How to Use Saturation on the Mix & Master Bus

Does saturation have a place in mastering or on the mix bus? Absolutely says Justin Colletti. It can increase depth, density and perception of detail, and used properly, can help give you a louder, more pleasant sounding master. Here are some ideas on how to use it in your work.
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#mixing #mastering #saturation

[@SonicScoop]

►Get the free mastering workshop: sonicscoop.com/Mastering101 ►Get the free mixing workshop: sonicscoop.com/MixHabits ►Win free stuff at sonicscoop.com/contest ►Subscribe to the podcast or leave a rating and review here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sonicscoop-podcast/id1448330690

[@liquidsolids9415]

“Use way too much and then dial it back” and “know what you want to achieve before you apply processing” is great advice for anything in mixing, not just saturation (in my opinion). Thanks, Justin!

[@andor3442]

Question, do you mix into the saturation plugin right from the start or later in the mix?

[@liquidsolids9415]

@@andor3442 I think you'd want to have the saturation on your mix bus very early in the process so the sound of the saturation can inform your mix decisions. But I'd love to hear what the professionals say - I just do this for fun!

[@Trackformers]

Some people when they speak, you really really really need to listen. EVERY SINGLE WORD of this one is gold! These things take ages to learn, and you just got it in 15mins. Good job and thank you!

[@hankscorpio8928]

This is a really good explanation of saturation. Thank you.

[@keyzproductionz2550]

Thank you for taking the time informing us how important saturation is.

[@I-0-0-I]

Consistently dropping that knowledge, for sure. Thank you for taking the time!

[@Dablessingproduction]

We love you man.... your voice and how you say it makes it massage the brain. Thanks.

[@philfallway]

Absolutely love how in detail you go on this topic! I knew some of this, but you really flesh out how I can apply it both practically and strategically. Thanks Justin! Love your content and the podcast!🤘

[@SonicScoop]

Awesome to hear Phil! Thanks for subscribing. Hope to see more of you around :-) -Justin

[@philfallway]

@@SonicScoop absolutely!

[@monarchdrumandbass8700]

Constantly suprised by how great and informative these videos are! Thanks again :)

[@SonicScoop]

So glad you are enjoying them Monarch! Thanks for watching. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the notifications bell if you want to see and hear more :-) -Justin

[@calebneff5777]

Love this one, Justin! I was mixing a song this week and have saturation on so many things, including some stuff basically sounding like it's being passed through a Rat or something. I kept second guessing it, but it sounded too awesome to back off on. I feel so justified right now!

[@LuiCardenasphotography]

Wow, I believe this is the first mixing/mastering lesson with no audio sample that I actually found very interesting and helpful. THANK YOU!

[@SonicScoop]

Glad to hear it! You might like more of the podcast if you're into this conceptual approach to learning. Thanks for stopping by! -Justin

[@bandana192]

Another Pot of Gold !! Thanks going out .. Keep doing Great!! Greets from Vienna

[@LuisCerdasPrimate]

I was just thinking i wanted to learn about this. Thank you soon much!

Thanks for the great video as always Justin.

[@rodrigonogueira173]

Immediately used these tips. Thank you!

[@talonwilton431]

I've been listening to your podcasts for a little while now, and at the end of each one before you say "see you next time" it seems like the pause gets longer and longer, walking that fine of almost being awkward and I absolutely love it 🤣😁😁

[@watsonstudios]

I use saturation for more overall glue and density. I use Waves NLS on my mix buss, you can add a lot without getting noticeable distortion.

[@euphospug]

I have the waves NLS - and I'm not 100% sure on what's the best approach. What / how do you use it exactly?

[@andor3442]

do you mix into the saturation plugin right from the start or later in the mix?

