Waves Saturation Plugins For Vocals

[Vella Massart]

Oneof the downsides of virtually anyone being able to afford a DAW and recording interface is that the sound quality of such affordable setups is undeniably lacking. Most low-budget digital rigs leave vocals sounding cold, thin and lifeless. To combat this, I find myself using a variety of saturation/distortion plugins when mixing vocals. Here are my favorites:

The wow and flutter settings make for a brilliant addition especially on sounds like guitars, strings and pads to create an organic tremolo effect. The noise knob simply produces a white noise to depict the classic tape effect and the saturation control, allows for how much saturation you would like to apply on the overall sound.The bias section has three options, nom, + 3 and + 5. On the first, the input signal is sent in at the normal level, on +3 and +5 the signal is driven further to amplify the sound and hence provides a more noticeable effect.The delay time on the plugin can either be kept in sync to have unison between the left and right channel or you can displace the same by hand to create a wider stereo image.

On the note of adding harmonics, when working with baselines rich in the sub frequencies alone, the same is generally left out and cannot be heard on smaller speakers. Maxxbass adds harmonic content to the low end to reciprocate for the same and creates a psychoacoustic effect where the bass comes through even on your laptop speakers. A cautionary note when using the same, the decay control when set wide can sound fantastic on smaller speakers but then sounds blurred or muddy when played back on monitors and hence using it sparely is optimal, since overdoing the same could run a riot on your overall mix by adding harmonics in the low mids which did not previously exist.

The waves S1 Imager is used to widen or narrow the stereo image of any said sound and is an excellent tool to add width to your mix. The graph displays your stereo filed and you can accordingly adjust the width of the given signal in either a left/right or mid/side mode. Another amazing feature of the same is the asymmetry function, which allows you to create a non-linear image of the signal. When using this plugin initially, it can be tempting to throw it on just about everything(except your kick and bass), but on a quick reference in mono you might find that most of your sounds have dropped out of the mix and hence using the same in parallel can be a good approach to not destroying your original signal while giving the overall signal width. Wideness in a mix is perceived when a particular element or group of elements sit far apart, using this on all your signals will have a counter intuitive effect, this however is an invaluable tool to use on a couple of elements alone in the mix.

Saturn 2 is a pro-grade distortion and saturation plugin with a fantastic interface and workflow for multi-band saturation, allowing you to apply broad strokes or get very detailed and clinical with equal ease when applying warmth and distortion to the parts and frequencies of your sounds that need it while avoiding the rest.

In between that feature and the simple mix knob, you have a whole bunch of options for how, and to what degree, you process your sounds. The latest update, Saturn 2, saw the interface get a welcome refresh and improved modulation visualisation, new subtle saturation and linear phase processing for mastering, and a range of additional distortion types in the processing Style menu. Recommended!

But what makes it so good for saturation duties is the degree of control you have to sculpt the processing to your preference. Even by simply dragging around in the waveshaper window in the Trash module, you can stumble on a vast range of characters very quickly. Couple this with the algorithm menu and the ability to treat any of 4 user-defined frequency bands independently, and you have everything you need to add warmth and punch in any sound design or mixing scenario.

The straightforwardly-named Tape has become a go-to for many producers when it comes to adding that cohesion and glue that recording to tape famously provided in the mythic Olden Days of the analogue studio era.

Like Decapitator above, it also features five different distortion models to choose from, but unlike that plugin Harmonics covers a broader (and less model-specific) range of saturation source types: Solid State, Transformer, Master, Tube and Modern.

Another fantastic all-rounder for your saturation needs, SDRR centers around its four modes: Tube, Digi, Fuzz and Desk. Each mode changes the interface graphics as well as displaying some controls that are unique to that mode.

As with all the plugins from this highly-regarded independent developer, the sound quality is equal to any in the game and the value for money is exceptional. Plus, its the thoughtful details, and things like the clear controls and easy size, quality and calibration options that all add up to make SDRR a pleasure to use.

Also definitely check out two other D16 plugins for alternate flavours of distortion-type processing: Decimort 2 is my personal favourite for bit-crushing, and the multiband distortion unit Devastator 2 is particularly good for harder and industrial techno styles, amongst other uses.

