Saturators: How Saturation Works and the Plugins We Use (2026)

We use saturation on almost every mix at Major Mixing. Rarely as an effect you can hear, mostly as weight, density and a way to make parts read on small speakers. This guide explains how saturation works, then lists the plugins we actually use, with current prices. Every plugin from our earlier version is still on sale. A few descriptions needed correcting, and one plugin name was wrong, so those are fixed below.

What is saturation in music?

Saturation started as a side effect of analog gear. Push a tape machine, a tube preamp or a transformer past its comfortable level and it doesn’t stop cleanly. It rounds the peaks off and adds new harmonics. Engineers liked what that did to drums, bass and vocals, and started doing it on purpose.

Digital systems behave differently. A fixed-point stage, such as your converter or a 24-bit file, simply cuts off anything above 0 dBFS. That is hard clipping, and it sounds harsh. Inside a modern DAW’s floating-point mix engine, levels above 0 dBFS aren’t clipped at all until they reach one of those fixed-point stages. So digital doesn’t saturate by itself. Saturation plugins model the gentle, level-dependent behaviour of analog circuits so you can add it where you want it.

Harmonic distortion

When an analog circuit is driven hard, it rounds off the peaks of the waveform. A rounded waveform contains new frequencies: harmonics, which are whole-number multiples of the original (fundamental) frequency. A 200 Hz note gains energy at 400, 600, 800 Hz and up. Higher harmonics are usually quieter, so the first few do most of the audible work.

Even-order harmonics

Even harmonics are the fundamental multiplied by 2, 4, 6 and so on: 400, 800 and 1,200 Hz for a 200 Hz note. The 2nd and 4th harmonics are the same note one and two octaves up. The 6th is two octaves plus a perfect fifth, which is still consonant with the original note. That’s why even-order saturation sounds smooth and full: it reinforces the note rather than adding new ones.

Odd-order harmonics

Odd harmonics are the fundamental multiplied by 3, 5, 7: 600, 1,000 and 1,400 Hz for a 200 Hz note. The 3rd harmonic is an octave plus a fifth, and the 5th is two octaves plus a major third. Together with the fundamental they outline a major chord. The 7th is close to a minor seventh, but noticeably flat of the tempered note. Higher odd harmonics drift further from the scale. That’s why odd-order saturation sounds edgier and more aggressive. A little gives bite and presence; a lot sounds like distortion.

Tube vs tape saturation

It’s a simplification, but a useful one. Single-ended tube stages, like many preamps, produce mostly 2nd-harmonic (even) distortion. Push-pull tube stages cancel much of the even content, so not all tube gear is “even”. Tape is dominated by the 3rd harmonic (odd), because its magnetic behaviour is symmetrical. On top of that, tape squashes transients, softens the top end at higher levels, and adds its own low-frequency “head bump”. Every real machine and circuit adds its own frequency response and quirks. That’s why particular units get modelled one by one.

How saturation plugins help a mix

• They raise perceived loudness and tame transient peaks without a limiter pumping.
• They add density and richness, so a part feels finished rather than thin.
• They glue tracks together on a bus.
• They help individual tracks cut through by adding upper harmonics.
• They make bass audible on phones: the harmonics imply a fundamental the speaker can’t play.

Saturation also adds level, so it flatters itself. Always compare with the plugin bypassed at matched loudness.

Saturation plugins we use, at a glance

Regular prices on the developers’ sites on 5 November 2026. Waves and Sonnox sell below list most of the year; on 5 November Waves plugins were $29.99–34.99 and Inflator $39.99. Wavesfactory shows prices in euros.

Our everyday saturators

These two are on most of our sessions, from single tracks to the mix bus and the master.

Sonnox Oxford Inflator

A waveshaper that adds perceived loudness and density without the pumping or peak-crushing of a limiter. It has very few controls: Effect for the amount and Curve for the character, plus input and output. It works on single tracks, buses and the master. That simplicity is why it is on so many sessions, ours included.

Price: $159.99 list ($39.99 in the sale running on 5 November). Native and AAX DSP.

FabFilter Saturn 2

The most versatile saturator we know. It offers tape, tube, amp, clipping and heavy distortion styles, and up to six bands, each with its own style and amount. It can also run in linear phase. You can put soft tape on the lows and add grit only to the mids, all in one instance. If you only buy one saturator, buy this one.

Price: $149.

Tape emulators

Tape emulations work as soft compressors as much as saturators. They round off transients, add mostly odd harmonics, and change the frequency response: a low-end bump, a softer top. That’s why heavy tape on the master bus can change the balance of a finished mix. If you want tape on your mix bus, put it there early and mix into it, instead of adding it at the end.

