00:00Black Friday is coming and as hot or
00:01industrial techn prod to say you want to
00:03know what tools will help you making
00:05pounding kick drums best or maybe you
00:07just wanted to buy the famous isotope
00:09trash 2 but since that's impossible
00:12anymore you look for the best
00:14alternative in this ultimate review
00:16seven plugins will have only one job to
00:18this thought the same kick as best as
00:20they can I'm going to briefly review
00:22each plugin and highlights their good
00:23and bad sides so you will know which
00:25plugin suits you needs best our starting
00:28point is the Ki Trum made with ISO Tope
00:31too by the way this kick comes from my
00:34heart/ industrial techno sample and
00:36serum preset pack and here is the same
00:38cake drum with different Distortion
00:40plugins we will check out
00:56today before we begin this video is not
00:59sponsored by anyone one and because no
01:00one pays for what I'm saying here I will
01:02say only my honest thoughts and opinions
01:05the second thing is that most of the
01:06plugins here are very versatile and can
01:09give similar results even if their
01:11workflow or Distortion approach is
01:13different when buying the plugin for
01:15yourself and if you are going to do that
01:17you can use my affiliate links from the
01:19description Focus most on the workflow
01:21and on whether the plug-in suits your
01:23production style or not for example I
01:25love crunchy kick trums that remind of
01:27even industrial hardcore techno music
01:29and and because of that I need a wave
01:31shaper Distortion plugin with a few
01:33Distortion stages and vast Equalization
01:36capabilities because of that I wouldn't
01:38be satisfied with the berer by waves as
01:41it has only a single Distortion stage
01:43and its equalizer is simple and I can
01:45use it only to equalize the sound after
01:47Distortion but if I wanted from the
01:49plugin to distort the kick quite heavily
01:51while keeping a warm sound then the same
01:53B would sound more appealing to me of
01:55course the basic as any other plugin
01:58will be useful and at least Le few other
02:00situations like percussion group
02:02saturation but in this video we are
02:04strictly focused on using the plugins to
02:06distort the kick Trum we are kicking
02:08things off with the plug-in I had most
02:10fun with the artua disc cold fire it has
02:13two Distortion modules and each of them
02:15can perform light saturation with for
02:17example tube tape and transistor
02:19Distortion types noisy and crunchy
02:21Distortion with types like bit and ver
02:24or bit Crusher and anything in between
02:26with wave folder and wave shaper
02:28Distortion the current
02:30kick uses a wave folded Distortion twice
02:33to get a powerful sound but look how
02:35easily I can make the kick softer or my
02:38noisy by just tweaking one of
03:20flexible routing is a strong side of
03:21this plug-in it's the only effect where
03:23I can use the swap button that
03:25immediately switches Distortion modules
03:27older that works best with serial
03:29routing that is currently selected this
03:31single button can quickly create a
03:39sound other common routing options are
03:41available along with simple multiband
03:44processing that unfortunately is still a
03:46no match for f filter Saturn 2 we will
03:48see soon what shapes Distortion cre is
03:51an equalizer or a filter before the
03:53Distortion C fire got you covered with
03:55four individual filters placed before
03:57and after each Distortion module given a
03:59huge control over the sound especially
04:02if you set the route into parallel the
04:04prefilter section is fast and aside from
04:06a simple low or highpass filters like in
04:09most plugins we do have all filter types
04:11that with large resonance can make any
04:41the fitback section is a place where we
04:42can get an extra texture for the kick
04:44Trum from Mostly it feeds the plug-in
04:47output back to the input after a time
04:49delay and this is what happens in cold
04:51fire what I like is the fact I can route
04:53the feedback signal to either Distortion
04:55module A or B alone or to both of them
05:33what you hear now is the feedback signal
05:35only to get rid of that I can use the
05:37feedback mute switch that immediately
05:39cuts off the feedback once the kick
05:41stops playing sometimes I wish isotope
