NSimpleSaturator

NSimpleSaturator is a basic saturator VST plugin designed for audio processing.

Installation

You can download the x64 VST3 file from the Releases page. Installation instructions vary depending on your digital audio workstation (DAW). Generally, you should place the VST3 file in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 as most DAWs search for plugins there. In any case, please refer to your DAW's documentation for specific instructions.

Usage

NSimpleSaturator features the following parameters:

• Pre-Gain: Adjusts the input gain level before saturation.
• Saturation: Sets the saturation level of the audio wave.
• Post-gain: Adjusts the output gain level after clipping.
• Mix: Controls the blend between the dry and wet signals.

Simply adjust these parameters according to your preferences to shape the clipped audio signal.

How saturation works

The algorithm for NSimpleSaturator uses a hyperbolic tangent function $\tanh$ to introduce some nonlinearity to the audio signal for some positive saturation level $k$. The equation

$$ h(x) = \frac{\tanh(xk)}{k} $$

where $k=$ mSaturation * UPPER_LIMIT behaves such that as $k$ approaches $0$, $h(x)$ approaches clean, unprocessed signal $x$ and that as $k$ approaches infinity, $h(x)$ approaches a stepwise function, i.e. a clipped signal which is a maximally processed signal. In code, $k$ has a limit of 10, mostly because 10 has sufficient-sounding saturation level in my opinion. Going above 10 would provide too harsh a sound, a sound better fit for NSimpleClipper.

Food for thought: What other nonlinear functions could be used instead of $\tanh$? Maybe techniques from machine learning could provide some insight here.

Compatibility

NSimpleSaturator has been tested on 64-bit Windows 11 with PreSonus Studio One and Ableton Live. While compatibility is not guaranteed, this plugin should be compatible with most DAWs. Currently, I do not have the resources to test this on macOS.

Licence

This plugin is distributed under the GPLv3 licence. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contact

For support, bug reports, or feature requests, please send me an email.