Saturator: judge new harmonics at a similar loudness

Make a fairer comparison first

Play the original eight-second synthesized bass below. It contains a fundamental, a quieter second harmonic and uneven note accents, not a sampled instrument. Analog Clip starts at Drive +12 dB, Output −9 dB, Post Clip Off and Dry/Wet 100%. The output cut is a practical starting point, not automatic gain compensation or a verified loudness match.

Compare Dry/Wet at 0% and 100%. Adjust Output while fully wet until the processed and original phrases feel similarly loud, then compare again. Follow the pitch of the quieter notes and the upper buzz of the accents. If the only apparent improvement disappears when the levels are close, the treatment may have supplied level rather than useful definition.

Now lower Drive to +3 dB and repeat, readjusting Output. Drive changes how the signal encounters the nonlinear response. Output follows that response and only changes its level. Their settings need not be equal and opposite: nonlinear processing changes peaks and average energy differently. There is no built-in loudness-matching promise here.

Change the curve, keep the question

Compare Analog Clip, Soft Sine and Digital Clip at a moderate Drive. Ask which keeps the bass note clear without turning every accent into an abrasive edge. These labels select distinct processing models. “Analog” in a menu is not proof of a particular circuit, and a harder-sounding setting is not automatically more useful. Recheck Output after each change.

If the quiet notes gain welcome definition but the accents become too rough, lower Drive or reduce Dry/Wet. A partial blend keeps some original envelope beside the saturated signal. It is not equivalent to lowering Drive, because the wet part remains processed at its existing setting. Listen for whether the fundamental stays solid as you blend.

Threshold is not a universal saturation amount

Threshold is intended for the Bass Shaper behaviour, although its knob remains visible for other curves. Select Bass Shaper and compare −30 dB with −10 dB while holding Drive steady. Attend to the balance between low-note body and added edge, then match Output again. Do not expect the same threshold experiment to reshape Analog Clip. Its presence in a saved starting point does not make it active for every type.

Post Clip offers Off, Soft Clip and Hard Clip. Begin with Off so the curve comparison has fewer moving parts. Then compare Soft Clip at a fixed Drive if you want another change in the peaks. This stage is part of the processing model, not a separate mastering limiter or a guarantee against overload elsewhere in a project. Back off if the attack becomes less useful.

A chord exposes the cost of extra complexity

The second source is an original eight-second synthesized chord with several notes, harmonics and slight detuning. Sinoid Fold, Drive +9 dB, Output −12 dB and a 50% wet blend form a deliberately colourful contrast. It needs no extra instrument or effect. Compare Drive near 0 dB with +9 dB while following the separate pitches inside the chord.

Folding is not simply a stronger version of gentle clipping. A complex input can become busy as its components interact nonlinearly. If the chord turns into an indistinct bright mass, lower Drive or the wet blend. A texture that works for a single bass note may be too crowded for sustained harmony.

The current device keeps Color, Pre DC Filter and Waveshaper sub-parameters fixed rather than exposing them as working controls. Public Saturator retains its learned models but uses a short, original smoothing filter ahead of them, not the captured input-filter responses retained for private reference. Its timbre therefore differs from that reference.

The processed path still adds about 21.3 ms of fixed delay; the internal dry signal is delayed to align the blend. This alignment does not establish exact external-device fidelity. Judge the available sound at a comparable level and in its musical role.