Saturator shoot-out

[bmanic]

.. oh and I forgot to mention a now somewhat hidden gem. Plugin Alliance Vertigo VSM-3. It's a bit tricky to setup correctly but once you understand how to operate it, it is very unique and nice sounding. Both for mixbus and single track duties.

Hi bman,
Would happen to have a starting point preset for using VSM-3 on the mixbus??

thanks!

No, unfortunately that's precisely why it's a bit tricky to work with. You need to create the "preset" always separately for every situation as it's so critically level dependent (if you want the overall frequency response to stay as close to original audio source as possible). But I'll try to describe the process of how you do it.


First, it's very important to understand that this is not an effect you slap on a mixbus at the start of beginning to mix. This is one of those that you slap on very much at the late stages of mixing, or at mastering. Why? Because your overall levels need to have become settled/defined before the following process makes sense. Here are the steps you need to take:

1) First set the input gain, using the large Input knob, so that you get the first row of green leds to blink. Try to keep it so that it's in the green led range, only the first two rows from the bottom.

2) Then compensate the output with the exact opposite amount. Example: if you end up with -2dB on the input, you'd set the main output knobs on the right to +2dB. Then make a decision if you want the two harmonic sections to work in serial or parallel mode. 95% of the time I have it operating in Parallel mode when using the plugin in mastering or as a mixbus mojo thing.

3) Next step is to start fine tuning each section separately. You do this by switching the 'Distortion Solo' switch to whichever harmonic you want to start working with.

The main controls to balance things are the Drive and Level knobs. Leave everything else at default settings to start with. At this point you should also decide what part of the audio spectrum you want to saturate. I usually set the Fet Crusher section to either Low or Mid. Whereas the 3rd harmonic section, the Zener Blender, I usually set to Mid, HighMid or High.

4a) Start by moving the Distortion knob to the amount you think you want for distortion. For mixbus/mastering this usually means that the led, above the knob, is mainly blinking green.. maybe occasionally towards yellow if you want higher amounts of mojo.

4b) Now you need to adjust the Level knob, in the section, so that you cancel away as much as possible of the sound. What you are aiming for is a balance between the Drive and Level knobs in such a way that you mainly just hear bursts of distortion.. the sound should become thin and almost cancel out. The closer you get to cancelling out the main signal and just hear bursts of zipper noise / distortion, the more you have been able to balance the section so that it doesn't change the frequency response.

Once you are done with Step 4, do the exact same with the other section.. meaning, you repeat steps 3, 4a and 4b. Remember to set the Distortion Solo switch to whatever section you are working on. Once you've fine tuned both sections in solo, so that they almost cancel out, then you can double check that everything is as optimized as possible by setting the Distortion Solo to "2nd & 3rd" position. You should still hear mostly just bursts of saturation and almost nothing of the original audio. If this is the case, then you have successfully optimized the plugin.





5) Switch the Distortion Solo button to 'OFF' position. You are done. Congratulations. Now you can use the THD Mixer knob to fine tune the amount of 2nd versus 3rd harmonic.


And yes, you should do ALL of the above, every single time you work on another song/mix or your mix changes drastically. You can automate the Drive and Level knobs in case you want to keep it optimized throughout a songs sections that vary in volume and frequency content. I mean, you do not have to do this but that's the correct way of using this unit within it's most optimal "sweet zone".

If you want higher amounts of distortion for instance for single tracks, you need to crank up the main input gain and the individual drive knobs so that they hit higher saturation levels.. but every single time you do this, you also need to balance each sections Level knob and use the Distortion Solo to hear that it all cancels out nicely. That way you guarantee the frequency response stays as flat as possible and what you are getting is the actual saturation for whatever frequency slot you've targeted.

It's a complex beast of a processor but it's worth learning how to operate it as the results can be really good.

[Scotty Ellis]

It's a complex beast of a processor but it's worth learning how to operate it as the results can be really good.

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed response!
One more question: Should this at the front or the back end of a mastering chain?

[bmanic]

One more question: Should this at the front or the back end of a mastering chain?

It's a non-linear plugin so it will sound different depending on where in the chain it is. Only YOU can decide where it sounds "the best". Just don't chuck it after final limiter + dither. That's the only rule I wouldn't break.

[xerix]

One more question: Should this at the front or the back end of a mastering chain?