05:43trash 2 had a similar thing because when
05:45using thrash to I have to manually mute
05:48the kick by using an automation to get
05:50the same effect close to the feedback we
05:52have the dynamic section equipped with a
05:54limiter compressor and a multiband
05:56compressor that is most useful it's cool
05:59that I can also route the Dynamics
06:00module to be either before or after the
06:22Distortion at last like in most F filter
06:25plugins we have a possibility to copy
06:27the Distortion settings to a second slot
06:29to freely make AP comparisons is there
06:32anything I don't like about cold fire
06:34the plug-in definitely could have
06:36assignable macros to which I can attach
06:38a few plugin parameters to quickly
06:40create over KCK variations with ease a
06:42plugin like this could also have a
06:44simple way to create a stereo kick out
06:46of a mono one sometimes a white kick
06:48just fits better though I can select the
06:51stereo routing which will assign the
06:52Distortion modules to the left and right
06:55channels respectively and the difference
06:57in either prefilter or distortion
06:59settings will create the stereo image
07:01that stereo image sounds unnatural and
07:04also limits the Distortion capabilities
07:20news I can recommend artoria cold fire
07:23to produces that want a versatile plugin
07:25for both saturation and heavy Distortion
07:27tops its complexity will make you spend
07:30hours in front of this effect so to make
07:32use of its full potential you need to be
07:35rather an intermediate producer the next
07:37on the list is the plugin for those who
07:39love Rumble kick DRS with lots of fat
07:40low and that should be carefully
07:42sculpted the F filter Saturn tool tells
07:44you right from the beginning I am the
07:46best effect to carry out cical
07:48saturation what makes this plugin suited
07:50for such a job at first the multiband
07:53processing that is the most advanced
07:54among all the plugins we will use today
07:57Saturn 2 allows you to use up to six
07:59frequency bands for individual
08:01processing how to make use of them
08:03suppose we want the kick Trum to sound
08:06rumbly I will make use of tape
08:09saturation to beef up the whole
08:30the low end got beefed up indeed but the
08:32highs got unnecessarily distorted too to
08:35fix that I can split the frequency range
08:37into two and apply the same saturation
09:26now imagine I want to leave the fat low
09:28end untouched while giv the rest of the
09:30frequencies a guitar like texture with
09:32Saturn 2 ampest ocean is possible
09:56too you could notice the volume doesn't
09:58change drust ially even when I use lots
10:05Drive the drive knob has an auto gain
10:07feature that compensates automatically
10:10any volume difference though to squeeze
10:12into the sound lots of crunch like an
10:13arteria C fire we have to bump up the
10:16output level of each frequency band
10:35the end result of such Distortion can
10:49this because of lack of high or low pass
10:51filters with adjustable resonance and
10:53wave shaper Distortion capabilities like
10:56we had in cold fire heavy Distortion is
10:58more difficult to achieve in Saturn 2
11:00but it's not impossible I will give you
11:02another example of saturation to show
11:04you even more power of the multipan
11:05processing which is the key of this
11:07plugin and the same kick
11:09Trum I saturate the lowend to make the
11:18fatter the rest of the frequencies will
11:30I want that guar amplification to be
11:32hearable only in the beginning of the
11:34kick so I attach an envelope to modulate
11:47time of course few other Distortion
11:50plugins from today's video have such
11:51modulations possible so it's not only
11:53the fup filters speciality that would be
11:55the prepared Kick Drum which low and I
11:57want to sculpt like I mentioned in the
11:59beginning now look what does Saturn 2
12:01has to offer the filters four frequency
12:03split have adjustable slope to split the
12:05frequencies more precisely changing this
12:08affects both low end and the transient
12:20kick the second thing is the Linea face
12:23mode that prevents any face shifts that
12:35please note that the linear phas feature
12:37relates only to the multiband processing
12:38and frequency split and it doesn't have
12:41anything in common with the post EQ
12:42section that each Distortion band has
