Distortion
Distortion effects add harmonic content by clipping, saturating, or otherwise mangling signals.
Distortion effects add harmonic content by clipping, saturating, or otherwise mangling signals.
saturate
Tanh Saturation - Smooth hyperbolic tangent waveshaping with drive control.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| drive | number | 2.0 | Drive amount (1-10+) |
Aliases: distort
Warm, tube-like saturation that adds odd harmonics while preventing harsh clipping. Higher drive values increase saturation intensity.
Note: For pure math tanh(x) (hyperbolic tangent), see Math Functions. The saturate() function wraps tanh with drive control for convenient distortion.
// Warm overdrive
osc("saw", 110) |> saturate(%, 3) |> out(%, %)// Heavy saturation on bass
osc("saw", 55) |> saturate(%, 8) |> lp(%, 400) |> out(%, %)// Subtle warming
osc("sin", 220) |> saturate(%, 1.5) |> out(%, %)Related: softclip, fold, tanh (math)
softclip
Soft Clipping - Polynomial soft clipper with adjustable threshold.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| thresh | number | 0.5 | Clipping threshold (0-1) |
Softer than hard clipping, rounds off peaks smoothly. Lower threshold values create more aggressive distortion.
// Gentle compression-like softclip
osc("saw", 220) |> softclip(%, 0.7) |> out(%, %)// Aggressive softclip
osc("sqr", 110) |> softclip(%, 0.2) |> out(%, %)Related: saturate
bitcrush
Bit Crusher - Reduces bit depth and sample rate.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| bits | number | 8.0 | Bit depth (1-16) |
| rate | number | 0.5 | Sample rate reduction (0-1) |
Aliases: crush
Creates lo-fi digital artifacts by quantizing amplitude and reducing sample rate. Lower values create more extreme degradation.
// Classic 8-bit sound
osc("saw", 220) |> bitcrush(%, 8, 0.5) |> out(%, %)// Extreme lo-fi
osc("saw", 110) |> bitcrush(%, 4, 0.2) |> out(%, %)// Subtle grit
osc("saw", 440) |> bitcrush(%, 12, 0.8) |> out(%, %)Related: fold
fold
Wavefolding - Folds signal back on itself when exceeding threshold.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| thresh | number | 0.5 | Folding threshold (0-1) |
Aliases: wavefold
Classic West Coast synthesis technique. When the signal exceeds the threshold, it folds back creating complex harmonic spectra.
// Basic wavefold
osc("sin", 110) * 2 |> fold(%, 0.5) |> out(%, %)// Animated wavefolding
osc("sin", 110) * (1.5 + osc("sin", 0.2)) |> fold(%, 0.4) |> out(%, %)// Aggressive folding
osc("tri", 55) * 4 |> fold(%, 0.3) |> lp(%, 2000) |> out(%, %)tube
Tube Saturation - Asymmetric waveshaping with even harmonics.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| drive | number | 5.0 | Drive amount (1-20) |
| bias | number | 0.1 | Asymmetry bias (0-0.3) |
Aliases: valve, triode
Emulates triode tube saturation with an asymmetric transfer function. Unlike symmetric saturators like tanh which produce only odd harmonics, tube adds even harmonics (especially 2nd) for a warmer, vintage character. Uses 2x oversampling internally.
// Warm vintage drive
osc("saw", 110) |> tube(%, 5, 0.1) |> out(%, %)// Aggressive tube distortion
osc("saw", 55) |> tube(%, 15, 0.2) |> lp(%, 800) |> out(%, %)// Subtle 2nd harmonic enhancement
osc("sin", 220) |> tube(%, 2, 0.15) |> out(%, %)smooth
ADAA Saturation - Alias-free saturation using antiderivative antialiasing.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| drive | number | 5.0 | Drive amount (1-20) |
Aliases: adaa
High-quality tanh saturation with built-in antialiasing. Uses the ADAA (Antiderivative Antialiasing) algorithm to eliminate harsh aliasing artifacts without oversampling. Best for clean, high-fidelity saturation on full mixes or high-frequency content.
