Saturation Arsenal
In the pursuit of crafting rich and captivating audio experiences, music producers and sound engineers continually seek tools that lend depth, warmth, and character to their creations. Among these invaluable assets, saturation plugins have emerged as the unsung heroes of the production process, capable of elevating ordinary sounds into extraordinary sonic landscapes. With the power to mimic the analog warmth of vintage equipment or push the boundaries of contemporary distortion, saturation plugins offer an array of sonic possibilities that extend far beyond their unassuming interfaces. In this article, we embark on a journey through the captivating realm of saturation plugins, exploring their diverse applications, technical underpinnings, and the profound impact they have on shaping the timbral richness of modern music. Whether you’re a seasoned audio professional or a curious enthusiast, prepare to unravel the transformative potential that saturation plugins bring to the forefront of sound design and production.
Here are 25 Saturation plugins that I have in my arsenal within FL Studio, both free and paid:
Fruity Soft Clipper by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Fruity Soft Clipper is a CPU-friendly soft limiter. Soft limiting avoids clipping by applying gentle (soft knee) compression to the input signal. It is worth noting that soft knee compression will cause ‘saturation’ effects when the signal level exceeds the threshold level. While a little saturation brings ‘warmth’, too much can sound distorted. Whether or not the soft clipping saturation is audible will depend on the level applied to the signal. A closely related plugin is Fruity Limiter and is probably best used if you need a more transparent clip protection.
Available with FL Studio FRUITY EDITION €99,00
Maximus by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Maximus will deliver transparent peak limiting and volume maximization without coloration of the processed sound. Maximus excels equally well as a final mastering plugin or as a per-track effect.
Available with FL Studio PRODUCER EDITION €199,00
Soundgoodizer by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Soundgoodizer is a stereo ‘maximizer-enhancer’ plugin based on the Maximus soundprocess engine.
Available with FL Studio FRUITY EDITION €99,00
Blood Overdrive by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Creates overdrive distortion using classic techniques that give compressed and soft sounds, as opposed to the harsh sound that can be typical of digital processing.
Available with FL Studio FRUITY EDITION €99,00
Wave Shaper by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Fruity WaveShaper is a wave distortion effect which maps input (horizontal axis) to output (vertical axis) values using flexible spline-based graph.
Available with FL Studio FRUITY EDITION €99,00
Fast Dist by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Fruity Fast Dist is a CPU-friendly distortion effect.
Available with FL Studio FRUITY EDITION €99,00
Squeeze by ImageLine - FL STUDIO Native
Fruity Squeeze is a bit-reducing, distortion (called ‘Puncher’ that replaces audio sample data with a fixed, user controlled value) and filtering plugin.
Available with FL Studio FRUITY EDITION €99,00
HeadCrusher by Audio Assault - FREE
HeadCrusher Free is aa analog saturation plugin. Use it on drums, vocals, bass, master track to add power or simply to destroy a track.
Burier by Kit Plugins - FREE
Burier ranges from subtle overdrive to sizzling distortion and covers everything in between. Designed to “bury” a wide array of instruments, busses, and FX, Burier is the ultimate go-to saturator for drums, bass, vocals, and more.
Burier comes with 3 customizable color options and a fully-resizable GUI. 100% FREE forever!
GSat+ by TB Pro Audio - FREE
GSat+ is derived from the saturation module on the TBProAudio CS5501V2 channel strip plug-in, but adds extra features requested and suggested by the Gearspace.com team. It has several different saturation modes, high tweakability, oversampling, old-school VU meters and cross-platform software compatibility – as well as a button to take you directly to Gearspace.com in case you need any tips, tricks or inspiration or want to swap presets with other users.
Deelay by Integraudio - FREE
Developed in collaboration with Sixth Sample, Integraudio’s Deelay is a free delay plugin with a plethora of features geared for modern producers. The delay effect is bread-and-butter for any music producer. Practically every DAW comes with a delay plugin, and usually, you can get by with them without issue. However, once in a while you might face a need to use something geared towards sound designing – and the all-new Deelay is completely free and allows you to achieve a variety of sounds. Deelay provides five modes of operation and distortion stage with many types. Similarly, you can find various parameters that you rarely see in free and paid plugins. These allow you to customize the way the delay behaves. Furthermore, it features a vast array of presets laid out over multiple categories to help you discover what Deelay can do.
