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3. Emulating other types of analogue processing

1 Our bass is solely a DI signal, and although we like the roundness, it lacks character. Adding tube saturation by way of Wave Arts’ free Tube Saturator, is a great way to mimic a decent amp, without having to mic it. We get some effect at very low drive, but opt for a bit more drive and some extra saturation. (Audio: Step 1a and Step 1b)

2 Our acoustic guitar sound has top-end sparkle and body but seems to lack bite, sounding a bit weedy. By using a combination of saturation and enhancement, courtesy of SPL’s Twin Tube, we can bring back its presence. Here we’re dialling in the harmonics at 6kHz.

3 Saturation doesn’t come much better than by way of Soundtoys’ Decapitator. In truth we can apply it to most parts of our mix to great effect – and are tempted to do just that. But as we say in the main text, a little can often go a long way, so try applying some mid range saturation to the electric guitar.

4 Our snare sounds a little too polite, and although we don’t go for transistor distortion often, here it could be just the thing. First, we dial in lots of drive to get the desired effect, then use the handy Mix control on Mellowmuse’s SATV to blend in the desired balance. (Audio: Step 4a and Step 4b)

5 Rather than head for EQ on our kick drum, we’re going to use a combination of valve and solid-state saturation, courtesy of Voxengo’s VariSaturator. We’ve positioned the crossover at 1kHz, using valve saturation on the low frequencies and solid-state on the high frequencies. The result is a more punchy kick.

6 The piano sound is pretty well balanced but lacks air and feels a bit congested in the low mids. With an emulation plugin such as Slate’s FG-Mu, we can take advantage of its analogue flavour without actually compressing the signal at all. The result is a more open and engaging piano sound. (Audio: Step 6a and Step 6b)