Solid State Logic’s SSL Native X-Saturator is currently available at Plugin Boutique for just €8.47 (83% off the regular price of €50.82) until October 15th.
If you’ve ever wanted SSL’s take on saturation for less than the price of a pizza, now’s your chance.
That said, with so many saturation plugins around, is a good slice of pizza still a better value? Food for thought, I guess. 🍕
X-Saturator is one of SSL’s more creative mixing tools, giving you a flexible way to add analog-style character anywhere in your mix. It is an analog distortion circuit emulation that lets you blend between two distinct flavors of harmonic distortion.
Turn the Harmonics knob left for smooth valve-style even harmonics (think warm and creamy tube drive), or turn it right for transistor-style odd harmonics, which give you more bite and grit. You can also find a sweet spot in between by blending the two.
The plugin isn’t just about cranking drive, though, and I like that. SSL included several shaping tools to keep your distortion musical.
The Drive control sets the amount of input gain hitting the circuit, while Depth and Shape let you dial in how harmonics sit in the mix.
Depth controls how much harmonic content gets injected back into your signal, and Shape adjusts the character, from smooth to aggressive. Oh, and there’s also a +6 dB Boost switch, which is always handy.
One thing I really like about X-Saturator is its Wet/Dry mix knob, which makes it easy to use as a parallel processor. You can slam drums or vocals into heavy distortion, then blend them back underneath the clean signal for just the right amount of attitude.
It also has A/B comparison, factory presets, and a plugin-level bypass for quick before/after checks. So you’re getting a full package of modern DAW conveniences.
X-Saturator works well for subtle coloration, like adding presence to a vocal or life to a snare, but it can also get nasty if you want full-on mangled distortion for synths or drum buses. SSL describes it as a “time machine of processing sounds,” and that’s pretty accurate—it covers everything from 1950s tube warmth to crunchy 1970s transistor grit.
As a bonus, Plugin Boutique is also throwing in UVI’s ReLayer delay as a free gift with purchase, making this deal even better.
SSL Native X-Saturator is available in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for macOS (Big Sur–Ventura, Apple Silicon supported) and Windows 10/11. A free iLok account is required for activation.
Get the deal: SSL Native X-Saturator (83% OFF)
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