12:45the third thing is the large
12:46oversampling capabilities with super
12:49setting the oversampling goes up to 32x
12:52it means that the Distortion especially
12:54in the highend area can sound more clean
12:56and transparent again a perfect solution
12:58for deep rumply kicks with a crunchy
13:08transient what else I like in the Saturn
13:102 AP comparison feature like in the cold
13:13fire I mentioned earlier post theq
13:15section for rough Equalization knob
13:17behavior is versatile I can type values
13:20in decimal numbers percents and even
13:22frequencies and symbols what I wish
13:24Saturn 2 had is wave shaper or wave
13:26folder Distortion algorithms that would
13:28make this effect suited for aggressive
13:30Distortion better on the other hand we
13:32have quality tube tape and Transformer
13:34Distortion styles that remind of an
13:36iconic Exciter module from isotope also
13:39mastering suit even up Distortion is
13:41present which is rare I can recommend
13:42SAT 2 for protes that again love deep
13:45rumply kicks but I can also see myself
13:47using this plugin with success while
13:49mixing or even mastering multiband
13:52processing linear face mode and create
13:54tape tube models will suit group
13:56processing perfectly the thir on the
13:58list is the rift by minimal audio
14:00regarding the Distortion algorithms it's
14:02the opposite of the Saturn to Rift is
14:04filled with wave shaper Distortion that
14:06aims for noise Crunch and destruction we
14:09have two Distortion modules that distort
14:11separately the positive and negative
14:12portion of a waveform this is called
14:14bipolar Distortion that is present in
14:16the discontinued isotope trash 2 as well
14:19that approach is unique and gives more
14:46the section above the oscilloscope
14:48allows you to adjust the blend of both
14:49testan modules and that works a bit like
14:52a drywet control for each of these
14:54modules and to increase the Distortion
14:56stages multiplying the amount of ground
15:23the middle section also has something
15:24that any other plugin besides thermal by
15:26output doesn't have it's the wide
15:29processing mode that can take a mono
15:30Kick Drum and create a monoc compatible
15:33and transparent stereo image without
15:35limiting the plugins Distortion
15:37capabilities we also have assignable
15:39macros which are not seen often too the
15:41rift has a few more advantages where the
15:44filter section is the largest one Do You
15:46Remember by how much we could change the
15:48sound by using the prefilter section and
15:49cold fire Rift gives even more
15:52possibilities making its filter section
15:54nearly as good as in the xess serum
15:56synthesizer of course there is only one
15:58filter here instead of four like in the
16:00cold fire but this filter can be freely
16:02placed before or after the Distortion
16:05and we have much more filter types my
16:07favorite one is the very Notch that can
16:09quickly create an uptempo or heart style
16:11like kick I know it's not very techno
17:00the feedback section is available as
17:02well so unfortunately that feedback
17:04signal can't be distorted as hot as in
17:06the CF fire plug-in this can make a more
17:41also the plug-in can't mute the feedback
17:42automatically like in cold fire so I
17:45think the feedback section here could be
17:46better another thing I don't like in
17:48Rift is the multiband processing such
17:51processing is available but when I turn
17:53it on I can only adjust the crossover
17:55filters and volume levels of each band
17:57on the Bott botom we can turn on and off
17:59multiband processing for individual
18:01modules but even the manual doesn't
18:03State what does it work like my gue is
18:06that whatever is turned on gets to
18:08process only the middle band if a module
18:10is turned off it processes the whole
18:12sound as if the multiband processing was
18:14turned off compared to Saturn 2 this
18:17part of the plugin is very
18:42I can recommend the rift for produ start
18:44again want some first cality from s
18:46Distortion plugin if you are interested
18:49in creating unique and not typical for
18:51techn music kick trums pick this plugin
18:53over the arura cold fire if you are
18:57interested in more Industrial techno and
18:59crunchy shrs like kicks I think the cold
19:01Fire by arua will be a better and
19:04slightly cheaper Choice another