It's a non-linear plugin so it will sound different depending on where in the chain it is. Only YOU can decide where it sounds "the best". Just don't chuck it after final limiter + dither. That's the only rule I wouldn't break.

How does this plugin compare to the likes of Kelvin toneshaper & silverbullet mk2?

[echotodd]

Lately I have been using mostly a combination of Pulsar Modular's P42 on tracks and the LTL Silver Bullet MKII on buses. It is an insanely good combination and the EQ section of the P42 makes it basically a mojo inducing channel strip. Both are pretty deep and add a wonderful richness.

[Morty-C-137]

If you want crispy why not go for Trash 3? Multiband, dry/wet, oversampling, modulation, tons of distortion types.

[pekbro]

I gotta add JST HEAT to this list since trying it.

[vitocorleone123]

If you want crispy why not go for Trash 3? Multiband, dry/wet, oversampling, modulation, tons of distortion types.

Or Blue Cat Destructor 2.

[xerix]

Lately I have been using mostly a combination of Pulsar Modular's P42 on tracks and the LTL Silver Bullet MKII on buses. It is an insanely good combination and the EQ section of the P42 makes it basically a mojo inducing channel strip. Both are pretty deep and add a wonderful richness.

I bought the SIlverbullet mk2 plugin and can confirm it is amazing. havnt tried Pulsar Modulars P42 though might do some research on it. the silverbullet plugin now makes me wanna buy the hardware

[yhvh]

.. oh and I forgot to mention a now somewhat hidden gem. Plugin Alliance Vertigo VSM-3. It's a bit tricky to setup correctly but once you understand how to operate it, it is very unique and nice sounding. Both for mixbus and single track duties.

Hi bman,
Would happen to have a starting point preset for using VSM-3 on the mixbus??

thanks!

No, unfortunately that's precisely why it's a bit tricky to work with. You need to create the "preset" always separately for every situation as it's so critically level dependent (if you want the overall frequency response to stay as close to original audio source as possible). But I'll try to describe the process of how you do it.


First, it's very important to understand that this is not an effect you slap on a mixbus at the start of beginning to mix. This is one of those that you slap on very much at the late stages of mixing, or at mastering. Why? Because your overall levels need to have become settled/defined before the following process makes sense. Here are the steps you need to take:

1) First set the input gain, using the large Input knob, so that you get the first row of green leds to blink. Try to keep it so that it's in the green led range, only the first two rows from the bottom.

2) Then compensate the output with the exact opposite amount. Example: if you end up with -2dB on the input, you'd set the main output knobs on the right to +2dB. Then make a decision if you want the two harmonic sections to work in serial or parallel mode. 95% of the time I have it operating in Parallel mode when using the plugin in mastering or as a mixbus mojo thing.

3) Next step is to start fine tuning each section separately. You do this by switching the 'Distortion Solo' switch to whichever harmonic you want to start working with.

The main controls to balance things are the Drive and Level knobs. Leave everything else at default settings to start with. At this point you should also decide what part of the audio spectrum you want to saturate. I usually set the Fet Crusher section to either Low or Mid. Whereas the 3rd harmonic section, the Zener Blender, I usually set to Mid, HighMid or High.

4a) Start by moving the Distortion knob to the amount you think you want for distortion. For mixbus/mastering this usually means that the led, above the knob, is mainly blinking green.. maybe occasionally towards yellow if you want higher amounts of mojo.

4b) Now you need to adjust the Level knob, in the section, so that you cancel away as much as possible of the sound. What you are aiming for is a balance between the Drive and Level knobs in such a way that you mainly just hear bursts of distortion.. the sound should become thin and almost cancel out. The closer you get to cancelling out the main signal and just hear bursts of zipper noise / distortion, the more you have been able to balance the section so that it doesn't change the frequency response.

Once you are done with Step 4, do the exact same with the other section.. meaning, you repeat steps 3, 4a and 4b. Remember to set the Distortion Solo switch to whatever section you are working on. Once you've fine tuned both sections in solo, so that they almost cancel out, then you can double check that everything is as optimized as possible by setting the Distortion Solo to "2nd & 3rd" position. You should still hear mostly just bursts of saturation and almost nothing of the original audio. If this is the case, then you have successfully optimized the plugin.





