CS1V

Not every instrument you put together will sound pleasant at first. In fact, even if you compose using the right notes, it’s very likely that you may be a bit disappointed by how it all comes together. This is because instrumental and vocal tracks need to be tweaked so that the various frequencies don’t create cacophonies. This implies a lot of equalizing, but also using effects that limit or amplify certain frequencies.

When you want to add warmth but also a bit of presence to a track or a mix, you can use an effect called saturation. While your DAW should have such an effect available, today we’re going to take a look at a third-party plugin called CS1V.

All effect plugins by Mellowmuse can be characterized as “nothing fancy”, although they do have the ability to tweak your sounds with admirable results. CS1V is no exception. Its interface is reminiscent of hardware analog units, having only a limited number of parameters and a classic VU meter that indicates your signal level.

The amount of saturation (which is like a warm, harmonic distortion) is controlled by the Drive knob, while the Tone knob adjusts the preamp character, which can be darker or brighter. You can also switch between the A and B preamp modes, where A provides a darker character, while B provides a flatter frequency response.

If you’re using the saturator on a mono track, then you should leave the plugin on the default Channel mode. When using it on stereo tracks, you can switch to Bus mode, which will also provide a bit of crosstalk between the two channels. While CS1V is quite a simple plugin compared to other similar pieces of software, it can certainly help you achieve warmth and depth for your music.