge that soaks up harshness.

Tone projects Kelvin - Medium. A good balance that always seems useable. Can get slightly hard at times. Hard to dial in but once you find your setting it's irreplaceable Cannot really get super soft while still sounding good.

Goodhertz Tupe Soft. Sounds like IKM Tapes but with more ways to adjust and tailor the sound.

SDDR - Soft-medium. This one is adjustable and can go from pretty soft to pretty hard, but the general character is on the softer end.

IVGI - Soft. I just downloaded this recently but I've already reached for it over SDDR on a track, because I knew I wanted it's sound and I didn't want to futz around with the million options and models that SDDR gives you. I just wanted something quick. Quick, soft, great sounding saturation.

Waves Abbey Roads Saturator - Hard. This one is hard to pin down. It sounds kinda bad by itself unless in tiny amounts, but when combined with a very soft saturator afterward in the effects chain, it can sound incredible. This lives on my snare sounds, many times combined with one or two other softer saturators.

Audio Assault head crusher v2 - Soft. Sounds really good when you find the right settings. Like SDDR but doesn't have as many sweet spots.

[kobal]

sk note marconi is pretty decent for nevish color , wavearts tube saturator used lightly is very good as well for tube color, i tested many of the newer ones and i have to say these one with radiator are hard to beat cause they are very close to hardware sound i know, for that sound i m not sure anyhting better has been done from what i tested but there is so much plugins now.. also i have find depth/ mojo with analog obsession and black rooster , i will demo kelvin and tupe these seems very popular

[simon.a.billington]

Blackbox HG-2
Elysia Karacter
Elysia Phil's Cascade
IK Saturator-X
IK Tape Machines
SPL TwinTube
SPL Vitalizer
Vertigo VSM-3
Waves Abbey Road J37
Waves Abbey Road Saturator
Waves Aphex Exciter
Waves Cobalt Saphira
Waves Kramer Master Tape
Waves Vitamin

Basically I mix and match based on the overall sonic aesthetics of the project, the context and what I think the sound needs.

[v1o]

Softube Saturation knob is alot more useable now that they've updated it to include an output trim and some proper gain matching. It sounds very good when it's properly gain staged, you hit the sweet spot and you know you're not getting fooled by levels.

[Louis2001]

I really like Vertigo VSM and Phil's Cascade. I recently bought elysia karakter, but it is very hard for me to get a good sound from it, I don't like It.

[Robmobius]

I really like Vertigo VSM and Phil's Cascade. I recently bought elysia karakter, but it is very hard for me to get a good sound from it, I don't like It.

Considering how good elysia are in general, I was totally blown away at just how bad Karacter is. I've had it for years and never use it.

[Louis2001]

I really like Vertigo VSM and Phil's Cascade. I recently bought elysia karakter, but it is very hard for me to get a good sound from it, I don't like It.

Considering how good elysia are in general, I was totally blown away at just how bad Karacter is. I've had it for years and never use it.

I absolutely agree. I really like and use their alpha compressor, mpressor and, as mentioned, Phil's Cascade. At least I bought karacter for only 10$

[trmupstage]

Softube Saturation knob is alot more useable now that they've updated it to include an output trim and some proper gain matching. It sounds very good when it's properly gain staged, you hit the sweet spot and you know you're not getting fooled by levels.

Where do you see an output setting? I use it all the time on snare and always wished they put an output knob on it. Maybe I'm missing the update.

[Ploki]

Softube Saturation knob is alot more useable now that they've updated it to include an output trim and some proper gain matching. It sounds very good when it's properly gain staged, you hit the sweet spot and you know you're not getting fooled by levels.

Where do you see an output setting? I use it all the time on snare and always wished they put an output knob on it. Maybe I'm missing the update.

Its part of the “extendend view” since a few weeks ago

[trmupstage]

Thanks Ploki!
I'll check it out. I was not aware there was an extended view. With only a switch and a knob, I can't imagine throwing in one more knob could be "extended" but I'll take it.

[Ploki]

Thanks Ploki!
I'll check it out. I was not aware there was an extended view. With only a switch and a knob, I can't imagine throwing in one more knob could be "extended" but I'll take it.

take my picture for it.