Core, density, and forward motion. The odd harmonics at the heart of transformer character.
ANALOG SERIES 01 / SATURATION
AMATERASTransformer Saturator
The feel of real analog hardware,
inside your DAW.
Thin. Hard. Fatiguing. A mix can be technically correct and still refuse to come together. Transformer Saturator brings the core, density, sweetness, and grip of AMATERAS line-transformer hardware into your DAW.
SHOWN: UK VINTAGE / TRANSFORMER MODEWINDOWS / macOS · VST3 / AU · VERSION 1.0.0
FILM
FROM HARDWARE TO SOFTWARE
AMATERAS TRANSFORMER SATURATOR
This texture
began in hardware.
For nearly three decades, AMATERAS JAPAN has built analog hardware around the character of transformers. That experience now lives in one plugin.
PLAY WITH SOUND01 / THREE AXES
CONTROL THE HARMONIC STRUCTURE
Not just more distortion.Choose the harmonic structure.
Most saturators lock their harmonic structure inside the circuit. Here, 3RD, 2ND, and CHARACTER are separate axes. Choose the balance of odd and even harmonics, then decide how far the upper harmonics extend—with your ears.
Softness, sweetness, and body. Even harmonics from asymmetrical tube- and transformer-like saturation.
How upper harmonics extend. Move between roundness and edge without changing level.
FROM HARDWARE TO SOFTWARE
Beyond more than 20,000AMATERAS
transformer products.The next step.
The starting point is the line transformer used throughout AMATERAS analog gear. Rather than copy somebody else's classic, we translated the saturation we know from our own hardware into software.
In a real transformer, low frequencies act on the core first and hardest. TRANSFORMER mode recreates that physical behavior through pre-emphasis and de-emphasis.
USER VOICES
FROM HARDWARE OWNERS
People who know the hardwarehear the same direction.
What owners of AMATERAS analog hardware say about Transformer Saturator.
“Doesn't this sound better?
If it feels right, it is finished.
Yeah—it really does.”
I have it on every track of the song I am writing—and on the master. What used to feel vaguely wrong now has much better separation between parts.
“It gives me a tone similar
to running through the hardware.”
The presets are very well judged. With a small adjustment, a sound can move forward or settle more naturally into the mix. It feels genuinely useful.
The feel of real hardware, inside your DAW.
BUY NOW — 50% OFF ↗02 / TWO MODES
SAME LEVEL · DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTION
Evenly across the spectrum.
Adds the selected harmonics evenly across the spectrum without emphasis. This is the reference mode for shaping color.
Low frequencies first.
Recreates the way a real transformer's low frequencies saturate first. It shifts the distribution of distortion toward the low end without adding total drive.
The frequency response stays flat.
In the unsaturated region, the filters before and after TRANSFORMER mode cancel each other, leaving a flat combined response. EQ coloration and transformer saturation stay distinct.
03 / CONTROLS
SIX KNOBS · ONE PURPOSE
Build your own analog character
with six knobs.
DRIVE
Input gain into the waveshaper. Push it from saturation into hard-clipped fuzz.
3RD
Controls the odd-order structure, led primarily by the third harmonic.
2ND
Controls the even-order structure, led primarily by the second harmonic.
MIX
Parallel blend between the untouched dry signal and the processed signal.
OUTPUT
Final output gain for matching level before and after processing.
CHARACTER
Lower values sound rounder; higher values bring out the edge of upper harmonics.
04 / PRESETS
13 STARTING POINTS
Thirteen starting points,
built around the job.
Transformer voices form the core. Combinations of second and third harmonics with CHARACTER also reach toward tape, tube, and console-like textures.
Move from subtle color to bold harmonic processing. Choose a preset, then make it yours.
13 PRESETS / FULL GUIDESTARTING POINTS 02
01Flat (No Saturation)+
A neutral starting point with no added harmonics. Use it to build DRIVE and CHARACTER from scratch. The DC blocker remains active, so it is a clean state rather than a strict bypass.