// Clean master bus saturation
osc("saw", 220) |> smooth(%, 3) |> out(%, %)// Heavy saturation without harshness
osc("sqr", 440) |> smooth(%, 10) |> out(%, %)// High-frequency content stays clean
osc("saw", 880) |> smooth(%, 8) |> out(%, %)tape
Tape Saturation - Soft compression with high-frequency warmth.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| drive | number | 3.0 | Drive amount (1-10) |
| warmth | number | 0.3 | HF rolloff (0-1) |
| soft_thresh | number | 0.5 | Saturation onset threshold |
| warmth_scale | number | 0.7 | HF rolloff amount |
Emulates magnetic tape characteristics: a wide linear region, soft compression at extremes, and subtle high-frequency rolloff. The warmth parameter controls how much the high frequencies are smoothed. Uses 2x oversampling internally.
The advanced soft_thresh parameter controls where saturation begins (lower = earlier saturation). The warmth_scale parameter controls the intensity of the high-frequency rolloff effect.
// Tape-style glue
osc("saw", 110) |> tape(%, 4, 0.4) |> out(%, %)// Lo-fi tape warmth
osc("sqr", 220) |> tape(%, 6, 0.8) |> out(%, %)// Subtle tape coloration
osc("sin", 440) |> tape(%, 2, 0.2) |> out(%, %)// More aggressive saturation with stronger HF rolloff
osc("saw", 110) |> tape(%, 5, 0.5, 0.3, 0.9) |> out(%, %)xfmr
Transformer Saturation - Bass-heavy saturation.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| drive | number | 3.0 | Drive amount (1-10) |
| bass | number | 5.0 | Bass saturation (1-10) |
| bass_freq | number | 60.0 | Bass extraction cutoff (Hz) |
Aliases: transformer, console
Emulates transformer/console saturation where bass frequencies saturate more heavily than highs (magnetic core saturation). Creates thick, punchy low-end while keeping highs relatively clean. Great for drums and bass. Uses 2x oversampling internally.
The bass_freq parameter controls the cutoff frequency for bass extraction. Higher values include more of the signal in the bass saturation path.
// Punchy bass
osc("saw", 55) |> xfmr(%, 4, 8) |> out(%, %)// Console warmth on synths
osc("saw", 220) |> xfmr(%, 3, 4) |> out(%, %)// Thick transformer saturation
osc("sqr", 110) |> xfmr(%, 5, 6) |> lp(%, 2000) |> out(%, %)// Extended bass range saturation
osc("saw", 110) |> xfmr(%, 4, 6, 120) |> out(%, %)excite
Harmonic Exciter - Adds controlled harmonics to high frequencies.
| Param | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| in | signal | - | Input signal |
| amount | number | 0.5 | Exciter intensity (0-1) |
| freq | number | 3000 | Corner frequency (1000-10000 Hz) |
| harm_odd | number | 0.4 | Odd harmonic mix (0-1) |
| harm_even | number | 0.6 | Even harmonic mix (0-1) |
Aliases: exciter, aural
Adds harmonic content to frequencies above the corner frequency only, similar to an Aphex Aural Exciter. Creates presence and sparkle without adding low-frequency mud. Uses 2x oversampling internally.
The harm_odd and harm_even parameters control the mix of odd and even harmonics. Even harmonics sound warmer and more musical, while odd harmonics add more edge and presence.
// Add presence to synths
osc("saw", 220) |> excite(%, 0.5, 3000) |> out(%, %)// Brighten with higher corner
osc("tri", 440) |> excite(%, 0.7, 5000) |> out(%, %)// Subtle air and sparkle
osc("sin", 110) |> excite(%, 0.3, 4000) |> out(%, %)// Warmer excitation (more even harmonics)
osc("saw", 220) |> excite(%, 0.5, 3000, 0.2, 0.8) |> out(%, %)