Way early in Everything Recording’s infancy, we reviewed Saturn and loved it. Now the insanely diverse distortion box is back with more modes as FabFilter releases Saturn 2
FabFilter is proud to announce immediate availability of FabFilter Saturn 2, a major update to their award-winning multiband distortion and saturation plug-in. Saturn 2 sees a top-to-bottom redesign of the Saturn interface for even greater ease of use and visualization, as well as a host of new features and improvements, including 12 new distortion styles, a radically overhauled and expanded modulation system, enhanced envelopes, linear phase processing, and a pristine new ‘Superb’ High Quality mode.
Beautiful new interface with modulation visualization
Saturn 2 looks better and flows faster than ever. The darker color scheme makes the plug-in easier to look at for extended sessions, and four interface size options and a stunning full-screen mode enable adaptation to any workspace. Modulation is now comprehensively visualized at both source and target, too, with color-coded collars and tracks on knobs and sliders animating in response to modulation input, the source flow area giving an eye-catching overview of all mod signals, and indicators on controls and bands showing which parameters are being modulated at a glance.
More distortion types
Saturn 2 almost doubles the number of distortion styles on board from 16 to 28. ‘Subtle’ versions of the Tape, Tube, and Saturation styles provide low-intensity warming, while four new British (Rock, Pop) and American (Tweed, Plexi) Amp styles perfectly model well-known guitar amplifiers, three Transformer styles (Subtle, Gentle, Warm) open up abrasive new possibilities, and the Foldback and Breakdown FX styles reshape and mutate sounds beyond recognition, the latter combining down-pitching with heavy distortion.
Big modulation changes
With virtually no limit placed on the combination of 16-step XLFOs, Envelope Generators, Envelope Followers, XY Controllers, and MIDI sources that can be used in a preset, Saturn has always been serious about creative modulation, and Saturn 2 takes the whole system to the next level. Curve the Envelope Generator’s Attack, Decay, and Release stages for a smoother or more aggressive response, activate the Envelope Follower’s new Transient detection mode to tightly track drums and percussion, and route discrete band inputs to both Envelope sources as triggering signals — pulverize hi-hats to the rhythm of the kick drum, for example. The XY Controller’s new Slider mode, meanwhile, slims it down to vertical-only operation, and the XLFO benefits from legato MIDI triggering and targeting of the Frequency Offset and Balance parameters for modulation. And with custom naming of individual mod sources now possible, users can customize their Saturn 2 presets for effortless navigation.
Mastering grade saturation
The new ‘Subtle’ saturation types make Saturn 2 the mastering engineer’s secret weapon, bringing enlivening presence and fizz to final mixes. In order to meet the exacting demands of such mission- critical application, the band crossovers now offer a choice of 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 dB/octave roll-off slopes, the new ‘Superb’ High Quality mode switches the plug-in to 32x oversampling for almost total elimination of aliasing, and the Linear Phase option ensures maximum coherence for the crossovers and High Quality modes.
Key features:
28 diverse distortion styles, from warming tube and tape saturation to screaming American and British guitar amps, Transformers, bit crushing, smearing, rectification, and more
Up to six separate processing bands, with variable crossover slopes: 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 dB/octaveIndependent Drive, Mix, Feedback, Dynamics, Tone, and Level controls for every band
Two High Quality modes for 8x and 32x oversampling
Regular stereo and mid/side processing
Intuitive interactive multiband display
Powerful, flexible modulation system: drag and drop as many 16-step XLFOs, XY Controllers, Envelope Generators, Envelope Followers, Sliders, and MIDI Sources as required
Full visual feedback of modulation via parameter animation and ‘source flow’
Linear phase mode for mastering applications
Four interface size options and full-screen mode
Carefully curated factory preset library for amp modeling, coloration, lo-fi degradation, and FX
All the usual FabFilter features users have come to expect: perfectly fine-tuned knobs and controllers, interactive MIDI Learn, undo/redo and A/B switch, Smart Parameter Interpolation for smooth parameter transitions, an extensive help file with interactive help hints, sample accurate automation, SSE optimization, and more
FabFilter Saturn 2 is now available for EUR 129, USD 154 or GBP 114, supporting both Windows and macOS in VST and VST 3, Audio Units, AAX, and AudioSuite plug-in formats.
Existing FabFilter customers can purchase or upgrade to FabFilter Saturn 2 with very attractive discounts by logging into their online user account: www.fabfilter.com/myaccount
System requirements are either Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP (32-bit and 64-bit) and a VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools, or Mac OS X 10.8 or higher (64-bit only) with Intel processor, and an Audio Units host, VST 2/3 host, or Pro Tools.
To make self-quarantine just a little bit easier during the COVID-19 pandemic, FabFilter offers free 30-day evaluation extensions for all their plug-ins, including Saturn 2.
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