Six bands. Twelve saturation algorithms. A new way to shape harmonics in your mix.
OBERTON is not just another tape saturator with a single global drive knob. OBERTON is a 6-band parametric saturator where every frequency band gets its own EQ, its own drive and its own saturation algorithm. You shape harmonics exactly where you want them. Period.
We built OBERTON because classic saturation plugins felt too one-size-fits-all. Tape on everything? Tube across the master? Sounds fat, but usually in the wrong places. OBERTON flips that around: you decide which band gets warm, which gets bitey, which gets metallic, which stays subtle. The rest stays clean.
What makes OBERTON different
Multiband distortion shaping
Each of the six bands runs in parallel-additive mode, not in series. That means: you boost a frequency internally, send it through your saturation of choice, and only the clean difference signal lands on top of your dry. No stacking drive stages, no muddy summing. Pure layering.
Harmonics-Only mode
Probably the killer feature: turn on Harmonics-Only mode and OBERTON subtracts the EQ boost from the wet signal. What is left are only the nonlinear saturation harmonics. You get air and presence without the typical EQ curve fingerprint. Clean, perceptually honest, ideal for mastering.
Auto-Gain in two modes
Compare A/B with proper level matching. Either classic RMS-Match or modern LUFS-Match per ITU-R BS.1770 with K-Weighting. The latter follows perceptual equal-loudness sensation and is the more honest choice when you do not want to be fooled by loudness tricks.
The six bands
| Band | Default Freq | Filter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 Hz | LowShelf |
| 2 | 164 Hz | Peak |
| 3 | 632 Hz | Peak |
| 4 | 2.8 kHz | Peak |
| 5 | 6.4 kHz | Peak |
| 6 | 12 kHz | HighShelf |
Frequency, Gain (0 to 12 dB), Q (0.1 to 10), Drive, Sat-Type and channel routing are freely adjustable per band. Each band can run as Stereo, Left, Right, Mid or Side. Each band has its own Solo switch. Out of the box all bands are deactivated, meaning a fresh plugin instance is bypass. Activate a band and its saturation path kicks in immediately.
12 saturation algorithms with their own DNA
Every algorithm has a unique harmonic fingerprint. Here is the range:
- Tube: classic warm, asymmetric, 12AX7 triode character
- WarmTube: Class-A power tube with dominant 2nd harmonic, fat
- Tape: soft, low-THD, cassette and 15ips vibe
- Diode: Shockley-equation smooth-clip, fuzz pedal style
- Saturation: pure x/(1+|x|), symmetric odd-only, neutral reference
- Rectify: pure even harmonics, the 808 sub-bass booster trick
- Harmonic: even and odd blended, rich and balanced
- Cubic: pure 3rd harmonic, transparent
- Transformer: iron-core B-H curve, Neve-style iron warmth
- Clean: bypass, EQ-only mode (no sat)
- Wavefolder: sin-based folding, Buchla and Serge style metallic
- Bitcrush: integer bit reduction, digital quantization grit
From subtle glue on the master bus to full-on sound design destruction, it is all in there. You pick per band individually.
170 factory presets in 10 categories
Every preset was built to work in a mix immediately, not to sound impressive on YouTube. Drive and mix values are realistic, not spectacular.
- Mastering (20): Air Lift, Pultec Vibe, Analog Glue, Final Polish
- Vocals (20): Vocal Presence, Radio Ready, Whisper Close, Rap Aggression
- Drums (20): Kick Punch, Snare Crack, 808 Sub, Parallel Crush
- Bass (20): Sub Fundament, Acid Character, 808 Enhancement, Cut Through Mix
- Guitar (20): Guitar Bite, Cabinet Warmth, Metal Crunch, Lead Sustain
- Keys & Piano (20): Rhodes Warmth, Hammond Drive, Mellotron Tape, Pad Evolve
- Creative (10): Mid Crunch, Lo-Fi Vinyl, Mid Bloom, 8-Bit Retro
- Genre (20): Techno Drive, Trap 808, DnB Amen, Synthwave Retro, Psytrance Acid
- Experimental (20): Folded Bass, Robot Voice, Glitch Pop, Industrial Bass
Technical highlights
- Oversampling: Off, 4x (Good) or 16x (Best), IIR half-band polyphase, with plugin delay compensation
- Spectrum analyzer: live pre/post overlay right inside the EQ display, bands editable via drag
- LUFS meter: ITU-R BS.1770 K-weighted, 400 ms momentary
- Mid/Side and Left/Right: selectable per band for surgical stereo work
- Dynamics modulation: drive follows the level envelope, transient-aware
- A/B Compare: two slots in the preset bar with Copy A to B and Copy B to A
- MIDI CC Learn: right-click any knob, move your hardware controller, done. Lock-free on the audio thread.
- Click-free toggles: 50 ms crossfade when switching auto-gain
- 170 factory presets: plus user presets stored under Documents/Kreuzberg Audio/OBERTON/Presets
Under the hood OBERTON runs 1270 unit tests, 66 DSP pipeline tests and 47 AutoGain probe configurations. ThreadSanitizer and AddressSanitizer all green. We do not release DSP we have not tested ourselves.
Specs
Formats: VST3, AU, Standalone
Systems:
- macOS 11.0+ Big Sur, Universal Binary (Intel and Apple Silicon), signed and notarized
- Windows 10 64-bit or newer
- Linux Ubuntu 22.04+ (glibc 2.35 or newer), JACK or ALSA
Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz
GUI: 900 x 800 px, resizable up to 1.5x, light and dark theme
License
Online activation with 3-machine limit per license. 30-day refund guarantee. Free v1.x updates. Demo without license: 30 plugin starts with a subtle demo marker (low-level white noise every 30 seconds), after that audio is muted. Educational and NFR licenses on request.
Made in Berlin
OBERTON was developed entirely in Berlin. The DSP is based on JUCE, the saturation algorithms are written from scratch, every filter coefficient is sample-rate-correct. No white-label, no generic toolkit saturator. Our secret weapon is attention to detail.
Tools by producers, for producers.
License Information
This product includes a professional license system with the following features:
- Online activation with hardware fingerprinting
- Up to 3 device activations included
- Automatic license delivery via email
- Customer portal for license management
After purchase, you will receive your license serial number via email within minutes.