Less Tube
Less Tube is a saturation plugin built as an instrument you can read. The model you pick sits in the socket, the meter reads how hard it is driven, and the curve and the harmonic bars show what it does to the music while it plays.
In field testing, not on sale yet. AU and VST3 on macOS with Apple silicon. VST3 on Windows.
The socket
The glass and the transformer share a socket. Pick a model and the harmonic profile, the knee and the tone shaping follow it.
Bias shifts the operating point, so the second harmonic leads. The signal thickens noticeably before it ever sounds distorted. Try it on a vocal or a mix bus, then compare it with the dry signal.
Drive
Output is compensated as you turn, so you audition character, not loudness.
Readouts
The transfer curve is the live input to output shape. Asymmetry there is what makes even harmonics. The bars measure harmonics 2 through 8 against the fundamental, amber for even, teal for odd.
VALVE
The VALVE meter shows the level driving the stage, rather than the output level. Zero VU is where the curve starts to bend, so you can see where you are on the character before you hear it.
Three bands
Multiband is a switch and it starts off. Turn it on and two crossovers split the signal at X LOW and X HIGH, then each region gets its own drive in dB, so a kick can hit the stage hard while the hats stay clean. Latency is the same on every path.
After the stage
Bias shifts the operating point and with it the even to odd balance. Tone chooses where the stage saturates: negative drives the lows into the curve, positive the highs, and the output is not tilted. Mix blends the dry signal back in, output trims the result. Place runs the whole thing stereo, mid side or dual mono, each channel on its own valve.
Listen and compare
EXPLORE THE BROWSER MODEL
Turn Drive and watch the model respond. This is an interactive browser demonstration; the display illustrates the model, not a live analysis of the loop. Listen to the recordings below to hear Less Tube itself.
TRANSFER
Input on the horizontal, output on the vertical. The dotted diagonal is the untouched signal.
HARMONICS
Read from the current curve with a 1 kHz sine at minus 6 dBFS.
RECORDED WITH LESS TUBE
WHAT YOU ARE HEARING
Listen to the same loop dry and through each of the four models. These recordings were made with Less Tube VST3, build 0.3.0.
Switching keeps the playhead, so you compare the character rather than the edit point.
Field testing
Less Tube is in field testing. Pricing and availability have not been announced.
| Alias fold, bare stage | more than 80 dB below the fundamental, 7 kHz tone at maximum drive |
|---|---|
| Alias fold, full path | above 60 dB, locked by test on every build |
| Small signal response | unity, every model |
| Editor | six contracts locked by test: size and aspect, keys on their caps, module swap, strip dimming, ring and meter motion, uniform scaling |
Four characters
Choose a model and the valve in the socket changes. Drag the unit to see it from any side; the bars show the harmonic fingerprint of the character you picked.
The plugin
The plugin interface, shown at its default size. Hover help (the i key) explains every control where you are standing.
