BLEASS Saturator

Name: BLEASS Saturator
Price: 19.9 USD
Author: BLEASS

by BLEASS · Saturation · Saturation with motion waveshaper

Not rated yet

BLEASS Saturator is a saturation and distortion plugin with a motion waveshaper.

It runs as a VST3, AU or AAX plugin on Windows and macOS for $19.99, with a separate iOS version.

Best for: Bass, Drums, Keys & Synths. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Pop.

Keywords: bass, drums, heavy, gritty, multi-band, synths, visual feedback, AAX, AUv3/iOS, classic, metering, mixing, sample-rate reduction, samples & loops, soft clip, spacious, tempo-synced.

What it does

BLEASS Saturator is a saturation and distortion toolbox that chains a three-band drive, a waveshaper and a bit crusher, with an LFO to set it all moving. The developer pitches it to "energize your basses, crush your drums, explode your leads".

Drive stage: up to 60 dB of drive, with a switchable EQ mode that splits the signal into low, mid and high bands with adjustable crossovers and up to 60 dB of gain per band.
WaveShaper: 9 algorithms, from classic hard and soft clipping up to a fifth-order polynomial, shaped with Offset, Depth, Period and an algorithm-dependent Strength control.
Bit crusher: bit-depth and sample-rate reduction, switchable off, before or after the waveshaper.
Motion LFO: beat-synced or free, with shapes including sine, triangle, sawtooth, square and sample-and-hold; it can target 12 parameters, from drive and band gains to the waveshaper and bit crusher settings.
Stereo: a stereo phase control for the LFO, with a meter.
Visual feedback and presets: an HD visualiser that shows the waveform changing in real time, and 40 factory presets.

The current version is 1.3.0. A demo is available.

Source: BLEASS product page

When to use it

BLEASS Saturator suits sound design more than subtle analog warmth: its three-band drive, nine waveshaper curves, bit crusher and LFO make tones that move and break up on purpose. Compared with Decapitator, it lacks the five analog-modelled styles and that polished console-and-tape character, but its LFO and waveshaper go much further for animated grit. It is far more hands-on than the one-knob Saturation Knob, and closer to RC-20 Retro Color in having a digital bit-crush stage, though without RC-20's noise, wobble and tape-style modules. It is one of the cheapest ways to get multiband, modulated distortion.

Best for: driven basses, crushed drums, gritty synth leads and moving, LFO-driven distortion.
Genres: electronic music, bass music, hip-hop and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you want subtle analog tape or console colour (Decapitator or a tape plugin such as the Ampex ATR-102), or full lo-fi texture with noise and wobble (RC-20 Retro Color).

What producers say

No magazine reviews turned up, but store ratings are high.

Plugin Boutique buyers rate it 4.7 out of 5 from 87 ratings.
KVR: lists version 1.3.0 and notes its light CPU use, but has no user reviews posted yet.

Where to buy

Best Service: $19.90
BLEASS: $19.99
Plugin Boutique: $19.99
AudioDeluxe: $19.99

Tutorials and reviews

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