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The Best Signal Warming Saturator Plugins To Mix with by Waves

Nov 10, 2024

Discover a range of subtle signal shapers, preamps and tape distortion plugins perfect for adding essential warmth to your tracks and mixes.

The Best Signal Warming Saturator Plugins To Mix with by Waves

Blink and you’ll miss it – saturation, especially when used sparingly, is one of those effects that’s hard to hear until it’s been removed. It’s one of the secrets pro engineers use to warm up sounds before considering an EQ or compressor.

At Waves, we’ve created a lot of saturation and distortion plugins over the years with plenty that walk the line between the two. We’ve got another blog round-up planned for the future that will list the plugins that fit into the straight-up distortion category, but in this article we’re highlighting some of the best ways to gets saturation and signal-warming tones from the Waves collection – and it’s not just from the straight-up saturation plugins, as you’ll find out when we dig deeper.

Saturation vs Distortion: What’s the Difference?

You’d be forgiven for not knowing the difference between these two production terms. After all, there’s a lot of overlap between them, and they’ve not always been used with much specificity.

Technically speaking, distortion is the act of changing a signal in any way. If it enters a processor in one state and leaves it in another state, a scientist or mathematician might say the signal has been distorted – and that’s whether it’s been EQed, delayed, chorus has been added – whatever. Distortion wasn’t the best description for a specific effect, then. Add to that the fact that we have other words associated: fuzz, drive and overdrive, and so on.

The convention these days is that the word “Saturation” refers to more subtle distortion – the kind of analog warmth that’s hard to notice on its own, but it would be clear when it gets taken away. The subtle analog grit and drive caused by tubes, transformers and so on would count as saturation when done to add coloration.

On the other hand, “Distortion” conjures up a more heavy-handed treatment of a sound. Guitar pedals, screamers, classic fuzz and distortion pedals, and anything you’d find all over a guitar solo would all count as ‘distortion’.

In this article, we’re sticking with subtlety and rounding up the best Waves plugins for saturation.

Magma Tube Channel Strip

Magma Channel Plugin

What is it?

You’ve seen plenty of analog-modeled plugins before – including many from us – but Magma Tube Channel Strip is a ‘fantasy analog’ processor that’s inspired by but not directly modeled from a specific vintage hardware device. Being a channel strip, it offers unique analog-style compression and EQ as well as tube-style drive.

What’s so Good About Magma Tube Channel Strip?

When we created ‘the Magma sound’, we didn’t need to compromise on tone to meet an ideal from the past – we were able to create our own dream analogue processor that could have been. Imagine a Who’s Who of classic tasty analogue drive flavors, but all amalgamated into one plugin that isn’t afraid to improve the recipe.

It’s the sound that counts with Magma Tube Channel Strip. Discovering a new mojo with saturation, EQ, expansion and compression is a unique way of producing, letting you feel like you’re pioneering with a new piece of analog circuitry that will one day become a legend.

Where to Try or Buy Magma Tube Channel Strip

You can get Magma Tube Channel Strip here at Waves.

NLS Non-Linear Summer

Waves NLS

What is it?

If you thought that Winter was finally over, think again. This is a plugin that replicates three analog mixing consoles (by three big names you’ll definitely know), emulating their coloration of the signal and the summing of multiple channels.

What’s so Good About NLS Non-Linear Summer?

NLS doesn’t just emulate 32 channels from three real analog consoles, it goes further by emulating their summing and letting you mix and match which consoles are being used for each track and which for the buss. With Buss and Channel versions of the plugin, you get to control individual channels or an entire setup through a virtual summing buss. And at every stage, there’s Drive controls to emulate the unique type of saturation imparted by each channel.

Where to Try or Buy NLS Non-Linear Summer

Head to the Non-Linear Summer page to trial or purchase it for yourself.

SSL EV2 Channel

SSL EV2

What is it?

EV2 Channel is a channel strip plugin, but within you’ll find a very capable distortion with two flavors that aren’t to be missed.

What’s so Good About SSL EV2 Channel?

At the start of SSL EV2 Channel’s signal flow you find Mic and Line knobs, each of which gives you a different type of preamp saturation. Both of these can be used in conjunction, so you can mix up your perfect saturation potion.

The Mic preamp gives a very obvious addition of harmonic distortion, up to 50dB, while the Line preamp gives a much subtler coloration up to 20dB. The Analog button needs to be on, otherwise these two will just act as Gain controls with no distortion. Also note that distortion from these controls is added both at the input and output stages of the signal chain.

Where to Try or Buy SSL EV2 Channel

Go and take a closer look at SSL EV2 Channel on its Waves page.

BB Tubes

Magma BB Tubes

What is it?

Two types of distortion ranging from subtle saturation (Beauty) to all-out trashy (Beast).

What’s so Good About BB Tubes?

Using our Magma modeling methods, BB Tubes is a ‘dream tube distortion’ that’s not based on a real classic or vintage hardware device, but rather made from scratch as a perfect analog character device that never was.

Tube distortion is something of a gold standard in production, so with two types, you’ve got a great source of color to get the fundamental tone and character right. Add to this, the Pre and Post Tone controls, Bass Relief to help you avoid saturating low frequencies, and an optional Transformer to get an extra bump. There’s plenty going on in this small package to keep it versatile on many a channel in a mix.

Where to Try or Buy BB Tubes

You can get your own copy of BB Tubes at the BB Tubes product page.

Cobalt Saphira

Cobalt Saphire

What is it?

A distortion plugin that blends odd and even harmonics for balanced warmth and edge.

What’s so Good About Cobalt Saphira?

As is even made clear in Cobalt Saphira’s interface, odd harmonics add warmth and even harmonics add edge. That’s a rule of thumb, but it bears out in this plugin, which lets you control both types independently. You can use the Harmonic Modes switches to change the structure of the harmonics for different purposes (A, B and D for natural; C for punch; E, F and G for Dirt.)

Where to Try or Buy Cobalt Saphira

Get closer to Cobalt Saphira at its page on Waves.

Waves Tape plugins – J37 & Kramer

Abbey Road Tape and Kramer Tape Plugins by Waves

What are they?

 J37 Tape and Kramer Master Tape are two ways to relive the subtle warmth and analog saturation of recording to tape. By the way, check out this article for our comparison of the two tape emulators.

What’s so Good About J37 Tape and Kramer Master Tape?

These plugins both aim to bring the warmth and organic sound of recording to tape right back to your DAW. As such, they’re both full of warm, pleasing saturation that doesn’t bite enough to hurt your signal – just enough to nibble your fancy.

Both can be driven a little higher than ‘necessary’ to introduce more saturation, or can be run clean to keep things even subtler.

Where to Try or Buy J37 Tape and Kramer Master Tape

You can get both J37 Tape and Kramer Master Tape at their respective pages here at Waves.

Abbey Road Saturator

Abbey Road Saturator

What is it?

A mashup of venerable timepiece distorting circuits, all in a modern package.

What’s so Good About Abbey Road Saturator?

Imagine going through Abbey Road Studios and picking out everything that sounds great when pushed harder than it should be. Then put those circuits into one box and add some easy levers, knobs and dials (and don’t forget handles) to get a perfect marriage between the technology of the past and the opportunities of today.

Abbey Road Saturator offers tube distortion alongside solid-state distortion, and throws in the EMI TG12321 Compander, which was misused as an exciter, plus analog EQ and some mod cons like mid/side.

Where to Try or Buy Abbey Road Saturator

You can get your hands on Abbey Road Saturator on its product page.

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