5) Switch the Distortion Solo button to 'OFF' position. You are done. Congratulations. Now you can use the THD Mixer knob to fine tune the amount of 2nd versus 3rd harmonic.


And yes, you should do ALL of the above, every single time you work on another song/mix or your mix changes drastically. You can automate the Drive and Level knobs in case you want to keep it optimized throughout a songs sections that vary in volume and frequency content. I mean, you do not have to do this but that's the correct way of using this unit within it's most optimal "sweet zone".

If you want higher amounts of distortion for instance for single tracks, you need to crank up the main input gain and the individual drive knobs so that they hit higher saturation levels.. but every single time you do this, you also need to balance each sections Level knob and use the Distortion Solo to hear that it all cancels out nicely. That way you guarantee the frequency response stays as flat as possible and what you are getting is the actual saturation for whatever frequency slot you've targeted.

It's a complex beast of a processor but it's worth learning how to operate it as the results can be really good.

all this above is great information and you should definitely use it. you asked about starting with a preset though so ill share my experience. when i first got this thing a handful of years ago, it was pretty unique in design to what i was used to, so i tried out some presets on it to try and get a feel for how to use it. there was a preset that sort of helped it click for me both what this thing was capable of and as a starting point- it’s called i believe hifi your mix. i should emphasize that this was a backwards sort of way to approach it but maybe it can help somehow. for some time i would always go to that preset first and then make adjustments from there, as it seemed like on most tracks where this plugin was a good fit, that preset would get you 60-80% of where you wanted to be. it’s pretty heavy handed on the low end but overall it was easier for me to start with it than it the initialized. and as i would tweak it in place, it wasn’t long before i had a solid grasp on the plugin and its intricacies. nowadays i don’t typically start with a preset because i got a lot more comfortable with using it, but i do believe that using that preset early on allowed me to really wrap my mind around what i could get out the thing. again, the quoted advice is much better advice. i just think maybe if you get stuck, perhaps this could be something to try out and see if it works for you. but just make sure if you do, you keep in mind that you have more work to do from that point. it’s such a great tool that it’s more than worth whatever it takes to learn it. i still use it regularly today- occasionally i’ll get some new toy that i’ll try in place of vsm3 on the master bus, but i generally will do an alternate master with the vsm3 to a/b and more often than not, the vsm3 wins out. there’s a learning curve but i can’t recommend it enough

eta: the trickiest thing about this approach is not looking past getting your levels right since you’re going out of order. for whatever reason through, working backwards through it clicked with me early on. but that will be something you have to do no matter what

[nilhartman]

Tone Projects Kelvin / Michelangelo
Relab Color Drive
Apulsoft ApShaper
LTL Silver Bullet
GHz VCME Soft Clip
upcoming Wavegrove Mariform

[_leras]

One more question: Should this at the front or the back end of a mastering chain?

It's a non-linear plugin so it will sound different depending on where in the chain it is. Only YOU can decide where it sounds "the best". Just don't chuck it after final limiter + dither. That's the only rule I wouldn't break.

That was a great overview of usage you gave. I think it can be a magical plug in on master. I tend to use it as an addition to my more broad band shaping EQ.

My usage is less scientific and I just dial it in by ear, where I think it sounds like it will lift the mix best, while being careful not to overdo it.

I think it's a pretty underrated plug in for sure.

[billinder33]

I have the VSM-3 and it's a very nice standalone buss saturator. That said, I get more use out of the VSS-2, which according to PA/Vertigo uses some of the same saturation algos as the VSM-3, and also borrows algos from the other Vertigo offerings.

IMO it's the ultimate buss glue machine, and is currently only $20 at Plugin Alliance (in fact, all the Vertigo plugins are currently $20). Like most people here I've got tons of plugins, and this one is one of the few analog'ish devices I use on a regular basis.

[Kai Enaki]

+1 on VSM-3. In a sense it's invisible. It's rare for it to affect an already established EQ curve like other saturators do. The same could be said about VSM-4. The problem with VSM-4 is the 230 price tag. VSM-3, however, is a steal at 20. It's even a decent buy at 75. Sonimus modular T/A/N consoles are good picks as well.

[swilow11]

I really like Blackbox, particularly in m/s mode. Rarely use on the master though. Oxford Inflator does better ime.

LTL Silver Bullet Mk2

Pure KVR first answer.