Valves by AudioThing

Overview

Valves is a vintage valve emulation plugin focused on delivering authentic tube coloration in a modern, efficient workflow. The core valve stage is modeled after classic tube circuits, providing harmonically rich saturation that works equally well for subtle warmth or aggressive overdrive.

Valve and Saturation Engine

At the heart of Valves is its tube overdrive section, designed to respond musically to input level and gain adjustments. The saturation adds density, presence, and character while retaining clarity, making it suitable for both individual tracks and buses. High-quality processing with up to 16× oversampling ensures smooth results even at higher drive settings.

Filter Section

The built-in resonant filter is inspired by classic ladder designs and supports both 2-pole and 4-pole modes. It includes:

• Low-pass
• High-pass
• Band-pass
• Notch

The filter can be placed either before or after the valve stage, enabling a wide range of tonal and sound-design possibilities.

Cabinet and EQ Section

Valves includes a cabinet and EQ section with multiple modeled cabinets and simple bass and treble controls. This section is ideal for shaping distorted tones, emulating guitar amplifier characteristics, or adding focused coloration to synths, drums, and vocals.

Workflow and Usability

The plugin features a resizable interface, a preset system with a built-in randomizer, and visual brightness and contrast controls for comfortable long sessions. A selection of factory presets provides practical starting points for common production tasks.

Platforms and Formats

Valves is available on macOS, Windows, and Linux in all major plugin formats, and also on iOS and iPadOS as both an AUv3 plugin and a standalone app. Licensing is straightforward, with no dongles, no mandatory internet connection, and support for activation on multiple computers.