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bx_saturator V2
The bx_saturator V2 is an M/S & multi-band saturation tool which can be used for
mastering, mixing and sound design. rom eas! glue to hea"! crunch, !ou choose.
The V2 u#date o$ers im#ro"ed crosso"er technolog! and less aliasing.
The bx_saturator V2 #lug-in o$ers a warm and subtle distortion which can be a#-
#lied to indi"idual signals of a mix or e"en the stereo master channel using our new
True-Split crossover technology that ensures Mid & Side channels are #erfectl! in
#hase.
The bx_saturator V2 belongs to the %rainworx &oc'(n(&oll line of creati"e #lug-ins.
Technical excellence for the creati"e musician and engineer. )lthough we o$er a
mono "ersion of the #lug-in, we consider the stereo M/S #lug-in to be the main
"ersion, as it enables !ou to thic'en and boost an! stereo signal, bus or mix in a
more nuanced wa! than e"er.
*ncrease the #ercei"ed "olume of mixes without cli##ing them, or bring out deli cate
signals li'e acoustic guitars and #ercussion in full mixes without increasing their
actual le"el or e+-ing them in a harsh and o$ensi"e wa!. ,istort "ocals in full mixes
without loosing the #unch of !our drums or the clarit! of !our 'e!board sounds and
stereo guitars. atten and distort Mid and Side signals inde#endentl! - and
se#aratel! for high and low fre+uencies.
Natural sound in your face.
-e belie"e that the #lug-in la!out almost s#ea's for itself, so we ha"e 'e#t this
manual as short as #ossible. .lease read it though. /nderstanding the main fea-
tures will hel# !ou get the best out of it.
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Brainworx toolbar
The to# toolbar will enable !ou to b!#ass the #lug-in. 12 ste#s of /ndo / &edo gi"e
!ou the freedom to ex#eriment without losing !our initial ideas. 2 settings can be
used to store and recall momentar! sna#shots that can also be automated. 3ou can
4o#! / .aste settings as ex#ected and reset indi"idual settings as well.
ain panel
56 )cti"e will engage or disengage all 2 56 units in the bx_saturator V2 72 in the
mono "ersion8. Mono-Ma'er and 9ut#ut le"els will not be b!#assed here, so this is
not a global b!#ass switch. 3ou can also b!#ass single 56 units using their res#ec-
ti"e switches 7see below8. )uto Solo will onl! ma'e isolated elements of !our signal
audible as long as !ou clic' & hold certain 'nobs & controls. This wa! it might be
easier to set the distortion of an! of the 2 56 units.
Master 56 and Master ,ri"e control the o"erall 56 and ,ri"e sound 7see below8, and
will boost or attenuate all 2 indi"idual controls of the 2 56 units at the same time
while retaining their ratios. The Master controls will 'ee# an! di$erence between
indi"idual settings !ou ma! ha"e dialed in through the 2 inde#endent 56 units.
The Mid / Side meter will indicate if !ou are changing the ratio between the Mid or
the Side channels. 3ou can correct an! changes in le"el with the M & S out#ut gain
controls 7see below8. The 9ut#ut meter and 9"er 6:, will let !ou monitor the
stereo out#ut and an! cli##ing that ma! occur.
!" units
:ach of the 2 56 units can be ad;usted indi"iduall! with the 56 'nob, which is the
main le"el of distortion for that channel. 6oo' at it as a mix control between !our
original signal and the distorted audio. The ,ri"e control determines the le"el of
distortion in the signal. /se <0= as the standard mode for all clean mastering wor'
to increase the #ercei"ed "olume of the signal without boosting its actual out#ut
le"el 7with 4om#ensation set to mode 0 as well8. ,ri"e "alues of 1-> will gi"e !ou a
soft, cream! distortion that can be used on Side-channels of roc' and #o# mixes or
to slightl! crunch an! stereo sound. ,ri"e "alues of ? and higher 7u# to 0>8 will gi"e
!ou a "er! audible and tight distortion.
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)bo"e the dri"e 'nob, there is an o#tion menu that switches the 6e"el 4om#ensa-
tion mode. %! default, mode 0 is selected 74om#ens.08. This automaticall! com#en-
sates the le"el increase caused b! the ,ri"e control. Mode 2 will do the same 74om-
#ens.28, but will 'ee# a louder signal at the out#ut.
-e #ro#ose !ou use 6e"el 4om#ensation mode 0 or 2 in most cases as the
out#ut le"el might be increased hea"il! when switched 9.
@ain can be used to trim or boost an! 56 unit, while setting the @ain to .&: mode
will result in more or less distortion 7gain at the in#ut stage8 whereas .9ST will trim
the le"el at the out#ut stage without altering the actual distortion sound.
#rosso$er fre%uencies
-ith these 2 sliders !ou can select the fre+uenc! ranges of the Mid Ai / Mid 6o &
Side Ai / Side 6o channels. *n the exam#le on the left the Mid channel would be s#lit
at 1BB AC and the S channel would be s#lit at D 'AC. 3ou can lin' the 2 faders 7rela-
ti"e mode8 to ex#eriment with how di$erent s#lit #oints will a$ect !our distortion
sound.
or a tight sound in the low end for exam#le tr! s#litting the Mid channel around
the bass-drum fre+uenc! 7should be between 0BB and 1EB AC, de#ending on !our
bass drum sound8 and use less distortion on the Mid 6o channel than on the Mid Ai
or Side Ai channels. To get a cris# high-end tr! s#litting the Side channel ;ust under-
neath !our c!mbal sounds 7should be around >-0B'AC8 and use more distortion on
the Side Ai channel than on the Side 6o or Mid channels.
3ou should ex#eriment with "arious settings of the 5-9"er control as this is one of
the 'e! elements of the bx_saturator V2 #lug-in when it comes to di$erent sounds
or Fa"ors of distortion.
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&' #ontrols
3ou ma! increase or decrease the o"erall out#ut le"el of the #lug-in using the
lin'ed mode of the @ain controls, or !ou can alter the stereo width b! changing the
ratio between the unlin'ed M & S gains 7using the 6in' button left and right of the
'nobs8. Monitor the 9ut#ut 6e"el 6:,s in the u##er gra#hics to ma'e sure !ou
donGt cli# !our signal.
The Mono Ma'er is a useful tool used in man! %rainworx #lug-ins. *t basicall! mixes
the low end of !our stereo signal to mono so !ou can widen !our stereo image
much easier without running into #hase issues.
(lugin )lliance Toolbar
This #lug-in can be installed and o#erated li'e an! other )lliance #lugin. .lease
chec' www.#lugin-alliance.com for general info about the acti"ation, s!stem re-
+uirements, etc.
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