What do the three tube types (T / P1 / P2) sound like?
T is the balanced triode default — warm at low Drive, controlled edge at high Drive. P1 is a pentode with tighter mids and earlier H3 onset — breaks up sooner and holds its character harder. P2 is the aggressive pentode — heaviest H3 plateau past the crossover. Reach for T when in doubt, P1 when you want the saturation to be obvious, P2 when polite is not the assignment.
Where does the H2→H3 crossover happen?
The crossover is not a single click-point. It happens across a range, roughly between Drive 50% and 80%, with the perceptual character flip becoming most obvious around 65–70%. Below that, H2 still dominates and the sound reads as warmth and thickness. Above it, H3 takes over and the tone becomes edgier, grittier, and more present.
What does Bias do, and how is it different from Drive?
Bias is a DC offset applied inside the saturator (range 0.00–1.00). It skews the waveform asymmetry, pulling the harmonic balance toward H2 without changing how hard the Drive is pushing. Use it to nudge a patch warmer without re-dialling Drive, or to add character variation when A/B-ing Types.
Which Quality mode should I use for tracking vs mixing?
Live (1×) for tracking — zero latency, lowest CPU. Design (2×) for sound design and general work. Mix (4×) when balancing in context and pushing Drive higher. Master (8×) for final render passes where you want the cleanest possible high-frequency behavior. Higher modes are cleaner but cost latency and CPU — the plugin reports latency to the host so most DAWs compensate automatically.
Why does the output level barely change when I move Drive?
Auto-Gain is on by default. It compensates the gain change Drive introduces so that bypass A/B comparisons stay honest — you hear the character change, not a volume lift. Turn Auto-Gain off in Settings if you want the raw output level to move with Drive.
What does the HPF do, and when should I use it?
The HPF is a pre-saturation high-pass filter (20–500 Hz, toggleable). It removes subsonic content before it hits the saturator — heavy low-end content smears into muddy distortion otherwise. Enable it around 60–80 Hz on anything with significant bass (kick, bass, low synths). Leaves the mids and highs to be saturated cleanly.
Is the demo fully functional?
Yes — every control works, every preset loads, every quality mode renders. The only limitation is a 0.5-second noise burst every 60 seconds, which WILL be printed in renders and exports. No time limit, no account required. Ship-quality evaluation before you decide.
Can I automate Drive, Type, and Bias in my DAW?
Drive, Bias, Tilt, HPF Freq, Mix, and Trim are continuous parameters and automate smoothly. Type (T/P1/P2) is a discrete switch — changes are audible as a character jump, not a crossfade, so schedule those at phrase boundaries or between sections.