Distorters / Saturators

Based on the vintage SPL Machine Head hardware digital rack unit, which was an early attempt to replicate the effects of recording to analogue tape, MBS MixHead plug‑in aims to capture the subtle sound‑massaging capabilities of the original.

Want to add power, energy and excitement to a source? Kraftur can help...

Eventide’s take on the legendary Uni‑Vibe adds modern conveniences and a classy overdrive.

A much‑loved creative distortion plug‑in is back from its sabbatical, and it looks like the break has done it good!

These plug‑ins are all about warmth and distortion, and the flavours on offer range from gentle saturation at the subtler end of the scale through to crunching overload and squelchy obliteration.

The Warm Bender, by Warm Audio, offers users three distinctive fuzz voicings in one robust pedal.

EHX have used digital technology to coax three different characters of drive from a single pedal.

Coil Audio’s CA‑70 valve preamp is based on classic Western Electric and RCA designs dating back as far as the 1930s.

Just when you thought it had all been done with distortion and overdrive pedals, Old Blood Noise Endeavours have put a new spin on the concept...

Strymon’s reputation for making top‑quality digital effects pedals is second to none, but now they’ve made some of their creations available as DAW plug‑ins.

The latest pedal from Warm Audio pays homage to one of the all‑time pedalboard favourites, the Fulltone OCD pedal.

For the first time, the Red and Blue bands of RND’s popular Silk circuit can be used together in the same device — but there’s more to the MBT than purple Silk!

Plamen is a five‑band saturator, in which each band can be processed using one of five different saturation algorithms.

This dual‑distortion box is equally at home with guitars,synths and drum machines, on a dusted‑daily desktop or a filthy stage pedalboard...

Still searching for an ‘always on’ overdrive that works with your guitar’s volume control turned up or backed off? Your search might be over...

With the KD1 saturation effect, McDSP show that their analogue plug‑in system can deliver more than just dynamics processing.

Designed in collaboration with the JHS Pedals team, EHX’s Lizard Queen is a slightly unusual distortion pedal...

As a traditional bus compressor, this plug‑in sounds great — but there’s much more to it than that!

Controllable carnage is the name of the game, but the Punishr can do warmth and subtlety too!

These audio examples accompany the SOS June 2023 review of the Punishr analogue harmonic distortion 500-series module by Malcolm Toft.

Magma offers a one‑stop shop for analogue‑style attitude and warmth.