True Tube Saturation Plug-In

Advancing its core mission of reinventing the analogue audio experience, Freqport’s FreqTube FT1-EMU emulation is a true analogue tube saturation and harmonics plug-in with optional real (FreqTube FT1) hardware integration — duly designed to change how hybrid workflow actually works by bringing true analogue circuit behaviour into a fully standalone software emulation based on a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) reference model capturing true tube saturation, rich harmonics, and natural dynamic behaviour (all derived from Freqport’s aforesaid award-winning FreqTube FT1), far beyond conventional digital modelling methods.

FreqTube FT1-EMU features dual-tube architecture with E83CC and 12AT7 pairings delivering bold saturation and smooth harmonic saturation, respectively, each of which can be powered on or off by clicking on the buttons below the eye-catching icons on the gorgeous GUI (Graphical User Interface); two tubes should be enabled for stereo operation or one for mono, while Tilt controls the balance between the tubes. Tone-shaping controls encouraging deep dives include dual sets of self-explanatory Freq, Q, and Gain associated with the primary tube path filter’s WET FILTER and DRY FILTER; low-pass, high-pass, peaking, or bandpass (with 12dB/Oct or 24dB/Oct) filter types; Drive (analogue tube drive level); analogue tube circuit proprietary Harmonics control (with auto-gain compensation); Analog Mix (between those primary and parallel paths); and parallel path phase Invert (180-degree phase shift), to name but several.

Ultimately, users can deploy FreqTube FT1-EMU anywhere in their session — just like a standard plug-in. Put it this way: it is perfectly possible to run it across multiple tracks and channels, automate every parameter, and recall settings instantly — and all with the precision of digital workflow. Whenever users are ready for the ultimate — read: real analogue — experience, however, it is simply a case of connecting the hardware FreqTube FT1, whereupon the same plug-in instantly switches from software emulation to real analogue tube processing, using the same controls and DAW session — digital to analogue in a single click (of the onscreen Analog toggle button), in other words.

With all that in mind, then, FreqTube FT1-EMU is far from being just another analogue-style plug-in, but rather it is a new hybrid platform for engineers, producers, and sound designers who want true analogue behaviour today — and a seamless path to real tube hardware tomorrow. “Our focus remains the same: making hybrid workflows feel effortless, intuitive, and natural — where hardware and software simply work together.” So, simply, sums up Freqport Director of Sales & Marketing Mikael Dahlgaard — naturally, of course.

FreqTube FT1-EMU is available to purchase at a 25%-discounted introductory promo price of €74.25 EUR/$74.25 USD until May 1, 2026 — rising thereafter to a MSRP of €99.00 EUR/$99.00 USD — as an iLok-protected plug-in (with optional FreqTube FT1 hardware integration) in AAX, AU, and VST3 formats for macOS (64-bit) and Windows (64-bit) directly from FreqPort.