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Brighten Your Instruments With a Saturator Plugin

Last Edited: Nov 29, 2023

There's no denying that the saturation effect can potentially turn just about any harsh-sounding audio material into something warm and pleasant. It has been used for decades in music production as a hardware effect, but in the past decade, it became easily obtainable as a software effect version. Check out the following tutorial and learn how to produce powerful instruments with the help of a saturator plugin!  

Bx_saturator

Several different plugin companies made various emulations of the famous saturation hardware effects. Nonetheless, one caught my attention because of its distinct sound and friendly interface. Bx_saturator V2 by Brainworx is an excellent tool that you can use to bring out quiet signals and complex mixes in a natural way without using compression. Additionally, you can brighten elements in your mix by purposely using state-of-the-art controlled distortion. The Bx_saturator is developed for mixing, mastering, and sound designing and offers b/S and multiband layouts. In the following tutorial, I will demonstrate some practical examples of this plugin's superior capabilities. But first, let me give you an insight into Bx_saturator's advanced built-in technology, such as the "True Split "and "XL "features.  

 

X-Over

In the center of the plugin's interface, we can see the "X-Over" section. This section is in charge of Brainworx's patented "True Split "crossover technology that ensures that Mid and Side channels are perfectly in phase all the time.  

XL

With the "XL "feature, you can create additional harmonics in order to balance the dynamics of the signal without using compression.  

Master Drive

The master drive knob offers distortion, which ranges from subtle to heavy. The extra boost that affects the distortion can be achieved by increasing the section again in the pre-made, while in post mode, it can be used to balance the volume of the 4fourindividual sections (Lo Mid, Hi Mid, Side Lo, Mid Lo).  

Mono Maker

Furthermore, with the "Mono Maker, "you can mix your low end to mono while leaving the rest of your mix stereo. Adding a lot of distortion can increase the volume of your mix, so make sure to monitor the meters in the upper right section. It is possible to adjust the output gain for both mono and stereo signals individually, or you can link the two. Finally, the output gain of the S channel even lets you adjust the stereo width.  

Practical Examples

After introducing you to the essential functions of this awesome plugin, let me demonstrate how it performs on drums, synth bass, and guitar.  

 

Firstly, listen to my drums without and with the plugin processing.  


~Drums - unprocessed


~Drums with Bx_saturator  

Then, let's hear the analog synth bass gain without and then with the Bx_saturator processing.  

 
~Synth Bass - unprocessed


~Synth Bass with Bx_saturator  

For the end, let's check out the short guitar riff.   

~Guitar - unprocessed


~Guitar with Bx_saturator  

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