Welcome to my personal list (updated regularly) of the Best Distortion Plugins. One of the most effective methods to bring your digital audio to life is through analog emulation. These Plugins offer saturation to thicken, add warmth, draw pieces out of the mix, and create signature sounds. You may turn regular sounds into something utterly fresh and weird using some of these plugins. In general, when it comes to distortion, less is more!

For detailed specifications please visit the linked websites of the manufacturers.

Minimal Audio Rift

The young company Minimal Audio has released a truly futuristic shaping plug-in called Rift. It combines a multi-algorithm distortion, a multimode morphing stereo filter, extensive modulation, and a delay/feedback combination. Shortly after testing Riff for the first time, I was impressed with how deep its functionality goes.

What sets Riff apart from the competition is its bi-polar processing engine. It’s a technique for separating the positive (upper) and negative (lower) parts of a waveform and distorting and modifying them independently. The two are then combined in different ways and edited separately. Waveshapers, wavefolders, noise, bit-crushers, and sample rate reducers are among the 30 unique algorithms included in Rift’s sophisticated distortion engine.

Delays, distorted feedback, chorus and flanger-like modulation, resonators, and even frequency/note-tuned feedback are all available under the Feedback section. As crazy as that may sound, the feedback rate can be adjusted in notes, Hz, milliseconds, and BPM-synchronized note divisions. Using the Pitch Snap tool, you can quantize the Frequency parameter to notes and scales. This allows you to play and modulate melodies. I’ve never heard anything like it. Just impressive!

Rift allows you to fine-tune every aspect of the game. Also, transposition, MIDI tracking, 24 stereo filter types, sophisticated curve sequencing are included. Over 400 impressive and well-structured presets provide a good basis for your own creations. I love to heat up my drum-, bass- and synth loops with this powerful sound design tool. Even with originally boring static tones, the results sound extremely interesting. This company’s debut is just impressive and Rift is a must-have!

Fabfilter Saturn 2

Saturn 2 is a highly versatile distortion plugin that offers everything from subtle, clean, and warm saturation to utter harmonic annihilation.

V2 comes with a redesigned easy-to-use GUI (five UI sizes) with modulation visualization, 16 new distortion algorithms (28 in total), multi-band and side-chain operation, an adjustable slope for the crossovers, offering 6, 12, 24, and 48 dB/oct options, a new Transformer category, ergonomic improvements and more.

I have many distortion effects installed on my system. Saturn, more than any other Plugin, I believe, covers natural-sounding and subtle distortion the best. FabFilter Saturn 2 delivers everything from subtle, clean, and warm tube or tape saturation to the wildest multiband

guitar amp effects. Saturn 2 is versatile, with an easy-to-use user interface and a wide range of modulation options that sound fantastic. There are so many options for modifying sounds! I like to use it on almost everything. The preset “Faster Master” is an insider tip!

I can’t recommend Saturn 2 highly enough if you’re looking for a multiband distortion plugin for mixing and sound design. Saturn 2 is definitely one of the best distortion plugins.

Soundtoys Decapitator

Decapitator is ideal for adding character to any track or instrument in your mix, with five different analog saturation models to pick from. There’s also a modeled tone control for shaping the saturated sound, as well as a mix control for blending in some dry signal for parallel processing without the need for routing and sub-mixes.

When you combine all of this with the versatility and dependability of a Soundtoys plug-in, you’ve got the best of both analog and digital in one indispensable effect.

Decapitator sounds great! The five analog saturation models are all unique, yet they’re all really useful and realistic-sounding. The plug-in functions as a Swiss Army Knife, capable of producing a wide range of harmonic tastes.

Black Box Analog Design HG-2

With this updated version of the widely regarded Black Box plug-in, you can add tailored analogue-style saturation to in-the-box mixes.

Before Black Box Analog Design teamed up with Brainworx to develop the software modeling, the HG-2 was already a highly coveted analogue

hardware unit. It offers a lovely analogue sound that ranges from gentle to harsh, with a wide range of harmonic tones. The M/S and new filters give you a lot more options. Black Box HG-2 adds volume while maintaining impact. It’s a great example of what may happen when a developer pushes the boundaries of hardware emulation.

