In fact, it’s the same information displayed with greater accuracy. At first glance, it might seem that Saturn 2 is displaying less information. In the comparison above, Saturn 1 and Saturn 2 are showing the frequency breakdown of the same test tone. Is there a practical value to this beyond making Saturn look more like other FabFilter plugins? The representation of the spectral display has changed from a classic spectrum-analyzer segmented style to a graphical format more consistent with most other spectral representations.
#Fabfilter saturn review plus#
Most of those missing controls now reside in a normally-hidden popup window so you don’t have to look at them until you need to.Ĭlick in the lower-right corner of the main screen to pop up a new window that consolidates six functions (input and output levels and pan, L/R or M/S and mix slider) plus a new one (feedback). In fact, there are new features down there now, such as options for linear-phase and a new oversampling multiplier. What happened to the Mid/Side selection? Where’s the mix knob? Relax, nothing’s been lost. The new default window size falls somewhere between the old normal and wide settings.Īlso note that there are fewer options along the bottom. Previously, there had been just two options: normal and wide.
#Fabfilter saturn review full#
There are now five UI sizes: small (default), medium, large, extra-large and full screen. The first thing you’ll notice is the new darker, less-red color scheme that is, to me anyway, easier on the eyes. The overall look is a bit less busy, even though there is actually more information conveyed there than before. The main visible differences are in the modulation section and the option menus along the bottom of the display. Most of the major UI elements remain unchanged, so users of Saturn 1 won’t feel disoriented when they first see Saturn 2. FabFilter’s plugins have a well-deserved reputation for clean, ergonomic user interfaces, so naturally many of Saturn 2’s visual changes are dedicated to de-cluttering, better visualizations, and general ease-of-use. Many of Saturn 2’s improvements are subtleties that you may fully appreciate only after using it for a while. Most notably, sixteen new distortion algorithms have been added, including four new amp sims and an entirely new Transformer category.īut that’s just the most obvious enhancement. The new version retains everything that was great about Saturn, while extending nearly every feature to make it even more versatile. If you’re one of them, then trust me, it’s worth the trouble to investigate. It has turned out to be pretty useful, even if many users still find the concept confusing and have never dived deeply into it. Before Saturn came along in 2012, modulating distortion wasn’t something most of us even realized we were missing. I would argue, however, that it’s the modulation features that truly distinguish Saturn from other distortion plugins. This lets you target specific elements within a track, such as a kick drum beater or the high-frequency air of a vocal. Of these, the one that grabs most people’s attention is being able to split the signal into multiple frequency bands and apply separate effects to each of them. If you’re a bit more adventurous, try it on a full mix, drum bus or even a reverb return.Ī few key features distinguish Saturn from other distortion plugins, namely multi-band operation, extensive modulation options, and a built-in dynamics processor. I’ve used it on just about everything: acoustic guitars, bass, vocals, drums and percussion (especially shakers). In the more subtle modes, it’s not so much a special effect as it is a spice for mixers and producers to add flavor after tracking. Aside from the weird stuff, this plugin’s specialty is roughing up tracks in a natural-sounding, subtle way that imbues them with more texture and body. In version 1 we got tape, tube and amp types of distortion, plus a category that I can only describe as “weird”. That description, though accurate, sells this wonderful tool short because Saturn encompasses many flavors of distortion in an easy-to-use (and deep, if you want to go deep) tool. However, just in case you don’t know about Saturn, here’s the short version: it’s a distortion effect. I’m guessing most readers of this piece are already familiar with FabFilter’s Saturn, and are here just to see what’s new with version 2.
Let’s see what’s new in Saturn version 2 from FabFilter.
The world’s most natural-sounding distortion plugin just got a facelift and new features.
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