Distortion Plugins

Overdrive, saturation, waveshaping, bitcrushing. Add harmonics and grit. From subtle warmth to aggressive destruction.

Overview

Property	Value
Control Count	3-6
Complexity	Low to Medium
Visualizer	Scope Grid, Scope Glow, or Wave Filled
Layout	Clustered or Hero

Typical Controls

Control	Widget	Range	Evocative Name
Drive	Knob	0-100%	HEAT, GRIT, BURN
Tone	Knob	0-100%	TONE, BRIGHT, DARK
Mix	Knob	0-100%	BLEND, WET
Output	Knob	-24 to +6 dB	LEVEL, OUT
Character	Toggle	Modes	TYPE, FLAVOR

Recommended Visualizer

Primary: Scope Grid or Scope Glow

• Shows waveform distortion
• Users see the clipping/shaping
• Waveform = distortion visual

Alternative: Wave Filled for less technical look

Layout Pattern

Recommended: Clustered or Hero Element

Clustered Layout

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│          BURN               │
│                             │
│   [DRIVE]    [TONE]         │
│                             │
│   [scope/waveform]          │
│                             │
│   [MIX]   [OUT]   [bypass]  │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Hero Layout (Drive as Hero)

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│          GRIT               │
│                             │
│        [  DRIVE  ]          │
│         (large)             │
│                             │
│  [tone] [scope]  [mix]      │
│                             │
│         [out]    [bypass]   │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Example Plugins

• Tube Saturation - Warm harmonic enhancement
• Tape Warmth - Tape-style saturation
• Overdrive - Soft clipping
• Fuzz - Aggressive clipping
• Bitcrusher - Sample rate/bit depth reduction
• Wavefolder - Wavefolding distortion
• Clipper - Hard clipping

Design Tips

Drive is Primary

• Make the drive knob prominent
• It’s the main control users adjust
• Consider hero layout with large drive knob

Show the Distortion

• Oscilloscope visualizer shows waveform shaping
• Before/after comparison is powerful
• Match visualizer style to plugin aesthetic

Tone Control

• Essential for usability
• Distortion adds highs; users need to tame them
• Simple low-pass or tilt works well

Control Names

Distortion deserves evocative names:

Technical	Evocative Options
Drive	HEAT, GRIT, PUSH, BURN, CRUNCH
Gain	DRIVE, DIRT, SMASH
Tone	TONE, BRIGHT, DARK, COLOR, EDGE
Mix	BLEND, WET, GRIT
Character	TYPE, FLAVOR, MODE

Color Suggestions

Warm Saturation

• Accent: Orange, amber
• Background: Dark brown, warm gray
• Vibe: Analog, warm, tubes

Aggressive Distortion

• Accent: Red, orange
• Background: Dark red, black
• Vibe: Hot, dangerous, intense

Digital/Bitcrush

• Accent: Cyan, green
• Background: Dark gray, black
• Vibe: Digital, retro-digital, glitchy

Common Mistakes

❌ No tone control (distortion = harsh) ❌ No output compensation (distortion = loud) ❌ No mix control (no parallel option) ❌ Wrong visualizer (spectrum doesn’t show distortion well)

✅ Tone for brightness control ✅ Output to compensate for gain ✅ Mix for parallel blending ✅ Waveform visualizer

Variations

Simple Saturation

Controls: Drive, tone, output
Visualizer: None or small scope
Control count: 3
Size: Small (260×300)

Tube-Style

Controls: Input drive, output, tone, character switch
Visualizer: Scope Glow (vintage)
Control count: 4
Size: Small-Medium (320×340)
Aesthetic: Vintage, warm

Aggressive Fuzz

Controls: Fuzz, tone, gate, output, mix
Visualizer: Scope Grid
Control count: 5
Size: Medium (340×360)
Aesthetic: Aggressive, bold

Bitcrusher

Controls: Bits, sample rate, mix, output
Visualizer: Wave Line (digital)
Control count: 4
Size: Small (300×320)
Aesthetic: Digital, retro