Typically used on the overall mix buss, the HG-2 adds a magical mixture of loudness, parallel tube saturation and highly controllable harmonics, the latter controlled with dedicated Pentode and Triode dials.

One of the early professional favourites for in-the-box saturation, URS Saturation still deserves a mention on our list. The interface is streamlined, and the controls are extremely quick and intuitive to dial in. Choose from ten vintage analog algorithms (covering six tube preamps, two speeds of tape, and two transformer types), crank the Input for more drive, and set your Saturation and Dry-Wet balance in the middle for varying degrees of full or parallel processing.

A high-end hardware recreation that is equally popular with mastering engineers and adventurous producers when mixing. As with many plugins from Brainworx, this software model of the Vertigo Sound VSM-2 Mix Satellite is well-regarded in its own right for bringing the power and much of the sonic character of the hardware to the convenience of the plugin format.

The VSM-3 features two independent (virtual) saturation circuits, identified on the faceplate as 2nd Harmonic FET Crusher and 3rd Harmonic Zener Blender, referring to the different characters of distortion created by each circuit. The Crusher side can be considered more of a smooth, rich saturation, while the Blender side contributes more of a brighter, exciter-like vibe. You can blend any combination of the two with the central THD Mixer knob, as well as align them serially or in parallel, and each with its own stereo or M/S setting, for a huge range of spatially-enhancing saturation effects.

Reviver is a marvel of highly controllable saturation, that with minimal controls can cover a lot of distortion bases while also being pleasingly pro-quality and free of artefacts and aliasing, delivered via a disarmingly simple interface. And perhaps best of all, at a price that anyone could afford. Recommended.

Modelled on one of the tape machines used at the world famous Abbey Road Studios in London (most famously the recording home of The Beatles, and many others), the Waves J37 Tape hits a sweet spot between authentic sound, highly useful features nicely laid out in an inspiring interface, and, importantly for many, sheer value for money with a price ($35.99 deal at the time of writing) that makes it a quality tape machine emulation for almost every budget. Recommended!

For a lot more sound design and processing tips, check out the Ultimate Guides series, a definitive collection of tips and techniques for enhancing your music and bringing it to a professional level:

Thank you very much for this and the preceding piece, describing the concept of saturation, and then this rundown of plugins. I can imagine how much work it was to put together! Much, much appreciated.

Tape plugins are another story, and give a very different effect, i have Yamaha Vintage Open Deck because it emulates an Ampex ATR100, i like the sound of that machine, there are others Digidesign Reel Tape, Avid Heat, UAD, but most emulate Studer, and i dont like Studer Tape machine sound, and yes, yamaha vintage open deck has 4 studer emulations, and 2 tapes formulas with 2 speeds, 30 & 15 ips, some times i wish it also had 7.5 & 3.75ips, just for fun.

cakewalk fx2 tape machine emulation tis also nice..

Check the release dates of both Satin and KUSH Audio Pusher and the date of publication on the article. Also consider that it would be very difficult and time-consuming to test every single plugin on the market.

I tried many saturators but the best for my needs is undoubtedly the Fabfilter Saturn the thing that makes it special and unique is the possibility to intervene with multiband to saturate only the frequencies necessary to flesh out the sound or give different saturations to same sound depending on the frequency band selected. This really is a great plugin.

We do this through articles, profiles of the best tools and resources available for music production, and mostly through our Ultimate Guides series, providing deep dives into the most fundamental audio production processes and techniques.

Beyond that, saturation gives us some of that dirtiness we love from classic recordings that digital technology took away. Plugins that emulate tape or tube saturation are perfect for this type of thing.

Saturn is one of the most versatile plugins on this list. It can do everything from super subtle harmonic enhancement to pure screaming destruction. As far as desert island plugins go, this would be at the top of the list in the saturation category.

The Studer A800 tape machine is easily one of the most famous of all time. Everyone from Jeff Buckley to A Tribe Called Quest made records on this thing. The 900-pound beast was groundbreaking in more than just its heft, and UAD faithfully (like always) captured that magic in software form. As far as tape saturation goes, this is going to give you instant musicality and tone that digital recordings often lack. It can be quite subtle on a mix bus, or you can really drive it hard for natural tape saturation and compression.

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