Adding distortion

The Lounge Other Gear
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I am a big fan of distortion, I probably spend a lot of time fiddling with sounds to fuck them up a bit. To me the electron boxes (DT/DN/ST) I have are a bit tame on the distortion front, and it might be nice to have something to add distortion to a clean sound, rather than make a messed up sound if you get my drift.

I know the Heat is a way to go, but I feel it’s maybe too much money for me for what function it would serve (by which I mean, I can’t afford it) - if it could handle various signals (like 6in 6 out) then it would be a no-brainer.

I was thinking g adding some pedals to the mix might be a way to go… anyone got experience to adding distortion to various instruments in a setup? On a budget!

My dream would be to make a synth that gave you the same feeling as the guitars in L.Ron by barkmarket.

Disclosures and notes

  • I probably won’t buy anything unless it’s cheap, what with the end of the world coming, just a fun discussion daydream
  • I am not requesting the heat has or does anything else, nor saying it’s not good value - just that I would need more utility it if I were to spend 600.
  • I have no hardware effects!
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Analog drive off eBay

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If you don’t need stereo, this Valco KGB pedal looks pretty awesome:

And it can be toggled to accept line level, for synths/samplers/drum machines

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Digitone one can sound pretty nasty I would say.
Otherwise try some fuzz pedals ^^

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Take an Elektron down to your local guitar store. Plenty of distortion/fuzz pedals can be had for under 100 notes. Try em out, buy one you like.

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Didn’t even know about this! Saved a search

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I just picked up an OBNE Screen Violence, and I’m pleasantly surprised by the distortion (which sounded a bit tame in a lot of the demos). I really like my JPTR FX Double Jive, too, but it is very noisy, which is sometimes nice “character” and sometimes really annoying. That’s just the stereo stuff I use, since you mentioned stereo sources.

If you’re looking for six inputs… maybe an old Boss mixer. The BX… something? It’s sort of famous for adding distortion when you push the gain. (And they can be found for not a lot of money. There are other mixers in this category, too. The old Mackie 1202 had a similar quality if I remember correctly.)

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On my radar.

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I use the electro harmonix Hot Wax and the ibenez Tube Screamer on my analog synths and they sound nice. I’m going for rich harmonics and feedback, these do the trick with my Moogs. On my digis I don’t bother. I can get feedback sounds from the Digitone

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Trash 2 Izotope or Devil Loc from Soundtoys, both are very good. Ok its not Hw.

This is available as vst and hw:

Sounds brutal good imho.

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I think this is what I needed… a video showing what a pedal can do… thanks!

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I like watching that guy, Oscillator Sink. He’s calm and super into this stuff. He has some really creative videos.

I’ve been wanting to get an Analog Heat for a long time now, mostly because I want stereo and there aren’t many pedals that have stereo, but this KGB pedal sounds dope – it makes me wonder if I truly need stereo as well. And I’m aware the the Heat is more than just distortion – the filter and envelope follower add a ton of functionality to the box too.

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The Fault by Old Blood Noise Endeavor is astounding: old blood noise endeavors — Fault V2 Overdrive + Distortion

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Also the Noise Engineering ruina VST is bomb af. If you add just a pinch!

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I don’t do much on the computer, but I have Minimal Audio Rift, which I paid for and I think i like the free NE Ruina more! I think it’s a really good distortion plugin

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If you don’t need it to be stereo just go to the pawn shop and buy the cheapest distortion/fuzz/boost/overdrive/whatever you can find. If you don’t like that one trade it back and get yourself the next cheapest. There is no need to overthink or overspend on distortion until you’re well versed.

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I might try and find a good pawn shop in London, we don’t have them in Cornwall!

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Buy second hand Behringer td-3’s and fed your signal thru the audio input and use the distortion and even the filter if it’s needed. You get some 303’s as bonus. Not more expensive as some pedals and they include powersupply’s

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Yeah I’d say just stick with plug-ins. I’d recommend Fabfilter Saturn 2 which is the closest thing I’ve used to being a VST analog heat.

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Behringer BOD400. So cheap you can buy two for stereo.