Stoke Saturator v0.1.2 reports six samples of latency and holds Auto loudness within plus or minus 0.5 LU across its Drive range. That matters because drive controls on saturation processors often change level as well as harmonic density, which makes a louder setting easy to mistake for a better one. A small trap with expensive consequences.
Vitric takes a different route by calibrating the incoming program level before the saturation stage and generating added harmonics separately from the delayed dry signal. The company says that the dry path remains bit-exact while the harmonic content lives in its own residual, so the processor can add density without rewriting the low-frequency foundation. That design is more interesting than the usual promise of “analog warmth.”
The wider Vitric Audio Studio 4 plugin launch introduced Stoke as one of the company’s simpler processors, but its simplicity hides a fairly strict operating model. Drive, Tone, Mix and Output shape one continuous saturation voice, while Auto and Power handle level behavior and bypass. No menu of tape, tube or transistor characters.
That distinction matters during gain staging. On many saturators, changing the level feeding the plugin changes how deeply the signal enters the nonlinear section, so moving an upstream fader can alter both loudness and color. Stoke attempts to separate those decisions by normalizing the drive operating point before harmonic generation, leaving Drive to control character more directly.
It also makes level-matched saturation decisions easier when you are working quickly. If the processed version gets denser without gaining the usual loudness advantage, you can listen for the actual changes in harmonic balance, transient shape, and perceived weight. You may still prefer a louder result later, but that becomes a mix decision rather than an accidental side effect of turning on Drive.
Auto does not remove the need for Mix or Output. Those controls remain separate, so you can decide how much residual character belongs in the blend and where the final level should sit after the tonal choice is made. The useful separation is between judging saturation and setting finished gain.
A preserved dry foundation changes how you can use saturation on bass-heavy sources. You are not asking the processor to rebuild the fundamental after distortion has altered it, because the original delayed path remains intact and the generated harmonics are added around it. That can be useful on an 808 or bass line where extra upper content needs to improve audibility without quietly thinning the note that carries the weight.
The same architecture also gives Stoke unusually strict null behavior. Vitric specifies bit-exact bypass, along with bit-exact nulls at Drive 0 and Mix 0 when the reported six-sample latency is accounted for. Those are not creative features, but they make the processor’s inactive states much easier to reason about inside a compensated DAW session.
At full drive, the published contract allows the attack crest to move by up to 4 dB, so this is not a promise that heavy saturation becomes invisible. The useful point is narrower. Stoke treats transient retention as something measurable rather than assuming that preserved bass automatically means preserved impact.
That makes the processor more predictable on kicks, snares, and drum buses where density is welcome but softened attacks are not. Sustained material is treated differently, with a program-dependent bias that Vitric says adds a slight bloom, so the same Drive position is not expected to behave identically on a held synth pad and a sharp percussion hit. The source shape remains part of the sound.
Vitric takes a different route by calibrating the incoming program level before the saturation stage and generating added harmonics separately from the delayed dry signal. The company says that the dry path remains bit-exact while the harmonic content lives in its own residual, so the processor can add density without rewriting the low-frequency foundation. That design is more interesting than the usual promise of “analog warmth.”
The wider Vitric Audio Studio 4 plugin launch introduced Stoke as one of the company’s simpler processors, but its simplicity hides a fairly strict operating model. Drive, Tone, Mix and Output shape one continuous saturation voice, while Auto and Power handle level behavior and bypass. No menu of tape, tube or transistor characters.
Auto loudness changes how you judge drive
The obvious benefit of automatic level compensation is cleaner A/B comparison, but Stoke goes further than trimming a fixed amount from the output. Vitric says Auto stays within plus or minus 0.5 LU across the full Drive range and across a 24 dB input window, with the input calibration tracking program loudness using BS.1770 weighting. In practice, that means a quiet verse and a much hotter chorus are intended to hit a more consistent saturation operating point.That distinction matters during gain staging. On many saturators, changing the level feeding the plugin changes how deeply the signal enters the nonlinear section, so moving an upstream fader can alter both loudness and color. Stoke attempts to separate those decisions by normalizing the drive operating point before harmonic generation, leaving Drive to control character more directly.
It also makes level-matched saturation decisions easier when you are working quickly. If the processed version gets denser without gaining the usual loudness advantage, you can listen for the actual changes in harmonic balance, transient shape, and perceived weight. You may still prefer a louder result later, but that becomes a mix decision rather than an accidental side effect of turning on Drive.
Auto does not remove the need for Mix or Output. Those controls remain separate, so you can decide how much residual character belongs in the blend and where the final level should sit after the tonal choice is made. The useful separation is between judging saturation and setting finished gain.
The low end stays on the dry path
Stoke’s low-frequency claim is unusually specific. Vitric measures energy from 20 to 120 Hz within plus or minus 0.5 dB at nominal drive and reports no more than 0.06 dB of movement on its tested 808, kick, and bass material. The separate residual architecture explains how the plugin is trying to achieve that without simply filtering the saturation afterward.A preserved dry foundation changes how you can use saturation on bass-heavy sources. You are not asking the processor to rebuild the fundamental after distortion has altered it, because the original delayed path remains intact and the generated harmonics are added around it. That can be useful on an 808 or bass line where extra upper content needs to improve audibility without quietly thinning the note that carries the weight.
The same architecture also gives Stoke unusually strict null behavior. Vitric specifies bit-exact bypass, along with bit-exact nulls at Drive 0 and Mix 0 when the reported six-sample latency is accounted for. Those are not creative features, but they make the processor’s inactive states much easier to reason about inside a compensated DAW session.
Transients get protection before density takes over
Low-end preservation does not automatically preserve punch, because saturation can still reshape the first milliseconds of a drum hit. Stoke includes what Vitric calls transient-aware ease, intended to protect that opening attack while the harmonic residual builds around it. At nominal drive, the company reports a measured attack-crest change of plus 0.2 dB on drums.At full drive, the published contract allows the attack crest to move by up to 4 dB, so this is not a promise that heavy saturation becomes invisible. The useful point is narrower. Stoke treats transient retention as something measurable rather than assuming that preserved bass automatically means preserved impact.
That makes the processor more predictable on kicks, snares, and drum buses where density is welcome but softened attacks are not. Sustained material is treated differently, with a program-dependent bias that Vitric says adds a slight bloom, so the same Drive position is not expected to behave identically on a held synth pad and a sharp percussion hit. The source shape remains part of the sound.
