Plugin Boutique is currently offering SSL Native X-Saturator by Solid State Logic at a heavily reduced price of $7.99, down from its regular $49 price, as part of an 83% discount deal running until February 15.
X-Saturator is a saturation and distortion plugin designed to add harmonic content and analogue-style character to your signal.
It’s based on the idea of driving virtual gain circuits in a controlled way, so you can basically move between subtle coloration and more obvious distortion without leaving the plugin’s interface.
The main Drive control determines how hard the signal hits the saturation stage. Increasing Drive introduces more harmonic distortion, while the input and output gain controls on either side of the interface make it easy to level-match processed and unprocessed signals for fair comparisons.
I like how SSL also includes an internal bypass button, which avoids clicks and pops or latency issues when switching the effect in and out for A/B checks. This is pretty cool if you want to make sure a setting actually sounds better, and you’re not just being fooled by extra loudness.
The Harmonics control defines the character of the distortion. You can turn it fully counterclockwise to emphasize second-order harmonics that provide valve-style saturation. Turning it clockwise shifts the response toward third-order harmonics, producing a more transistor-like edge.
Positions in between essentially blend the two, so it’s easy to fine-tune how clean or gritty the saturation feels in a mix.
Depth and Shape work together to control how the generated harmonics are reintroduced into the signal.
Depth sets the overall level of harmonic content, from completely clean at 0% to fully saturated at 100%. Shape adjusts the balance of those harmonics, with negative values producing smoother results and positive values emphasizing more aggressive high-frequency overtones.
These two make X-Saturator flexible enough for light enhancement on vocals or bass, but also capable of extreme processing on drums or sound design material.
I also like the extra attention given to gain staging. The Boost +6 dB switch adds extra headroom above the saturation point, helping prevent internal clipping when pushing the Drive control hard.
There’s also a Dry/Wet mix knob, which makes parallel saturation easy without setting up extra routing in your DAW.
X-Saturator also includes a nice selection of factory presets and supports A/B comparison, undo/redo, and full automation, so it’s very practical as a go-to saturation effect.
As part of the promotion, purchasing X-Saturator also qualifies you for a free gift. You can choose between Minimal Audio’s Cluster Delay or Thenatan Audio’s Tawus; just don’t forget to add them to your shopping cart at checkout.
SSL Native X-Saturator is available for macOS (11 Big Sur to 13 Ventura, Intel and Apple Silicon) and Windows 10–11. It comes in AU, VST2, VST3, and AAX Native formats. A free iLok account is required for authorization.
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Get the deal: SSL Native X-Saturator (only $7.99 until February 15)
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Last Updated on February 4, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
