Saturation Options in S1

[BCnSTL]

I've been experimenting with the signal generator & Spectrum meter - sending test tones through various s1 plugins and whatnot.
So far the only plugins that seem to generate harmonics are the FET compressor and Vintage EQ in the Fat Channel, the Tri-Comp (with the saturation knob turned up above 0) - and RedLight or Ampire - obviously. I can't "see" the harmonics running a sine wave thru the various console emulations of the MixFX but I can hear the differences in the options when listening to a full mix.

Can anyone confirm or deny my findings? I'm particularly puzzled by not seeing harmonics using the Modern option within the Brit Console MixFX - seeing it has a control for even/odd harmonics right there - and to be fair I don't hear much difference between the Brit Console variations but Iike it best 'overall', fwiw.

Related - The S1 Limiter has a the Soft Clip option but, to my ear, it doesn't create a sound at-all similar to say the Oxford Inflator or Standard Clip. Dunno but maybe I'm using it wrong?

 

[Ari]

Hi,

In the following image, you can see the Brit Console, which measures and calculates this overtone structure. Since I only have a single sine wave in the project, the amount of harmonic distortion has to be completely exaggerated, otherwise the console would not reach saturation. However, with a sine wave and my settings in the screenshot, you get exactly this massive overtone structure.

The 2nd and 3rd harmonics are only available in the Modern Console. That's just how the hardware works.
Furthermore, you can clearly see how the crosstalk plays across the entire playback bus, but affects directly adjacent channels more strongly and decreases depending on the distance.

Last but not least, there is the background noise, with a signature typical for 24, 32, or 88 channel consoles.

This applies across all console emulations, which were all created using state space modeling technology.
Now we would have to look at each individual plugin separately. Would you like that?

best regards
Ari

ps: Seeing this overtone structure as a result of only 1 sine tone, imagine how it would sound with a guitar string with lots of lots of overtones, that creates... overtones.

 

[BCnSTL]

Wow - that’s what I expected to see. Obviously I had something setup incorrectly. Thank for posting that.!

Any insight into what the soft clipping in the Limiter is doing under-the-hood?

 

[ianaeillo]

MixFX is the coolest innovation in DAWs in years. I've been trying to get a software company to implement some of their plugins into it because of how versatile it is. Alpine Desk is on every single one of my mixes. The difference is astounding.