BUTTER
Vocal saturation that melts into the mix.
Butter is a vocal-focused multiband saturator built around a live spectrum canvas. Instead of one global drive knob, you drop saturation nodes directly onto the spectrum — up to 8 at once — and each node saturates only its own frequency band. Horizontal placement sets the frequency; vertical placement sets how hard it's driven.
The result is grit on the 3 kHz presence without touching the low end, chest warmth without dulling the air, and density that sits inside the track instead of on top of it. Each node gets its own tone stack — not one global character section. And the engine stays clean when you push it: 4× oversampled HQ, a DC-safe drive path, and zero added latency.
Most saturators give you one drive knob and maybe a tone shelf. Butter splits the signal into up to 8 independent bands — each with its own drive, Q, and tone stack — so you paint saturation onto the spectrum instead of washing the whole signal.
- Up to 8 saturation nodes on a live spectrum canvas — double-click to place, drag to set frequency and drive, shift-drag for fine moves
- Each node is a true constant-Q band with per-node Drive, Umph, Warmth, Depth, and Air
- Tube (even-harmonic, singing) or Tape (compressive, drive-dependent HF roll-off) mode
- Switchable HPF (40–200 Hz) strips mud before the drive stage
- 4× oversampled HQ mode plus a DC-safe drive path — clean top end even at high drive, still zero added latency
- Route the drive stage to Stereo, Mid, Side, Left, or Right — complement passes dry
- Live analyzer with peak-hold trace, response curve overlay, full-state A/B compare, and Delta listen
What I built
Spectrum canvas
Up to 8 nodes · 30 Hz–18 kHz
Double-click the spectrum to drop a node, then drag it: horizontal = frequency, vertical = drive. Each node is a constant-Q band, so it colors only the slice you point it at.
Nodes blend additively — overlap them to stack drive. Solo any node to audition just that band. Width (bandpass Q, 0.4–8) shapes how focused each band is.
Per-band tone
Drive · Umph · Warmth · Depth · Air
Select a node and five tone knobs appear: Drive sets saturation amount; Umph adds low-mid chest punch; Warmth pushes harmonic body; Depth lifts stereo presence; Air adds high-shelf brightness above the node.
Unlike most saturators, tone is per band — grit at 3 kHz and warmth at 200 Hz can coexist without fighting over one global tone section.
Clean at high drive
4× oversampling · DC-safe · zero latency
HQ mode runs the whole drive chain at 4× through cascaded polyphase halfbands, pushing distortion aliases far below audibility — no fizzy top end when you lean on a node.
A DC blocker after the node sum drains the offset that asymmetric tube shaping creates, so headroom stays honest. The filters are IIR, so Butter still reports zero latency — safe for tracking.
Built for hands
Fine drag · keyboard nudge · live readouts
Shift-drag moves a node at a fifth of cursor speed with crosshair guides and a live frequency · drive readout, so precise placement doesn't need zooming.
Arrow keys nudge the selected node by semitones and drive percent, S solos, M mutes, delete removes. Peak-hold traces on the analyzer and meters keep transients readable while you work.
Under the hood
- 01
In Gain
±12 dB input trim before routing or band processing.
- 02
HPF
Switchable high-pass (40–200 Hz, default 80 Hz) strips mud so the drive stays clean and focused.
- 03
Route
Apply the entire drive stage to Stereo, Mid, Side, Left, or Right. The complementary signal passes through dry.
- 04
Saturate
Up to 8 nodes sum — each a constant-Q band with per-node tone and drive. Tube or Tape character globally. HQ runs the whole chain at 4× oversampling; a DC blocker keeps the drive path offset-free.
- 05
Blend
Parallel Mix (0–100%) and ±12 dB Out Gain. Zero added latency — safe for tracking and mixing.
Included presets
- Butter Lead
- Pop Shine
- Rock Grit
- R&B Smooth
- Rap Tight
- Vocal Stack
- Podcast Voice
- Drum Smack
- Natural Polish
- Bass Butter
- Mix Bus Glue
- Master Warmth
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| In / Out Gain | ±12 dB trim on either end of the chain |
| HPF | Switchable high-pass, 40–200 Hz (default 80 Hz) |
| Mode | Tube (even-harmonic) or Tape (compressive, HF roll-off) |
| Route | Stereo / Mid / Side / Left / Right — complement stays dry |
| Mix | Parallel dry/wet blend, 0–100% |
| Drive | Per-node saturation amount (0–100%) |
| Umph | Per-node low-mid chest punch — shelf plus saturated sub-band |
| Warmth | Per-node harmonic body — low-mid shelf into the drive stage |
| Depth | Per-node stereo presence — bell lift plus side enhancement |
| Air | Per-node high-shelf brightness above the node (up to ~16 kHz) |
| Width | Per-node bandpass Q (0.4–8) — how focused the band is |
| HQ | 4× oversampling of the drive chain — cleaner top end at high drive |
| Delta | Difference listen — hear only what Butter adds, scaled by Mix |