FABFilter Saturn 2

Essential Information About FabFilter Saturn 2 Software

• Ultra-versatile saturation and distortion: 28 styles ranging from subtle warmth to aggressive and creative textures.
• Multi-band processing up to 6 bands: precisely sculpt each area of the spectrum (bass, mids, highs) with adjustable crossovers.
• Advanced and clear modulation: drag-and-drop, dedicated matrix, and real-time visualization for controlled musical movements.
• Studio-quality for mixing and mastering: HQ options, mid/side, and linear phase mode for clean and controlled processing.

What FabFilter Saturn 2 Is Used For

FabFilter Saturn 2 is a saturation and distortion plugin designed to enrich, thicken, or transform an audio source in music production. It excels on vocals, bass, drums, or synths to add grit and presence, as well as on buses or masters to bring cohesion with more subtle saturation. Thanks to multi-band processing and modulation, it is also perfectly suited for sound design, amp-style effects, and modern textures ranging from crunch to radical digital.

Main Features

28 distortion styles, from "clean" to radical

Saturn 2 offers a wide range of sonic characters: warm tube saturation, tape-style coloration, overdrive, heavier guitar amps, up to more extreme treatments like digital clipping. You choose the style suited to the source and its role in the mix, then adjust the amount and tone to stay musical or intentionally destructive.

Precise multi-band processing and per-band controls

Processing can be split across up to 6 bands, with adjustable crossover slopes (6, 12, 24, or 48 dB/oct) to finely isolate the areas to work on. Each band has dedicated controls (drive, mix, feedback, dynamics, tone, and level), allowing, for example, thickening low mids without muddying the highs, or adding attack in the upper range without bloating the bass.

Creative modulation, quick to set up

Modulation is done simply via drag-and-drop, with a matrix offering up to 50 slots. Saturn 2 includes essential sources to animate a sound: 16-step XLFOs, XY controllers, envelope generators, envelope followers with transient detection, as well as MIDI sources. The live modulation display helps immediately understand what is moving, where, and how.

Finishing tools for a professional result

For demanding uses (bus, mastering), the plugin offers a linear phase processing option and mid/side processing. Optional HQ modes (Good with 8x oversampling and Superb with 32x oversampling) improve the cleanliness of high frequencies and harmonic management while maintaining natural distortion behavior.

Modern interface and efficient workflow

The redesigned interface includes an interactive multi-band display, different interface sizes, and a full-screen mode, with GPU-accelerated graphics. A/B functions, undo/redo, interactive MIDI learn, as well as carefully crafted factory presets (with V1 preset support) speed up daily adjustments.

Technical Specifications

License and Installation

• Download product
• License validity: Unlimited
• Copy protection: Online activation
• Simultaneous activation: 2
• Internet connection required for installation and activation

System Requirements

• Windows: from Vista
• Mac OS: from 10.12
• Minimum CPU: Apple Silicon, Intel Core

Supported Formats

• AAX Native
• AU
• VST2
• VST3

Features

• 28 different distortion styles, ranging from subtle tube saturation to heavy guitar amps and digital clipping
• Multi-band processing (up to 6 bands), with a linear phase processing option
• Adjustable crossover slopes: 6, 12, 24, and 48 dB/oct
• Per-band controls: drive, mix, feedback, dynamics, tone, and level
• Interactive multi-band display
• Infinite modulation options: 16-step XLFOs, XY controllers, envelope generators, envelope followers, and MIDI sources
• Curve control in envelope generators
• Transient detection in envelope followers
• Drag-and-drop modulation with a 50-slot modulation matrix
• Live modulation visualization for targets and sources
• HQ options: Good (8x oversampling) and Superb (32x oversampling)
• Mid/side processing
• Solo and mute options per band
• Smart parameter interpolation
• Support for common Pro Tools hardware control surfaces
• Multiple interface sizes and full-screen mode
• GPU-powered graphics acceleration
• Unique presets per component
• Interactive MIDI learn
• Undo, redo, and A/B switching functions

Included Content

• Carefully designed and selected factory presets
• Support for V1 presets
• Detailed help file with interactive help tips