Overdrive / Distortion

Here we’re adding analog distortion to an audio signal. We’ll start from the same setup used in the Supersaw Bass patch.

You can listen to the patch below:

Adding Distortion#

If you followed the Supersaw Bass patch, the only new thing here is the DRIVE module. It has three knobs:

• OD1: This is the tone shaper for the upper half of the waveform. Turning it to the right will add more harmonics.
• OD2: This is the tone shaper for the lower half of the waveform. Turning it to the right will add more harmonics.
• GAIN: This is the amount of distortion. Increase it to add more distortion.

The starting points for the knobs are listed in the patch above. Feel free to experiment and hear how each control changes the sound. Hover over any knob to learn what it does.

CLEN vs DIRTY#

The DRIVE module has two outputs: CLEN and DIRTY. CLEN is milder; DIRTY is more aggressive. Try both and pick what you prefer.

Usually with CLEN, if you set OD1 and OD2 to 0.0 (leftmost), it’s just an amplifier. With DIRTY, even at 0.0, it adds some distortion.