[@thaexception3406]

You be having me talking to you thru the video lol because you’re so spot on and comprehensive with your discussions - great stuff

[@thatchinaboi1]

As an audio engineer and audiophile I have learned from personal experience and experimentation that adding just the right and subtle amount of 2nd order harmonics to an otherwise finished track will make the entire mix sound more livelier without changing the tone or dynamics. A very slight thickening of the sounds across the entire audio spectrum, which can be perceived to give the mix more overall clarity while retaining all the depth that was carefully crafted during the mixing stage. The presentation is slightly altered as well in a pleasant way in that the center image gets pushed forward slightly and gives the center more presence. This added center presence although very slight, gives additional perceived depth to the entire mix which results in a more 3D like psychoacoustic space. Adding too much 2nd order harmonics will start changing the dynamics and tone of the mix by gentle compression of the bass (giving them slightly more weight and sustain while losing punch and dynamics) and adding warmth. So there is a fine line as to how much 2nd order harmonics to add before it becomes detrimental to what you want to achieve in a mastering situation. I use this knowledge for both mastering and for my sound system. I have found that adding a hybrid tube preamp with a SS output stage to a monitoring system that is powered by a SS amp gives me just the right amount of 2nd order harmonics to make everything going through it sound slightly sweeter/livelier while increasing a perceived level of clarity. (Tube rolling is important here but not as much as the type of tube preamp. OTL or other full tube preamps impart too much 2nd order dynamics for a monitoring system that needs to be accurate. I recommend hybrid tube preamps if you want the benefits of tube while retaining the transparency of your monitoring system.)

[@kelainefes]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that tubes provided both odd and even harmonics, with the 2nd being the most prominent of all?

[@thatchinaboi1]

@@kelainefes You are correct. I never suggested otherwise.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

How about using an Elektron Analog Heat II? I don’t use a daw.

[@J-DUB-F1]

Saturation is one of those things I knew about ages ago, but never really put the time in to learn, and use properly. Only in the last couple years did I really put the time in......WTF!!, why did I wait so many years!?!?!.. Completely changed my mixing game!. The Black box, Decapitator, Little Radiator....three of my faves, each one is great!, and has it's own vibe.

[@amirgrant844]

This was extremely eye opening. Thanks, Justin! I am currently taking your mastering course and it is helping me a ton. This helps me even more. Funny you mention saturators being both soft and aggressive because Radiator is definitely one of them. Now it makes complete sense as to why it made some vocals I tried it on sound good and others sound still kinda good but also bad because it added too much buzz and edge. As Mr. Miyagi said...no such thing as bad student. Only bad teacher. Thanks for being a great teacher 😊

[@stuartmee9352]

Brilliant explanation.

[@caspercayrol1415]

Great video, thanks! I needed to know a bit more about why I'd want saturation - even know I love it unconditionally!

[@HYNSound]

Amazing videos. Thanks for the tips.

[@DeltaWhiskeyBravo13579]

Excellent explanation on saturation. I'm experimenting within Studio One 6.6, using their splitter tool to create a mid side split bus for saturation. I'm using the Soundtoys Decapitator type A at 1 KHz and under for the mid, then Softube Harmonics on the side, using tube and focused on mid range to high. With S1 splitter, I had to add 2 mixtools to get M/S and convert back to stereo with edits to gain as well to compensate for the conversion. I also just added the SSL X-Saturation after the stereo conversion, doing very light here to seemingly glue the sound together.

[@WassupFred]

Great break down

[@YoungSunnyBeats]

Greatly appreciate it much! Thanks for the tips!

[@iam_myster_e]

Listen, don’t change the podcast! lol not everyone has to hear it physically. I want the podcast so I can hear the thought process from a pro while I do my full time job as a QS, I don’t wanna hear more mixing and mastering I wanna hear an experts thoughts!!

[@timhutch21]

great lesson! ty

[@ryansturgiss4115]

Thank you great advice.

[@MikeSpexTV]

Thx Justin! I’m on my saturation kick . This was excellent . I’ve been using the ssl native satur I really recommend it .

[@mauricelevasseur9987]

Excellent! Thanks

[@1erwayne]

Good episode as usual Justin. I've been using 3 saturators on my mixbus. After I do a ruff mix, I add an UAD Ampex 102, PA Black Box HG2, and an UAD Culture Vulture. Sounds like a lot but it started kind of similar to what Justin said. Add a lot then dial it back. The difference is not subtle. The crest factor and peak levels pre and post saturation are significant. Justin, I would really be interested in you doing a video showing your mixbus saturation techniques. Mixing Breakthroughs is really good as well. Thanks.......

