Table of contents
Table of Contents Introduction . .About . . . . .FabFilter . . . . . . Saturn . . . . . 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . .Quick . . . . start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 . Using FabFilter Saturn 2 . .Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About FabFilter Saturn 2 The distortion effect has played a huge role in music history. By driving and distorting a guitar amplifier, rock-and-roll was born in the 1960s! Since that day, distortion has been used in many forms, and not only to get that crunchy electric guitar sound. Today, distortion is used to color sounds in various ways while mixing, by driving vacuum tubes, saturating tape and even by reducing bit rate.
Introducing Slider mode and a range setting for XY controllers. In Slider mode, the XY controller only works in vertical direction, taking up much less space. The range setting toggles between bipolar (-1 to 1) and unipolar (0 to 1) behavior. Increased the number of XY controllers/sliders to 6. Modulation sources can now be renamed to make their use easier to understand. The XLFO Balance and Frequency Offset parameters are now modulation targets. XLFO MIDI triggering now offers a new Legato mode.
Quick start The installer will copy the FabFilter Saturn 2 plug-in into the common VST, VST 3, AU (macOS only) and Pro Tools plug-in folders on your computer. On macOS, the global plug-in folders in /Library/Audio/PlugIns are used. In most cases, your host will then recognize the plugin automatically. However, if the instructions below do not work, see Manual installation instead.
Overview FabFilter Saturn 2's interface is divided into multiple sections: Interactive multi-band display The interactive display lets you directly create and select frequency bands. At the same time, it's a realtime frequency analyzer, visualizing the outgoing signal and making it easy to decide where to set the band crossover frequencies. Band controls The band controls control the settings of the selected bands in the display.
Knobs It is easy to control FabFilter Saturn 2's parameters with the large round knobs. They will light up when you move the mouse cursor around to indicate that you can adjust them. The moment you move the mouse cursor over a knob, a parameter value display will pop up, which shows the name and the current value of the parameter. All knobs support four ways of control: 1. Vertical mode Click on the center area of a knob and drag up or down to rotate it.
Interactive multi-band display FabFilter Saturn 2's top section consists of a large interactive multi-band display, which makes it very easy to create and select frequency bands and adjust their level and drive settings. At the same time, it's also a real-time frequency analyzer. To add a new frequency band, simply click on the small '+' button that appears at the top of the display when you move the mouse here.
To solo or mute a band exclusively, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Cmd-click (Mac) the solo or mute button. Solo and mute changes can be automated and are saved with the other parameters, so you can also use them for creative effects.
Band controls FabFilter Saturn 2 contains one set of controls to adjust the currently selected bands in the display. When only one band is used, it will be selected by default and the controls are linked to this single band. Once you have multiple frequency bands available, the band controls are linked to all selected bands. From left to right, the following parameters are available: The Enabled button lets you easily bypass the selected frequency bands.
When adjusting band settings with a continuous range (for example Drive, Level, Dynamics) for multiple selected bands at once, the relative differences between the bands will be preserved. When adjusting discrete parameters (HQ, Distortion Style), the parameter for all bands will be set to the same new value. If you double-click a knob to enter a value, this value will be applied to all bands directly as well.
Modulation When you open the plug-in with its default settings, the interface looks simple and clean. But the real fun with FabFilter Saturn 2 starts with the incredible modulation options. Almost any parameter can be modulated. These are called modulation targets. They can be modulated by any of the following available modulation sources: The XLFO can generate almost any waveform you can imagine and can be synchronized to the host tempo.
Tip If a modulation source drag button shows a filled dot inside, this means the source is actually in use at the moment.
Drag-and-drop modulation slots One of the best features in FabFilter Saturn 2 is the way you set up modulation connections with drag-anddrop. There is no need to search through long drop-down menus containing dozens of sources and targets or to find your way in cluttered and obscure matrix views. This simple method of making modulation connections makes sound design fun, easy and, above all: fast. So how does it work? Grab a source... ... drag it to a target... ... and drop it.
When you hover over the slider on the left an on/off button appears. Use this to temporarily disable the slot. On the right, a drop-down menu is accessible that lets you change the slot's source or target. To delete the slot, click the Remove button to the right of the Level slider. To delete/bypass/invert all slots, use the drop down menu at the right top of the slot panel.
Modulation visualization New in Saturn 2 are the advanced modulation visualization features which greatly help you to understand the effect of the modulation that is going on.
XLFO The XLFO is like a classic LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) on steroids: it can do so much more! It can be a regular LFO, but it can also turn into a 16-step sequencer with an individual glide setting for every step. The display shows the waveform that is used by the XLFO. Steps can be freely added or deleted to shape the funkiest of waveforms. To add an XLFO as a modulation source, click the + button in the modulation section and click New XLFO.