IVGI2 by Klanghelm - FREE
IVGI can deliver very soft and subtle saturation, that feels at home on the master bus. It is equally capable of very dense and dirty distortion effects to spice up single tracks. IVGI’s base sound is comparable to the DESK mode in the big brother SDRR. Just as SDRR, IVGI reacts dynamically to the input signal. Even the modeled fluctuations react dynamically and also change depending on the drive setting, so that it doesn’t get in the way of the SOUND. Stereo tracks benefit from it’s modeled crosstalk behavior. Just as its big brother SDRR, IVGI features a Controlled Randomness, which determines the internal drift and variance inside the unit. It contributes to the liveliness and realness of IVGI’s saturation character. To achieve this, all internal processes are modulated to some extent. IVGI gives you a sensible amount of controls to manipulate the character of the saturation itself. It offers a unique ASYM MIX knob to alter the symmetry of the signal without affecting the harmonic content much. IVGI also lets you alter the frequency dependency of the saturation with the RESPONSE control.
MJUC JR by Klanghelm - FREE
MJUC jr. is the little brother of the colorful MJUC. It’s a variable-mu** design with lots of vibe, capable of smooth leveling but also heavy pumping effects. With its two gain stages and interstage transformer simulation it offers a very deep and lively soundstage. The three-position timing switch not only controls the attack and release times of the unit, but also the slew rate of the transformers and the timing of the other parts of the circuitry, that are directly influencing the generated harmonics (saturation).
MJUC jr. is a mix of Mk1 and Mk2 of its big brother MJUC. It’s combining very natural, dense compression characteristics of the early days of this type of compression with a more forward sounding approach and more harmonics creating of the variable-mu comps of the early 1960s.
DC1A by Klanghelm - FREE
DC1A is the little brother of the compression monster DC8C. I’ve taken a few of my favorite settings from DC8C and tried to make it work in a two control context. Sound wise it’s comparable to the PUNCH mode in DC8C but offers a few additional features, such as negative ratio and stereo unlink. I’ve always wanted to do a compressor with just an input and output knob, a compressor that just works: gentle, faithful, from almost invisible, smooth leveling to heavy pumping with a nice crunchy saturation and punchy enough to treat drums with. DC1A looks like a one trick pony. But don’t get fooled by the lack of additional controls. You may be surprised on how many different material this little thing works. DC1A has a few tricks up its sleeve: negative (over) compression, parallel (New York style) compression, option to compress left and right channel independently (via the DUAL MONO switch), peak and RMS compression (RELAXED switch on) and DEEP activates a high pass filter to reduce pumping on bass heavy material
SGA 1566 by Shattered Glass Audio - FREE
SGA1566 is loosely based on a single channel vintage tube preamplifier. We have made some changes to the original schematic, added tone controls, and made it stereo. To achieve the most authentic analog sound, the whole circuit is simulated in real time using the high performance circuit simulator. However, this level of sound fidelity comes at a price of high CPU utilization. For cases where such a CPU hit is prohibitive, we have added a model that is significantly less CPU intensive but slightly less accurate than the circuit simulation. Use SGA1566 to add warmth to a track, as a saturation compressor, or to add “dirt” with tube overdrive.
KClip Zero by Kazrog - FREE
Like its paid sibling, KClip 3, our first free plugin KClip Zero offers variable clipping curve, and internal oversampling, and can be used on masters, buses, and tracks to achieve transparent loudness, as well as saturation.
Clean Machine by Amalgamated Signals - FREE
Clean Machine, by Amalgamated Signals, is a dynamics controller with features of both a saturator and a compressor. It has timing controls like a compressor, but it applies a continuous gain reduction curve like a saturator. It also has a third timing parameter called “transition”, to control the speed of the shift between attack and release modes, for more transparent control of dynamics. At very fast settings and relatively low drive, Clean Machine acts like a saturator, subtly thickening the sound and gluing mix elements together. Slightly increase the attack and release times for gentler transient control and reduced harmonic distortion. With higher levels of drive, Clean Machine can control large dynamic swings and peaks. Try a fast attack with a slow release, and notice how the compression sounds more transparent as you increase the transition time.
