Synths and Distortion

A love story.

At first, it was unconventional, but as musicians kept experimenting with their sound, distortion quickly became one of the most interesting and important tools.

So, what is distortion? It is an effect that by clipping (pushing to its maximum) a sound source adds harmonic and inharmonic overtones resulting in a more compressed, louder, and gritty sound.

Distortion often resembles overdrive and as it comes to synths, they pretty much have the same effect using different values. In general, Overdrive is a bit milder and does not alter the original signal too much, while Distortion can rip your signal apart in no time. Fuzz is another similar effect that focuses on boosting the upper harmonic content (while sometimes removing low and mid). For this reason, Fuzz is not so commonly used on synth sounds as it removes a lot of information from the original source.

How distortion adds harmonics to a simple sinewave.

But what is the reason a lot of synth players love this specific type of effect? Well, since synthesizers can sometimes be a little flat sounding and produce an extremely consistent sound, distortion and overdrive can spice things up creating unexpected harmonics, giving a warmer sound, and making your patch dirty and crunchy. With focused use and balanced settings, this type of effect will always provide that little extra “something” to your sound and productions.

Let’s see some of our favorite picks for distortion or overdrive units you can get for your synthesizers!

Here is our Top 10:

Elektron - Analog Heat MkII

Elektron powerhouse, Analog Heat MKII, is a multi-mode distortion unit that can get from just a clean boost to full-blown dirty distortion. It also features a multi-mode filter and lots of modulation options with its onboard envelope and LFO. It is a little pricey but at the same time it is the only distortion unit you’ll ever need.

EHX - Big Muff Pi

The all-time classic Fuzz from EHX is often used to make synth patches sound broken and aggressive! Definitely, a bold option that can be a little too harsh is you’re looking for something more subtle.

Pro Co - Rat

Another classic pedal with tons of variations through the years. It can go from medium to extreme distortion fast but with the tone control, you can easily harness its power.

Gamechanger Audio - Plasma Pedal

Besides being the most beautiful pedal on this list (and possibly one of the most beautiful pedals ever), the Plasma Pedal is a distortion pedal with a unique character. The coolest thing is that it actually features a tube where you can see the voltage coming through it. When your mix (blend knob) is low it sounds amazing on any synth tone.

EHX Soul - Food

Soul Food by EHX is basically a Klon inspired overdrive that sounds great on synths. It is super cheap and gets the job done effectively.

Earthquaker Devices - Plumes

Plumes is a great example that pedal manufacturer has started to also have synths on their minds when they create pedals. The awesome people at Earthquaker Devices wanted Plumes to handle both guitar and synthesizers validating the fact that Overdrive & Distortion are made to pair with synths! Inspired by the legendary Tube Screamer but in a unique and fresh way, Plumes is definitely one of our favorites on this list.

TC Electronic - Grand Magus

If you want the cheapest but also decent pedal, Grand Magus is a great option. It’s a simple distortion unit with three knobs that does what it’s supposed to with less than 50€.

Soundtoys - Decapitator

The only plugin on our list is one of the most famous saturation plugins of all time. Decapitator, by Soundtoys, is an industry-standard when it comes to saturation and distortion. Inspired by a famous rack distortion unit that we have later on our list, Decapitator is a beautifully made plugin that gives so much life to your sounds. A must-have for any producer.

OTO Machines - Boum

Boum is a desktop effects unit by OTO Machines with stereo in and out. Can be used for a single instrument but also as an end of chain effect for a mix bus (or even a master bus). It is a gain, low-cut, compressor, analog distortion, and high-cut at the same time providing endless flexibility to precisely tweak your sound. All four distortion circuits sound amazing. It’s built like a tank and that translates to your sounds.

Thermionic Culture - Culture Vulture

Lastly, we have another iconic piece of gear that you can still buy brand new. Culture Vulture is probably the most famous rack mount saturation effect ever. This is the unit Decapitator from Soundtoys (and many other plugin manufacturers) tried to emulate but you can never fully emulate such a well-made analog -all valve- distortion. If you can spend the hefty price, that’s the best thing you can get.

Bonus tip: Some analog mixers or 4-track recorders tend to distort the signal in a beautiful way when you crank up the gain. In that case, you get a similar effect with no effect processing.