We recently let our redesigned ToneKnob Saturator into the hands of our fans. The plugin is receiving praise and love all around, and in this blog, we would like to share more about how it was made, what inspired us to bring it to you, and might be next in the ToneKnob product line.
What Does It Offer?
ToneKnob Saturator is the first plugin in our revamped and completely redesigned one-knob series. Not only does it have a new design, but there has also been a significant shift in sound. Although it is very simple to operate—just turn the knob until you’re satisfied—there’s a lot happening inside the saturator itself. We’ve drawn on over 25 years of experience in software and hardware development. We’ve replicated the most iconic studio saturators and processors, which are massively sought after for their specific color (whether it’s the U78 Klangfilm or the 1A Pultec) and used on countless global hits. We’ve creatively combined and set their harmonic tube distortion colors so that with a single knob, you can achieve anything from subtle sound saturation to really wild distortion, which can create interesting sound effects, for example (but not only) on drums.
How and When to Use ToneKnob Saturator?
Although it’s a challenging discipline and everyone’s ears are very individual, we’ve tried to tune ToneKnob Saturator optimally for wide and essentially unlimited use with the help of our sound engineers.
Vocals: Is the vocal in your mix lackluster, missing punch, sharpness, or interesting color? Insert our Saturator into the effects chain of the vocal track right after equalization and dynamic processing, but before spatial and modulation effects, and turn the knob until you’re satisfied. Hear that? Pretty awesome, huh?
Guitars: Every guitarist knows how hard it is to capture a guitar signal that sounds pleasing, like we’re used to hearing on stage or in the rehearsal room. Usually, a thin, bland signal without character gets recorded. Guitars love saturation, and perhaps guitarists will appreciate our saturator the most. Try knob positions from 25 to 50%, I think you’ll like it.
Bass Guitar: This might be new or even surprising for many of you because many bassists don’t use it unless it’s for harder styles. Usually, only equalization is addressed, but it’s played clean. However, saturation is what fundamentally helps your bass cut through the mix, highlight undefined tones, and beautifully connect (but not glue and drown) with the kick drum. Regardless of the genre. Tasteful saturation on bass sounds great in rock, pop, jazz, or romantic ballads. Try listening to the bass sound of global hits or download their multitrack – you’ll notice that the sound is usually surprisingly sharp and saturated. What might sound strange in solo sound, sounds great in contrast with the whole band mix.
Drums: Of course, saturation shouldn’t be missing here either. Although it’s more cautiously dosed here. But try our saturator on the drum group track with the whole mix. Turn the knob and listen to how the drums gain space, clarity, and punch. How the snare starts to cut through the mix, the overheads gain brilliance and space. But of course, you can overdo the saturation and achieve interesting sound effects for more experimental styles.
… and we could go on. Try gentle saturation on brass, harp, or barrel organ 🙂 In a reasonable setting, you’ll always get something extra and a presence that helps the instrument shine.
Why Do We Enjoy It So Much? (And why you will, too)
What we enjoy about the concept of a one-knob plugin is that it forces us, or rather allows us, to work only with our ears. We don’t have to look for setting combinations, monitor indicators and parameters, and hunt for the right ratios. We simply listen to the sound, and only our ear and musical sense or taste tell us when it’s right and when it does exactly what we want. We can remain more creative and less concerned with technicalities.
What’s Next?
Suppose you enjoy this concept of a simple plugin with sophisticated sound as much as we do. In that case, you can look forward to more additions and effects in the ToneKnob series soon, where we aim to bring the most commonly used studio effects and processors in a simple package. But you can also look forward to unusual and interesting effects.