LoFi Keys Lite by Karanyi - PAID
Lofi Keys VST, AU plugin for Mac & Windows brings the classic lo-fi sound to your music productions with a radically simple user interface. It features legendary electric pianos and synth classics, all resampled on vintage tape players, cassettes, and VHS players. Create smooth, dreamy themes for your lo-fi beats or add lush-sounding hybrid soundscapes to your scores. The Lofi Keys VST instrument will give you access to 8 iconic electric pianos and analog synths including the award-winning Blüthner acoustic piano (from Midiwood by Richard Vossgatter), all in one place. You can freely combine these to get your own unique blend and process it with a line of creative effects and even noises (VHS, Tape & Vinyl).
The free “Lite” version is no longer available. Price now at €70,00
Volume Former by Magix - PAID
A pump effect without complicated sidechain routing that is created by rhyhmically reducing and increasing the volume. The shape of the envelope, i.e., decrease and increase, as well as the modulation frequency, e.g., to match the beat, can be freely adjusted. This creates a gate or sidechain effect, which is frequently found in house and EDM as well as in rock and pop.
BUY WITH MAGIX COREFX SUITE $199,00
Cramit by Sixth Sample - FREE
Together with Integraudio, we are happy to announce yet another free plugin for you. Combining the endless use cases of multiband compression and high-quality distortion, Cramit might become one of your most used plugins. We all know and love the legendary OTT effect, and adding some harmonics before or after can make the results even better. Cramit is here to wrap this functionality under one plugin. With its dead-simple interface and insightful visuals, Cramit is ready to cram some energy into your music. Check out Cramit Platinum Edition for even more features and flexibility.
Ozone 10 Vintage Tape by iZotope - PAID
The Vintage Tape module brings the distinctive richness and feel of tape saturation to your modern digital recordings with all the frequency coloration, distortion, and phase effects of tape. Take advantage of analog tone for masters that sound more musical with added dimension, fatness, and depth.
Buy with the following packages from iZotope:
Ozone 10 Standard $99,00
Ozone 10 Advanced $199,00
Ruina by Noise Engineering - FREE
Ruina is a creative stereo distortion plugin built on digital distortion algorithms: no emulations here. Intuitive and fully automatable controls make it easy to get a gentle, nuanced color, to obliterate a signal, or to dial in anything in between. Don’t feel like tweaking the parameters? Ruina comes with tons of presets to fit any need. With seven distortion types, it’s easy to turn your sounds into something new and unique with Ruina.
Run any sound through Ruina for warm, lush distortion, or crank the sliders to unleash complete destruction. We love Ruina with vocals, percussion, synths, strings, and of course guitars. You name it, it sounds great with Ruina.
Temper by Creative Intent - FREE
Temper is a modern digital distortion plugin featuring a rich saturation stage and a unique phase distortion. Use the variable saturation curve to add warmth and edge to your sound, and let the phase distortion bring character and clarity through your mix. Temper also features a simple resonant lowpass filter and a feedback path to drive the intensity of the tone. Download includes 64-bit and 32-bit VST, VST3, and AU formats for both Windows and Mac OS X.
Urban Puncher by United Plugins - PAID
Urban Puncher is an effect that gives a “punch” to your percussive material (drums, percussion). Intended for drum loops but works instantly on anything that you can call drum hit. Your loops will step out of the shadows immediately. Urban Puncher delivers a stronger and more solid feel in no time.
What is a “Punch”? There’s not a simple answer to that. The punch knob controls several processes at the same time. It can be described as an esoteric dynamic process with transients treatment and spectral shaping.
€29,00
OTT by Xfer - FREE
Xfer Records OTT is a free re-creation of a popular aggressive multiband upwards/downwards compressor set-up used by many dubstep and electro producers.