19:06candidate for noisy kick trums is the
19:08thermal by output it greets us right
19:10from the beginning with an XY controller
19:12that is linked to two assignable macros
19:14switch to the advanced View and you will
19:16discover that thermal kits as three
19:18Distortion stages chained one after
19:20another each Distortion stage is a wave
19:22shaper or wave folder Distortion unit
19:25that comes with its own low and highers
19:27filters un fortunately without
19:29adjustable resonance we also have an
19:31extra bit reduction da within each
19:33Distortion stage there is no e parallel
19:35or multibend processing available like
19:38in Saturn 2 or Rift the closest you can
19:40get to multiband processing is to use a
19:42single Distortion stage for each
19:44frequency range you manually set up with
19:46low and high bu filters but it limits a
19:49bit plugins Distortion capabilities
19:52let's play around with the kick to see
19:53what we can get out of these three
21:11as you could see I used fear Mouse
21:12feedback section to filter k a bit more
21:14so the feedback section isn't as
21:16advanced as in either Rift or cold fire
21:19so is there anything interesting thermal
21:21has to offer aside from three Distortion
21:23stages chained together thermal also has
21:26the stereo image section where you can
21:27create cre a stereo sound out of the
21:29mono one similarly as in the rift there
21:32is one throwback though while Rift
21:34creates the stereo image by invert into
21:36multipolar processing which gives a
21:38natural sound seral probably just uses
21:41the has effect that with larger amounts
22:01it's interesting that each Distortion
22:03stage has its own stereo image section
22:05as well as a simple equalizer with just
22:07a low and high shelf filters to sum
22:10things up the filter section could be
22:12more advanced at least there could be
22:13resonance controls for the fluters and
22:16the equalization section could at least
22:18look like in the xer serum synthesizer
22:20we can't expect from this plugin any G
22:22amplification or tube tape saturation
22:25models like we have seen in F filter
22:27Saturn 2 but at least the wave shape of
22:29distortion is quite flexible here lack
22:32of parallel or limited multiband
22:34functionality is also a drawback what
22:36surprised me it's lack of drywet
22:38controls for each Distortion stage which
22:40could be useful sometimes we can create
22:43a stereo image out of a mono signal and
22:45automatically compensate the volume
22:47difference when using the drive but come
22:49on this plugin costs
22:51€150 it's advertised as cut and Edge
22:54Distortion plugin but instead of jaw
22:56breaking Distortion I am getting effect
22:57effects like chorus flain or faser
23:00totally useless when dist stting kick
23:02drums it might sound like a being rude
23:04but if you knew that right before
23:06isotope trash 2 got withdrawn from sale
23:08you could buy it for as low as €13 on
23:11plugin Boutique well one can feel
23:13deceived so who I can recommend the
23:15thermal plugin for maybe for someone
23:17that owns a limited version of a door
23:19like Ableton LifeLight and once a
23:21distortion effect that can be used for
23:24different purposes on different sounds
23:26but if you want to make Rox or psls
23:29style kicks with this plugin by anything
23:31else I have covered earlier the next
23:33plugin is the basic by waves we are
23:35slowly entering the field of cheaper but
23:37more limited plugins at the moment of
23:39recording the Bic costs $29 is it worth
23:43at price at our disposal we have a
23:45single wave shaper or wave fold in
23:47distorion stage with 10 different
23:49algorithms available and a high
23:51definition switch that enables 8X over
23:54sampling almost four times less as
23:56Saturn 2 office it doesn't seem much but
23:59the Distortion coming from each of these
24:00algorithms can be shaped with the input
24:02Drive yes these stups give their own
24:05sound when turned up and density that
24:08mostly adds more noise and
24:40for a pleasant sound keep this knob
24:42turned down an interesting feature might
24:44be the go button that with each press
24:46generates a slightly altered version of
24:59please note that this function requires
25:01the density knob to be used without that
25:03forget about Distortion
25:12randomization so far so good while we
