So as you can see, one of the things we can accomplish with saturation is making sounds more harmonically dense and complex, and different saturators add harmonics differently. So, again, if we use a fundamental of 100, the odd harmonics will occur at 300, 500, 700, etc.Ī 100 Hz sine tone with even more harmonics added via The Decapitator on ‘Style P’. Odd harmonics would be the fundamental multiplied by odd numbers. So if the fundamental occurs at 100, the harmonics would take place at 200, 400, 600, and so on. Even harmonics would be even numbered multiples of the fundamental frequency. As I said, saturation adds overtones to sounds, and some saturators allow you to specify which harmonic order is added. Harmonics are overtones that are multiples of the fundamental frequency. Overtones are frequencies above the fundamental frequency of a sound. Part of the intrigue of saturation is that it can add overtones to a signal, making a sound more complex and rich. Before we dive into a roundup of my favorite saturation plugins, let’s take a look at how saturation adds harmonics to material. Saturation comes in many, many varieties - it can be subtle or extreme, it can be silky or massive, it can be brash or muffled. The precision and flexibility of digital audio combined with the sonic character and tactile qualities of analog equipment is why I have moved to a hybrid setup. The fact that we can combine the analog and digital worlds is something worth celebrating. From an engineering perspective, while it’s undeniably nice to not be bound by the cost, size and slower workflow of analog tape, there is something that I find somewhat flat and uninspiring about making music strictly inside the box. The frequency response, the noise and, yes, the sound of saturation became something that we found familiar, even comforting. It is my theory, however, that because every single popular music release was created using a strictly analog production process up until 1979’s Bop Till You Drop by Ry Cooder (which was recorded on a 32-track digital machine by 3M) humanity became accustomed to the sound of that strictly analog process. Digital audio is an accurate capture method you get what you put into it. Let me clarify: if you use a high-quality microphone to record a compelling performance played on a well-built instrument in a beautiful-sounding space, then digital audio is fantastic. It’s clear, colorless and honest-sounding. It’s certainly not bad, it’s just a bit sterile. For all that is wonderful about working with modern digital audio, it sounds kind of…boring. It grants us nearly limitless tracks, extreme portability, practically noiseless recording, lightning-fast recall and so many other benefits that the analog realm can’t offer. While this sounds somewhat reckless or even dangerous, interesting sonic things can happen by pushing tape, tubes, transistors and circuits to (and past) their limits.ĭigital audio is unquestionably brilliant. To “saturate” analog equipment means to feed more signal into them than they were designed to handle. Saturation is one of the most versatile (and fun) tools that we as engineers have to add character and color to tracks.
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