Distorters / Saturators

The Super Freq by Holy Island Audio is not for the subtle tone seeker, as it is wild and unruly — but in the most wonderful way!

Audio files to accompany SOS May 2021's Saturation Stratgeies workshop.

There are many types of distortion that can be pressed into service in the name of musical creativity, ranging from soft...

We check out four pedals that emulate classic amplifier types.

The kings of dynamic convolution take on producer Mike Dean’s signal chain.

BDE, or Big Distortion Engine for long, is the second plug‑in from producer and engineer Jordan Swift.

Delving into multiband distortion territory, God Mode offers three types of overdrive that can be dialled in at the same time.

SubBass Doctor 808 is designed to add sub-bass to sounds that already reside in the sub-50Hz low-frequency register.

From subtle warmth to full-on modulated mayhem, this plug‑in covers a lot of ground.

Warmth is the name of the game for these three EQs, which boast modelled Marinair transformers and a range of different virtual vacuum tubes.

There's rather more to FabFilter's redesigned multiband saturator than a slicker GUI.

This studio DI box goes further than most, adding character to a range of sources.

With more control and functionality than the Plasma pedal that preceded it, is this box the new king of controllable carnage?

Could this be the ultimate analogue 'vibe box'?

They say they don't make 'em like they used to, but in the case of this Italian boutique filterbank, they do!

If your audio has been particularly naughty, perhaps Heavyocity can give it the treatment it deserves...

There's already a decent range of products providing digital emulations of vintage guitar amps, but iZotope's Direct X plug-in goes a lot further, offering no fewer than seven processing modules, and is intended to model every kind of distortion you'll ever need.

Originally designed by SOS author Craig Anderton as a DIY hardware circuit, Spectral Design have now turned this into a software plug‑in. Unlike most other distortion effects, it splits the signal into four frequency bands and distorts each one individually.

Though this Charisma has only two channels instead of eight, it's lost none of the original charm.

Paul White goes into overdrive with TLA's latest valve processor — the 02031.