Available for download, Waves Abbey Road Saturator Pro Audio Software Downloadis a plug-in that emulates gear used in Abbey Road studios, a classic room. This gear is used to process the dynamics of sound sources, though it also provides saturation emulations for adding harmonic distortion to signals. Use it on elements in your mix to add character, vibe, and to tame transients is a very specific way. It was developed in partnership with Abbey Road.

One tool this Saturator emulates is a compander—a hardware device that compresses a signal, passes it through a filtering section, and then expands it. Compression reduces the dynamic range of a signal, while expansion does the opposite: it increases a signal's dynamic range. Companders were initially used in communications, but in musical applications, the process can add high-end excitement to material, allowing it to cut through the mix.

The saturator part of this plug-in emulates the EMI REDD 17 and the EMI TG12345, one is a valve mixing desk, the other a transistor-based console. Both have their own characters, and in this plug-in, you have access to both sounds.

The plug-in itself is quite easy to use. Your instrument goes through an input section with a level trim and a pre-EQ section for emphasizing or curtailing the lows, mids, and/or highs. Next comes the Compander, which enacts the process described. It gives you Ratio and Blend controls, combined with EQ emphasis switches.

This feeds the saturator section, which can be mixed in to your desire or shut off altogether. Finally, you have an additional post-EQ section for final tweaking, and an output level knob.

The plug-in operates in mono, stereo, or M/S (mid/side) mode. It is available for Mac and Windows platforms, and operates in AU, AudioSuite, AAX, and VST formats.

Created with Abbey Road Studios    Compander for Dynamics Processing    Pre-EQ & Post-EQ for Use with Compander    Phase Switch for Changing Character    Stereo or M/S Processing    Accurate Tube & Solid-State Emulation    Blend & Mix Controls    Mac & Windows    AU, VST, AAX, or AudioSuite

You can use the Pre EQ and Post EQ controls together to remove certain frequencies from distortion processing. This is most commonly used to leave low frequencies largely untouched, usually to maintain the color and robustness of the bass, or to prevent the bottom end of the distortion from becoming muddy. Use the Pre EQ to strip away the frequencies you want to remove from the signal so that they don't pass through the compander and saturator, and then use the Post EQ to recover the same frequencies after processing.

The Phase control reverses the polarity of the compander module. It tends to change the effect from pulling to pushing. It can result in a significant change in character depending on the program material.

EMI REDD 17 is a valve mixing desk, first developed at Abbey Road in the 1950s. Its saturation sound is typically edgy and aggressive. The EMI TG12345, introduced in 1969, was the first solid state mixing console designed by EMI for Abbey Road Studios. It saturates with a round, often warm sound. Both are available in this plug-in.

The compander compresses the Pre EQ signal, passes it through low-pass and high-pass filters, and then expands it. This excites the signal and provides control over how different frequencies are distorted based on the compander ratio. The Ratio controls which frequencies will be compressed and enhanced. Lower settings result in more low-frequency sounds being soft clipped and compressed. With higher settings, higher frequencies are affected, and results range from gentle clipping to crunching.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Can I use this program with an iPad pro?

A: dslrBooth Professional Mac Edition Photo Booth Software (Download) B&H # DSMPDL only supports Mac and PC. They do make a different version for iPad which you can find on the Apple App Store by searching for Lumabooth.

Q: 2. What would be the ideal PC hardware configuration for the pro version? Which Video cards, gpu, cpu are recommended or preferred?

A: I would suggest to have a look towards the hardware recommendations within the Vmix web link here. https://bit.ly/2Gh8a5C Vmix provides the component suggestions to use depending on the tasks within the software.

Q: 3. Please is this functions like a computer or just monitor?

A: The vMix Live Production Software Pro is just the software. A Windows computer and monitors are separate.

Q: 4. Will ZaPrompt run on MACOS Catalina?

A: ZaPrompt states the following operating systems are supported: "Windows 7 or Higher - Mac 10.7 and higher." https://www.telmaxteleprompters.com/pages/download-zaprompt-pro

Q: 5. does photomatix come with a liense #?

A: Yes, a license will be sent with the software download email.

Q: 6. One last question: does the program provides a QR Code for email or digital delivery? Thanks!

A: Yes. You would be able to Share photos and GIFs by E-mail, SMS, Twitter, or QR codes. Also share using our LumaShare iPad App.

Q: 7. Does this work with DJI gimbals too?

A: No, DJI gimbals have no NDI or VISCA for control with Polymotion Chat Pro Software for up to 3 Heads.

Q: 8. how many computers may you use this on?

A: According to the publisher you may install it on more than one computer, but only one user is authorized per license.

Q: 9. What are the differences between the studio prompting software and the newsroom license?

A: The core Autocue WinPlus-IP software license (WP-IP) is a fully functional prompter software with local editing. Adding the news license (WP-IPN) allows editing done in a newsroom system to be imported into WinPlus-IP which is then formatted for prompter video output. WP-IPN ( news) cannot be purchased on its own. It is an add-on to the core WP-IP software.

Q: 10. I hope this is the same version 4K as stated in vMix Software Comparison Table?

A: Yes, this is a vMix Product and the MFR number of SCSI-VMIX-4K will match up to what is on the vMix website.