Put a Satson CM on every track or use it as a one-off effect for adding brash distortion
01 SUMMING
THINGS UP FOR HEAT: SATSON CM
You may well see Sonimus’ Satson and Britson plugins over the next few pages. These and our own version, Satson CM, are meant to be used per-track and combined on your master bus to subtly suggest the cumulative effects of analogue mixing desk circuitry. They’re designed for subtle, under-the-radar warmth, but we’ve often used a single Satson CM to add extra drive to a signal by pushing up the Gain. Use utility plugins before and after to customise the drive amount, plus in and out levels.
Use DeeMonitor CM for vintage mono effects
02 REIN IT IN WITH DEEMONITOR CM
This simple utility gadget from Dotec-Audio offers a handful of convenient monitoring tools that are designed to help you get a better mix. Among them are three different speaker simulations, including those based on Genelec, Auratone and Yamaha NS-10 monitors. The Auratone simulations are great for imparting a less-than-pristine image to your mixes. You can also use DeeMonitor CM to solo left and right channels.
Going further, this plugin can also act as a mid/side utility – great for ‘monoising’ sounds. When the Mid slider is halfway, the balance is unchanged, but pushing it up favours the stereo (sides) signal, and pushing it down leaves only the mono information (the mid portion of the signal).
03 AUDIFFEX STA ENHANCER CM
Before computers democratised recording, many would-be engineers turned to the humble four-track cassette Portastudio. These all-in-one recorders crammed four tracks onto 3.81mm of tape. Needless to say, the high-end response was less than stellar! As a result, many a home recorder was forced to employ processors like the Aphex Aural Exciter to inject some extra high-frequency harmonics into their tracks before committing them to tape. The effect was a slightly distorted, exaggerated high end that (sort of) made up for the signal loss. It’s worth a shot at recreating the effect using modern exciters and enhancers, such as the lovely vintage setting to be found on Audified STA Enhancer CM.
Enhance highs in dull recordings with STA Enhancer CM
04 ACTING ON IMPULSE