What is your favourite plugin for 'analog' style saturation?

[AmoraMusica]

Culture Vulture. I find it has something I can't get from blackbox or decapitator

[jethrobull]

For anybody who uses Reaper, you really need to check this out:

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=305604

.. and this, which is by the same author and complements the above.

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=305713

Pure gold for a penny! The spectral pack is amazing, too!

Buy now: https://ko-fi.com/docshadrach/shop

Niiice

[legendCNCD]

Got The Hot Summer working in Ableton
https://i.ibb.co/HT4TVJpH/image.png

[Junkyard Sam]

The Hot Summer and The Analog Molecule Deluxe (for Reaper) are truly incredible. It isn't just a saturator, it's the most "real" console emulation and analog summing system available.

They work with Master > Bus > Channel topology with communication between the plugins and linked settings.

The free version is pretty awesome and a great way to start, but the Deluxe version adds improved processes and an integrated SSL style EQ and compressor. (2 compressors and switchable pink/black EQ actually.)

Just passing through this system leads to an improvement in sound, but to really get the most out of it you want to mix through it.

Like any analog emulation, the resulting sound is dependent on how hard you drive the levels - but in this case it's not just top level saturation. The inter plugin communication leads to voltage sag and other emulated behaviors.

What it feels like, though, is your mix is alive and breathing... And it's just easier and faster to get a good sound.

It takes a few minutes to set up, sure... But you get that time back when the mix gets together so easily and beautifully.

It makes mixing almost effortless. Where normally it's a struggle to get elements to sit well together -- with THS/TAMD you can just focus on aesthetics and arrangement, because just pushing faders up already sounds good.

Part of it is sound (3d, cohesive, less harsh), and part of it is how the mix feels as you work on it. That latter part isn't something you hear, it's something you feel as you mix. The system responds to levels in a way I never experienced in the box before. When I say it feels like the mix is breathing, that's not hyperbole!

For anyone curious about Reaper, this is a great reason to switch over.

Doc Shadrach also has a particularly good N-Style Bus Compressor, and it's free.

Oh yeah! He's an amazing guy! Over at Gearspace, he was doing live updates to the plugin and added an important feature based on feedback while simultaneously going through cancer treatment. He really poured himself into this tool, and yet it's so affordable:

His full Deluxe version is only $25 USD. I've spent hundreds (thousands?) cumulatively chasing the 'analog' sound. This is it. Nothing else compares, seriously.

[simon.a.billington]

Culture Vulture. I find it has something I can't get from blackbox or decapitator

That's another good one. Actually, I just found out recently that Arturia's Bus Force, as it turns out, seems to be an emulation of the Overstayer.

Running your signal through a guitar amp emulation, with or without the cab is another good option. My top 3 choices here are Amplitude, Guitar Rig or PRS Supermodels/Voltage. The latter of the 3 is more straightforward and lacks all the unnecessary overkill found in Guitar Rig or Amplitude.

Though there are times when having access to additional distortion pedals also pose an advantage.

[Zeisner]

The Hot Summer and The Analog Molecule Deluxe (for Reaper) are truly incredible. It isn't just a saturator, it's the most "real" console emulation and analog summing system available.

Stuff like that makes it really hard to resist switching to Reaper. It's pretty much what I was always looking for.

Must... resist... GAS...

[AmoraMusica]

Culture Vulture. I find it has something I can't get from blackbox or decapitator

That's another good one. Actually, I just found out recently that Arturia's Bus Force, as it turns out, seems to be an emulation of the Overstayer.

Running your signal through a guitar amp emulation, with or without the cab is another good option. My top 3 choices here are Amplitude, Guitar Rig or PRS Supermodels/Voltage. The latter of the 3 is more straightforward and lacks all the unnecessary overkill found in Guitar Rig or Amplitude.

Though there are times when having access to additional distortion pedals also pose an advantage.

I haven't doodled with the UAD version but I'm curious if the differences are super obvious.

[cryophonik]

I won’t go so far as to say it’s my “favorite” just yet, but I scored a great deal on the new Softube 670 and it’s got a lovely range of saturation. We’ll see where it lands when the honeymoon is over.

[jethrobull]

For anybody who uses Reaper, you really need to check this out:

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=305604

.. and this, which is by the same author and complements the above.

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=305713

These are fantastic
Thanks for the heads

[stippenstoh]

"Analog saturation" can be had with many free saturation plugins. Plugin sellers use analog looking GUIs to make your brain think what you hear is more analog than others.

Another illusion is that many saturation plugins simply raise volume. To our brain, louder = better, even if just half a decibel. I sold Decapitator when I noticed that it's AutoGain does not work correctly and that, when properly gain balanced, the sound difference was negligible compared to free options that offer tone balance tools.

E.g. T-Saturator is free, has several flavours of sat/distortion and many control options like frequency selection and Mid/Side distribution and oversampling.
It does not have an analog looking GUI, so you might be fooled into thinking it doesn't sound analog.

[stippenstoh]

The Hot Summer and The Analog Molecule Deluxe (for Reaper) are truly incredible. It isn't just a saturator, it's the most "real" console emulation and analog summing system available.

"the most real console emulation available" is a bold claim as all Airwindows Console plugin systems do the same (emulate analog summing while circumventing the DAWs own summing), can be used in any DAW, are free and open source and sound absolutely incredible.

[bmanic]

The Hot Summer and The Analog Molecule Deluxe (for Reaper) are truly incredible. It isn't just a saturator, it's the most "real" console emulation and analog summing system available.

"the most real console emulation available" is a bold claim as all Airwindows Console plugin systems do the same (emulate analog summing while circumventing the DAWs own summing), can be used in any DAW, are free and open source and sound absolutely incredible.

No. Airwindows Console plugins do not at all work the same.. nor does it compare sonically either. You'll just have to try it out and see for yourself.

The combo of The Hot Summer + The Analog Molecule are currently unrivaled. Period. You can try to convince yourself otherwise but that'd be a waste of time frankly.

[zedeloc]

The Hot Summer and The Analog Molecule Deluxe (for Reaper) are truly incredible. It isn't just a saturator, it's the most "real" console emulation and analog summing system available.

Stuff like that makes it really hard to resist switching to Reaper. It's pretty much what I was always looking for.

Must... resist... GAS...

Reaper has an infinite trial period with zero restrictions except for it's 5 second nag screen (5 reaper seconds). The Analog Molecule and The Hot Summer are FREE, and the Deluxe Version was about $20. Not a bad deal at all. Just demo Reaper and grab the free versions and see.

[stippenstoh]

No. Airwindows Console plugins do not at all work the same.. nor does it compare sonically either. You'll just have to try it out and see for yourself.

The combo of The Hot Summer + The Analog Molecule are currently unrivaled. Period.

You say that with such confidence but don't give any explanation as to why "Airwindows Console plugins do not at all work the same". Earlier there have been claims the Analog Molecule is 'the only real console emulation', a tough argument when Airwindows Consoles all work like this:

The "Channel" plugins, sitting on each track, add a saturation curve and encode the signals, which get sent and decoded - with a corresponding anti-saturation curve - on the "Bus" channel. That's why the DAWs faders need to be at unity gain, so the summing acts like analog summing, based on interaction of signals - not just adding saturation.

So can you explain what the Analog Molecule is doing that makes it "currently unrivaled. Period."?

I don't doubt it sounds great, my gripe was that 1) it's not the only analog summing system out there and 2) that how something sounds to you is highly subjective.

[stippenstoh]

double post