[@sgfdancecompany]

Great Justin!!!

[@lamellmatthews]

Thanks!!

[@arrchow8312]

Another excellent video, Justin. I'm officially putting my vote in for a video dedicated to you going through your own personal saturation approaches in the DAW. Actually just more of you demonstrating your approach to ITM mastering would be really awesome. Thanks again for the insightful content!

[@SonicScoop]

Will plan on that! In the meantime, here's a playlist with a smattering of our audio example videos. The first three touch on mastering approach pretty extensively: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQDzDggP3nUFlU3ZyC1uMC7

[@arrchow8312]

​@@SonicScoop Thank you! I am enjoying rewatching your Ozone 9 video. Very cool to see your own personal approach to mastering. Thanks again, your videos are always super useful!

[@jon0830]

great topic, thank you!

[@davidthiele9952]

You've got such a great speaking voice!!

[@mccoy.dcm.369]

Saturation is like the one thing that I think I felt I most needed when I started experimenting with it. Would definitely love for you to expand the theme with further examples of it.

[@soyginna]

Excellent!

[@Noahtherapper]

I love the descriptive words! Yeeee

[@kobraklutch7484]

Good Man. Thanks.

[@briefcasemanx]

Smashed the like button so quick

[@Take-the-Ticket]

Good stuff here. I really like the J37 (Waves) on guitars especially, but it is tasty on a whole mix too. All of Soundtoys' saturations/distortions are a must-have, and so are FabFilter's.

[@garyrandall3059]

Justin, I appreciate that you "do not" give audio examples during your podcasts. As mixers and producers we tend to seek the "silver bullet" that will give us the edge in the music industry instead of truly enjoying the discovery process. I've purchased your courses for further details. I believe those who want to know more should put some skin in the game and avoid the quick fix mentality. Thanks again.

[@garyroberts1843]

Yes, some audio examples would be great to see/hear!

[@SonicScoop]

Noted! In the meantime here's a bunch of other topics with audio examples in case they are helpful: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQDzDggP3nUFlU3ZyC1uMC7 Very best, Justin

[@Sdbbffsd]

thank you!!!

[@thomasshugar5636]

I love your tutorials! Do you have a video on the order of effects, etc for the Mix Buss?

[@GeorgeAmodei21]

Thank You again for another Great Topic & explanation :) George Amodei

[@fakshen1973]

I like the lecture only format. It seems geared towards someone with a reasonable amount of technical experience and concentrates on technique. There's not enough at that level on KZbin in my opinion. I just subscribed with hopes that's the direction you're going. Of course sometimes things must be demonstrated.

[@SonicScoop]

Yup! The podcast takes a totally conceptual approach to learning this stuff, and it's something that's lacking out there. We do have a lot of demonstration videos as well of course. Here's a smattering of them: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQDzDggP3nUFlU3ZyC1uMC7 Hope that helps, Justin

[@c128stuff]

I love plugin alliance, not just their saturators, they have a lot of good stuff really.

[@NICUofficial]

this was super interesting and helpful thinking smooth vs aggressive using to "swallow up" high-transient percussion or other stuff (maybe synths, for example) and it really does help my voice sound better to run it through tape saturation, to my ears at least

[@ractorstudios]

Last week i was think about this exact question. Thanks, this helps ALOT. You are going to love Saturn. One question i had was. What what type of saturation gives more depth. Or any tips on listening for depth when adding saturation?

[@conormackinnon4622]

Would love to hear your audio examples, been messing around with a lot of saturation lately, would be great to hear your take on it!

[@GeorgeBarnettMusic]

Justin, thanks! Quick question: from an artist’s perspective I’m often mixing as I go along. I have my music mixed by someone else, but sound design/getting “close” is part of my process. How soon would you commit to a saturated drum bus, for example, in the knowledge that a mix engineer may want the clean version one day? I can’t have 100 instances of the UAD Studer running all the time and I think committing to a sound is very healthy (I love an uncluttered session), however there’s always a voice in the back of my head saying “keep some options open, for the engineer’s sake”. This unfortunately can hold the process up, because I end up with a “dry” and “wet” for EVERYTHING, which doubles my track count/makes the session messy. Am I right to commit and just let the mix engineer deal with the bounced files? Thanks for your time.

[@derek3dward]

GREAT VIDEO LIKED AND SUBBED

[@SonicScoop]

Awesome to hear, glad to have you Derek! -Justin

[@LightsandMotion]

subtle saturation on pretty much everything makes everything sound better 🙃

[@konradhoroszko255]

Justin, you're cool man ;) cheers

[@texiofficial2894]

Super nice video sir! One question: where would you put the saturator in the master chain?

[@SonicScoop]

I like to put it after EQ and dynamics processing, but before the limiter. That way, you don't have the saturation changing due to changes in dynamics that end up getting smoothed out, or reacting disproportionately to frequencies that are being cut. Hope that helps! -Justin

[@chizzulwinduh1941]

It would be good to hear a hands on deep dive review of the BB HG2.

[@n.oneimportant5]

Really great and useful box! I found it really difficult to get it to sound bad.

[@johntwigg7650]

I would love a deep dive on the BB HG2 as well. It is an outrageously good piece of kit and deserves much more attention.

[@frankiesunswept]

This is such a great talk. Would be cool if someone made a saturation graph, to show which are more sludgy and which are more buzzy

[@SonicScoop]

I like it Frankie! Trying to visualize it now. I’ll think on it and see if I can come up with something the next time I cover this. -Justin

[@frankiesunswept]

@@SonicScoop oh dude that would be so awesome. I really love and use Decapitator, Oxford, sansamp, saturation knob, oxide and studer plugins from UAD. Thanks for the tip on Radiator, I was sleeping on that one for saturation. Love the SoundToys stuff, all of it

[@conanliquid]

Thanks Justin. Try Saturn2 dude. It’s my go to now in pretty much every master I do. There is so much you can do with it that’s way beyond just saturating. If I still mixed it would probably be on every track.. I have a ton of plugins from PA, UAD, Waves, etc but I literally use Saturn2 and that’s it. Maybe Decap occasionally obviously haha, who doesn’t ?

[@Allan-et5ig]

Great video. Rather than any plug-in, why not run a VCR on the mix bus inputs? Or a highly quality tape deck? Years ago, I bought the "second best" Nakamichi tape deck for 150 bucks and ran mixes through it and it sounded better than any plug-in I've used...though there are hundreds I haven't used...not even remotely close...tape won. Just a thought.

[@nickaleo7]

I'm thinking I should mix into light Saturation followed by light buss compression or vice versa?? Hmmm definitely giving me some pretty great ideas with this video. Appreciate your channel!

[@bg4productionsllc]

🤔🤔🤔

[@SonicScoop]

Either is fine! I usually put saturation after the compressor so that the saturator is a little more consistent and predictable. But the other way is totally cool too. Things can get dirtier as they get more intense if the saturation comes before the dynamic control, which can also be nice. -Justin

[@huberttorzewski]

What mic and chain do you use to record your voice in these videos? I love how full and rich low mids sound and the smoothness of the top end

[@SonicScoop]

This was my first time using the new BB29 from JZ Microphones. It goes straight into a Focusrite Clarett 2Pre interface. That's it! The whole chain. A little compression and limiting after it in post but that's it. Hope that helps, Justin

[@metatron333ascension]

given that you have odd and even harmonics how do you determine which is the best for your sound. how do you hear the differences?

[@Stanacturproducer]

Am here am here master

[@okyohabian5076]

what's the difference between mix bus and master bus? and also 2-bus and stereo bus?

[@MK-pn3lm]

Should i cut the saturation around 200 hz or is it generally okay to saturate the low end?

[@BillGraper]

I worry too much about distorting the signal, or changing my sound too much. When I can actually hear the saturation when I turn the plugin on & off, then I back it off a little bit from that. It's just an extra precaution. Maybe I'm not using quite enough saturation, but I think it's better than too much.