The global Glide knob acts like an overall glide offset. The amount of glide determines the point within a step at which the XLFO starts to interpolate to the value of the next step. The global Glide value is added to the glide value for individual steps to arrive at the final glide value for each step. The final glide value is limited between 0 (no interpolation) and 1 (full interpolation).
Envelope generator The envelope generator (EG) generates a traditional ADSR envelope. The envelope defines how the level changes with time and is controlled by the Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release parameters. Its function is to modulate a parameter over time, based on MIDI input or the amplitude of an audio signal (e.g. plug-in input or external side chain signal) that triggers it.
volume level rather than a time period. Hold Once the key is released (or the input level drops below the threshold), the value will remain at the sustain level for a time set by the hold parameter. Release After the hold time the sound resumes its decay, this time at a new rate determined by the Release setting.
Envelope follower The envelope follower modulation source outputs an envelope or transient signal based on the plug-in input, side-chain or band input audio level. Unlike the envelope generator, which produces its own envelope, the EF tracks the envelope of the trigger signal and smoothes it out to produce a modulation signal. To add an envelope follower as a modulation source, click the + button in the modulation section and click New Envelope Follower.
MIDI source The MIDI source is a powerful modulation source if you want more control over FabFilter Saturn 2 using a MIDI keyboard or MIDI controller. Note that you first need to route data from a MIDI track to Saturn 2 in your host. To add a MIDI source as a modulation source, click the + button in the modulation section and click New MIDI Source. Initially the MIDI source is shown as a source component button in the interface, showing a graphical representation of the current settings.
XY controller The XY controller makes for more tweaking fun. It's a classic, and we didn't dare to leave it out! It can control two parameters with one mouse movement. When browsing presets don't forget to listen to the sound mangling possibilities provided by these controllers. The XY controller can also be set to a onedimensional Slider mode. To add an XY controller or slider as a modulation source, click the + button in the modulation section and click New XY Controller or New Slider.
Full Screen mode and resizing With just the click of a button, the Saturn 2 interface will fill up the whole computer screen so you can make ultra-precise adjustments and get the best view on the spectrum analyzer. To exit Full Screen mode, just press Escape or click the Full Screen button again. Resizing In addition to Full Screen mode, you can also customize the normal interface size using the Resize button at the right of the bottom bar.
See Also Overview 26
Input and output controls Next to the MIDI learn button, the bottom bar contains various input/output options and settings. When Linear Phase is enabled, both multi-band crossover filtering and internal oversampling (High Quality mode) is done using linear phase filters. As this avoids phase distortion/smudging, it makes Saturn 2 much more suitable for mastering purposes. Note that other types of filtering that are taking place (e.g.
MIDI Learn Controlling FabFilter Saturn 2's parameters directly with MIDI is very easy using the MIDI Learn feature. With MIDI Learn, you can associate any MIDI controller with any parameter. Click the MIDI Learn button in the bottom bar to enter MIDI Learn mode. The interface dims and the parameters that can be controlled are highlighted. Each parameter has a small text balloon that displays the associated controller number. Now do the following to associate a controller number with a parameter: 1.
for the instance you would like to control. Logic Pro Instead of adding FabFilter Saturn 2 to one of the insert slots, create a new Instrument Track, and click on the Instrument slot. Then choose AU MIDI-controlled Effects > FabFilter > FF Saturn 2. Now, the plug-in receives MIDI. To get audio into the plug-in, click the 'Side Chain' drop down menu in Logic's plug-in header and choose the actual input track. Next, you can mute that original track, so you only hear the audio through the plug-in.
Undo, redo, A/B switch The Undo and Redo buttons at the top of the FabFilter Saturn 2 interface enable you to easily undo changes you made to the plug-in. With the A/B feature, you can quickly switch between two different states of the plug-in. The Undo button at the left will undo the last change. Every change to the plug-in (such as dragging a knob or selecting a new preset) creates a new state in the undo history.
Loading presets Plenty of presets are provided with FabFilter Saturn 2, giving a good idea of what you can do. You can either use the presets as they are, or tweak them further to create your own unique sounds. To load a preset, click the preset button. The presets menu will appear with all available presets. Click a menu item to load that preset. The currently selected preset is highlighted with check marks.
Saving presets You can easily extend the included presets with new settings to build your own library of presets for FabFilter Saturn 2 that you can reuse in various projects. This is also a good way to copy settings across multiple instances of FabFilter Saturn 2 in a session. To save the current setting as a preset, click the preset button, and then click Save As. A standard Save dialog will appear. Type a name for the new preset and click Save to finish.
