Or turn the knobs all the way up for some serious distortion mayhem! Use it on its mild settings to fatten up sounds and give them a bit more color and edge. With three-valve topologies, you get true emulation of the original hardware’s sonic flavors – which sound breathtaking. Thermionic Culture Vulture (by Universal Audio)Ī favorite of many producers, including Nils Hoffmann, as you can read in his interview, the Thermionic Culture Vulture is the choice for serious, thickening saturation and distortion. The Radiator is a fantastic choice for anyone looking for a true-to-the-original tube saturator.ĭownload here. Increase the heat and hear your sound transform into a beefier, warmer version of itself.Ĭustomize the equalization with the two dedicated knobs for bass and treble and hear your results change right away. The sound quality is superb and clean, in both the clean and noisy setting. Replicating the tone of the 1567a tube mixer, Soundtoys states, "a beast on bass and drums." And we agree. Radiator (by Soundtoys)įor times you want analog tube warmth and edge on your sounds, the Radiator from Soundtoys is a fantastic choice. The RC-20 is a fantastic choice for anyone looking to add warmth and color to their mixes with a vast preset bank and incredible customization options.ĭownload here. Including a sound degrader, reverb, and interesting volume drops – emulating the wear and tear of recordings and playback on tape and recorders. The RC-20 Retro Color gives you all these functions from a super clean interface. It wobbles and flutters, is noisy, and features warm and delicious saturation when pushed beyond its limits. Want your music to sound truly vintage and retro? Take your music production paintbrush and check out the RC-20 Retro Color – it will not disappoint.Īs said before, there’s something special about the sound quality of old analog hardware. The Saturn 2 is a solid option with mind-blowing sound quality.ĭownload here. Modulate the dynamics, band levels, or tone control with simple drag-and-drop and create next-level distortions with ease. Saturn 2 also comes packed with other controls for creative modulation. Inspired by the vintage sound of tubes, tape, transformers, and guitar amps, the Saturn 2 offers a whole range of quality distortion models.Īnd thanks to its multi-band functionality, you can perfectly tune your saturation to all frequency spectrums of your sound. With top plugins for every important aspect of mixing, it’s no wonder their saturation Saturn 2 is that good. Saturn 2 (by Fabfilter)įabfilter does many things beautifully. When you want to make a statement, the punish button turns your saturation into a full-blown distortion, with beautiful and controlled screaming harmonics.ĭecapitator is top-of-the-line and a favorite by famous music producers all around the globe.ĭownload here. With five accurate models of famous analog hardware, use the Decapitator sparingly or take it to the extremes. The warm, fuzzy, and comforting quality of tubes, circuitry, and transistors getting pushed to the limits. Music producers and listener fans all love the sound of analog gear. One of them is the Decapitator from Soundtoys. When you want the true feel of analog hardware, a few plugins do it better than others. Let's begin with our first choice on the list - the Decapitator by Soundtoys. These saturators have the beautiful analog qualities you love – for the best and most lively mixing results. This article will give you eight tips for fantastic saturation plugins that take your sound from dull to incredible – with true-to-hardware emulation of vintage tape recorders and beyond. What are the best saturation VST plugins on the market right now?