I think it’s difficult to see how anyone could be disappointed with this. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s a steal for what it does. You can get it for a lot less money in the regular sales or as part of a subscription bundle, like with all Plugin Alliance software. The HG-2MS is a multicolored swiss army knife and typically used on the mix bus.

Output Thermal

Output is currently one of the most daring and forward-thinking plug-in designers on the market. This Parallel Distortion Processor has 3 distortion and effects stages, 19 distortion kinds, 9 effects types, effects, and master effects sections, as well as 2 adjustable envelopes and 2 macros with X/Y control.

The multi-layer sound engine, which can be controlled using the X/Y control interface, is at the heart of the plug-in. Thermal has around 250 fantastic presets, all of which are organized in a nice preset browser.

It’s a great creative tool for more drastic destruction and less for soulful fattening.

Thermal is convincing all along the line and is simply fun. The presets assigned to the instrument groups inspire right away. Unfortunately, the price is relatively high.

unintuitive quirks of the old machines and their controls, quirks that are usually — for some reason. Overall, I enjoy the plugin’s ‘careful’ approach to tape, and I find it handy in nuanced or sensitive applications where you just want to do a ‘few’ things to the signal at a time.

iZotope Trash 2

It’s important to note that this isn’t just another distortion tool. Trash 2 by iZotope, which was released in 2012, is still considered a benchmark in the world of complex distortion plug-ins. This one has a lot of interesting features and it appears to blend all of the stuff’s rough analog and nerdy digital subtleties into a tweaker’s delight.

Trash2 can do everything from mild tube saturation to over-the-top bit crushing and completely bizarre effects. This beast offers more than 60 distortion algorithms, 6 multi-effect modules, a breathtaking multiband waveshaper, and more than 100 presets.

Its sonic versatility for creative production with sophisticated filtering and

dynamics effects plus realistic speaker and space simulation leaves no wish unfulfilled. Trash2 is wonderful for giving lifeless sounds their own personality. You can dramatically transform any sound into something completely different. It’s an indispensable tool in my arsenal.

You can get your hands on a Distortion Plugin for a little money. It’s a lot more powerful than the one that came with your DAW. Trash2 is one of the best distortion plugins out there!

D16 Devastor 2

Devastor 2 by D16 Group is a multi-band distortion effect plugin with a lot of options for distorting your sound source in various ways. The strong diode clipper with 6 distortion curve types, customizable parallel, pre, and post signal routing, and the new master output limiter are among Devastor 2’s primary features. It’s broken up into 3 main sections: Distortion Shaping, Signal routing and filters and Output and Limiter.

Devastor 2 is a formidable weapon with various uses in any genre, whether it’s employed for stylized mixing effects (broken radios, damaged microhones, etc. ), signal-crunching etc. I also recommend D16 Group Devastor 2 for kickdrum distortion as you can specifically edit various frequencies here. To crossfade between a completely wet signal and a dry signal, use the dry/wet knob. This enables the effect to be processed in parallel with the dry signal.

This multiband distortion effect also strikes an excellent mix between quality and cost. So if you want to give your song a distinctive taste, Devastor 2 is a great choice and one of the best distortion plugins.

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 6

Even though I’m not a guitarist, I enjoy using NI Guitar Rig 6 for my sound design. Every Komplete user has this interesting tool anyway. I send all sorts of signals through Guitar Rig. Be it drum loops, vocals, synth loops, atmos sound, etc.

Guitar Rig offers a large number of effect modules, as well as sophisticated routing and modulation options. By simply stepping through the presets, you can often get stunning and unexpected results. A notably unique tone is created after some final careful tweaking.

The integration of many NI products such as the Mod Pack (Choral, Flair, Freak, and Phasis), various reverbs, compressors and more makes the plugin very versatile. The effects from the tractor’s 12 series are particularly noteworthy

In a short amount of time, you can come up with some interesting rhythms. The mix of a modern style and simple functioning has proven to be incredibly successful. The tool has applications far beyond guitar and is, in my opinion, a superb sound design construction kit.

XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color

It has never been easier to make audio noisy, wonky, and analog than these unique recordings from the past.

RC-20 Retro Color comes with 6 effect modules: Noise Generator, Wobble & Flutter, Saturation & Distortion, Dedgrader & Bitcrusher, Reverb, and Volume Drops. This audio weapon gives any track or mix an analogue, gritty, fat, noisy, alive, and organic sound. Because analog sound is inherently chaotic, each module has a flux parameter that randomizes the settings and hence causes havoc.

I use it for subtle texture, filtering, pitch warp, and gain character but also in extreme settings when the original signal is to be completely changed. It breathes life into digital sounds! In the past, I’ve accomplished this by combining a number of different plugins. However, achieving an acceptable result has not always been straightforward. Those days, however, are no longer.

One of the best Distortion Plugins available is RC-20 Retro Color. In my arsenal on a regular basis!

Moog Multimode Filter XL

One of the best purchases I’ve made for my UAD system is the Moog Multimode Filter.

Applying perfectly authentic fuzzy vintage Moog filtering and saturation to stereo sources was never that easy. This excellent, highly versatile musical filter is suitable for almost any application.

This is the solution if you want to give your VSTi synths a wonderful analogue touch, richness, character, and personality like the original hardware.

My samples will have precisely the right analogue edge thanks to the unique drive feature. You can really go crazy with the step sequencer because it opens up a world of possibilities with Moog filtration that is wonderfully velvety. When it comes to high-end saturation, this excellent tool is one of my favorite VST plugins.

Personally, I like to use it in my drum group to tie the sound together or give the various samples from different sources a distinct contour. Aside from that, I frequently use it on the Send Effects (Reverb, Delay, etc). When it comes to Demo Producing for my Sample Packs, I also apply Satin very lightly on the master stereo bus. This is how I get the final tape sheen.

Satin is excellent for warming up, gluing together, compressing and coloring your digital DAW production. This is, without a doubt, one of the most complex and versatile tape-based plugins available.

Sonnox Oxford Inflator

The Sonnox Inflator has been on the market for about 2 decades. The plugin isn’t quite like the standard saturation plugins for tape and tube simulation. It’s been a type of hidden weapon.

The Inflator comes into play if traditional compression and saturation tools and settings result in undesirable pumping and coloring.

It has the remarkable capacity to make practically everything louder, independent of the remaining dynamic range or the amount of compression used earlier. Going even further, the Inflator may mimic the flavor and dynamic excitement of analog systems that our ears are familiar with.

If you want the strength, warmth, and modern presence that “saturation” is known for while still maintaining a high level of processing transparency, the Inflator with its simple user interface is a great choice and one of the best distortion plugins.

OhmForce Ohmicide: Melohman

Ohmicide is an inspiring beast of a plugin. It’s just different. Even though this multiband distortion plugin has been available for many years, I still enjoy using it because the results keep surprising me.

This slightly CPU-hungry tool offers more than 80 distortion models, ranging from minor to insane. You have a lot of control over the size of each band, as well as the gain, spread, shape, and several other parameters within each band. The ability to morph between presets via MIDI increases the fun factor and creativity enormously.

It features a wacky user interface, a unique sound, and a ton of adjustment possibilities. The amount of tone variation you can get is amazing. The feedback function is a real treat for the ears!

I always get lost in sound when I use it. In addition it’s also a fantastic for sound design. Oh yes, Ohmicide is a unique sound killer and one of the best distortion plugins available.

Kilohearts Faturator

Faturator is a basic but effective saturation plugin. You can add everything from subtle, warm, clean color to harsh, dirty, digital mayhem with the turn of a huge knob (stereo turbo) and a few sliders (drive, fuzz, color, mix).

Faturator is an incredibly simple technique to add grit, color, and width to your tracks, without compromising dynamism.
It has the ability to offer a wide spectrum of sounds, from warm to cool to icy cold. This isn’t just an analog tape emulation. Faturator is great when it comes to modern distortion and oomph!

It offers a user-friendly interface, is simple to use, CPU-friendly, and is reasonably priced.

This was my personal list of the best distortion plugins that I use to create my sample packs. I will update this category regularly.