Section presets To make designing sounds for FabFilter Saturn 2 easier, you can save section presets for different sections of the plug-in. In this way you can, for example, easily re-use certain settings. To load and save section presets, click the Presets menu button right next to the modulation source name, centered at the bottom of the source interface. This will display a presets menu for that section.
How presets are stored Presets for FabFilter Saturn 2 are stored in separate files with the .ffp extension (for FabFilter Preset). All presets reside in subfolders in the main preset folder. The subfolders will show up as separate categories in the preset menu. You can also further divide the subfolders into categories. You can manage the preset files just like other files on your computer. The easiest way to do this is in the Save dialog that appears if you are saving a preset.
Purchasing FabFilter Saturn 2 Once you have downloaded and installed the evaluation copy of FabFilter Saturn 2, you may evaluate it during 30 days. Every time you start the plug-in, you will see the following dialog: While there are still days left, you can click Evaluate to start working with the plugin. If you want to keep using FabFilter Saturn 2 after the evaluation period, you must buy a copy in the online FabFilter Shop by clicking the Buy Now button in the evaluation dialog.
Entering your license key After you have purchased FabFilter Saturn 2 in the online FabFilter Shop , you will immediately receive an e-mail containing your personal license key. This license key will turn the evaluation version into a fully registered plug-in. Start FabFilter Saturn 2 and click Enter License in the evaluation dialog, or click Enter License on the Help menu if the plug-in is already running. Copy the license information from the email you have received and paste it into the text field.
Support If you need help with problems or questions, and the help file does not provide an answer, please visit the support pages on our web site. Go to FabFilter Support From here, you have direct access to the customer support forum, very useful tutorial videos for all FabFilter plug-ins, online and PDF versions of all our help files, and a section with extra downloads (such as presets, controller templates, older plug-in versions).
Manual installation When installing FabFilter Saturn 2, the installation program will try to copy the plug-in into the appropriate plug-ins folders, and in most cases your host will recognize FabFilter Saturn 2 automatically. Otherwise, please follow these instructions: Windows On Windows, most hosts have their own VST plug-ins folder.
VST plug-in versions FabFilter Saturn 2 is available in both VST 2 and VST 3 formats. They can be installed and used both at the same time. The VST 3 format offers easy side-chaining, free interface resizing, and is more CPUfriendly in some cases, but it can only be used by hosts that support it, for example recent versions of Cubase, Studio One or FL Studio. The VST 2 format is compatible with a larger variety of hosts.
External side chaining FabFilter Saturn 2 offers the possibility of feeding an external signal to its side chain, so that you can make it trigger on a different signal than the audio it is actually processing. Feeding a signal to a plugin's side-chain inputs works slightly different in various hosts. This topic describes the procedure for some of the most popular hosts around: Cubase, Logic Pro, Ableton Live and Pro Tools. To explain how it works, we use a scenario with two tracks.
Logic Pro Open Logic Pro and create a new empty project via File > New... Add two audio tracks (via Track > New...) that we'll use as main track and side chain track. Add audio files on both the main track and the side chain track. You can simply drag audio files from a Finder/Explorer window onto a track. Select the main track and add Saturn 2 in the first Insert effect slot.
FabFilter Software License Agreement This license agreement concerns and describes your rights and the conditions upon which you may use the FabFilter software you selected. We advise you to read this entire agreement. By accepting this agreement or by using FabFilter software, you agree to all of these terms. If you do not accept and comply with these terms, you may not use the FabFilter software or its features.
The Evaluation period is a period of thirty (30) days commencing on the first day of using the software concerned and automatically expiring 30 days thereafter. After the Evaluation period has expired and no FabFilter license key has been acquired, the software will stop working and should be removed from your computer.
Acknowledgements We would like to thank all beta testers for their relentless testing, helping us to make this plug-in as awesome (and bug-free) as possible. FabFilter Saturn 2 comes with a library of presets. Almost all of these were created by external sound designers: bManic (BM) Stephan Müsch (SM) Ouroboros (O) Dax Liniere (Dax) Maarten de Boer (MdB) Visit the FabFilter sound designers page to read more about each sound designer.
About FabFilter Beautiful sound. Fantastic workflow. These are the foundations of FabFilter. We create powerful audio plug-ins with superb sound quality and innovative interfaces. A unique perspective At FabFilter, we make the best possible tools for music production and audio processing. To achieve this, we continually rethink and challenge industry standards: we've never been afraid of reinventing the wheel.
