Saturation Tools for 2021

[NeonNightflyer]

For anyone missing Klanghelm plugins like SDRR on M1, Tony just updated their compatibility.

[Ploki]

Kelvin just had a 1.5 update ooh yes, lot's of new goodies.
It's MY favourite saturator, now it's YOUR favourite saturator!

Oh yes.
Its so much more flexible now while retaining simplicity

[_leras]

.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.

Decapitator is pretty good, but it can saturate and roll off highs, as do quite a few.

A good solution is to run it in parallel, maybe also eq'd, and mix in the mushed saturated sound to bring some extra body to the original sound.

[_leras]

Baby Audio TAIP is quite interesting for overdriven/lo fi tape sounds

Unless the aliasing has been fixed, I wouldn't use TAIP for mixing or mastering. Among my favourite free saturators are Fresh Air and GSatPlus.

Definitely don't use Decapitator or several other plugins, as well, if concerned about aliasing in saturation/distortion plugins.

By the way, I don't see much aliasing in Plugin Doctor when using TAIP with very modest settings, and, even with less modest, it's not any worse than several other plugins.

Still, it'd be nice to have a 2x or 4x oversampling option.

Surely it's just a matter of does it sound good? If crushing/clipping/distorting a sound anyway, if the output sounds good is the only considered.

Even if there were some aliasing buried in the saturated sound, who cares if you don't hear it?

[Plugintester]

Saturation Plugin Shootout 2021

https://youtu.be/Z6aIuoVpMT0

[sambaji]

A lot of what has been considered high-quality saturators have aliasing to a lesser or greater degree (e.g., Klanghelm SDRR, Softube Saturation Knob, Baby Audio Taip, Fresh Air, etc). In the year 2021, there is no reason why paid plugins should not have an option to produce zero aliasing (oversampling) or enable auto-gain compensation--features that have been available in some plugins for several years now. To be safe, test out demos using the free Moscilator, from Melda Productions, adjusting the frequency to the upper frequencies (e.g., 18k), and a free spectogram such as Span. In some cases, you'll be able to see and hear the aliasing as lower frequencies than the original single sine wave. If I was to buy another saturator, it would probably be something like Fabfilter's Saturn. Also, the Kevin Tone Shaper looks impressive, https://www.toneprojects.com/kelvin-tone-shaper.html

[sambaji]

Baby Audio TAIP is quite interesting for overdriven/lo fi tape sounds

Unless the aliasing has been fixed, I wouldn't use TAIP for mixing or mastering. Among my favourite free saturators are Fresh Air and GSatPlus.

Definitely don't use Decapitator or several other plugins, as well, if concerned about aliasing in saturation/distortion plugins.

By the way, I don't see much aliasing in Plugin Doctor when using TAIP with very modest settings, and, even with less modest, it's not any worse than several other plugins.

Still, it'd be nice to have a 2x or 4x oversampling option.

I've stopped using Fresh Air on mixes--aliasing. Just checked with a free Melda Moscilator and a spectrogram. Since TAIP is being marketed as the newest plugin AI technology, I expect it to include basic features that have been around for several years--oversampling and auto gain compensation.

[vitocorleone123]

Baby Audio TAIP is quite interesting for overdriven/lo fi tape sounds

Unless the aliasing has been fixed, I wouldn't use TAIP for mixing or mastering. Among my favourite free saturators are Fresh Air and GSatPlus.

Definitely don't use Decapitator or several other plugins, as well, if concerned about aliasing in saturation/distortion plugins.

By the way, I don't see much aliasing in Plugin Doctor when using TAIP with very modest settings, and, even with less modest, it's not any worse than several other plugins.

Still, it'd be nice to have a 2x or 4x oversampling option.

I've stopped using Fresh Air on mixes--aliasing. Just checked with a free Melda Moscilator and a spectrogram. Since TAIP is being marketed as the newest plugin AI technology, I expect it to include basic features that have been around for several years--oversampling and auto gain compensation.

It has auto-gain compensation.

[sambaji]

Thanks for the correction.

[LeVzi]

No Saturn in that test ?

[morelia]

Drive Shaper is the only one I can think of that came out this year. I like it a lot. Or is this just a favourites list thread?

[cryophonik]

No love for SSL X-Sat? I don’t have it, but I’ve been GAS’ing for it lately and hoping to see another no-brainer price on it someday soon.

[emasters]

Pulsar Modular P42 Climax Line Amp is now on sale for BF -- $180 versus $240.

[Leo1999]

Did anyone try BB N105 Kitplugins? I know it´s a channel strip, but has some powerful saturation.
V2 seems to be killer, I have just found a new video on yt. Gonna demo it first.

https://youtu.be/UXjApQhAnkc

[Hettoblaster]

Did anyone try BB N105 Kitplugins? I know it´s a channel strip, but has some powerful saturation.
V2 seems to be killer, I have just found a new video on yt. Gonna demo it first.

https://youtu.be/UXjApQhAnkc

Yeah, i bought it a few days ago. intro price is until monday.
tbh i never heard a stip like it - i didn't even put it through massive tests,
but tested it on a tune in progress + a classical vinyl i was digitising and i couldn't not want the BB N105 anymore after hearing it's 'depth & with' - i A/B'ed it with bx_focusrite and VPRE73 and one other but everyime i had N105 on i was stunned by 'something more/deeper' tbh