fSat is the dedicated saturation and harmonic generation plugin in the fBox ecosystem. It is what the engineer reaches for when they want to deliberately shape the harmonics on a signal.
The distinction from other fBox saturation is important. fPre has saturation as a byproduct of preamp modelling. fTape has saturation as part of the tape path. fSat is the standalone saturation tool, loaded deliberately when the engineer thinks "I want to shape the harmonics on this signal."
Build 1.0 includes five modes: Silk models a vintage broadcast transformer driven into saturation with smooth even harmonics. Glow models a single-ended triode vacuum tube. Push models a silicon transistor with progressive odd harmonics. Diode models a germanium diode clipper. Clip is a precision mastering clipper with adjustable ceiling, knee, and a scrolling waveform scope showing exactly where clipping occurs.
Additional modes - Rect (full/half wave rectification), Crush (bit-crushing and sample rate reduction), and Fuzz (germanium fuzz pedal) - complete the toolkit.
Silk & Glow
Vintage transformer saturation with smooth even harmonics and weight control. Single-ended triode tube with creamy midrange density.
Push & Diode
Silicon transistor with progressive odd harmonics for edge and grit. Germanium diode clipper with asymmetric soft clipping.
Clip Mode
Precision mastering clipper with adjustable ceiling, knee, and a scrolling waveform scope showing exactly where clipping occurs in real time.
Fuzz, Crush, Rect
Germanium fuzz pedal emulation. Bit-crushing and sample rate reduction. Full and half-wave rectification for extreme harmonic destruction.