Using Ableton Saturator

Let’s pair Ableton’s basic Operator synth and Saturator effect to explore saturation in action

01

Using Operator (or any softsynth that can generate a single sine wave) create a monophonic patch with an amp envelope set to full sustain. It’s crucial to create a single-voice patch, as chords will inhibit the timbral control of the waveshaping tools in Saturator, creating chaotic distortion effects.

02

Place Ableton’s Saturator device after Operator and turn on the Soft Clip option, then lower the output volume slightly. From there, explore the first six saturation modes, which rely mainly on the Drive parameter for their waveshaping functions. The secondary parameters are useful when working with more complex signal inputs.

03

The last saturation mode is called Waveshaper, and activates additional parameters for Drive, Curve, Depth, Linearity, Damping, and Period. All of these work interactively to deform a sine wave input, creating entirely new waveforms. If you’re a Max 4 Live user, you may also want to consider experimenting with modulating these parameters.

04

Saturator doesn’t like equal-temperament chords, but adjusting harmonics is different, as these are great for manipulating timbre. Set Saturator to Analog Clip, set the drive to around 25dB, then adjust the harmonic volumes individually in Operator’s additive editor. Next, expand to manipulating groups of harmonics.