[@nicolasstrujak7176]

is there a Bass pedal for saturation? Idk if a Preamp like SansAmp work as a saturation for live situations

[@sevenhxrecords677]

What is the knee of a tape saturation compression..

[@JohnJohnCrusher]

Ok so tape simulators can smooth things out. And you mentioned triode simulators may offer more edge. What about tube? Transformer? Sure, I can make my own determination, but was hoping to get your expert assessment

[@sleepisoptional]

for saturation take the roy thomas baker approach: go too far then dial back a couple of clicks

[@JohnJohnCrusher]

I was hoping to hear things like how much wet/dry you typically end up using on the master bus, or if you only saturate higher frequencies vs the whole spectrum. Sure I can experiment but I like to hear what other professionals do. What you discussed was nothing revealing

[@JohnJohnCrusher]

Bump

[@midlifeadventures3138]

Love the content you should use a de-esser when recording with that mic.

[@JustinColletti]

You’re probably right. I wanted to do the first episode with it with no real treatment aside from a compressor and a limiter. It has a little lift around 5k-6k that is nice, but maybe is a tad bright for my voice especially with a little compression happening. But it might have just been my fault for not really checking my settings because I was in a rush today. I might have put in a slower attack compressor than I meant to, bringing out the “S”s :-) That could well be it. I’ll go check!

[@Stanacturproducer]

I enjoy watching without daw illustration.

[@Enice43]

Do you have a course on mixing and mastering

[@SonicScoop]

Yes! mixingbreakthroughs.com and masteringdemystified.com

[@Enice43]

@@SonicScoop thanks...I have a few questions about this.. can you reach out to me again

[@carlosfernandoramirezsanto4417]

Dan worral is the explanation about dither you need.

[@amarriki2369]

Capo

[@LordTheeProducer]

TRY OUT SATURN 2

[@MKD371]

It's a podcast. I would imagine audio examples would work perfectly on a podcast, without being distracted by visuals.

[@SonicScoop]

I figure most people listening to a podcast are driving, doing dishes, mowing the lawn, etc. That's how I listen to podcasts anyway. I think the sometimes subtle changes we do in this world don't really make sense in that context. We also have a ton of videos on the channel that have screencapture and audio examples too. Just not in the podcast. Here's a small smattering of some of them: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQDzDggP3nUFlU3ZyC1uMC7 Hope that helps, Justin

[@MKD371]

@@SonicScoop Many changes we do are subtle. I would leave that to the listener to decide :).

[@ali-zd7bd]

Can anyone interduce me some soft and creamy saturation plugin.

[@h1de]

Great video but if a vendor is letting you use one of their products for free or giving you a discount it's still sponsored. Don't want you to get in trouble with the youtube police.

[@SonicScoop]

This video is definitely sponsored. There should even be a little onscreen notification that says it is. We're probably one of the very few audio production channels that ACTUALLY hits that button and discloses all of our sponsorships. A lot of channels aren't quite so transparent from what I've seen. Hope that helps! -Justin

[@MrTonycnyc]

Thank you. Go ahead, bust open a daw, lol

[@theswedishmusicstudio]

Hm... isnt video, technically, NOT required to do some audio examples?! In fact, i think its the oposit. When the video is absent is when we actually listen to the audio examples themselves. Otherwise we look at shiny GUIs and say to ourselves ”this must sound good since it got the looks”. Confirmation bias and the lot. Mike Senior does reeeeeeally great podcasts where he lets you listen to whats going on and then he explains it. Not shows. Phenomenal. ;)

[@SonicScoop]

Interesting. I figure most people listening to a podcast are driving, doing dishes, mowing the lawn, etc. That's how I listen to podcasts anyway. I think the sometimes subtle changes we do in this world don't really make sense in that context. We also have a ton of videos on the channel that have screencapture and audio examples too. Just not in the podcast. Here's a small smattering of some of them: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQDzDggP3nUFlU3ZyC1uMC7 Hope that helps, Justin

[@paranoidjones]

BB29 is sibilant

[@Ex-fk4nr]

We would appreciate even more if you would have showed us some examples instead of talking for 15 min

[@YoungNino2017]

Exactly what I was going to say... I came here to see the best place to put it in the chain and this douche is going on about; "pick the saturation mode that sounds the best," OH REALLY?????

