What are you go-to mix bus and master bus "saturation" plugins?

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Because using the same saturation on the master is basically what the old tape machines did to a master and gives a record a more coherent feel. Remember saturation, not distortion.
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:10 pm
Halonmusic wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:09 pm
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:05 pm Am I missing something... Mix bus or master saturation ? Why ? If you are talking about colour, I kinda look for that in the mix with certain plugins, I used to add Satson to everything, but kinda dont bother now. (Lack of template)

But to saturate (Distort) the whole mix ? not me
A little bit goes a long way. I wouldnt distort the entire mix. Just a touch of saturation is enough.
Id be inclined to add it on various parts to the track, not on the whole thing on the master tbh.

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SoundPorn wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:14 pm Because using the same saturation on the master is basically what the old tape machines did to a master and gives a record a more coherent feel. Remember saturation, not distortion.
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:10 pm
Halonmusic wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:09 pm
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:05 pm Am I missing something... Mix bus or master saturation ? Why ? If you are talking about colour, I kinda look for that in the mix with certain plugins, I used to add Satson to everything, but kinda dont bother now. (Lack of template)

But to saturate (Distort) the whole mix ? not me
A little bit goes a long way. I wouldnt distort the entire mix. Just a touch of saturation is enough.
Id be inclined to add it on various parts to the track, not on the whole thing on the master tbh.
This is what this topic is about. :) For me to know what plugins you use for what and the how of it. I would be afraid to add saturation on master bus though, at least until I know what I am doing. Starting with individual tracks and then mix bus sounds like a good way forward. Also, we can use mix bus compression if not saturating - at least when not using both together I mean.

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Lotuz2019 wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:45 pm
LoveEnigma18 wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:44 pm Is there any version 2 of SDDR available? I see it mentioned in earlier posts.
That's the current version.

https://klanghelm.com/contents/products/SDRR/SDRR.php
Thanks mate. I did not see '2' anywhere, but I guess it is implicit. :)

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SoundPorn wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:14 pm Because using the same saturation on the master is basically what the old tape machines did to a master and gives a record a more coherent feel. Remember saturation, not distortion.
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:10 pm
Halonmusic wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:09 pm
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:05 pm Am I missing something... Mix bus or master saturation ? Why ? If you are talking about colour, I kinda look for that in the mix with certain plugins, I used to add Satson to everything, but kinda dont bother now. (Lack of template)

But to saturate (Distort) the whole mix ? not me
A little bit goes a long way. I wouldnt distort the entire mix. Just a touch of saturation is enough.
Id be inclined to add it on various parts to the track, not on the whole thing on the master tbh.
In which case i'd have Satson on every channel, and group / bus. Its very subtle but does exactly that, add a bit of character to the mix.
Don't trust those with words of weakness, they are the most aggressive

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I find SDRR is especially easy to dial in gently; by comparison Karakter has quite a narrow window to my ear between "adds something" and "takes away a lot".

The only saturation that is on all of my (amateur) masters is the one in SlickEQ M. Most tracks don't get any extra, but sometimes a saturator adds a touch of richness or trashiness to help a clean track fit in with other songs that have a more saturated sound already (possibly from bus compression).

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Acustica Audio Crimson. Needs very careful setting up for subtle distortion, but it sounds sublime.
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VSTi and hardware synth sound design
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Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but Wavesfactory's Spectre is really good, EQ-style, multi-type saturation, and flat out distortion if you push it, not sure I'd put it on the master though.

Also a shout for Reelbus 4, SDRR 2, Saturn, and Cassette, all very good at what they do

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Britson Buss
Presswerk
IK Bus Compressor with Grit enabled
Satin
Softube Tape

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Mainly just use the EQ and compressor that comes with the DAW ( Cubase 7.5 )

Pretty much enough I think. Here's a track we made using just that for mix / mastering.

https://youtu.be/yQuWPJNg_-Q

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LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:10 pm
Halonmusic wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:09 pm
LeVzi wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 6:05 pm Am I missing something... Mix bus or master saturation ? Why ? If you are talking about colour, I kinda look for that in the mix with certain plugins, I used to add Satson to everything, but kinda dont bother now. (Lack of template)

But to saturate (Distort) the whole mix ? not me
A little bit goes a long way. I wouldnt distort the entire mix. Just a touch of saturation is enough.
Id be inclined to add it on various parts to the track, not on the whole thing on the master tbh.
I must have misread your post. What i meant was adding it to your drum buss or the mix buss, not the master. But i guess some do just that :)
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Acustica Coral

iZotope Ozone multiband saturator

Reviver

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I wonder no one mentioned IK Multimedia T-RackS Saturator X. Not in this league? I had got it recently, but haven't got a chance to mess with it. I think I should.

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I have IK Multimedia's Saturator X (sounds good and flexible), Tape Machines (sounds great, subtle, very CPU heavy), Elysia's Karakter (in your face, special color), Lindell's preamp (subtle to colorfoul, can be noisy). They all are different and have their uses. But for saturation on single tracks and busses I like saturation in bx_console G the most. There is even a global gain knob that affects all instances of the plugin at once. Sounds great, easy to dial in and almost no CPU footprint.

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Karakter
Black Box
Retro Colour

Those are my current favorites!

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LoveEnigma18 wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:09 am I wonder no one mentioned IK Multimedia T-RackS Saturator X. Not in this league? I had got it recently, but haven't got a chance to mess with it. I think I should.
Most people on gearslutz don't seem to like it.
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