02Sugarfields+
Developer Sugarfields' working setting. Low CHARACTER keeps upper harmonics smooth while third-harmonic core and second-harmonic sweetness coexist in a rich, non-fatiguing balance.
HARMONIC COLORS 06
03Subtle Analog Warmth+
Almost imperceptibly light. Softens digital hardness without changing the source character—a safe range for use across many tracks.
04Tape Warmth+
Low CHARACTER rounds the upper harmonics, evoking the gently compressed top of tape. Suited to drum buses and acoustic sources.
05Tube Drive+
Tube-like sweetness with extra upper-harmonic presence as you push it. Brings vocals and guitars forward.
06Console Glue+
A low MIX setting that adds just a trace to the dry signal. Subtle alone, but cohesive across a bus—like tracks passing through the same console.
07Vintage Console (2nd-heavy)+
The only preset led by second harmonics. Thicker, sweeter, and intentionally colored compared with the third-harmonic-led voices.
08Aggressive Fuzz+
A sound-design setting with strong upper harmonics and a deliberately torn edge. Use it to crush synths, drums, or anything that needs an effect.
TRANSFORMER VOICES 05
09UK Vintage+
Inspired by a hard-to-find vintage British transformer. Juicy highs, elastic bass, and an open sense of space.
10UK Modern+
A tighter, more modern relative of UK Vintage. Adds density without announcing the processing.
11Nordic Glow+
Inspired by a Swedish transformer. A light, even effect across the spectrum with no second harmonic—dense, clear, and polished without clouding the source.
12US Punch+
Inspired by an American transformer. The highest saturation point, forward low-mids, the strongest second harmonic of the five voices, and a high CHARACTER setting for dry, assertive punch.
13Japan Clean+
A Japanese transformer voice. Gentle low-frequency saturation with no second harmonic keeps it honest, versatile, and easy to place on almost any source.
05 / INSIDE
BUILT FOR TRUSTWORTHY A/B
Oversampling
4× oversampling with a linear-phase FIR filter. Aliasing is held below −96 dB at 0 dB DRIVE and below −56 dB at +12 dB.Measured at 44.1 kHz with an 11 kHz input and harmonic controls at maximum.
Smoothing
All parameters and mode changes are smoothed to prevent clicks and abrupt steps.
Wet-only DC block
Removes only DC created by asymmetrical processing, leaving the dry signal untouched.
Samples latency
Reports latency to the host for PDC. Latency remains constant when bypassed.
Universal Binary
Runs natively on Apple Silicon. VST3 and Audio Unit are included for direct use in Logic Pro and other compatible DAWs.
VERSION 1.0.0 / RELEASE SPECIFICATION
System requirements
- FORMAT
- VST3 / Audio Unit (AU)
- OS
- Windows 10 / 11 · 64-bit
macOS 10.13 or later · Intel / Apple Silicon Universal Binary - CHANNELS
- Mono / Stereo
- SAMPLE RATE
- No fixed limit
- TESTED HOST
- Cubase (Windows) / Logic Pro and REAPER (macOS)
- VC++ RUNTIME
- Not required
Before purchasing
The Windows and macOS installers are currently unsigned.
Windows: SmartScreen may display a “Windows protected your PC” warning. Select “More info,” then “Run anyway.”
macOS: on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, Control-click → Open is not available. Dismiss the warning, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.
Detailed instructions are included in the README. Use your DAW's bypass control.
COMING NEXT
WORKING BUILDS / NAGAOKA, JAPAN
NEXT FROM AMATERAS
Keep the spark
in your sound.
True to the fundamentals. Instinctive to use.
No menus between you and the next idea.
AMATERAS plugins are made to keep music-making direct, focused, and fun. More are on the way.
LIMITER / REVERB / AUTO CURVE / OPTO-3 / AIR REVIVER / DELAY / VINYL …
Screens shown are work in progress. Names, designs, and specifications may change.
AMATERAS TRANSFORMER SATURATOR
Make the harmonics
yours.
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