Saturator (Native)

Parameters

Drive — Pre-saturation gain in dB. Pushes the signal harder into the saturating curve — small amounts add subtle warmth and bloom, large amounts produce thick, compressed-sounding harmonic distortion. Saturation is more about color than crushing peaks: even modest drive levels meaningfully change the harmonic content.

Saturation — Intensity of the saturation curve at a given drive level. Drive sets how hard you push; saturation sets how much the curve bends. Low values give you gentle tube-style warmth; high values approach a more aggressive, compressed character. Pair with drive to balance level vs character.

Tone — Frequency of the internal tone-shaping filter, in Hz. Saturation tends to add brightness and grit in the upper mids and highs; this control lets you scoop or push that range to taste. Low values darken the saturated signal; high values keep the high-frequency harmonics audible. Acts on the wet signal only.

Output — Post-saturation makeup gain in dB. Saturation usually changes the perceived loudness — sometimes louder (added harmonics), sometimes quieter (compression-like behavior). Use this to bring the output back into shape after dialing drive and saturation.

Dry/Wet — Equal-power blend between the dry signal (0) and the saturated signal (1). For analog-style “always-on” coloring, leave at 1; for parallel saturation (keeping the dry’s transients clean while a saturated copy adds body), use values in the 0.3–0.7 range. Like other dry/wet controls in K2K, this is node-specific — the FX-slot version handles wet/dry at the mixer.

Additional controls

Mode — The saturation curve model. Tape is smooth and rounded with gentle compression — the classic studio-warmth sound. Tube is brighter with stronger even-order harmonics, suited to bass and vocals. Trans (transistor) is more aggressive with a sharper edge — pushed transistor amps and fuzz pedals. Diode has the asymmetric, slightly buzzy character of clipping diodes. Hard is a near-hard-clip curve for the most aggressive option in this node, useful when you want to step beyond saturation toward distortion territory.

About Saturator (Native)

Native Saturator is the color-focused middle ground of the distortion family — sits between Native Soft Clipper (peak management with mild coloring) and Native Distortion (full amp aggression). Five curve models cover the classic analog-saturation sounds: Tape for studio warmth and gentle compression (think 2-inch reel-to-reel), Tube for bright even-harmonic character (preamp warmth on bass and vocals), Trans for pushed-transistor bite (early fuzz pedals), Diode for asymmetric clipping-diode character, Hard for the closest-to-distortion option in this node. Drive sets how hard you push; saturation sets how much the curve bends at that drive — the two interact musically. Use as an “always-on” mix stage for analog character, or in parallel for thickening without losing transient definition. Compare with Native Distortion (heavier, amp territory) and Native Soft Clipper (cleaner, peak-focused).

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