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SMAO#LAB Releases FREE Yamatube Saturation Plugin

By 10 Comments2 Mins Read
Yamatube Free

SMAO#LAB releases Yamatube, a saturation plugin for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Who doesn’t love a good saturator? Saturation plugins, in particular, seem to congregate in plugin folders with an alarming frequency. If you’re worried this is happening to you, it is time to prepare yourself for Yamatube.

Yamatube is a new saturation plugin by SMAO#LAB and comes in paid and free versions.

The paid version is an affordable €28 with an additional 30% discount during the intro period. The free version has a wonderful set of features and is just missing a few odds and ends compared to the paid version.

The free version of Yamatube lacks a peak limiter and reduced EQ controls. You do get access to two simulated tubes for processing audio, however. These two simulated tubes have a great character to them and work on a wide variety of sound sources for a little extra heft and intrigue.

The interface of the free version is very straight to the point. The top of the interface has the primary controls for the two tubes. The saturation quickly changes from subtle to quite hot at full values.

The fixed shelf EQs are controlled with a simple on-and-off switch, which works fine for most materials. The brilliance control really shines on leads and vocal lines.

The very top of the interface has a presence and lo-air control, which helps to shape the overall saturation further when combined with the shelf EQ. Lo-air works well when saturating a bass line.

Yamatube’s interface is rounded out by the input and output knobs. You can’t use the free version as a soft clipper, sadly, but you can volume match your material quite easily, so things aren’t out of control.

The only other caveat worth mentioning with the free version is the lack of any presets. Twenty presets are available in the paid version, but if you’re comfortable enough with the free version’s controls, it won’t matter.

Yamatube is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. Supported plugin formats are VST, VST3, AU, and LV2. Yamatube is a universal application, so Intel and Silicon users get to add another saturator to their plugin folders.

Download: Yamatube (Free or paid version)

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Liam is a producer, mixing engineer, and compressor aficionado. When not mixing, he can be found pretending to play guitar, as he has been doing for the last 20 years.

10 Comments

  1. Neytcev

     on

    Thank you! And now some note for the more sensitivity.
    If you are presenting the free version here, you must add
    the proper picture of this version but not for pro one version.
    That will be more fair and clear, in case it is completely possible.
    When all the details are in order, then the global view and the general
    feeling will succeed in giving us more pleasure and certain approval.
    Yes, it is not that important, although it may be, but in general we are
    grateful for the site and the information we get on time and all the shares.
    God bless you all!

    Reply

  5. SMAO

     on

    Hello, I have windows 10 bit<wig studio, and it works. Did you contact the support team of SMAOLAB ? He will help for sure :)

    Reply

    • Easy

       on

      No, i have many other saturation plugins. You might have a latest version of Bitwig. Mine is maybe a year old or something. v4.07. If it’s not working at all right now I don’t trust it to be perfect line of code anyway.

      Reply

  6. MRG

     on

    The free version is useful, thank you for it!
    But I have to wonder how it can be used as a demo to the PRO version, given that there are a lot more features stripped out.

    Reply

    • Brenny C

       on

      It’s a stripped down version to entice you to try its big brother. 🤷 There a bunch of devs that do this and, imo, it’s preferable to just a limited-time demo of a full VST. This way you get a free plugin with no limit other than lack of features so, even if I don’t want/need the other features, I still walk away with a fully functional plugin.

      I’ll now have a positive view of that developer simply because I’ve acquired a new plug to add to my arsenal with no cost to me, and I’ll probably be more inclined to do business with said dev if/when they release something that interests me. It’s an excellent system really and everybody wins. I wish all devs did this tbh.

      YMMV of course. 😉

      Reply

      • MRG

         on

        Well, you -sorta- missed my point. I could be wrong, but I didn’t see a demo version of the big bruh. o_O; I’d like to try it, see what the other features sound like, etc… A time-limited, or even better just a version with no preset recall would be useful to try the extra features. My two cents, obviously. I guess I just prefer the try before instead of buying, then asking for a refund model. And I’m sure other people too. YKMV (I’m European, I prefer KPH too… ;P)

        And again, big thanks to SMAO#LAB for the free version, it’s a nice plugin in itself.

        Reply
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