vailable for download, T-RackS Saturator X from IK Multimedia is a plug-in designed for adding analog-style harmonic distortion and saturation to your tracks and mixes. There are ten individual styles of saturation provided, from gentle and subtle to full-on tube-driven distortion. With its three-knob interface, its controls are rather intuitive: simply drive up the gain for more gain, and manipulate the output to achieve a desired volume. Or conversely, link the gain and output knobs, so that as you juice the gain, the output reduces proportionally, thus maintaining consistent volume levels. A third knob allows you to select the mode of saturation applied; here you choose among the ten styles of harmonic characteristics.
As this is a T-RackS plugin, it can be used within the T-RackS engine or on its own, and furthermore, you can link stereo channels or affect them independently—you can do this in left/right and mid/sight modes. This software is Mac and Windows compatible, and works in AU, VST, RTAS, and AAX formats.
Tape 1 This mode reproduces the character and high-frequency compression of an analog tape machine reaching saturation when pushed above normal recording levels.
Tape 2 This mode reproduces a more "Lo-Fi" analog tape response with pronounced distortion and high-frequency roll-off.
Master +6dB This is a digitally recreated soft saturation curve suitable to adding RMS level and body to a full mix in need of those two attributes.
Master + 12dB Similar to Master +6dB, but with a pronounced soft-saturation curve to make effect more prominent than the previous mode.
Tube 1 - Push Pull This mode produces tube saturation with odd harmonics added by symmetrical clipping, creating a punchy distortion that can engender warm tones if used sparingly or aggressive timbres if driven hard.
Tube 2 - Class A This mode produces tube saturation with even harmonics added by the asymmetry of its Class-A-modeled design.
Solid State 1 - Push Pull Same as the Tube mode, but with the more aggressive character of the solid state circuitry. This mode is suitable for preserving transients.
Solid State 2 - Class A Same as Tube 2 mode but with the more aggressive character of the solid state circuitry, and therefore, suitable for preserving/defining transient response.
Transformer - Iron This mode reproduces the color of iron-core transformer-harmonic enhancement, which aims to be subtle, adding gentle saturation and a slight amount of distortion.
Transformer - Steel This mode emulates steel-core transformer behavior, providing an almost equal amount of odd and even harmonic enhancement. This mode adds a gentle saturation, introducing only a slight amount of distortion.
Highlights
- Fully compatible with Mac OS X (Universal Binary), and Windows (XP, Vista, 7, and 8)
- Works within the T-RackS CS Standalone application
- Oversampling
- Full-latency compensation support
- Supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz
- DSM and SCC proprietary IK technologies for digital models of analog hardware devices
- Native compatibility with 64-bit applications and operating systems
