Plugin tape saturators seek to emulate the effect that occurs when the input voltage of an analog tape machine exceeds the limit of a roll of tape’s ability to record it.

A saturator is an audio effect that applies non-linear compression and distortion to its input audio signal. Saturation can occur through various different means, but it's common for music producers to use tape saturators to apply saturation to their songs.

The following video by Short and Sweet Tutorials does a great job of quickly explaining the concept of tape saturation.

Other forms of saturation include tube saturation, which emulates the sound of audio driven through tube amps, and transistor saturation, which mimics the sound of audio driven through transistor-based circuits.

There are multiple different ways you can use saturation, regardless of the type of saturation you choose. Some forms of saturation may be more suitable for specific sound sources than others, so experiment.

1. Make Your Basslines More Audible

Many basslines that have been synthesized are built off of a sine wave. While this creates low-end that is big, full, and round, your bassline may lack upper harmonic content.

The reason upper harmonics are important is that they can be heard on smaller playback devices like cell phones and laptops. Your brain is capable of using these upper harmonics to create a phantom fundamental frequency that may not be audible on the speakers you're listening to.

Soundtoys’ Decapitator plugin is my go-to choice for adding upper harmonics to basslines. It allows you to apply 5 different styles of processing, each with its unique character. The iconic “Punish” button will enable you to completely mangle your basslines, which is a fun additional feature.

Learn more about creating mixes that sound good on a variety of playback systems by reading “How to Make Your Mixes Translate to Consumer Speakers.”



2. Make Your Drums More Aggressive

Saturation can be applied to individual drums, or drum busses, to make them sound more aggressive. The distortion a saturator applies can make your drums sound dirtier, and grittier, while the compression it applies can tame transient material.

One of the exciting side effects of applying saturation to elements in your mix is that it can increase perceived loudness without increasing signal level.

Broadband limiters and many other threshold-dependent devices don’t take the entire frequency response of their input signal into account when they apply processing. All they care about is how much the input signal level is exceeding the threshold level. Keep in mind that the input signal level is much different than perceived loudness.

Low-end frequencies are usually what trigger threshold-dependent devices first, which means you can add upper harmonic frequency content to your drums without drastically affecting their signal level.

The nail in the coffin is that even if the distortion applied by the saturator you use slightly increases the signal level of your drums, the compression it applies will bring the signal level back down.

A plugin like Reviver by Fielding DSP creates harmonic distortion and gives you full control of overtone generation and volume. It allows you to add second-order harmonics, which tend to sound “warm” and “smooth,” as well as third-order harmonics, which can add “punch,” “fatness,” and “detail” to your drums.

Fielding DSP's Reviver

Learn more about making your music loud by reading “How to Make Your Music Loud.”



3. Thicken Specific Frequency Ranges

A multiband saturator, like FabFilter’s Saturn, is capable of selectively applying saturation to different frequency bands. You’re able to thicken frequency ranges that you want to emphasize and draw more attention to.

FabFilter's Saturn

Let’s assume you’re working with stems a producer has sent you and you realize the synth group feels “thin” in the midrange. You can fix this problem by applying Saturn to the synth group, creating a new band that targets the 1,000-5,000 Hz range, and then turning up the drive amount. Experiment with Saturn's different saturation algorithms to find the one that suits the source material best.