FabFilter User Forum
Saturn - the manual is more like a brochure
hi,
I recently posted about the added volume on Saturns' output, and was informed that there is a soft clipper on the output.
Why is this not in the manual?
as well the manual is really vague about anything you can't already glean from the UI itself.
It seems to me there is is a lot going on under the hood, that when a user wants the answer to, they should be able to find it in the manual.
for example:
what are the Q's on the bands?
are the low, mid, and highs on the band relative to that band, or the entire spectrum?
what is presence?
DOes the env' follower follow the envelope of that band, or the entire signal?
Is the env. generator threshold based on the bands amplitude or the entire specrtums amplitude.
And for god's sake, put some background in there on the distortion\saturation algorithms. Heck even a few graphs, and the logic behind thier design and behaviour.
These are the types of things that should be in a manual (IMO). With FF stuff, obviuosly the UI is so well designed that really, a user rarely needs one to work easily with the plugin. But when a user wants answers as to what is goin on under the hood, they should be available........in the manual :)
have a good one
g
I thought the manual was quite OK and informative. There is always room for more information but I did not find it lacking. I am able to get great results without any of the information you requested.
There is already a little info about the algorithms included in the manual. I don't feel more information is really required about these because one can use the best analyzer of all, his own ear, to analyze the sound. If more analysis is required then one can employ the use of a frequency spectrum analyzer to inspect harmonic content of a signal following the plugin's output stage. The only algo I am unsure about is Smudge but noting its description and sound character I'd say this was a FF dsp experiment for fun...and it is that.
One actually finds in the manual that the Envelope Follower is triggered by Saturns input signal (that is why it is called a Follower). This says to me that whatever signal you are feeding Saturn is the signal that is generating information for the follower's modulation.
Presence tone control is obviously boosting bright harmonic information in the upper-high frequency range where one can get air into a part or mix. These are band independent tone controls and that is very nice feature. Again, use your frequency analyzer to get a closer look at what Saturn is doing to a signal. Don't forget to use anti-aliasing 8x oversample HQ mode if you are using a lot of drive on a particular band, otherwise you're not seeing a 'clean' signal in the analyzer.