Saturation/distortion [rant]

[Phil O]

Perhaps it's my coming from a magnetic tape background. Yes, I'm that old.

Back in the goodle days, when we knew what a single edged razor blade was for, we longed for the holy grail - infinite head room, no wow and flutter, flat 20 - 20 kHz, zero noise and last but not least - zero THD. If only.

So when I hear a digital mix engineer use saturation plugins for that special sauce, it just sounds to me like...well...distortion. Like bad. Not good. Just distorted. Can't you hear that distortion??? What is wrong with you?

What's wrong with ME? Are my ears a throwback to Jurassic times? Why can't I hear the glorious ecstacy that a saturation plugin imparts. "Oh, it needs a little grit." "Saturation is what glues the mix together." "It's what gives analog recordings that special sound." Why can't I hear the magic. I'm doomed.

I've tried those plugins - a lot - a little - just a tiny bit - just a teeny weeny bit. Yuk. Sure, for some instruments distortion is part of the sound, right? But on the master buss? No. On acoustic instruments? Please, no. On vocals? Good god, my ears are bleeding. Make it stop. Oh, please, make it stop! What have we become?


Your thoughts?

[HCMarkus]

I think it all depends on the musical style, Phil.

We've been using distortion for years on electric guitars, and that is certainly an acceptable musical sound. In general, I've found a little distortion can help an instrument find its place in a mix, and certainly will help a bass part be heard on smaller speakers. I generally prefer clean vocals except for special effect situations, but have also found that blending in a little soft clipping can make a vocal sound pretty cool in a dense pop mix.

But I probably ain't gonna' use that trick on the next Steely Dan record Fagen asks me to mix. (Like THAT's gonna' happen!)

[stubbsonic]

If there's one ubiquitous term that erks me the most, it's "glue". It is often used to describe compressors; but I guess distortion (aka added "harmonics") is also now glue.

For compression, the idea that one sound source (e.g. the kick) is going to suck down all other tracks, and that this is somehow supposed to be a good thing, because it's glue or whatever, at best, it's just sloppy short-hand. Yes, it can be a cool effect, and no, it isn't a crime.

With any kind of overdrive, I'm all for adding it to individual tracks whenever that sound is desired. Also, if the track wants to emulate a particular style, or genre, or era, that's fine too. But the idea that it makes things sound better? Again, seems like an over simplification.

Take what I say with a grain of salt. No one cares what I think, and no one, actually zero people, ever pay me to mix anything.

[mikehalloran]

…
Your thoughts?

You aren't the only geezer who remembers analog. Cutting tape? NEVER AGAIN!

I have used a touch of distortion on electric bass to add a few more harmonics to the tone. Hell, all of my bass amps added it from my GKs, Carvins, MESA 2000 to my favorite '60s Showman. Likewise, electric guitar normally has some grit to keep it from sounding sterile—same as hearing it live. Some background singer benefit—the added harmonic content allows me to mix them lower. Is it possible to hear a non-distorted Hammond through a Leslie outside of a funeral home?

Unfortunately, iZotope's Trash 2 will never be ported to Apple Silicon. It was like Brylcreem in that "a little dab'll do ya."

Otherwise, I mix in 32bit float and use the bx_limiter True Peak to make my mixes as pristine as possible.

Hmmm... counting the times I was asked to do-over because the results were too clean… hasn't happened yet.

If there's one ubiquitous term that erks me the most, it's "glue". It is often used to describe compressors; but I guess distortion (aka added "harmonics") is also now glue.

That staple of armchair expert mixing videos…

[Phil O]

Just to be clear:

...Sure, for some instruments distortion is part of the sound...

[Phil O]

Hmmm... counting the times I was asked to do-over because the results were too clean… hasn't happened yet.

Yeah. Hasn't happened to me either.