25:15don't have many Distortion algorithms
25:17these combined with both input and drive
25:19deliver quite solid Distortion now let
25:22me show you a bit ridiculous and a bit
25:24unintuitive part of this plugin the
25:26feedback section when the feedback type
25:28is set to sign it's just a pitch
25:30modulated sine wave generator that is
25:32supposed to do what laser
25:55effects fortunately when we we change
25:57the type to input then the feedback
25:59section can give you a pleasant warm
26:31extra functionality includes the dynamic
26:33section that controls the sound before
26:35passing it to the drive section you
26:37can't use it to control the Dynamics of
26:39the output in U cold fire We could
26:41decide where we place the dynamic
26:43section but you can use it to for
26:45example pump more Distortion for the
26:47transient part of the kick something
26:49what an envelope follower could do as
26:50well At Last there is a simple equalizer
26:53section but unfortunately there isn't
26:55any low or high bu fotter available I
26:57found the B to give a very warm sound
26:59where the Crunch and Distortion doesn't
27:01have to be filled with lots of high
27:02frequencies so it's difficult to make
27:05the B sounds too annoying if you wouldd
27:07like to try that so and experiment with
27:09this plugin remember you can always hit
27:11undo or simply use the AP feature as a
27:13backup if worm is your goal then I can
27:16recommend you this plugin unless the
27:18price of it goes back to €99 the current
27:20price is in my opinion great because
27:22usually waves likes to charge you more
27:24for SE marketing and brand itself the
27:27second last plugin in my list is the
27:29pyros by audiority it gave me an
27:31impression of a plugin that can either
27:33distort the sound too much given large
27:34amounts of noise and crunch or slightly
27:37saturated we have 25 different wave
27:39shape Distortion algorithms that's two
27:41and a half times more than in B and each
27:44algorithm is shaped with four controls
27:46the drive strength bias and the feedback
27:49please note that feedback here is just a
27:51single knob it's not that kind of
27:53feedback we have seen in all previous
27:55effects what I like is that this to
27:57algorithms have their own power rating
28:00which helps picking the right type
28:01quicker we even have a simple hypers
28:03fota that precedes the Distortion
28:39the output can be clipped in either soft
28:42or hard manner hard one gives slightly
28:44more highend so I don't think it's
28:45necessary for this particular plugin
28:47that already delivers lots of noise we
28:50also have a simple envelope follower a
28:52drywet control and that's it this plugin
28:54costs €45 but considering it's little
28:57versatility I wouldn't recommend you to
28:59buy it either try to replace it with
29:01some freeware plugins or save up more
29:04cash and buy something of a much higher
29:06quality talking about the freeway I'd
29:08like to show you the Rua by noise
29:09engineering it's a simple plugin that
29:12similarly as the covered earlier pyrus
29:14gives you rather fundamental ways to
29:16distort the sound including multiband
29:18saturation overdrive or Wold
29:51face fade de can create a stereo sound
30:02and that stereo sound is still monoc
30:04compatible I think I could even say that
30:06this plugin carries out stereo image
30:07control better than thermal by output
30:10for further control over Distortion you
30:12can use the flow menu to change the
30:14signal chain and in the end you have a
30:16notch and a band pass filter but I'm
30:18afraid that's one of the least useful
30:20things in this plugin especially since
30:22it seems like the filtering comes after
30:24the Distortion so we can't shape the
30:26distortion itself with it because it's a
30:29free plugin I decided to give it some
30:31handicap to extend its possibilities I
30:33paired Thea with a freeware DDR Nova
30:35equalizer of course the same equalizer
30:38could be used before any other plugin
30:40from today's video in The Equalizer I
30:42create something that reminds me a bit
30:44of the very Notch filter from the rift
30:46plug-in two resonant Peaks and a notch a
30:49simple EQ like that change the
30:51Distortion itself I can recommend the
30:53Rua itself to anyone who just starts out
30:56and doesn't want to spend any money