[@rileyvickers3537]

* Algorithm comment *

[@brianhardcastle6575]

no samples? lol

[@SonicScoop]

We have hundreds of those lol Try here to start! kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggTkBYyc-1_larMT6K4rGwmr This is a podcast episode. It’s not really an audio example format

[@joanna439]

A good video, but .... could have been done in half the time. I enjoy your videos but 16 minutes for an opinion on saturation takes the cake.

[@SonicScoop]

All you’ve got to do is start watching at 2X speed! :-) -Justin

[@stupidusername38]

you've got to ask yourself one question, do i feel buzzy, well do ya?..punk

[@Atttuner]

First time viewer can someone explain the idea behind talking about mastering without demonstrating any examples of mastering? I mean WTF - pls note there are a sea of viewers like me that skip all the talking and relate only to the examples. I get it may be a minority but its a minority you'll lose if you dont post time stamps to the BS free parts

[@SonicScoop]

It's a podcast. :-) It's a talking format. Screen capture and subtle plugin changes don't really make sense in this context. The podcast is all about learning the concepts inside and out so that you can go out and make your OWN audio examples, which is really the best way to learn. That said, we also have a TON of screencapture videos on this channel. We just don't have one every single week like we do with the podcast. You can find a selection of some of them here: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQDzDggP3nUFlU3ZyC1uMC7 Hope that helps, Justin

[@Atttuner]

@@SonicScoop that may be true and it’s a decision of who you’re targeting for you to make....id point out that KZbin fed amateur guitar enthusiast me to you....you are talking a wide cross sections of skill levels you may need to use compression and a bag of magic tricks to recreate an indentifiable example ppl can relate too.

[@briansransom]

I've been watching this video for 4 1/2 minutes already and you haven't said anything helpful at all. Get to the point already!

[@SonicScoop]

Then don't watch, listen! It's a podcast :-) Many thousands have found it useful... so maybe there's something there? Best wishes to you, -Justin

[@tocijan]

Your advices are ok but, your videos are too long. This video should be only 5 min max.

[@SonicScoop]

We have short videos as well as the long ones. Check out some of our "Clips" playlists for videos that average around 5 minutes, such as this one: kzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQ1ff0Etlla-mZBlJgVf_3ckzbin.info/aero/PL3yghKGBjggQ1ff0Etlla-mZBlJgVf_3c Hope that helps! -Justin

[@MadDog-dn5st]

This guy babbles for so long about other bs that I finally gave up and moved on

[@SonicScoop]

Guilty as charged! I’m not for everyone. Have a nice day 🤗 -Justin

[@seansley]

Too much sponsor talk, please get on with the content

[@seansley]

Too much sponsor talk, please get on with the content.

[@Karll541]

Lol 😆

[@guitarplayer5932]

shorten your videos

[@SonicScoop]

Lengthen your attention span and/or try 2x speed :-) -Justin

[@guitarplayer5932]

@@SonicScoop or get to the point either way could work

[@SonicScoop]

I don't know, 16 minutes is pretty short for a podcast episode! Most of them run 30-60 minutes. I'm guessing you're bothered that there are shout outs to sponsors in the video? That's how podcasts stay functional. Maybe you don't like podcasts? It's OK, different people like different formats. I hope you find what you're looking for. Very best, Justin

[@guitarplayer5932]

@@SonicScoop fair point but what if took 16 minutes to tell you what time it is? its about necessity and perspective, people tune out when you repeat yourself, drone on about something that doesn’t help get to the point its a major problem with youtubers trying to make longer videos to make more money i cant watch 99% of the content on youtube for that reason. A couple guys i watch changed their format and decided to do exactly what im talking about, getting to the point and have had an increase in viewers. Good luck have a great day