Waves Kramer Master Tape

A model of a classic studio tape machine. Its Flux control changes tape saturation, tape compression and harmonic distortion together. There are also controls for tape speed, bias, wow, flutter and hiss, plus a tape delay of up to 500 ms. It’s great on kick, snare, bass and piano, and the delay is a quick way to widen a part.

Price: $149 list ($29.99 on 5 November).

UAD Studer A800

A model of the Studer A800 multitrack machine. Input and output set how hard you hit the tape, from a little warmth to obvious saturation. The Tape control offers four popular magnetic tape formulas. It now runs natively (UADx) as well as on UAD hardware, with one purchase covering both.

Price: $199.

Waves Abbey Road J37 Tape

A model of the four-track machine used at Abbey Road in the 1960s. It offers three EMI tape formulas (888, 811 and 815), 15 or 7.5 ips speeds, and control over bias, hiss, wow and flutter. It also has three tape delay types: slapback, feedback and ping-pong.

Price: $149 list ($34.99 on 5 November).

Wavesfactory Cassette

Not a studio machine but a cassette deck: lo-fi, wobbly and coloured. It offers four cassette types (Type I ferric, Type II chrome, Type III ferro-chrome and Type IV metal). Every artefact can be dialled from zero to 100%, so it goes from barely there to obviously broken. Our earlier text also mentioned “different players”, which the plugin doesn’t offer. It’s for character, not glue.

Price: €59. Version 1.0.7.

Saturators for particular jobs

Waves Abbey Road Saturator

Based on gear from Abbey Road: the tube sound of the EMI REDD console, the solid-state tone of the EMI TG12345, and the EMI TG12321 compander. We reach for it to add high-frequency detail. A Mix/Dry control blends the saturated and original signal, so you can use it in parallel without a send.

Price: $149 list ($29.99 on 5 November).

Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

A model of the mid-1970s, tube-powered Aphex Aural Exciter. It generates new high-frequency content, so it can bring back brightness that was never recorded, and it gets harsh quickly if you push it. Its MODE selector has four positions, one of which, AX, is designed for a send/return setup. Here’s how we use it on a dark recording, say hi-hats with nothing above 5 kHz. We put it in AX mode on a parallel channel, drive it hard, high-pass everything below 5 kHz, and blend that new top end back in under control.

Price: $149 list ($29.99 on 5 November).

Waves Berzerk Distortion

Heavy distortion with ten distortion shapes, feedback, dynamics and mid/side processing. It’s an effect, not a mix tool. We use it only when the song’s style asks for obvious, aggressive distortion.

Price: $99 list ($29.99 on 5 November).

Console and channel-strip saturation

These add subtle colour across many tracks rather than an obvious effect on one:

• Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer: models of three consoles from the rooms of Spike Stent, Mike Hedges and Yoad Nevo, used channel by channel and on the bus ($149 list).
• Slate Digital Virtual Console Collection: Virtual Channel and Virtual Mixbuss with six console models. $99 to buy outright, or included in Slate’s Complete Access subscription.
• UAD Manley VOXBOX Channel Strip: a Class-A tube mic preamp with EQ, compressor and de-esser ($149). Our earlier list called it a “Manley Tube Preamp”, but UAD doesn’t sell a plugin under that name. VOXBOX is the one we meant.
• UAD API Vision Channel Strip Collection: API 212L preamp, 550L EQ, 235L gate and 225L compressor ($149).

Free saturation plugins worth having

We confirmed on each developer’s page on 5 November 2026 that these three are still free:

• Softube Saturation Knob: one knob and a choice of where the saturation focuses. macOS and Windows; needs Softube and iLok accounts.
• Klanghelm IVGI (version 2.5.0): subtle to heavy analog-style drive, gentle enough to put on every channel. Windows and macOS.
• Airwindows ToTape9 (March 2026): a tape emulation under the open-source MIT licence, for Mac, Windows and Linux.

They won’t replace Saturn 2’s flexibility, but they are real tools, not demos. If you are building a free chain, see also our free vocal plugins list.

Use saturation on purpose

We never use all of these in one mix. Most mixes need two or three: one flexible plugin like Saturn 2, one tape emulation, and an exciter or the Abbey Road Saturator if a part needs it. Decide what you want before you reach for the drive knob. Ask whether you need more weight, more presence, softer transients or more loudness, and bypass often at matched level. Related reading: the best multiband compressor plugins, analogue mastering: do you really need it? and how loud your master should be.

When the track is ready for the final stage, our engineers can mix and master it for you from $133 per song, or mix it from $113, 2–3 days per song, 6 revision rounds included. Already mixed? Mastering is $50 per song.