Plug-In Will Take Your Head Off

US Soundtoys release their Decapitator Analog Saturation Modeler for public beta testing 23/12/09

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Soundtoys have released their Decapitator analog saturation modeler for public beta testing. Here's what they have to say about it...
Analog saturation has long been the magic mojo that engineers have used as their swiss army knife of mixing. It's used on drums, bass, vocals guitars, everything. It can be used to beef things up, thin things out, give them some edge, fry them up nice, add a bit of warmth, pull things out of the mix, or even create a signature sound. Subtle to extreme, analog saturation is the golden child of great mixes. That's why we took our time, bought and listened to all the great analog classics, and painstakingly created that magic for you in Decapitator.
Analog Feel
Decapitator is more than just an emulation of the analog sound. It has the analog feel. You can hear the subtle changes reacting to the track, following the dynamics of the instrument. That's what analog is all about. Not a static snapshot (no convolution here) but a changing responsive model of all those tubes and wires (and careful notes), and transistors. The sound of real gear, but with the flexibility of software. Our modeled tone control lets you shape and contour, and our mix control lets you mix back in the dry signal without the need for routing and submixes. The best of both worlds.
The Models
In our lab we gathered so much cool analog gear. From preamps to compressors. From tape machines to EQ's. Vintage gear and modern gear. All of it so we could listen to how the sound changed and moved and created its special vibe. We picked some of the models that had the most distinct sounds, the models that had a flavor both subtle and extreme, and made them instantly accessible on the front panel. Those 5 buttons represent thousands of dollars worth of great analog gear from Neve, EMI, Ampex, and classic tube gear. By adding analog modeled tone control we increased the sonic possibilities far beyond many of the originals and give you a remarkably flexible "analog" palette to create with.
Bad Boy
Because we know that audio is not always nice, we've included a convenient way to make sure it's not nice. Our "Punish" button kicks in another chuck of gain to push it over the edge. This tool let's you drive hard and responds just like its analog counterpart. It screams in pain. Not your standard stomp-box distortion, Decapitator gives you those unique qualities that only come from driving high end studio gear. Listen to how each model has its own sound of beautiful agony when you hit the "Punish" button and crank it up.
Pricing and Availability:
Available now as public beta. Release expected late January, 2010. More information: