Saturator Request

[Frankie.T]

I really like the workflow and the capabilities of Izotope Exciter, cause you can split bands and use different saturation mode in both stereo and m/s, being able to use i.e. different saturations for each band on mid and different on sides too.
It's also very useful to have different kind of saturation such tape, tube and so on, that sounds very good with a dedicated mix knob per band.

Would be possible to have a new plugin with the same capability/workflow/saturation modes?

[vectorwarrior]

That's what mxxx is for

[Frankie.T]

That's what mxxx is for

I'm not enough familiar with this tool, i don't understand how to achieve what i'm looking for, and afaik the saturation names, at least on MSaturatorMB are soft, clip and folder, that doesn't look familiar to me as other saturation plugins (i'm used to use) use

[Chandlerhimself]

MSaturatorMB does that except for the tape thing. The tape,tube, etc are more like presets with differing amounts of harmonics and clipping curves. You should be able to do the same thing with MSaturator.

[Frankie.T]

MSaturatorMB does that except for the tape thing. The tape,tube, etc are more like presets with differing amounts of harmonics and clipping curves. You should be able to do the same thing with MSaturator.

I didn't find a way to applu different saturation mode per band on mid and side. I didn't even understood how to saturate differently mid and side, with the exception if using the mid side crossover, but at that point i cannot split the frequency spectrum anymore.

It would be nice to have something more "user friendly" let's say, like usually the "Turbo" series is. I mean a kind of Izotope Exciter but from Melda without the need to deep dive too much into a plugin

[Held]

It would be nice to have something more "user friendly" let's say, like usually the "Turbo" series is. I mean a kind of Izotope Exciter but from Melda without the need to deep dive too much into a plugin

I think to deep dive is the main reason to use Melda plugin. With MXXX, you can split the signal into mid/side and then split it into frequency bands again.

Checkout this tutorial:

[Frankie.T]

It would be nice to have something more "user friendly" let's say, like usually the "Turbo" series is. I mean a kind of Izotope Exciter but from Melda without the need to deep dive too much into a plugin

I think to deep dive is the main reason to use Melda plugin. With MXXX, you can split the signal into mid/side and then split it into frequency bands again.

Checkout this tutorial:

I know and it's good when you can do that while making a preset that can be loaded and tweaked just a bit, as you can do with compressor and eq, but when you need to saturate a song with different bands you have to quickly tweak the bands, and you may also want to stay stereo or go mid side on the go... I mean, a more easy/quick to use plugin is the way to go while mixing and mastering imo

[Held]

What do you think Melda should add to make this more than a clone Izotope Exciter? If you just want a copy, why not use the original?

[Frankie.T]

What do you think Melda should add to make this more than a clone Izotope Exciter? If you just want a copy, why not use the original?

That's a good question, i'll try to explain my reasons.

The first reason i'd like to have a "clone" is because of retro compatibility. Every newer Melda version doesn't change the plugin name, so you can basically use any of their product, than load in 5-10 years the project with a newer version installed, and your project still correctly load plugins.
Ozone 9 is different from Ozone 10, i mean the plugins are different, so i have to install also older versions to load older project, but tbh not only, to me Ozone 10 (at least some modules) sounds like they was rewritten/changed, cause to my ears sounds different.
I feel Melda to be way more reliable on backward compatibility, both to load plugins and how they sounds.

There is also another reason, less technical, but more ethical, but this is something i care, and it's about different things.
First of all, Melda business model doesn't look like a joke as Izotope and Plugin Alliance, just to name few, where their plugins cost regurarly 1000000$ but you get them 99% of the time discounted at 100$. This is a marketing move i don't like.
Then, when you buy Melda plugins you really OWN them. You don't need online activation, server polling, or any other crapware installed on your pc. I see everything being cracked, from Waves, to plugins that use iLok or other stuff, so all these copy protection systems doesn't really serve any purpose that is different from let me freak out when there is an issue, and ofc they give trouble to legit users only, ending in a complete joke.
Melda also offer lifetime free update, while others ask money for this, and this is very noble move i really appreciate.

Everything i wrote show Melda as a company who respect their customers in every possible way, and i want to put my money where i see value, and Melda have lots of value i'm looking for, along very high quality plugins.
I also run a youtube channel about mixing and mastering, but lately i'm mostly into plugins, i like to test and review all newer plugins, testing features, comparison and stuff like that.
But having a channel allow me to do whatever i want, and when i make contents like what i like the most, what i use, or a mixing/mastering walkthrough where i show my process, i'm glad to show plugins that respect users first, but ofc they must fit my needs and my workflow.

That's why i'm working to switch the plugins i'm using right now to Melda, along others that already fit my taste such FabFilter.
Unfortunatly there are certain feature i don't find neither on Melda or FF, and that's why i'm here on this topic asking for something.
Maybe they don't care or don't agree to make a tool like that, ofc they are free to do whatever they want, but sharing my thoughts it's important cause it's a feedback they may find useful or interesting, or they can just decide to ignore it, it's their own decision ofc.

[Held]

Those are some good reasons for choosing Melda over other developers, and I agree with most of them.

Seems like your request would fit in with the fabled MixingRevolution that might see the light of day eventually.

[sparella]

@Frankie.T I was also unclear about the saturation names at first because I was used to analog circuit jargon. Depending on your background, analog electronics names might be very helpful, or not at all. Anyway, here is how I ROUGHLY categorize the controls in my mind:
Soft is kind of like tube clipping.
Clip is kind of like diode or transistor clipping.
Folder is "digital" distortion.
The number after the name is kind of like how many stages are in series.
Analog is like a bias control.
Between +/-20% the harmonics generator can be kind of like transformer saturation.
The compander at medium settings is like reducing headroom. At high settings it is kind of like sag.

Personally, I like this level of detailed control more than a single intensity control. If I do want a single 'intensity' control to adjust the "transistor bias", input / output gain, and dynamic range reduction, for example, then I can just assign one multi parameter to control them. I can save it all as a preset. With that, I have a fast single knob workflow next time I use it, while always being able to tweak the individual parameters if necessary.

For mid side work, I use two instances of the plugin, one set to mid, one set to side. Usually I set up one instance in stereo mode with crossovers how I want , etc, and then I copy paste the state to the second instance. After that, I start making changes to just mid or side instances individually.

[Frankie.T]

Thanks sparella for your post. I've studied Electronics along using for years analog tools related to the circuitry so certain terminology give me an istant knowledge on what i will get back (thanks for your Melda/Analog translation it's helpful), i should spend some time to do a proper earing/comparison of these distortion algorithm, but tbh, the workflow on this saturation plugins, it's way distant from what i would call usable, at least outside sound design, where you have more time to tinker over every settings and options.

[Frankie.T]

Any thoughts from Melda? :p

[sparella]

@Frankie.T It's a bit off topic, so I'll PM you.

[sparella]

To close out the side discussion for future reference, it looks like the MXXX Multi Widener will do the job.